Sleep problems
Sleep problems
When poor sleep keeps happening, understanding the pattern can help you find a useful next step. Explore practical approaches, GP support and when breathing or daytime sleepiness needs assessment.
What can help when sleep problems keep happening?
A HerDoc GP can assess your sleep concerns, review medicines and other contributors, and discuss treatment and follow-up. Persistent insomnia can benefit from a structured approach to sleep habits and the worry around sleep, called cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I). Snoring, gasping or marked daytime sleepiness may need a different assessment.
Last updated 9 September 2026
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What is happening at night and during the day?
You might struggle to fall asleep, wake repeatedly, wake too early or sleep for a long time without feeling refreshed. The frequency, how long it has been happening and the effect on daily life matter. An occasional difficult night is different from a problem that keeps disrupting your day.
Insomnia involves difficulty sleeping despite having the opportunity to sleep, with effects during the day. Feeling low in energy is different from feeling likely to doze off. Mention unplanned naps or falling asleep during activities, as well as snoring, gasping or breathing pauses noticed by someone else. These observations help assessment; they do not identify a diagnosis on their own.
What can contribute to poor sleep?
Stress, anxiety, low mood, pain, physical illness and medicines can affect sleep. Alcohol may make you feel sleepy initially but disrupt sleep later. Caffeine, nicotine and other substances can also affect the pattern. Shift work, irregular sleep times and not having enough opportunity to sleep may be part of the picture.
Hot flushes and night sweats around menopause can interrupt sleep. Breathing concerns, night-time asthma symptoms or needing to wee may also wake you. More than one contributor can be present; poor sleep is not simply a failure to relax or follow a routine. Waking at a particular hour does not establish the cause.
What can help persistent insomnia?
Treatment for persistent insomnia can address both what started the problem and the habits or worries that keep it going. Treating pain, mood symptoms or another contributor can be part of the plan.
A structured approach to sleep and worry
CBT-I is a recommended first treatment for persistent insomnia. It combines learning about sleep with practical changes to habits and ways of responding to worry. It can help rebuild the connection between bed and sleep, reduce time spent lying awake feeling frustrated, and challenge fears about the consequences of a poor night.
The approach may include relaxation skills and an individually planned sleep schedule. Learning new habits takes practice, with progress reviewed over time. Some techniques change time spent in bed and need individual guidance; do not sharply cut your sleep opportunity yourself, especially if you are already very sleepy or have other health conditions.
A GP can discuss whether CBT-I could help and how to find suitable support through a trained clinician or an evidence-based digital programme. HerDoc offers GP assessment and advice; CBT-I programmes are provided by other services.
Everyday changes that can support sleep
Choose manageable changes that fit your circumstances. Helpful starting points include:
- Aim for a regular waking time and allow enough opportunity for sleep. If you work shifts, discuss a routine that fits your roster.
- Make time to wind down before bed and keep the room comfortable, quiet and dark.
- Notice caffeine, nicotine and alcohol use, especially near your intended sleep time. Avoid relying on alcohol to get to sleep.
- If you are lying awake becoming frustrated, try a quiet, relaxing activity and return to bed when sleepy, if it is safe for you to get up.
- Include daylight and physical activity during your waking day where practical.
Review medicines and what you have already tried
A GP can review medicines and supplements that may affect sleep or cause next-day drowsiness, and discuss treatment choices in the context of your health. Have their names and any recent changes handy. Do not stop or change prescribed medicines without advice.
Good sleep habits can support treatment, but they may not be enough for persistent insomnia.
What information helps your GP appointment?
A few notes can help reveal a pattern. Estimates are enough; you do not need to keep checking the clock through the night or delay an appointment to finish a diary. Existing notes or relevant reports can be uploaded during intake.
- When the problem began, how often it happens and what has changed recently.
- Rough bedtime, time to fall asleep, night waking, final waking time and daytime naps.
- How rested or sleepy you feel, unplanned dozing, and effects on work, caring, concentration or driving.
- Snoring, gasping, choking or breathing pauses noticed during sleep.
- Medicines, supplements, caffeine, alcohol and other substance use, including recent changes.
- Shift work, pain, hot flushes, urinary symptoms, mood changes, stress and any concerns about your safety.
How can a HerDoc GP help you plan the next step?
A HerDoc GP can assess sleep concerns by phone, review your history and medicines, and discuss practical treatment options. You can book without knowing the cause. Together, you can identify what to address first.
A HerDoc GP can arrange blood tests or provide a referral when the assessment supports it. Tests are not needed for every sleep concern. If an examination is needed, your GP can explain where to seek local care.
Agree what change to look for, such as less time awake or better daytime function, and when to review progress. If symptoms persist, change or the plan is not helping, arrange follow-up. A later HerDoc appointment, including a result-review consultation, is booked and charged separately.
What about snoring, gasping or daytime sleepiness?
Snoring alone does not mean you have obstructive sleep apnoea. In this condition, the airway repeatedly narrows or closes during sleep. Book a GP appointment for repeated gasping, choking or witnessed breathing pauses, even if you do not feel sleepy during the day. Sleep tips alone may not address the cause.
Symptoms alone cannot confirm sleep apnoea. A clinician may recommend a sleep study when the history suggests it would help. HerDoc does not provide a sleep laboratory or CPAP service. If you already have a sleep diagnosis, have previous reports and your existing care details ready, and keep follow-up with the team managing it.
If you are too sleepy to drive or operate machinery safely, do not do so. Arrange another way to travel. If sleepiness develops while driving, pull over somewhere safe and stop driving; an open window or loud music will not make it safe to continue. Seek prompt medical advice when sleepiness is making daily activities unsafe.
When should you seek earlier care?
Book a GP appointment when sleep problems keep happening or affect your day, or someone notices repeated gasping or breathing pauses during sleep. These concerns need assessment but are not usually an emergency on their own. Seek earlier care for the situations below.
Seek prompt local assessment
Seek prompt medical advice for marked daytime sleepiness, repeated unplanned dozing or sleepiness that makes work or travel unsafe. Do not drive yourself if you are too sleepy to travel safely.
If very little sleep comes with unusually high energy, racing thoughts, impulsive behaviour or a major change in mood, seek urgent mental-health or local medical assessment. This is different from being tired and frustrated after a poor night.
Call 000 for an emergency
Call 000 for severe breathing difficulty, collapse, inability to wake someone normally or sudden confusion. Do not wait for an online appointment.
If you may act on thoughts of suicide or self-harm, or cannot stay safe, call 000 or go to the nearest emergency department now.
Sources and further reading
Australian sources supporting this guide; these organisations have not reviewed or endorsed HerDoc.
When to seek urgent care
Call 000 for severe breathing difficulty, collapse, difficulty waking someone or sudden confusion. Use emergency care if you cannot stay safe.
Talk through your sleep concerns with a GP
Discuss the pattern, what you have tried and what next step could help. Seek earlier local care when symptoms affect your safety.