Do you lie awake replaying conversations, thinking about tomorrow, or feeling tense for no clear reason? If so, you’re not alone. Most of us experience insomnia at some point — and for many people, worry and anxiety are a big part of it.
When sleep problems happen occasionally, it can feel frustrating but manageable. When it becomes night after night, it can start to affect your mood, concentration, energy, work and relationships.
What is insomnia?
Insomnia usually means:
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struggling to fall asleep
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waking during the night and finding it hard to get back to sleep
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waking too early
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feeling unrefreshed, even after time in bed
Why worry and stress disrupt sleep
Worry often keeps the mind “switched on”. You might go over problems repeatedly without reaching a solution — which increases mental arousal and makes it harder to drift off.
This can create a vicious circle:
worry → poor sleep → more worry about the effects of poor sleep → even poorer sleep.
Stress can have a similar effect. Life events such as relationship difficulties, bereavement, work problems, health worries or money worries can trigger insomnia. Sometimes, even when the stressful event settles, the sleep pattern stays disrupted because your body has learned a new (unhelpful) rhythm.
Practical tips for better sleep
These are simple “sleep hygiene” steps that can help settle your body into a more sleep-friendly routine:
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Keep a steady rhythm: try to go to bed and get up at roughly the same time each day.
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Caffeine earlier in the day: if you’re sensitive, avoid caffeine after lunchtime.
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Alcohol can worsen sleep: it may help you drop off, but it often disrupts deeper sleep later.
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Food: avoid heavy meals in the last 2–3 hours before bed (a light snack can be fine).
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Screens: if you can, reduce phone/iPad/TV in the hour before sleep (or use night mode and keep it low-stimulation).
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Wind-down routine: a warm bath or shower, gentle stretching, reading, or a calming podcast can help.
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Move your body: regular daytime exercise supports sleep (but intense exercise right before bed can keep some people awake).
If you want extra reading, Sleepio also has accessible information on sleep and insomnia.
Worry list and worry time
If your mind comes alive at bedtime, two simple tools can really help.
1) A worry list (5–10 minutes)
In the early evening, write down:
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what you’re worrying about
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anything you can do (even one small step)
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anything that can wait
The aim isn’t to solve everything. It’s to reassure your brain: I’ve noted this. I’m not going to lose it. I can come back to it tomorrow.
2) Worry time (20 minutes, earlier in the day)
Set a daily ‘worry appointment’— ideally not after 5pm.
During that time, you’re allowed to worry as much as you like, on purpose.
When worries pop up later (especially in bed), gently say to yourself:
This is for tomorrow’s worry time — not now.
This helps break the habit of worrying at night, and over time it can reduce that automatic bedtime spiral.
If you wake in the night
A common pattern is waking at 3am with a busy mind. If this happens:
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keep lights low
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avoid checking the time repeatedly
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try a slow breathing rhythm or a simple body scan
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if you’re wide awake, it can help to get up briefly and do something calm until sleepy again (rather than battling in bed)
For more information, look at anxiety counselling in Sheffield.
When to speak to your GP
If insomnia lasts more than a few weeks, is affecting your functioning, or you notice symptoms such as loud snoring, breathing pauses, panic attacks at night, or very low mood, it’s worth speaking to your GP to check for underlying causes and discuss options.
How counselling can help
If your sleep is being driven by anxiety, stress, life changes or ongoing worry, counselling can give you space to explore what’s underneath the sleeplessness — and help you find ways to feel calmer, clearer and more supported.
If you’d like to talk about what’s been keeping you awake, you’re welcome to get in touch.
Try it: If you experiment with worry time for a week, what do you notice?