If you have trouble falling or staying asleep, and experience tiredness, fatigue or other daytime distress, you may have insomnia. Insomnia is the most common sleep problem among Americans. According to the National Center for Sleep Disorders Research at the National Institutes of Health, about 30-40% of adults say they have some symptoms of insomnia within a given year, and about 10-15 percent of adults say they have chronic insomnia. Many health and lifestyle factors can contribute to insomnia including stress, depression, medical illnesses, pain, medications, or specific sleep disorders. For some people insomnia is their only major health problem.

In addition to daytime tiredness or fatigue, chronic insomnia can be associated with a complaint of compromised intellectual function, mood disturbance, or an increase in physical complaints (e.g., headaches and gastrointestinal problems). Beyond these outcomes, there is now considerable evidence that individuals with chronic insomnia have an increased risk of psychiatric illness (especially major depressive disorder) and substance abuse and there is mounting evidence that insomnia is associated with absenteeism from work, higher health care costs, and reduced quality of life.

Fortunately, there are treatments for insomnia that can help put you back on the path to a good night’s sleep. In this online resource center you will learn about cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), hypnotics (FDA approved medications for insomnia), and other treatments (e.g., low dose antidepressant therapy). We will discuss how these treatments work, and much more.