For most people, insomnia is nothing like in the movies

Movies are prone to either minimise or exaggerate symptoms, write Aaron Schokman and Professor Nick Glozier for The Conversation. This has implications for the third of us who have symptoms. Hollywood appears fascinated by sleep's impact on the mind and body. Blockbuster movies featuring someone living with insomnia include  Sleepless in Seattle  (1993),  Fight Club  (1999) and  Insomnia  (2002). But how well do these and other portrayals compare with what it's really like to live with insomnia? As we'll see, most movies tend to either minimise or exaggerate symptoms. Insomnia is rarely depicted as a treatable illness. And these portrayals have implications for the estimated  one in three  of us with at least one insomnia symptom.