Insomnia is a sleep disorder that is fairly common. At some point in their lives, everyone will experience insomnia.
This disorder is characterized by difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, or a combination of both.
If you’re dealing with this disorder, you end up not getting enough sleep, or not getting quality sleep, which results in not feeling refreshed when you wake up.
This disorder can be short-term or ongoing. Short-term, or acute, insomnia is very common and is usually caused by stressful situations such as problems at work, pressures with the family, or an event that was fairly traumatic. Acute insomnia usually lasts for a few days up to a few weeks.
If the problem of insomnia lasts for a month or more, it is considered to be chronic, or ongoing.
Most of the time, chronic insomnia is either a side effect or a symptom of another issue.
There are specific medical conditions, medications and other substances, or even sleep disorders that can cause insomnia.
Either form of insomnia can result in feeling sleepy during the day time and an overall lack of energy.
Additionally, you may experience feelings of anxiousness, depression, or even be irritable.
You may have trouble focusing, learning, and remembering things. These problems can keep you from performing to the best of your ability at school or at work.
Finally, insomnia could lead to more serious problems- drowsiness while driving could cause you to be involved in an accident.
If you can treat the underlying cause of your insomnia, you could improve or totally resolve the problem- especially if you address it as soon as possible after it starts.
For example, if your insomnia is a result of too much caffeine, you should limit or stop your consumption of caffeine to reduce or stop your insomnia.
Other lifestyle changes, such as improving your sleep habits can help to treat or cure acute insomnia.
If you are experiencing chronic insomnia, your physician will most likely recommend that you use some medications, or even cognitive-behavioral therapy.
Naturally Treating Insomnia
First of all, you should only use your bed to sleep in. Many times, people use their bed to do other things, such as read, talk on the phone, or even watch television.
However, if you only use your bed to sleep, eventually, your brain will associate the two and you’ll find you have a much easier time falling asleep when you do go to bed at night.
Make some changes in your diet– especially at night. You should avoid eating meals that are full of grease and fat, opting instead for a lighter meal.
Also, make sure that you eat at a decent time. If you eat just before you go to bed, you’ll have a much harder time falling asleep because your body needs some time to process all that food.
If your insomnia is caused by jet lag or a shift in your work schedule, or something else that isn’t related to chronic insomnia, you can take melatonin supplements. This is a hormone that helps to regulate your sleep cycles.
Use valerian root to treat your insomnia. However, in order to get the full effect, you’ll need to take it every day for a week. It is a natural herb that is used on a regular basis for treating insomnia.
If you’ve ever falling into a “food coma” after eating a meal that included turkey, you should know that is caused by a hormone called tryptophan.
Taking a tryptophan supplement can help to decrease insomnia. It increases serotonin levels, which help to calm your nerves.
It also increases your body’s natural production of melatonin, which helps to put you to sleep.
Tricks to Help Someone Sleep
Following are some tricks that you can use to help yourself to fall asleep.
This is one that you may prefer to have someone else perform on you if possible. However, you can practice pressure point therapy on yourself.
The pressure points that induce sleep are on the inner part of your wrist, at the base of your skull, and just below your inner ankle.
You should use both of your thumbs and apply gentle but firm pressure to these areas. If you’re doing this for someone else, you should be sure you ask them if your touch is too gentle or too firm and adjust accordingly.
You know those silly “nature sounds” albums that you laugh about? They actually could make a big difference in your sleeping habits.
Just like some people like to have fans blowing for white noise, you could actually be relaxed by sounds of rain on a lake or tin roof, sounds of the rainforest, or even a mild thunderstorm.
The sound of rain is a noise that is very familiar to most people and isn’t intrusive- so, when you play it on repeat, it can relax you and put you to sleep.
Using white noise is really great in those households that have lots of people in them- especially if they all have different sleeping schedules.
Sure, this may seem like it’s easier said than done. However, simply have someone to tickle your back or arms with their fingertips or give you a massage just before bedtime. Any sort of consistent relaxation can have you sleeping without a problem.
If you know anything about treating your insomnia, you have most likely heard the old story that warm milk will help you sleep. After all, it helps babies, right?
This is because milk contains the hormone tryptophan, the same chemical blamed for the “food coma” after a big Thanksgiving meal- it is said that this chemical actually induces sleep.
While it is true that turkey and milk both contain this hormone, there really isn’t enough in either of them to cause sleep, but most people feel drowsy after a warm meal, so the warm milk could cause the same effect.
Things to Remember
To avoid having to use the above tricks to help you to fall asleep, you should try to avoid consuming carbohydrates just before bedtime.
As the carbohydrates digest, they turn into sugar, which keeps you awake through the night. Of course, that can be said of anything that contains sugar, including alcohol and even soda.
Finally, you should avoid watching anything that is exciting or having discussions that will get your emotions worked up just before bedtime.