Over 60% of the population to not get sleep and insomnia is one of the commonest problems encountered in primary care. This workshop discusses the importance of sleep and the consequences o and presents a framework for understanding, assessing and treating commonly encountered sleep problems. This includes the five stage sleep cycle, the circadian cycle and the sleep wake cycle and how changes in these can contribute to sleep problems.It differentiates between a primary sleep disorder and primary or secondary insomnia, and the potential consequences of each of these and summarises their management. It presents a comprehensive but relatively succinct assessment framework for a sleep problem in primary care outlines the 4 major approaches to managing a sleep problem – sleep hygiene strategies, CBT for insomnia, the use of medications and the use of OTCs.