In this video I explain one model to explain how insomnia develops.
We all start with some sort of predisposition, which makes some people more vulnerable to sleep problems than others, but this on its own is rarely enough. It's usually a precipitating factor, or trigger, which tips us over the edge.
Many sleep problems are temporary - we recover after the stress passes, or when we adapt to our new situation. The things which make insomnia stick around are often behaviours and thoughts - which might be a reaction to poor sleep.
To solve this cycle, we need to tackle the thoughts and behaviours which perpetuate insomnia. The approach with the best evidence is CBT for Insomnia.
To learn more about that, please subscribe - most of the Sleep Toolkit posts share tactics and strategies from CBT for Insomnia.
This video is based on the '3Ps' model proposed by Art Spielman and colleagues in 1987.
This is part of a series of 5 videos I wrote for the team at Bensons for Beds for World Sleep Day 2021 - you will find the other 4 videos on their Instagram site @bensonsforbedshq