Being exhausted should make falling asleep easy. Yet for people with chronic insomnia, bedtime can become a frustrating cycle of watching the clock, chasing sleep and worrying about the next day.
The CALMS framework offers a structured way to address habits, body clock disruptions and an overactive mind that can keep this cycle going. In this video, Dr Lee Chuen Peng, Medical Director of O2 SleepWell Laboratory and Respiratory Physician at O2 Lung Centre, explains how these factors fit together.
What Is The CALMS Framework For Insomnia?
CALMS is a five-part guide to supporting sleep: Check the causes, Align your body clock, Link bed with sleep, Maximise sleep pressure, and Soothe your mind and body. It looks beyond the moments before bedtime to consider how daily routines and responses to sleeplessness can affect the night ahead.
For readers who prefer a quick summary:
- Check The Causes: Consider what may be disrupting sleep, without turning the search for an explanation into another source of worry.
- Align Your Body Clock: Use consistent wake times and light exposure to support a regular sleep–wake rhythm.
- Link Bed With Sleep: Recognise sleepiness and reduce time spent lying awake and frustrated in bed.
- Maximise Sleep Pressure: Understand how naps and sleeping in can affect the natural urge to sleep.
- Soothe Your Mind And Body: Create space to wind down and ease the pressure to fall asleep.
Why Can Trying Harder To Sleep Backfire?
Sleep can become harder when bedtime feels like a test. Monitoring every minute awake and calculating how little rest remains can add to the anxiety around sleep.
A central message of the video is to shift attention towards conditions that support rest, rather than demanding sleep on cue. Watch Dr Lee explain how to put each part of CALMS into practice.
If sleep difficulties persist or affect daily life, speak to a healthcare professional. A sleep routine can be helpful, but ongoing insomnia deserves individual assessment.
