Insomnia and Mental Health: Why You Can’t Sleep
Short answer: insomnia and mental health feed each other: stress, anxiety and low mood disturb sleep, and poor sleep makes them worse. Insomnia lasting 3 months or longer is called long-term insomnia, and the most effective treatment is cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), not sleeping pills (NHS).
It is common in Bangladesh too: in a 2020 survey of 975 adults, 55.1% had poor sleep quality (Islam et al., 2021). Check how severe yours is with our 2-minute insomnia test (ISI).
The link between insomnia and mental health runs deep, poor sleep fuels anxiety and low mood, which in turn wreck your sleep. Here is how to break the cycle.
Lying awake at 3am, mind racing, watching the hours slip by, insomnia is exhausting, and it is deeply tied to mental health. Poor sleep worsens anxiety and low mood; anxiety and low mood worsen sleep. Breaking that cycle changes everything.
The sleep–mental health link
Sleep and mental health run in both directions. Stress and worry keep the mind too alert to sleep; missing sleep then makes you more anxious, irritable, and low the next day. Over time this becomes a self-feeding loop.
Common causes of insomnia
- Stress, worry, and an overactive mind at night
- Anxiety or depression
- Irregular sleep schedule and late screen use
- Caffeine, naps, or stimulating activity late in the day
- A bedroom that is too bright, noisy, or warm
Sleep hygiene that helps
| Habit | Why it works |
|---|---|
| Fixed wake-up time | Anchors your body clock, even after a bad night |
| No screens 1 hour before bed | Reduces the alertness that blocks sleep |
| Bed for sleep only | Trains the brain to associate bed with rest |
| Wind-down routine | Signals the body it is safe to switch off |
| Get up if awake 20+ min | Prevents bed becoming a place of frustration |
If this is keeping you up at night, a short wind-down routine can help your body get ready for sleep.
Try it now: wind down for sleep
Do this in bed with the lights off. It takes about two minutes.
When to get help
If poor sleep lasts weeks and affects your days, it is worth addressing the root, often stress or anxiety. CBT for insomnia and for anxiety is highly effective. Try our free self-check or learn about anxiety treatment.
The 20-minute rule
One of the most effective sleep techniques is counter-intuitive: if you have been lying awake for about 20 minutes, get up. Go to another room, do something calm and dimly lit, and return only when sleepy. This stops your brain associating bed with frustration. Combined with a fixed wake-up time, it retrains your sleep over a couple of weeks, the core of what therapists call CBT for insomnia, the most effective long-term treatment.
Night shifts and irregular hours
Call centre, hospital, garment-factory and freelance work for overseas clients often means sleeping during the day. Your body clock then fights your schedule, and sleep becomes short and light. What helps: keep the same sleep window even on days off where you can, make the room fully dark (blackout curtains or an eye mask), avoid caffeine in the last half of your shift, and get bright light at the start of your “day”. If you still cannot sleep after several weeks, CBT-I can be adapted for shift work.
At Chum Wellness, psychologists treat insomnia with CBT-I online across Bangladesh and in person in Dhaka, Chattogram, Sylhet, Rajshahi and Rangpur, from ৳1,000 to ৳5,500 per session (see fees). See our insomnia and sleep counselling page, or read the Bangla guide রাতে ঘুম না আসলে করণীয়. If you ever feel unsafe or think about ending your life, call 999 now.
Sometimes self-help isn’t enough, and that’s okay. You can talk to a certified psychologist at Chum Wellness, online across Bangladesh or in person in Dhaka, Chattogram, Sylhet, Rajshahi and Rangpur.
Frequently asked questions
Why can’t I sleep even when I’m tired?
Often the mind is too alert from stress or worry. Wind-down routines and addressing the underlying anxiety help.
Is insomnia a mental health problem?
Insomnia can be both a symptom and a cause of anxiety and depression. Treating the root usually improves sleep.
How can I stop my mind racing at night?
Write worries down before bed, avoid screens, and use slow breathing. If it persists, therapy targets the worry directly.
When should I see someone about insomnia?
If poor sleep lasts more than a few weeks and affects your mood or daily function, seek support.
How this article was made
- Written by
- Aakash Chakraborty, Counselling Psychologist
- Clinical reviewer
- Jinat Jahan, Counselling Psychologist
- Last updated
- October 28, 2026
Every Chum article is written for people in Bangladesh by a Chum psychologist or our editorial team, and clinically reviewed by a certified psychologist or psychiatrist who specialises in its topic. How we review · Report an error
Where to go from here
Three next steps, from lightest to most support.
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