Sleep Difficulties (Insomnia)
Retrain a nervous system that learned to stay awake when it should be resting.
Sleep difficulties are very common among current- and ex-serving ADF members. Military environments often require irregular hours, rapid shifts in routine, and long periods of heightened alertness, patterns that can disrupt the body’s natural sleep system long after service conditions change. Sleep difficulties often present as:
How sleep difficulties may present
- Difficulty falling asleep
lying awake with a racing mind or replaying events from the day.
- Frequent waking
being alert to every noise, movement, or perceived threat in the environment.
- Restless, non-restorative sleep
waking up exhausted despite spending hours in bed.
- Overreliance on late-night distractions
such as scrolling, gaming, or working, because sleep feels unachievable or unsafe.
Veteran-informed recovery, built around you.
These patterns are often the result of prolonged hyper-vigilance, operational tempo, chronic stress, or pain, all of which condition the nervous system to stay awake when it should be resting. Our team supports you by:
- Identifying the service-related factors contributing to disrupted sleep.
- Teaching practical, evidence-based strategies to retrain the brain and body for healthy sleep.
- Addressing underlying contributors, such as anxiety, chronic pain, or transition stress.
Our Wellbeing Clinicians
