See the light. Bright light therapy can help you reset your natural sleep rhythm, especially if jet lag or time-shifting at work has induced the insomnia, Dr. Stepanski says. If you wake up in the middle of the night, never smoke a cigarette or go to the kitchen for something to eat. On the sixth night and thereafter, they'll wake up on their own. Both should be absolutely forbidden in between bedtime and waking time.
Drugs are tough pills to swallow.
Sleep physicians are extremely reluctant to prescribe sedatives, Dr. Jaffe says, except in the event of an obvious trauma, such as the death of a spouse, and even then only for a very temporary period. Improper withdrawal from sleeping pills can cause the insomnia the prescription was designed to treat, she says. We don't know the long-term effects of them. But they're absolutely not benign. They contain ingredients that can cause addiction.