Step 1: choose the right timing

We do not start weaning anytime . If you're going through a period of significant stress or socks, it's better not to risk crushing more black. This is the surest way to rush even more voraciously on the plate that had been "forgotten" under the clock radio. The best is to talk with your GP and plan your nights without sleeping pills with method and circumspection.

Step 2: be patient

Who goes piano sano. Sleeping pills are like the pounds, you do not get rid of them in 15 days. To engage in weaning is to give oneself 6 months minimum . You have to decrease your "dose" in steps until you feel good. From 1 tablet, we go to 3/4, then, when everything is fine, to 1/2, then to 1/4. Each level can take a week, a month or more depending on the individual. When you come to the last quarter, you have to alternate the catch one day out of two , then one out of three and so on until the total stop.

Step 3: It's never too late to lie down

A basic principle: do not let yourself dictate his schedule by his insomnia. We go to bed only when the desire to sleep is felt. And if, in the half-hour, we have not managed to fall asleep, we have to get up, change rooms, read, look at a document on the marmots ... in short, wait calmly that the call of the quilt is felt again. On the other hand, no negotiation with the alarm clock. We must always get up at the same time , especially if we slept badly! Attempting to make up for lost time by sleeping or napping is a mistake. This rab is not restorative, it even helps to undermine the architecture of our sleep.

Step 4: Dedramatize

Not sleeping or sleeping poorly when sleeping with sleeping pills is normal . We must allow our body time to adapt without panic: the fear of not getting sleep is one of the best ways to lose it. Yoga, relaxation, small rituals to chase away invasive thoughts : everything that allows you to relax physically but, above all, mentally, is good to learn. Also try cognitive and behavioral therapies (CBT). Increasingly used in the treatment of chronic insomnia, they allow, in a few weeks, to re-educate one's sleep and to learn how to manage nights without sleeping aid (see the nearest Sleep Center).

Step 5: do not do sitting room in bed

Our brains hate contradictory injunctions. If you do not want him to stay awake, it is better to make it clear to him and reserve the room for sleep. We ban TV, meal trays and bed folders. Even reading under the comforter is not advisable . Do not put screens either between you and your sleep : 40% of insomniacs surf the Internet or play video games before bed . * Finally, not to mention the quality of the mattress and that of the pillow it is necessary to think of ventilating the room, the temperature having to be between 18 and 20 ° C.

* 2008 INPES survey on attitudes, knowledge and practices of 25-45 year olds in France.

Step 6: Sleep like a flower

Linden, chamomile, hops ...: Herbal medicine is part of the recommendations of the High Health Authority for the management of insomnia due to stress or recent worries. But if passing on herbal teas can help do without hypnotics, a bad sleeper will remain if he locks himself in the certainty of needing a product to close his eyes. Being unable to fall asleep without the chamomile is a sign that you have not yet escaped the insomnia trap.

More information and addresses of centers on www.institut-sommeil-vigilance.org