Putting down my phone and reading has saved my sleep | Naoise Dolan

I dreaded doing without my device's dopamine dripfeed, but insomnia was out of control. Now I'm not only sleeping but reading with real pleasure

You might not consider sleep a skill, but I can confirm that it is because I am bad at it. The happiest fortnight of my life was when a GP prescribed me sleeping pills. For two blissful weeks I took my tablet and wilted. When I awoke, I was spared the insomniac's dread. Is it the middle of the night? Have I once again failed at a basic human function?

For most of my adult life I have found waking up to be a high-risk enterprise. I have to guess whether it's morning, while knowing that all methods of inquiry will make it harder to resume sleep if I'm wrong. Once I've established that it is in fact an ungodly hour, the bargaining commences. Maybe I should get up. I'm not an insomniac, I'm just ahead of the sloths. Didn't some US president only sleep three hours a night?