For most people, a bad night's sleep is an occasional nuisance. For Hannah Townsend, a life without proper rest is her relentless, everyday reality. The presenter and TikTok creator has suffered from insomnia since she was a baby, and now in her 30s, she is speaking out about the profound physical and mental impact of a condition that is often misunderstood.
Her recent online revelations have struck a powerful chord, resonating with the one in three people in the UK who also struggle with insomnia. Despite its prevalence, the disorder is frequently trivialised, leaving many to suffer in silence.
The Vicious Cycle of a Sleepless Day
Hannah's experience offers a stark window into the life of an insomniac. The night before speaking with Metro, she finally managed to fall asleep around 4am. Waking for work at 9am, her mornings are enveloped in a "fog." She describes trying to rally with very little sleep, feeling "very cloudy."
Physically, the lack of sleep is most evident in the morning. Hannah notes that during bad periods, she looks "really, really bad" and extremely tired – feedback she receives all too often. Dr. Ritz Birah, a psychologist and sleep adviser, confirms this state, noting that for insomniacs, "the morning brings heaviness rather than renewal." This "sleep hangover" occurs because their nervous systems produce more cortisol, the stress hormone, to compensate for inadequate rest.
By the afternoon, a different challenge emerges: anxiety. Hannah explains that from around midday, she begins to spiral with worry about the prospect of another sleepless night. The fear of not sleeping becomes the very thing that prevents it. To combat this, she adopts an intense strategy of exhausting herself through activities like going to the gym, hoping sheer physical depletion will force sleep upon her.
This sentiment is echoed by a fellow insomniac who commented on one of her videos: "Lifelong insomniac since childhood here as well. Once you get to the point of having anxiety about going to sleep, it’s really difficult to overcome."
The Stigma and the Serious Health Consequences
Hannah also highlights a social stigma. "It doesn’t go down well if you tell people that you don’t like sleeping," she says. In a society that glorifies sleep as a cure-all, being "anti-sleep" can be isolating.
Experts agree that insomnia is not taken seriously enough. Kathryn Pinkham, founder of The Insomnia Clinic, states that it is often dismissed as "just a bad night’s sleep," when in reality it is a serious condition. Dr Zoe Gotts, a clinical psychologist, adds that people with insomnia are often told to simply "relax," advice we would never give to someone with chronic pain.
The long-term effects are far from trivial. According to Dr Allie Hare, a consultant in sleep medicine, insomnia is associated with:
- An increased risk of workplace accidents and injuries.
- A 45% increased risk of developing or dying from cardiovascular disease.
- Higher risks of hypertension, diabetes, and heart failure.
Dr Hare has treated patients whose marriages have broken down and who have lost their jobs due to the debilitating nature of the condition.
Hope on the Horizon: Insomnia is Treatable
The crucial message from specialists is that insomnia is highly treatable. The most effective method is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). Kathryn Pinkham explains that CBT combines education with behavioural changes and strategies like sleep restriction to reset the body's clock.
She shares a success story of a patient who, after months of only 2-3 hours of sleep per night, learned to stop trying to control her sleep. Through consistent changes, she achieved a regular 6-hour sleep window, which dramatically improved her mood and life.
For Hannah, who has tried various medications without a lasting solution, the battle continues. However, she finds solace in the community her video has created, receiving up to 30 direct messages daily from people sharing similar struggles. Her final word is one of hope: "I’m trying not to be cliché, but it will get better... You’re not the only person who can’t sleep."
