Insomnia

Insomnia can cause problems during the day, such as excessive sleepiness, fatigue, trouble thinking clearly or staying focused, or feeling depressed or irritable. It is not defined by the number of hours you sleep every night. Although the amount of sleep a person needs varies, most people need between 7 and 8 hours of sleep a night.

What is Insomnia?

Insomnia is a condition in which it is difficult to get to sleep, or to remain soundly asleep, resulting in too short and too low-quality sleep which affects normal functioning. It causes fatigue and daytime sleepiness. It may be classified as acute, lasting a few days or weeks, or chronic, when it lasts longer than a month.

Sleep-Onset Insomnia

Middle of the Night Insomnia

Insomnia Symptoms

Insomnia in Pregnancy

Causes of Sleep-Onset Insomnia

Screen Time and Insomnia

Treatment of Middle-of-the-Night Insomnia

Insomnia in Children

Treatment of Sleep-Onset Insomnia

Insomnia Treatment

Middle of the Night Insomnia and Biphasic Sleeping

See more featured articles »

Promoting Sounder Sleep in Older Adults

Insomnia Causes

Latest Insomnia News and Research

Tailored granola transforms gut bacteria and improves mood

A study reveals that custom granola can boost gut health and mood by increasing beneficial bacteria and short-chain fatty acids based on individual microbiota.

4 Aug 2025

Which GLP-1 meds have the most side effects? Study of 60,000 Facebook posts gives answers

Researchers analyzed nearly 60,000 public Facebook posts to identify real-world adverse events linked to GLP-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) medications. Gastrointestinal symptoms were most common, while mental health concerns and tirzepatide-specific side effects were also flagged.

28 Jul 2025

Republicans call Medicaid rife with fraudsters. This man sees no choice but to break the rules.

As congressional Republicans finalized Medicaid work requirements in President Donald Trump's budget bill, one man who relies on that government-subsidized health coverage was trying to coax his old car to start after an eight-hour shift making sandwiches.

23 Jul 2025

Novel polysaccharide from Albizzia julibrissin shows promise against pancreatic cancer

Albizzia julibrissin is a widely distributed plant in China. Its dried stem bark has been used in traditional oriental medicine to treat insomnia, diuresis, sthenia, ascaricide, and confusion.

21 Jul 2025

Can probiotics help you sleep better?

A new meta-analysis shows that probiotic supplements can modestly improve sleep quality and reduce depressive symptoms in people with insomnia, with no significant safety concerns. However, effects on total sleep time and sleep efficiency remain uncertain, and evidence strength varies across outcomes.

20 Jul 2025

New review identifies promising and under-researched OTC depression aids

Most people have heard of St John's Wort and omega-3s. But did you know there are a lot more over-the-counter herbal products and supplements out there targeting depression? In our review of clinical trials of these products, we found 64 different over-the-counter (OTC) products that have been evaluated for depression – but with differing levels of evidence for each.

16 Jul 2025

Yoga, Tai Chi, walking and jogging found to improve sleep and ease insomnia

Yoga, Tai Chi, walking and jogging may be the best forms of exercise to improve sleep quality and ease insomnia, suggest the findings of a comparative pooled data analysis published in the online journal BMJ Evidence Based Medicine.

15 Jul 2025

FAU neuroscientist receives NIH grant to study amphetamine effects on the brain

Lucia Carvelli, Ph.D., associate professor of neuroscience at Florida Atlantic University's Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College and a member of the FAU Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute, has received a $571,675 grant from the National Institutes of Health to advance critical research into how amphetamines affect brain function.

15 Jul 2025

Insomnia may be the missing link between ADHD and low life satisfaction

Insomnia could explain why adults with ADHD traits report having a lower quality of life, according to new research led by the University of Southampton and the Netherlands Institute of Neuroscience.

15 Jul 2025

How a simple blood test can forecast future health risks

Plasma proteomics reveals that the biological ages of key organs, especially the brain and immune system, strongly predict the risk of future disease and early death. These organ-specific “clocks” provide a new tool for identifying those at highest risk and personalizing preventive care.

10 Jul 2025

Slower speech response linked to sleepiness in older adults

A new study led by UCLA investigators shows that Verbal Reaction Time (VRT), the amount of time it takes a person to respond verbally, can be a marker of sleepiness in older adults.

9 Jul 2025

Sleep deficiency worsens pain mechanisms in migraine sufferers

The mechanisms in the brain that should reduce pain don’t work as well in people with migraine when they haven’t gotten enough sleep.

26 Jun 2025

Sleep deprivation alters brain response to pain in migraine sufferers

For the first time, researchers have studied what happens in the brains of people who have migraines when they haven't slept enough.

19 Jun 2025

Understanding long-term challenges for older breast cancer survivors

Lead author Claire Morton, MD, and senior author Christina Ahn Minami, MD, MS, both of the Department of Surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital, published a paper in Current Breast Cancer Reports "Survivorship Issues in Older Adults with Breast Cancer.

17 Jun 2025

As cannabis users age, health risks appear to grow

Benjamin Han, a geriatrician and addiction medicine specialist at the University of California-San Diego, tells his students a cautionary tale about a 76-year-old patient who, like many older people, struggled with insomnia.

9 Jun 2025

Study reveals sleep-wake continuum in patients with insomnia disorder

Sleep is essential for healthy functioning. Insomnia disorder is prevalent, affecting around 5 to 10% of the adult population.

5 Jun 2025

Airline pilots face high rates of anxiety and alcohol misuse, study finds

The mental health of airline pilots is at risk, with alarming rates of depression and alcohol misuse, necessitating urgent action for crew and passenger safety.

2 Jun 2025

Sleep disorders predict dementia risk years before diagnosis, study shows

Researchers analyzed health records from over 1 million people in Finland, Wales, and the UK to assess the long-term impact of sleep disorders on neurodegenerative diseases. They found that diagnosed sleep disorders can predict Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and dementia risk up to 15 years before symptoms, regardless of genetic predisposition.

28 May 2025

Stress-induced sleep may hold the key to faster recovery

A new Neuron perspective reveals that stress can both disrupt and promote sleep, with specific brain circuits making stress-induced sleep a potential tool for recovery. This insight may lead to innovative approaches for building resilience and treating stress-related disorders.

25 May 2025

Snooze alarms steal hours of sleep each month, new research shows

Researchers analyzed over 3 million sleep sessions from a global cohort of smartphone users and found that more than half used snooze alarms, with frequent snoozing linked to irregular sleep patterns. The study highlights potential health implications and the need for further research into the effects of repeated snooze use.

20 May 2025