SumikoAt60: Can't sleep? Try the '4-7-8' and leaves on a stream' techniques

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia, or CBT-I, is the first line of treatment for those who struggle to fall asleep.

- Sumiko Tan

There's a certain sound of rain that takes me back to my childhood.

I'm five years old and lying with my grandpa on his green, foldable canvas bed.

Our house has a zinc roof extension and, when it rains, the sound of water hitting sheets of corrugated metal lulls me into a deep sleep.

I've always loved rain and whenever I can't sleep, I find myself searching for that childhood sound that still lives somewhere inside my head.

You Tube and Spotify have a long menu of rain sounds. Night rain, gentle rain, rainforest rain, rain on a car at night. You're spoilt for choice.

But I've not been able to locate the soundtrack of those rainy nights with my grandpa.

I'm not one of those people blessed with the gift of sound sleep.

At various stages in my life, and for varying periods, I've suffered from insomnia.

Mostly, it is the inability to fall asleep. Occasionally, it is waking up and not being able to drift back.

After a long period of relatively good sleep, I've been going through a rough patch over the past month.

I've turned to the usual sources for help. Reading, chamomile tea, essential oils and a range of soothing sounds from phone apps - rain, waves, birds, religious chants, bedtime stories and relaxation and meditation guides.

The results have been uneven, and I'm hoping that an upcoming holiday will break this cycle of bad sleep and ease my bedtime anxiety.

Indeed, anxiety and sleep are bad bedfellows.

Anxiety impairs sleep, sleep deprivation increases anxiety, and when you then also start to fear not being able to fall asleep, it all becomes a vicious circle.

Psychologist Ietaime Muk at Sengkang General Hospital's (SKH) department of psychology sees this all the time in her patients.

Most who seek help for insomnia face daily stresses that cause sleep problems.