What Is Chronic Insomnia?
Published: 2025-10-10
Estimated read time: 3 minutes
Trouble sleeping, again and again?
We all have bad nights now and then. But chronic insomnia is something different. It is a persistent difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up too early, happening at least three nights per week and lasting for more than three months.
It is not just about tossing and turning. Chronic insomnia can impact how you feel, think, and function during the day. It can leave you tired, irritable, foggy, or anxious. And despite feeling exhausted, sleep still does not come easily.
Insomnia is a medical condition, not a personal failure
Many people blame themselves for not sleeping. They feel like they “should” be able to relax, or that something is wrong with them for not drifting off like everyone else. But insomnia is not about willpower or effort, in fact, trying harder to sleep often makes things worse.
Sleep is a natural process. But when stress, pain, grief, or life changes disrupt that process, the brain can learn to stay in “wake mode”, especially in the very place meant for sleep: your bed.
How does insomnia start?
Often, it begins with a triggering event:
A stressful life change (illness, breakup, job loss)
An episode of anxiety or depression
Physical symptoms that interfere with sleep
At first, sleep may only be disrupted for a few nights. But the strategies we use to cope, like going to bed early “just in case,” napping, or lying awake in bed for hours, can unintentionally teach the brain to stay alert at night. Over time, these patterns solidify, and the problem becomes chronic.
What does chronic insomnia feel like?
It can vary from person to person, but common experiences include:
Taking more than 30–45 minutes to fall asleep
Waking up during the night and struggling to fall back asleep
Waking up earlier than desired and not being able to return to sleep
Feeling tired, frustrated, or anxious about sleep on a regular basis
Importantly, insomnia is diagnosed not just based on poor sleep, but also on the distress or daytime impact it causes.
The good news: It is treatable
Chronic insomnia can feel hopeless, especially after trying multiple strategies or medications that do not help. But there is hope.
The most effective treatment is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I). This short-term, evidence-based approach helps retrain your brain to sleep naturally again, without relying on medication long-term.
At Luna Health, we specialize in treating chronic insomnia through evidence‑based behavioural strategies. While medications are sometimes used in the treatment of insomnia, our focus is on helping you build lasting skills and habits that improve sleep naturally. We strive to help you understand your sleep, break the cycle of sleeplessness, and feel like yourself again.
