It's TIME to DE-THINK SLEEP

YES, YOU READ THAT CORRECTLY: DE-THINK, NOT RE-THINK. WHY? BECAUSE OUR CULTURE'S INCREASING OBSESSION WITH SLEEP MAY WELL BE WHAT'S KEEPING US AWAKE.

- ROBYN MACLARTY

'How are you sleeping?' I was a little taken aback when my GP asked me this question. I was in his office for a new Yaz script, not sleep issues.

I shrugged. 'Badly.'

'For how long?'

'Uh,' I laughed wryly, 'my whole life?'

It was true. I can't recall sleeping well since my early teens.

He proceeded to lecture me on the harmful effects of long-term sleep deprivation, such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, dementia, depression and cancer.

I maintain a healthy cynicism about the medical fraternity, having been misdiagnosed more than once, and keep doctors' fallibility front of mind before I swallow a verdict, yet I'd had an unusually sleepless few nights before my appointment, even for me, so I was more receptive than I might have been. I left with scripts for Yaz and something called Aspen Trazodone, which the doctor had assured me wasn't a sleeping pill, as such, but rather a mild, short-acting, non-addictive antidepressant with a sedative effect.

That night, I took one of the pills before bed. It worked. I slept through the night, waking partially, groggily, at one point but quickly drifting off again. A godsend! I thought.

I foisted my newfound sleep solution onto anyone who'd listen. 'They've changed my life! Really, you should look into it!'

Even better than sleeping through the night, I was no longer being woken by a sucker-punch of anxiety to my chest. Previously, I would jolt awake and my mind would latch onto anything and nothing: a work deadline, politics, a financial concern, and then, more than occasionally, the fact that I was not getting back to sleep. I'd visualise the coming day as an interminable slog to get back to bed, worry about whether I'd have enough energy to exercise or to prepare for a meeting, and wonder if I'd ever know what it's like to be anxiety-free.