Your sleep problems SOLVED!

Waking in the night? Having trouble nodding off? Whatever your sleep issue, our experts have the answers

- KAREN EVENNETT

Have you seen the 'funny' Sleeping in British Summer pie chart doing the rounds? Only a tiny fragment of time is taken up with sleeping. Most of the night we're sticking one leg out of the duvet, turning our pillows over, or despairing that the birds are beginning to sing - while we're still trying to get back to sleep!

Of course, it's no joke if you're the one in three Brits who regularly struggles to fall asleep or stay asleep long enough to feel refreshed the next morning.

And it's even less amusing if you're the one in 10 who suffers with chronic insomnia - meaning you've been sleeping badly for years.

Even if this is the case, though, you should be able to turn your sleep around, according to Dr Nicola Barclay, a Sleep Scientist and Psychologist at the Sleep Universal research consultancy.

'Your genes can make you more susceptible to insomnia, she says. 'But, thankfully, most of the issues that trigger a sleepless night can be managed successfully.

Don't let worries keep you awake

It's normal for stress to keep you awake - and as long as your sleep gets back to normal within three months, there's nothing too much to be concerned about.

'Specialists call this short-term insomnia, and it's very common, explains Dr Barclay. 'Worries around work, family issues and daily life can all lead to an overactive mind at bedtime. But physiological reactions to stress, such as a racing heart, also make it harder to get to sleep.

'Managing stress, particularly before bedtime, and making time earlier in the day to think through life's pressures, can help to clear your mind for sleep. But this isn't always enough. For some people, sleep problems persist long after the stressful trigger has passed.