Poor sleep is one of the most searched health concerns in the UK, and one of the most undertreated. Most people try the obvious fixes — cutting caffeine, limiting screens, keeping a regular bedtime — and find they still lie awake. That’s because chronic insomnia is rarely just a sleep hygiene problem. It’s a nervous system problem, and it needs a different approach.
Why sleep hygiene alone often isn’t enough
Sleep hygiene advice is useful as a foundation, but it doesn’t address the underlying mechanisms driving poor sleep, namely hyperarousal of the nervous system and the conditioned anxiety that builds around bedtime over time. The longer insomnia persists, the more the brain associates the bed with wakefulness rather than rest. Willpower and routine won’t break that cycle on their own.
What does work
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) is the most evidence-based treatment available and is now recommended as the first-line intervention ahead of sleeping tablets. It works by directly targeting the thoughts, behaviours, and physiological arousal that maintain insomnia; not by masking symptoms, but by addressing their root cause. Results are typically lasting in a way that medication is not.
For some people, sleep difficulties are also linked to hormonal changes, stress, anxiety, or an unaddressed mental health condition. Getting the full picture matters before reaching for a solution.
Work with a sleep specialist through YoYu
Dr Oliver Rabie — GP and Lifestyle Medicine Practitioner with CBT-I training from Oxford University, offering sleep CBT, health coaching, and GP appointments. London, online and in person. https://yoyu.life/providers/dr-oliver-rabie/
Gabriella Romano — Registered Clinical Psychologist and Highly Specialist CBT Therapist with 25 years of experience specialising in sleep disorders. Offers individual and group CBT-I, and works with employers on sleep health. Online.https://yoyu.life/providers/gabriella-romano/
Both practitioners are verified through the YoYu platform.
Find your practitioner at yoyu.life #FindYourYoYu
