Urban living has become more stressful due to the burdens of a working and socializing lifestyle, making occasional insomnia or poor sleep quality common.  If you suffer from anxiety and worry about falling asleep; or you mistakenly think that “sleep quality” means falling asleep immediately, and so you force yourself to sleep as soon as possible, this additional psychological pressure will only make it more difficult to fall asleep.  It may even form a vicious cycle leading to chronic insomnia.

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Does insomnia require a visit to the doctor?  If you only have insomnia occasionally, then there is no need to worry too much. But if insomnia seriously affects your work and lifestyle for over a month, you can consult your family doctor first. Your family doctor can evaluate your situation and consider referring you to a psychiatric physician.  A psychiatrist can diagnose the severity of your insomnia by inquiring about the duration of your insomnia, if it impacts your life, and the number of sleep hours per night.