Insomnia

The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute has a comprehensive overview of insomnia covering all the major issues. Causes, risks, signs and symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment are addressed using bullet points and brief, succinct paragraphs of text. Use the table of contents on the left to navigate through this quality introduction.

FamilyDoctor.org , a Web site operated by the American Academy of Family Physicians, has an article called "Insomnia: How to Get a Good Night's Sleep" that offers an introduction to insomnia and advice on how to cure it. You'll find advice on improving your sleep habits, a discussion of the usefulness (or lack thereof) of sleeping pills, and tips for getting better sleep.

The National Women's Health Information Center has an insomnia section in FAQ format that covers what insomnia is, what causes it, and how it's diagnosed and treated. Perhaps the most interesting section for female readers is the one entitled, "Do women suffer from insomnia more than men?" The answer to this question is yes.

KidsHealth For Parents , created by the Nemours Foundation, has an article designed to help new parents understand the sleep habits of their children, covering babies, teenagers, and everyone in between. Although it doesn't deal directly with insomnia, it provides a solid understanding of how much sleep children should get at different ages, citing common obstacles at each level so you can better identify any problems.

KidsHealth TeenPage 's article on teen sleeping problems begins with a pretty lame anecdote about a fictional high-schooler named Garret, but paints an accurate picture of how the issues teens face can lead to difficulty sleeping. Insomnia is just one of the disorders listed. About midway down, there's a section on other disorders that may be interfering with sleep, such as restless leg syndrome or sleep apnea. Click on "good sleeping habits," in the last paragraph, for a link to another KidsHealth article that gives several suggestions for a good night's sleep.

The National Institute on Aging 's "AgePage" has sleeping disorder information for seniors. The overview of insomnia isn't much different than what you'd find on any of these other sites, but the sections on getting better sleep are customized for an older audience. Find links and contact information for other resources at the bottom of the page.

WebMD 's treatment overview includes information on behavior therapy, medication, and complementary and alternative medicine. All throughout the article you'll find useful links to more WebMD information, like this guide to determining when you should take sleeping pills.

The National Sleep Foundation 's "Treatment for Insomnia Center" is a useful resource, providing information on cognitive behavioral therapy, a nonmedical treatment approach to insomnia, and hypnotics (medication, not to be confused with hypnosis). There's also a great overview article on treatments.

The University of Virginia Health System 's "Mens Health" section has a bullet-point rundown of what insomnia is. Scroll down a bit to reach the "Guidelines that may help sleep problems" section, which offers a list of 14 practical steps one can take to get better sleep. Though it's in the men's health section, this guideline is a great resource for anyone looking to improve sleep habits.

MedicineNet has a guide to insomnia that includes an overview of two popular over-the-counter sleep aids: antihistamines and melatonin. For each, you'll find details on dosing, pregnancy and lactation, children, and drug interactions.

Well.com has a list of 41 ideas for ways to get better sleep. Heed the disclaimer: the person who compiled the list is "not a physician or sleep researcher" and has "collected some folk remedies and methods and provided them here for your convenience." 

Zen-Habits offers just three tips, one being "Waking up early," which contains a link to an article with tips on how to train yourself to wake up earlier.

MedlinePlus 's sleep disorders page is an incredibly comprehensive directory for information on insomnia. There are more than 100 related links on the page, so if you're looking for additional information, this would be a good place to start. Navigate the page either through the categorized list of links on the screen or by scrolling down for a complete listing.

The National Sleep Foundation' s site is a trove of information. The "Resources" section in the navigation bar on the left contains links to general information on sleep, and lists NSF programs and events. In the "My Sleep" section, you can access blogs or forums, or read the latest news headlines in "Features."

SleepDisordersGuide , a blog named one of the best sleep disorder sites on the Web by HealthCentral.com, has 21 archived entries on insomnia that cover the results of recent studies, experimental treatments, and other late-breaking news. To read recent posts or to browse other related categories click on the links at the right of the page. 

MedicalNewsToday 's "Health News" has a section on sleep, sleep disorders, and insomnia that's updated daily. You can either browse the recent headlines or use their "Archive Search," but be specific if you use the search-a search for "insomnia," for instance, yields more than 3,400 articles.

ScienceDaily provides the latest news headlines and updates on this page. Either visit the site periodically or sign up for their RSS feed to be notified when insomnia- or sleep-related news is changed or updated. 

Journal Sleep is the official publication of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies. Contents are geared toward scientists and clinicians engaged in sleep study and research. Articles are scholarly in nature and deal with complex medical issues related to sleep. You'll need to subscribe to the journal to access the online content, but if you're looking for an in-depth look into the scientific and medical community's take on insomnia, it may be worth the investment. Membership in the American Academy of Sleep Medicine or the Sleep Research Society will also get you access.