We can all have problems with sleeping, waking, or having bad dreams sometimes. It is very common for people of all ages to have this. Sleep can be influenced by diets, lifestyles, worries, stress, anxieties and big changes such as moving to a new house or school.

Sleep problems can come in various forms such as disturbed sleep (where you keep waking up in the night), not being able to get off to sleep, insomnia, nightmares, sleep paralysis (where you wake up but can’t move) bed wetting and sleep walking.

If you want to learn more about sleep difficulties, here are some apps, websites and downloads that you might find helpful.

  • Young Minds - Sleep Problems is the UK's leading charity committed to improving the emotional well-being and mental health of children and young people.
  • Childline - Problems Sleeping is a counselling service for children and young people up to their 19th birthday in the UK provided by the NSPCC
  • Rethink Mental Illness - Sleep offers help & support for people affected by mental illness.
  • Samaritans is a registered charity aimed at providing emotional support to anyone in emotional distress or struggling to cope.
  • Support Line offers confidential emotional telephone support in the UK for men, women, children and young adults.
  • MindMate​ - Sleep helps young people understand the way they are feeling and find the right advice and support.
  • Therapy Comics offers mental health resources using comics instead of text.
  • Kooth is an online counselling and emotional well-being platform for children and young people, accessible through mobile, tablet and desktop and free at the point of use.

  • Smiling Mind is a meditation program developed by psychologists and educators to help bring mindfulness into your life.
  • Calm offers meditation techniques to aid with stress and sleep.
  • Stop Breathe Think allows you to check in with how you’re feeling, and try short activities tuned to your emotions.
  • MeeTwo is a free fully moderated app for young people, which provides peer support, expert help, inbuilt educational and creative resources.
  • Check In helps take the fear out of having a conversation with a friend who might be struggling.
  • Pzizz helps you quickly calm your mind, fall asleep fast, stay asleep, and wake up refreshed. It uses "dreamscapes" - a mix of music, voiceovers and sound effects designed using the latest clinical research - to help you sleep better at night or take power naps during the day.
  • Feeling Good Teens uses short audio tracks to help let go of worry, improve sleep, develop self-esteem, resilience and goal focused motivation. Access is free at the moment:
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