Are you reading this late at night just because you cannot sleep?
You have tried sleeping pills, new pillows, mattresses, white noise, soothing sounds you name it- to no avail.
I know it can be frustrating but that is the least of your concerns. Lack of sleep has been linked to several diseases like cardiovascular disease, Type II diabetes, chronic inflammation, digestion issues, weakened immune system, among others. No worries though, I know that's why you are here and I am going to help you get your Zzzzz and health back.
Did you know that insomnia or sleeplessness is one of the most common sleep disorders found in living beings? Even birds and animals suffer from insomnia.
There are many factors which may contribute to those "White nights" when you just cannot drop off into those really necessary forty winks. That is when you spend your time watching the ceiling, drinking some water or nibbling something, reading a book - even browsing on the Internet for natural insomnia cures and remedies for insomnia...- or trying the 101 other recommended ways to get rid of insomnia. But all to no avail...
Let's Learn About The Possible Reasons for Insomnia
Insomnia in its initial stages is not a chronic condition. Chronic insomnia conditions are serious when patients have been known not to sleep for days altogether. This will naturally need an experienced sleep disorder professional help in order to cure the underlying cause for insomnia.
Just remember that you need sleep as much as you need to breathe and eat. While you're sleeping, your body is busy tending to your physical and mental health and getting you ready for another day. In children and adolescents, hormones that promote growth are released during sleep. These hormones help build muscle mass, as well as make repairs to cells and tissues. Sleep is vital to development during puberty.
When you're deprived of sleep, your brain can't function properly, affecting your cognitive abilities and emotional state. If it continues long enough, it can lower your body's defenses, putting you at risk of developing chronic illness. The more obvious signs of sleep deprivation are excessive sleepiness, yawning, and irritability. Chronic sleep deprivation can interfere with balance, coordination, and decision-making abilities. You're at risk falling asleep during the day, even if you fight it. Stimulants like caffeine are not able to override your body's profound need for sleep. ( source)
Insomnia can be caused due to stress and strain. Professional, personal, emotional, physical and mental worries can contribute to you undergoing a sleepless night. Such an occurrence happening once in a blue moon should not be a cause of worry. However, if you find you getting much less than your eight hours recommended normal quota of sleep every night for more than five days running, it is time to see a doctor.
A change in lifestyle can also prevent you from sleeping.
Did you go to bed too soon after a heavy meal? Are your surroundings noisy? Is your bed lumpy and your mattress too soft or too hard? These are just some of the reasons why you may not find it easy to drop off to sleep the moment you get into your bed. You should be asleep within 7 to 10 minutes in a normal sleep routine cycle.
Understanding Why and How Insomnia Develops
In his article about One of the Most Common Causes of Insommnia, Dr. Mercola talks about a particular condition, which confirms what I have been discussing through out the article. Let your mind rest and try to control those "unwanted thoughts". But how do I do that you ask? Here is an excerpt from his article that I found quite interesting:
The most commonly reported sleep disorder is insomnia; having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, or the inability to get quality sleep throughout the night.
According to Dr. Naiman, one of the most common symptoms of insomnia is a condition called "cognitive popcorn:"
"Cognitive popcorn is something that occurs when you put your head down, trying to go to sleep or trying to get back to sleep in the middle of the night, and suddenly your mind starts to produce all of these thoughts.They're unwanted thoughts, uncontrollable thoughts. It's as if the mind has a mind of its own. That's a very common complaint that keeps people awake."
In order to understand why you can't sleep, you need to understand that sleep is the outcome of an interaction between two classes of variables: sleepiness and "noise.
- Sleepiness - Under normal conditions, your sleepiness should gradually increase throughout the day, peaking just before you go to bed at night. This is ideal, as you want your sleepiness to be high at the beginning of the night.
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"Noise" - refers to any kind of stimulation that inhibits or disrupts sleep. If noise is conceptually greater than your level of sleepiness, you will not fall asleep."Noise" occurs in three zones: the mind level, body level, and the environmental level.Dr. Naiman gives this example: "If you're energized during the day, you're feeling passionate, you want to move, be productive and so on, that's great. But if that experience occurs in the middle of the night, that becomes a kind of noise."The most common type of mind noise, however, is the "cognitive popcorn;" unstoppable thoughts running through your mind at night.Examples of body noise include pain, discomfort, indigestion, side effects from prescription drugs, or residual caffeine from drinking coffee too late in the day.
Environmental noise is usually obvious, such as noises in your room or house, a snoring partner, music, lights, or a bedroom that's too warm.
In order to get a good night's sleep, you want your sleepiness level to be high, and the noise level to be low.
According to Dr. Naiman, more often than not, the reason why people can't fall asleep is NOT because of lack of sleepiness, but rather because of excessive noise. Read the full article here( source)
How To Get Rid of Insomnia Naturally?
If you find it difficult to fall asleep in the initial stages, here are some natural remedies and techniques for insomnia which are guaranteed effective:
- Take a bath or hot shower and relax, to unwind and get rid of the tiredness of the day. Set up your aromatherapy kit, play your favorite music softly while you are under the shower is optional, but it is a good idea and it definitely helps you to relax.
- Stop using electronics in the bedroom! Electromagnetic Fields (EMF's) are known to interrupt sleep cycles and are responsible for a host of symptoms such as: muscle pain and weakness, fatigue in the mornings, heart palpitations, irritability, allergies, and most importantly the weakening of your immune system. To naturally protect your home and room a recommend a Hymalayan salt Lamp which I use in my office and bedrooms, and will help in reducing the exposure to harmful EMF's.
- Make sure that you go to bed three to five hours after having a light dinner. Heavy dinners may cause you to toss and turn instead of dropping off to sleep, because your metabolism is busy digesting instead of resting.
- Make sure that your bed is comfortable and there is no direct light shining on your face while you sleep. A darkened room can tell your brain to "switch off." If you still cannot sleep even after the lights have been switched off and find your mind working busily, try this relaxing exercise - Stretch your body and loosen all your muscles.Then stretch your arms above your head, and let your loosened muscles fall into place naturally. Take deep breaths slowly and rhythmically - inhale, exhale.
- Use block out blinds in your room that provide complete privacy and block out all light. That is what we use at home and not only do they insulate the room but they truly block light and even noise.
- The ideal temperate to get a good night's sleep should be no higher than 68 F.
- Try making your mind a blank by concentrating on a pleasant visual "mind picture."
- Drinking good old chamomile always works.
- Drink a glass of warm milk with honey. This is the best natural soporific and it has been used effectively to put over- energetic children to sleep down for centuries. It works wonders with adults too. Allergic to dairy? Use almond, coconut, flax milk or your favorite "milk".
- Try not to think. Even try not to talk to yourself, especially on the lines of "this is what I am going to tell him/her tomorrow, while at that meeting, lunch etc..." [People do, especially when they cannot sleep.] Pretend that you are already asleep. You are slowly going to find yourself drifting off to sleep.
Conclusion
The above are some easy to implement tips and techniques on how to get rid of insomnia naturally. However, if your normal sleep cycle has been disturbed, and you find it difficult to sleep for more than one week, I highly suggest you to consult with an integrative medicine practitioner. That can caused by an underlying issue.
Do self-medicate to induce a good night's rest either, unless recommended by your health practitioner.
Hope these tips on how to get rid of insomnia naturally helped you get a restful night.
Now tell me. Have you been dealing with insomnia and if so, what have you done to overcome the issue? Did you use any of these tips? Do come back and tell us! http://www.healthline.com/health/sleep-deprivation/effects-on-body http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/11/27/dr-naiman-on-sleep.aspx
