INSOMNIA

Insomnia is difficulty getting to sleep or staying asleep for long enough to feel refreshed the next morning.

It's a common problem thought to regularly affect around one in every three people in the UK, and is particularly common in elderly people.

If you have insomnia, you may:

• find it difficult to fall asleep
• lie awake for long periods at night
• wake up several times during the night
• wake up early in the morning and not be able to get back to sleep
• not feel refreshed when you get up
• find it hard to nap during the day, despite feeling tired
• feel tired and irritable during the day and have difficulty concentrating

Occasional episodes of insomnia may come and go without causing any serious problems, but for some people it can last for months or even years at a time.