What Causes Persistent Sleeplessness?

Posted on Fri, 17 Nov 2017

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Fri, 17 Nov 2017 Answered on

Fri, 20 Apr 2018 Last reviewed on

Question : I was a flight attendant for 36 years and flew all over the planet. my sleep was normal at first but when I started flying only international my sleep became a serious problem. I was exhaused and could barely do my job. The worst part was when I could even sleep at home. I have no energy and I used to ski and scuba dive. This has been going on since the mid 90's. Please help me before it kills me
Pepper jensen
2433 Chattahoochee Cir
Roswell, GA 30075

Answered by Dr. Ornela Ademovi (3 hours later)

Brief Answer:
CBT

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

I understand your concern. Insomnia is known to be a common problem for people who have done extensive travelling through different time zones.
In order for me to give you a more accurate answer, I need more information such as your full medical history, the medications you have used in the past, your sleep habits, how much caffeine you consume daily (if any), whether you have undergone sleep studies to identify the cause of insomnia.

Assuming you have already done sleep studies, have had a thorough medical check up and established that no underlying medical conditions are responsible for insomnia, I recommend cognitive behavioral therapy as the best alternative to prescription medication.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is compounded by a number of techniques to teach you sleep habits and behavior changes to treat your insomnia. This kind of therapy takes time, effort and patience and besides being the first line of treatment for insomnia it has proven very successful in treating this condition.

I hope I provided useful information that will help you overcome this problem. I would be glad to answer any further questions you might have.

Wishing you good health and all the best.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T