Insomnia may involve trouble falling asleep, waking repeatedly or waking too early. When poor sleep affects mood, concentration, work or relationships, assessment can help. Dr. Saira Farhan provides sleep and insomnia treatment in Karachi, Pakistan, with online appointments when clinically suitable.
When insomnia treatment may help
Consider seeking support if you regularly experience:
- Difficulty falling asleep even when you have enough time to rest
- Sleep-maintenance insomnia, with repeated waking and difficulty returning to sleep
- Early-morning waking, broken sleep or anxiety about bedtime
- Daytime exhaustion, irritability, poor concentration or reduced functioning
- Sleep disruption connected with anxiety, depression, stress, trauma or chronic pain
- Shift-work, travel or irregular routines that have disturbed your body clock
Chronic insomnia generally occurs at least three nights a week for three months, with daytime effects. Seek help sooner when poor sleep affects health, safety or functioning.
What can cause ongoing sleep problems?
Anxiety, low mood, pain, physical illness, menopause, caffeine, substances, medicines, stimulants or an irregular schedule can affect sleep. Anxiety-related insomnia can become a cycle in which worrying about sleep makes it harder to sleep.
Assessment considers both nights and days. A one or two-week sleep diary recording bedtimes, awakenings, naps, caffeine, medicines and daytime sleepiness can show patterns that memory may miss.
Insomnia, sleep apnoea and sleep paralysis
Loud snoring, choking or gasping, witnessed breathing pauses and marked daytime sleepiness may suggest sleep apnoea. This requires medical assessment and sometimes a sleep study. Supplements are not sleep apnoea treatment.
Sleep paralysis is a brief inability to move or speak while falling asleep or waking. It can be frightening but is not automatically psychosis. Frequent episodes or severe daytime sleepiness need local assessment.
Very little sleep combined with unusually high energy, racing thoughts, rapid speech, extreme irritability, risky behaviour, confusion or hallucinations is different from ordinary insomnia and needs urgent local assessment. Routine appointments and WhatsApp are not crisis services.
Insomnia treatment beyond sleeping tablets
Treatment depends on the cause and pattern. It may address sleep timing, a consistent waking time, the connection between bed and wakefulness, sleep-related thoughts, relaxation, caffeine and screen use. A sleep routine can help, but routine advice alone may not resolve chronic insomnia.
Medication is not automatic. When considered, its benefits, risks, interactions and review plan should be discussed individually. Do not start, change or stop sleeping medication without speaking to the prescriber. Foods and supplements are not cures for chronic insomnia.
Where work pressure or exhaustion is driving the sleep problem, Stress & Burnout may be relevant. For ongoing prescribing and monitoring, see Medication Management.
Appointments in Karachi, Pakistan and abroad
Dr. Saira Farhan is an FCPS-qualified psychiatrist and trained psychotherapist. Her experience in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia helps her understand how work, night duties, family responsibilities, travel and migration can affect sleep.
Appointments are available in Karachi and online across Pakistan when suitable. Pakistani and South Asian adults in the UK, United States, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands or the Gulf may enquire in Urdu or English. Availability depends on location, clinical needs and professional rules. Some sleep problems require local testing or in-person care.
Fees and booking
Appointments cost Rs. 6,000 and usually last 25 to 30 minutes. To book in Karachi or enquire about an online appointment, message WhatsApp at +92 321 5588832. A short appointment request is enough.