If you can’t sleep at night, what should you not do?

Dr. Ellie Heer, President of the British Sleep Society and Sleep Medicine Specialist at Royal Brompton Hospital, London: “When I can’t sleep, it’s often because my husband is tossing and turning or snoring. Therefore, I use the ‘sleep divorce’ technique and move to another room.”

Dr. Ellie Heer recommends starting at your local pharmacy, then consulting a doctor, and also seeking help from online resources related to improving sleep. Professor Espie states there is an evolutionary reason for insomnia: “We still have a great dependency on sleep.

Evolution hasn’t done away with sleep. In fact, we sleep a lot because we have big brains that need a lot of help. We haven’t eliminated the response to threat, so if something preoccupies your mind, your brain is, in a way, telling you to stay awake and think about what might be worrying you because this concern could be serious, it could be threatening.”

February 14, 2025 | 5:20 am