So what type of sleeper are you?

CHECK the statements below and tick the ones that most apply to you.

1 WHEN I AM GETTING READY FOR BED . . .

A: Having felt sleepy all evening, as soon as I brush my teeth and put my pyjamas on I start to wake up again. B: I start feeling stressed and anxious and put off going to bed for as long as possible. C: I make a cup to tea to help me relax and take it up to bed. D: I can’t wait to get into my warm bed and fall asleep. E: I usually go to bed late, exhausted and ready to sleep.

2 WHEN I AM IN BED . . .

A: I tend to lie there for ages getting frustrated or anxious no matter how early I’ve gone to bed or how hard I try to sleep. B: I find myself in alert mode — poised to react to any noise. C: I like to finish off emails and have one last check of my phone. D: I drop off to sleep quickly — it can take 30 minutes or so if I’ve had a busy or stressful day. E: I’m usually asleep before my head hits the pillow.

3 IF I WAKE IN THE NIGHT . . .

A: I’ll check the clock and work out how little sleep I’ll have and how tired I’ll be tomorrow. B: It will be because something like traffic noise has disturbed me or I’m suddenly too hot. C: I will reach for my tablet/phone/laptop. D: I usually just turn over and fall straight back to sleep. E: I don’t tend to wake at night.

4 IF I CAN’T GET BACK TO SLEEP . . .

A: I become angry and frustrated, but lie as still as possible and try very hard to fall back to sleep. B: I can’t stop focusing on the noise around me — a dripping tap, my partner’s snoring — and I lie awake for hours. C: I catch up on a bit of reading, snuggle with the dog or flick on the TV. D: I rarely stay awake for long but, if I do, I just doze for a bit until sleep kicks back in. E: I drop off again quickly.

5 AS SOON AS I WAKE IN THE MORNING . . .

A: I crawl out of bed and groan at how tired my face looks in the mirror. B: I desperately want to keep sleeping — it feels as if I have been awake most of the night. C: I hit the snooze button and plan a nap for this afternoon. D: I just get up — some mornings I feel more tired than others. E: It’s usually very early, so I feel like I could have slept for longer, but I have to get out of bed to get started on the day.

6 DURING THE DAY . . .

A: I can’t stop thinking about my sleep and how tired I am. B: I’m always tired, but I’ll try to catch up at the weekend. C: I drink plenty of strong coffee to prop myself up (and nap if I can’t keep going). D: If I have had a late night the evening before, I feel tired, but usually I’m fine. E: I’m shattered, but I push through everything I have to do, too busy to let the tiredness affect me.

7 MY SLEEP PROBLEM . . .

A: Is terrible — I’ve tried everything, but my sleep just gets worse and worse. B: Became much worse when I had children/went through the menopause — but I have always been a light sleeper. C: Comes and goes. D: Is intermittent, most nights are good. E: Is just a question of time, if there were more hours in the day, I’d be fine.

8 I THINK OF MY BEDROOM AS . . .

A: My nightly battleground. B: Not particularly peaceful— it’s alive with distractions. C: My home office/library/ television room. D: A sanctuary of peace. E: A place to spend as little time as possible. Now add up your scores...

IF YOU TICK MOSTLY As: THE NON-SLEEPER

YOU’VE probably been struggling with sleep for years and your brain automatically thinks of bed as a battleground. This triggers a stress response, making good sleep very difficult.

Although you may have periods of solid rest, the poor sleep dominates. Very often nonsleepers like you will have developed rituals and habits over the years (snoozing on the sofa, going to bed early or napping at the weekend) in your efforts to boost your sleep time.

Unfortunately, these can exacerbate your problem. Although you dedicate much of your time to improving sleep, the harder you try, the worse things seem to get.

Your insomnia might have begun suddenly or have developed over years. Worrying about it makes you anxious as bedtime approaches.

During the night, your mind might be buzzing with racing thoughts (about sleep or lack of it). But the more you worry, the more tense you become and the less likely it is you will be able to drop off again.

IF YOU TICK MOSTLY Bs: THE FRAGILE SLEEPER

YOU are extremely sensitive to noises, temperature and things going on inside your own body, and find it very difficult to stop listening out, so you can’t switch off. You could be the sort of person who has never slept well. Ask your parents — were you a tricky sleeper as a child?

Alternatively, fragile sleep can start when you have a baby and spend months on alert, during menopause when hormonal changes fracture your sleep, or if in later years, you find yourself dealing with chronic pain.

This can make you hyperaroused to your environment and internal systems, which makes it very difficult for you to fully shut off at night.

IF YOU TICK MOSTLY Cs: THE CHAOTIC SLEEPER

THIS hugely common form of insomnia can creep up on you over the years as you pick up lifestyle habits that sabotage your sleep.

Too much coffee during the day, boozy nights or exercising in the evening can render you vulnerable to poor sleep, and ‘nesting’ in your bedroom is worse — do you happily relax in bed with a TV, your laptop, mobile phone, snacks, drinks and the family pets? All these factors point at what specialists call ‘poor sleep hygiene’ which, without you realising, could be ruining your sleep.

IF YOU TICK MOSTLY Ds: THE GOOD SLEEPER

YOUR sleep patterns sound very good — well done! You are one of the lucky ones. Perhaps there are odd days when you find it tougher to fall asleep, and you may wake up at night or too early in the morning, but the majority of your nights are uninterrupted.

But, be warned, you could still be vulnerable to insomnia at some point in your life.

IF YOU TICK MOSTLY Es: THE RUSHED SLEEPER

YOUR busy life means sleep has become an inconvenience and something which just has to be fitted in at the end of the day.

You are likely to be burning the candle at both ends, going to bed too late and getting up early for work, then trying to catch up on your sleep with long lie-ins at the weekend.

But if you’re tired and tetchy during the day, your problem might be that you’re not giving yourself enough opportunity for deep restorative sleep.

Sometimes rushed sleeping habits begin in childhood if you never had set bedtimes. It can affect people who work long hours, or shift workers who struggle to sleep during the day.