Insomnia: Home Treatment

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Home Treatment

Once you and your doctor have eliminated or treated underlying health problems contributing to your insomnia, there are many steps you can take to break the cycle of poor sleep quality and daytime fatigue.

• Eliminate or limit caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol, and be sure to avoid using these substances late in the day or in the evening.
• Check all of your medications with your doctor to see whether they are affecting your sleep; you may be able to adjust your prescriptions or schedule to avoid creating sleep problems.
• Keep established bedtimes and wake times, 7 days a week.
• Reserve the bed for sleeping and sex; do your reading or TV watching in another room.
• Make exercise a regular part of your life, but don't do it within 3 or 4 hours of bedtime.
• Don't stay in bed longer than 8 hours, and try to avoid naps.
• Use the evening hours for settling down, and avoid challenging activities in the hours before bedtime.
• Eat meals at regularly scheduled times, and eliminate bedtime snacks, or have only light snacks near bedtime.
• Once you are in bed, relax from head to toe, and guide your mind to pleasant thoughts.
• Get plenty of sunlight in the outdoors, particularly later in the afternoon.
• Keep your bedroom quiet, dark, and cool. Try using a sleep mask and earplugs to help you sleep.
• Restrict nighttime liquid consumption to reduce the need to get up to urinate, but don't go to bed thirsty.
• Avoid uneven noise (sometimes a steady "white noise" such a fan running can help), being too hot or too cold, and the bright lights of television or a computer screen during the late afternoon, evening, and night.

For more information, see:

How to set up a healthy sleep environment.

Older adults, particularly those who are in nursing homes or are cared for by others, often suffer from chronic insomnia. There are specific ways that caregivers can help create a good sleep environment:¹⁶

• Older adults need to get regular exercise and sunshine during the day.
• Their rooms should be cool, quiet, and dark in the evening and night.
• Keep food and snacks out of the bed, if possible.
• Encourage seniors to get up and out of their beds and bedrooms if they are unable to sleep.
• Keep nighttime awakenings, such as for medications, to a minimum.
• Maintain familiar evening and bedtime routines.

Be sure to talk to your doctor if your sleep problem gets worse, lasts for more than 4 weeks, or your symptoms become more severe or frequent.

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Last updated:	February 02, 2006
Author:	Merrill Hayden
Reviewed By:	Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine, Malin K. Clark, MD, FRCPC - Psychiatry
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Michele Cronen