What kind of sleep problems are there?

Sleep problems can take several different forms:

• You may have trouble getting to sleep but then sleep through the night.
• You may wake up a lot during the night or wake too early in the morning.
• You might not remember having disturbed sleep but don’t feel refreshed when they wake (non-restorative sleep).

You may suffer from all these problems if you have a severely disturbed sleep pattern. If this persists for a long period, it can cause increased muscle tension and can be associated with muscular pain.

Although most people need about 7–8 hours of sleep each day, many people manage quite well with less. Sleep is only a problem if you’re not happy with the amount and quality you’re getting.

Sleep has a major effect on our mood. People who have depression might have disturbed sleep because of their psychological illness. However, a poor sleep pattern over a period of time will often lead to anxiety or depression, or both, so it’s sometimes difficult to know whether sleep disturbance is the result of depression or the cause of it.