Insomnia Relief: Natural Solutions to a Common Problem
Insomnia symptoms present in several forms: difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep marked by frequent waking and difficulty returning to sleep, waking too early in the morning, or waking unrefreshed. Different people require different amounts of sleep, so regardless of the number of hours a person sleeps, a subjective feeling of not sleeping well or enough constitutes insomnia.
Some people suffer occasional insomnia, having difficulty sleeping only during stressful life circumstances. This is known as transient insomnia. Other people have intermittent insomnia that comes and goes. Chronic insomnia sufferers have difficulty sleeping constantly, regardless of life circumstances. Whichever presentation, not sleeping makes daytime life painful for millions of American adults, causing tiredness, lack of concentration, and irritability. Some research has even linked insufficient sleep to obesity.
Regardless of severity, there are simple, natural solutions to insomnia that should be tried before turning to pharmaceutical sleep treatments.
Insomnia Relief Strategy 1: Create a calm place to sleep
Sleeping is an activity of the brain. And like any other activity, if your brain is distracted, sleep is not going to happen easily or well. Removing distractions from your sleep space can drastically improve your sleep quality. Distractions include television, radio, telephones, and computers. As much as possible, try to avoid “working” in your sleep space- avoid activities like checking email and reading.
Insomnia Relief Strategy 2: Move during the day, be still at night
Most of us know there are health benefits to exercising, but few of us make it a part of daily life. But when it comes to sleeping well at night, getting physical activity during the day can make all the difference between success and failure. Instead of thinking of it as exercise, think of it as giving your body a chance to move at the same speed as your brain. An activity as simple as walking for 20 minutes can help your brain to settle down at night.
Insomnia Relief Strategy 3: Avoid caffeine and alcohol late in the day
Simply put, avoid caffeine after 3 p.m. and avoid alcohol after 7 p.m. Caffeine keeps your brain awake and alert directly. Alcohol might help to make feel sleepy initially, but due to its dehydrating and diuretic effects, will interrupt your sleep during the night.
Insomnia Relief Strategy 4: Avoid swapping a sleeping problem for a drug problem
Many people quickly turn to over-the-counter and prescription pharmaceutical sleep drugs immediately with the onset of insomnia. There are several problems with this strategy. First, these drugs have undesirable side-effects ranging from inconvenient sleepiness during the day to dangerous sleep eating and sleep driving. Second, if a person gets a prescription sleep aid, and uses health insurance to pay for either the doctor visit or the prescription, then that person’s record is flagged for having a mental health condition. The ramification of that is that in the future, if ever in a position of changing health insurance, the new carrier can deny mental health coverage due to a pre-existing mental health condition. Finally, pharmaceutical insomnia treatments can be habit forming. As an acupuncturist, I have treated many patients trying to get off prescription insomnia medications, and it is not an easy road.
There are effective, non-pharmaceutical treatments for insomnia, including herbal treatments based on traditional Chinese herbal therapy are available. These formulas are particularly useful in treating transient insomnia. Herbal combination formulas often work better for insomnia relief than single herbs. This is especially true if the remedy has been constructed specifically for insomnia, as some products are.
Whether you use a cocktail of single herbs or a pre-formulated mixture, be sure that your insomnia remedy includes zizyphus and poria, which are essential for calming the mind. It is also prudent to take herbal remedies produced in the United States, subject to stringent quality control standards.
Don't we all wish we could sleep like a baby?
I am a huge fan of common sense solutions. Whether you are inclined to use our Deep Sleeper product or not, I would like to suggest a few strategies before you jump to whatever chemical solution to not sleeping.
Insomnia symptoms present in several forms: difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep marked by frequent waking and difficulty returning to sleep, waking too early in the morning, or waking unrefreshed. Different people require different amounts of sleep, so regardless of the number of hours a person sleeps, a subjective feeling of not sleeping well or enough constitutes insomnia.
Some people suffer occasional insomnia, having difficulty sleeping only during stressful life circumstances. This is known as transient insomnia. Other people have intermittent insomnia that comes and goes. Chronic insomnia sufferers have difficulty sleeping constantly, regardless of life circumstances. Whichever presentation, not sleeping makes daytime life painful for millions of American adults, causing tiredness, lack of concentration, and irritability. Some research has even linked insufficient sleep to obesity.
Regardless of severity, there are simple, natural solutions to insomnia that should be tried before turning to pharmaceutical sleep treatments.
Insomnia Relief Strategy 1: Create a calm place to sleep
Sleeping is an activity of the brain. And like any other activity, if your brain is distracted, sleep is not going to happen easily or well. Removing distractions from your sleep space can drastically improve your sleep quality. Distractions include television, radio, telephones, and computers. As much as possible, try to avoid “working” in your sleep space- avoid activities like checking email and reading.
Insomnia Relief Strategy 2: Move during the day, be still at night
Most of us know there are health benefits to exercising, but few of us make it a part of daily life. But when it comes to sleeping well at night, getting physical activity during the day can make all the difference between success and failure. Instead of thinking of it as exercise, think of it as giving your body a chance to move at the same speed as your brain. An activity as simple as walking for 20 minutes can help your brain to settle down at night.
Insomnia Relief Strategy 3: Avoid caffeine and alcohol late in the day
Simply put, avoid caffeine after 3 p.m. and avoid alcohol after 7 p.m. Caffeine keeps your brain awake and alert directly. Alcohol might help to make feel sleepy initially, but due to its dehydrating and diuretic effects, will interrupt your sleep during the night.
Insomnia Relief Strategy 4: Avoid swapping a sleeping problem for a drug problem
Many people quickly turn to over-the-counter and prescription pharmaceutical sleep drugs immediately with the onset of insomnia. There are several problems with this strategy. First, these drugs have undesirable side-effects ranging from inconvenient sleepiness during the day to dangerous sleep eating and sleep driving. Second, if a person gets a prescription sleep aid, and uses health insurance to pay for either the doctor visit or the prescription, then that person’s record is flagged for having a mental health condition. The ramification of that is that in the future, if ever in a position of changing health insurance, the new carrier can deny mental health coverage due to a pre-existing mental health condition. Finally, pharmaceutical insomnia treatments can be habit forming. As an acupuncturist, I have treated many patients trying to get off prescription insomnia medications, and it is not an easy road.
There are effective, non-pharmaceutical treatments for insomnia, including herbal treatments based on traditional Chinese herbal therapy are available. These formulas are particularly useful in treating transient insomnia. Herbal combination formulas often work better for insomnia relief than single herbs.
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