I'm a 23 year old female and i've never suffered from any sleep problems in the past so just need some advice. I recently came back from a 2 week holiday in dominican republic and had to take a course of malaria tablets (2 tablets as a single dose for 1 week before I went, whilst I was there and for 4 weeks when I returned). I finished my final dose last tuesday and had my last (or what I hope is my last) sleepless night last night (sunday).

Do you think this is why i'm having trouble getting to sleep? I just don't understand it. This has been happening since I got back from my holiday (so just over a month now). I'm scared to go to bed in case I can't fall asleep, whereas before, I loved my sleep and never had problems getting off (even if I did have things worrying me). I'm also finding that I get really hot in the night sometimes but I know this isn't the reason why I can't get to sleep.

Also, I just thought - before I went on holiday, I used to go to the gym a minimum of 2 times a week and for a good few weeks before I went, I was going about 4 or 5 times a week. I was also eating more healthily - i'd have porridge for breakfast, ham salad for lunch and then oven chips and chicken for dinner. Well when I went on holiday, I didn't do any exercise, apart from swimming, and I ate what I liked which was basically junk food. Since coming back, I haven't been back to the gym and I haven't really changed my eating plan back to the way it was. I'm skipping breakfast a lot and then eating chips or jacket potato with cheese and beans for lunch and then my usual dinner of oven chips and chicken/steak etc. Could this be why?

It doesn't happen every night that I can't sleep, but it does happen about 3 or 4 times a week. I'm getting really upset with this now. I've bought some sleeping pills and they do get me to sleep but I don't want to have to rely on these!

When i'm lying awake at night, i'm just thinking about stupid things like when I passed my driving test (which was 5 years ago), my holiday, just things like that. I have nothing worrying me at the moment, except from not getting to sleep. I'm thinking that maybe i'm suffering from insomnia because i'm so paranoid of not getting to sleep that this thought keeps me awake. I seem to sleep ok at weekends, when I know I don't have to get up so is it this? If so, any tips on how I can cure myself?


Please help!!!