why cant i take naps during the day?

im 24 years old and i suffer from anxiety and depression which paves the way for insomnia (plus insomnia runs a lot in my family). i been living alone since january, and ever since then my anxiety has been worst in some areas of my life especially in my sleeping pattern. I noticed that when i miss a few hours of sleep at night, i would try taking naps throughout the day but i always fail at it. no matter how tired or restless i am i cant seem to fall to sleep through the day; i would lay down in bed, closed my eyes and relax but i can never fall to sleep. and sometimes when i do succeed to sleep i feel awake and when i wake up is like i didnt sleep at all. so i just want to know, what is going on? and how can i reduce my anxiety to actually succeed in this. could it also be my age? cause a few years back i didnt have this problem but i was going through puberty at that time, and as you know teenage do need to sleep to grow.

[Sanjivani Wanjari, MD]

Hi,
Anxiety and depression can be the cause and the effect of insomnia. This needs to be rectified at the earliest. You can try meditation and distressing at home or in company of family and friends. But as your problem is there since a long time, you should seek counselling from an expert. Sometimes medicines may be necessary for insomnia.
Take care and good luck.

[synicism187]

yes i do, i take a generic version of ambien. another problem that i seem to have is that i cant seem to sleep with out it. you know is like viagra; that ones you use for a while, u wont make love without it.