Falling asleep shouldn’t take hours and hours. If you have problems falling asleep, then you’re likely to be suffering from insomnia. However it would be wise to seek medical professional help for a proper diagnosis.

Difficulty falling asleep affects almost everyone at some point in their lives. There’s usually nothing to be alarmed about, however if you’re suffering from frequent and persistent sleeplessness, it’s important to take action.

Not everyone is the same. Some people have stronger sleep cycles with faster onset of sleep. These people take no time falling asleep and often wake up naturally at the same time everyday. Other people may have weaker sleep cycles, taking a lot longer to drift into deep sleep. They may also wake up frequently during the night and wake up feeling unrefreshed.

Regardless of this, insomnia can affect absolutely anyone. Insomnia is often a learned condition that persists through negative conditioning of the subconscious mind. Insomnia isn’t always a learned habit. It’s quite common for an insomniac to sabotage themselves from falling asleep, through negative thinking.

Even a normal sleeper who has had undisturbed sleep for the past 30 years can develop insomnia. Triggers are often because of psychological or physical problems. Emotional stress is a common trigger for insomnia. Losing a family member, facing financial crisis, marriage problems – these can all cause much stress on one’s physical and mental health.

There’s a strong connection between health and sleep. Without sleep, your health suffers and vice versa. Difficulty falling asleep may sometimes be temporary too. Jet lag, moving home, sleeping in a strange place – environment changes can affect sleep.

Falling asleep is a lot easier if you can let go of stress, worry and thoughts and let the unconscious part of the mind take over so that you can drift off to sleep. This is easier said than done however, since it can be difficult for some to even relax for more than a minute.

In many cases falling asleep easily can be a learned habit. Through techniques such as hypnosis and brainwave entrainment it’s possible to get a good night sleep.