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When sleep tips and store-bought sleep aids aren’t enough, it’s time for real answers.
Medically reviewed by Ravali Reddy Inja, M.D. | Review date: [Pending confirmation]
PACT Sleep Medicine is part of PACT Pulmonology and the Physicians Alliance of Connecticut network, which is partnered with Hartford HealthCare.
If you’ve tried cutting caffeine, putting your phone away, and over-the-counter sleep aids, and you still can’t sleep, you are not alone. An insomnia doctor can look for the cause, including hidden sleep disorders like sleep apnea, and guide you toward treatment backed by current research.
Request an AppointmentChronic insomnia means having trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking too early at least 3 nights a week for 3 months or longer. It also affects your days, causing tiredness, poor focus, low mood, or irritability. It happens even when you have enough time and a good place to sleep.
It’s also common, affecting roughly 10-15% of adults, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Short-term insomnia, which lasts a few nights or weeks, often follows stress, illness, or travel and goes away on its own. When it doesn’t go away, it becomes its own condition that deserves medical care.
If you’ve been told to “just relax” or that it’s “all in your head,” know that chronic insomnia is a real medical condition with real, effective treatments.
Insomnia often starts with a trigger and then keeps going on its own. Common causes and contributors include:
Work pressure, grief, a new baby, or a big move.
Lying in bed awake for hours, irregular sleep times, or long naps that make nighttime sleep harder.
The fear of another bad night can keep your brain alert at bedtime.
Chronic pain, asthma, acid reflux, heart or lung disease, thyroid problems, or menopause symptoms.
Anxiety and depression often occur alongside insomnia.
Some prescriptions, caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol.
Often, more than one cause is involved. That’s why a careful evaluation matters.
See a doctor for insomnia if:
Your sleep problems have lasted three months or longer.
You have trouble sleeping at least three nights a week.
Tiredness affects your work, school, mood, relationships, or driving.
Sleep tips and over-the-counter aids haven’t helped.
You snore, wake up gasping, or wake with headaches or a dry mouth.
You feel an urge to move your legs at night, or your bed partner notices you kick or jerk in your sleep.
You depend on alcohol or sleep aids to fall asleep.
Looking for insomnia treatment near you? PACT Sleep Medicine sees patients at our offices in Orange and Guilford, Connecticut.
We diagnose insomnia by talking with you, not with a single test. Your PACT sleep physician takes time to understand your full sleep picture.
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Your physician asks when your sleep problems started, what your nights look like, how you feel during the day, and what you’ve already tried. A bed partner can share what they notice.
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You may be asked to track your sleep for one to two weeks: when you go to bed, how long it takes to fall asleep, how often you wake, and when you get up. This shows patterns that are hard to remember.
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Short questionnaires measure how severe your insomnia is and how sleepy you feel during the day.
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Your physician checks for signs of sleep apnea, restless legs, body clock problems, and other conditions that can look like insomnia or worsen it.
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Medical conditions, mood, and medicines can all affect sleep. Your physician looks at the whole picture.
Most people with insomnia don’t need a sleep study. If your physician suspects another sleep disorder, like sleep apnea, they may order a sleep study. For people with severe insomnia, an in-lab study is recommended over a home test.
The best chronic insomnia treatment depends on what’s causing your symptoms. Your physician will talk through your options and build a plan around your goals and preferences.
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Prescription sleep medicine may be an option for some people. Under current guidelines, medicine is mainly for people who can’t do CBT-I or who still have symptoms after it. When medicine is used, guidelines suggest pairing it with CBT-I rather than using medicine alone. You may also use it short-term during a hard stretch.
Your physician weighs the benefits and risks with you, including next-day drowsiness and how long to use it. Never start or stop a sleep medicine without talking to your doctor.
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If your physician finds another condition, like sleep apnea or restless legs, treating it is part of your insomnia plan. If you need another specialist, such as for mood or a medical condition, we coordinate a referral.
Insomnia and sleep apnea often happen together, and one can hide the other. Sleep apnea causes your breathing to stop and start during sleep. Each pause can briefly wake your brain, even if you don’t remember it. Over time, this can feel exactly like insomnia: waking often, trouble staying asleep, and feeling tired all day.
Snoring, choking, or gasping during sleep
Waking with a dry mouth or morning headache
Waking up many times a night for no clear reason
High blood pressure or a bed partner who notices breathing pauses
Treating only insomnia while missing sleep apnea can leave you stuck. Because PACT Sleep Medicine is part of PACT Pulmonology, our team closely monitors breathing during sleep. Learn more about sleep apnea.
If daytime sleepiness is severe and you fall asleep at unexpected times, your physician may also consider other conditions like narcolepsy.
Children and teens can have insomnia too, from bedtime struggles in young children to body clock shifts and school stress in teens. Sometimes a child’s sleep trouble points to something else, like sleep apnea, restless legs, or anxiety.
Dr. Inja is board-certified in pediatrics and fellowship-trained in sleep medicine, and she works with families to find the cause and build a plan that fits your child.
Your physician screens for sleep apnea and other disorders that often hide behind insomnia, so you aren’t treated for the wrong problem.
Our approach follows current American Academy of Sleep Medicine guidance, including its April 2026 insomnia guideline.
Many people with insomnia have been told it’s just stress. We listen, ask detailed questions, and treat insomnia as the real medical condition it is.
Dr. Inja trained in sleep medicine at Penn and CHOP and cares for patients from infants to adults.
As part of PACT Pulmonology and the Physicians Alliance of Connecticut network, your care connects easily with other specialists when you need them.
We see patients across Connecticut at our Orange and Guilford offices.
Chronic insomnia often starts with a trigger like stress, illness, or a life change, then continues because of habits and worry about sleep. Other causes include sleep apnea, restless legs, anxiety, depression, chronic pain, and some medicines. Many people have more than one cause, which is why a full evaluation by an insomnia doctor helps.
See a doctor if you’ve had trouble sleeping at least three nights a week for three months or more, or if poor sleep affects your work, mood, or safety. You should also see a doctor if sleep tips and over-the-counter aids haven’t helped, or if you snore, gasp at night, or wake with headaches.
Doctors diagnose insomnia mainly through a detailed conversation about your sleep, health, and daily life. Your physician may ask you to keep a sleep diary for one to two weeks and fill out short questionnaires. They also screen for other sleep disorders, like sleep apnea, that can cause or worsen insomnia.
Yes. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, or CBT-I, is a structured program that changes the thoughts and habits that keep insomnia going. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine’s 2026 guideline states CBT-I alone is the most effective first-line treatment for chronic insomnia in adults. Treating related conditions, like sleep apnea, can also improve sleep.
Chronic insomnia is not a personal failing, and you don’t have to keep pushing through it. An insomnia doctor at PACT Sleep Medicine can help identify what’s keeping you awake and guide you toward effective treatment. We see adults and children across Connecticut and are accepting new patients.
PACT, LLC & PACT MSO, LLC
322 East Main Street, Suite 1B
Branford, CT 06405