It's not really a sleep problem. It's a stress problem that shows up at night.

You're exhausted — but the moment your head hits the pillow, your brain has other ideas. Work. Money. Family. That conversation you keep replaying. What might go wrong tomorrow. Round and round it goes, and before you know it, it's 3am and you're still wide awake.

Then the next day you're running on empty. Irritable, foggy, struggling to concentrate. Which makes the stress worse. Which makes the sleep worse. And so it goes on.

If this sounds familiar, you're not alone — and it's not just "bad sleep hygiene." Most sleep advice focuses on the wrong end of the problem: screens before bed, caffeine, room temperature. Useful, but if your mind is racing with worry, none of that gets to the real issue.

What actually keeps you awake is usually stress, worry, or a mind that doesn't know how to switch off — whether that's coming from work pressure, family, health, money, or just everything piling up at once. Counselling won't just give you another sleep hygiene checklist. It gives you somewhere to actually deal with what's keeping you awake, so your mind has less to run through at 3am in the first place.

This can mean a quieter mind at bedtime, fewer 3am wake-ups spent turning things over, feeling less like you're running on empty day to day, and getting back a sense of control rather than dreading bedtime.

I'm Guy, an accredited counsellor based in North Cambridge. I work with adults whose stress and worry are disrupting their sleep, using an integrative, evidence-informed approach to help you get to what's actually driving it, not just manage the symptoms. I am available for clients living anywhere in the UK via Zoom, or for face to face/walk and talk sessions in North Cambridge.

(This isn't a clinical sleep disorder service — if you have a diagnosed condition like sleep apnoea, your GP is the right first port of call. This is for the very common experience of stress and worry disrupting otherwise normal sleep.)

Why not send me a message, or give me a call or text on 07935 148013 for a free, confidential chat, to see if we can work together to help you sleep peacefully again?