Natural Cures for Insomnia
In order to help you out finding the best insomnia remedies that works for you, let’s talk about first what is insomnia and what are the main causes of insomnia.
What is Insomnia? Insomnia is a common sleep disorder that prevents you to get the amount of sleep you need to feel rested and energetic when waking up. When you suffer from insomnia you mostly face trouble or are unable to fall asleep even if you are very tired.
If you spend most nights of the week sleepless, turning, thinking about tomorrow’s duties and feeling miserable watching the clock you are suffering from insomnia.
Lack of sleep can lead to sluggish and irritable behaviour the next day, as well as a reduced ability to deal with stress and other emotional pressure.
There is a Biorhythmic clock in the body meaning that organs of the body become active at different times during the day and night. Therefore, the ideal time for sleeping would be around 10:00 p.m since the production of cortisone happens between 10:00-12:00 pm if the body is at rest. Cortisone is a hormone responsible for dealing with stress and emotions.
Below you can find our best recommendations of homeopathic insomnia remedies, several supplements and vitamins that can help your body get a healthier condition to overcome insomnia.
You will also find some natural cures for insomnia as well as advice on nutrition , kinds of foods that induce or prevent sleep and great tips on how to get a better sleep.
Insomnia Causes
There are many factors around us that can be the cause of insomnia. Paying close attention to certain circumstances can help you find the main causes of your insomnia and the right insomnia remedies or the best solution to it.
Common causes of insomnia are worries , excitment, nervous tension, stress, pain or restless legs, waking up frequently because of noise sensitivity, dreams or nightmares. These factors can be the cause of you waking up early and not being able to fall asleep again.
Keep in mind that sleep quality normally decreases with age, but it is necessary to allow the body time to rest and rejuvenate.
Insomnia Causes – Emotional Factors
The most common insomnia causes have an emotional reason behind it. Worry or anxiety over an existing issue, serious grief, stress, and depression are usually caused by a temporary emotional agent. However, most of the times, the real reason behind insomnia is fear, guilt and mainly not trusting the process of life.
Insomnia caused by an emotional agent usually lasts few days while the originator lasts and then disappears. In any case it is important first to identify the agent that might be causing you insomnia and try to create the perfect environment to have a good sleep through relaxation and positive thoughts.
We suggest the following affirmation to repeat to yourself every night when trying to fall asleep: ’I lovingly release the day and fall into peaceful sleep, knowing tomorrow will take care of itself’.
There are several alternative insomnia remedies such as relaxation techniques that might help you ease off when ready to go to sleep so you can get an entire night of rest. One of those techniques is called hypnotherapy. Below you can see a video that teaches you the technique.
You can try it for few nights and observe how slowly your body learns to relax itself and you fall sleep easily.
Insomnia Causes – Physical Factors
Sometimes the presence of insomnia is not just related to emotional reasons, it can be closely related to physical causes as well. It is important to pay close attention to your daily habits and identify what has changed in your everyday routine and what you are doing that might be contributing to your insomnia.
Below you can find a list of possible physical reasons to insomnia
1. One of the most important insomnia causes is the intake of stimulants like caffeine: found in Tea,coffee,Chocolate and Cola. Try to avoid them specially during the evening hours.
2. Eating late in the evening provides energy which can keep you awake.
3. On the other hand low blood sugar levels from not eating enough can be amongst the insomnia causes .
4. Exercising late in the evening can cause wakefulness. Try to do your excercise earlier in the evening.
5. Shift work and continually changing schedules is another valid reason for insomnia.
6. Jet lag after your long distance flights causes insomnia.
7. Napping during the day can prevent you from falling asleep naturally at night.
8. Noisy and uncomfortable environment can make you feel uneasy to fall sleep or even interrupt your sleep.
9. High stomach acidity and having reflux during pregnancy is one main cause of pregnancy insomnia. Pregnancy insomnia is very common due to the hormonal and physical changes in the body.
If this is your case, you need to treat the heartburn rather than insomnia. Take a look at our natural remedies for heartburn page where you can find natural ways to cure your heartburn.
10. Abstain yourself from drinking before going to bed. Having to get up to urinate disrupts the sleeping pattern.
11. In some cases insomnia might be related to more serious health conditions such as obesity, high blood pressure, sleep apnea apnea (lack of oxygen while sleeping) and it gets worse by the consumption of alcohol, nicotine and sedatives.
Once you have identified what is causing you insomnia, try to change your habits as much as possible and try to create a healthy environment to promote a better sleep.
10 tips for a better sleep
Suffering from insomnia can be an exhausting experience but establishing a healthy routine might give you some relieve and eventually overcome this problem. Below share with you some insomnia remedies and tips that can make a great difference if you keep them in mind.
1. Stick to a schedule, and don’t sleep late in weekends. Going to bed and getting up at the same time everyday is recommended. Make sure that you go to bed around 10:00 p.m every night, this is the time for cortisone to be produced in your body.
2. Don’t eat or drink a lot before bedtime, a meal replacement shake an hour before bed is ideal.
3. A slightly cool room is best for sleeping.
4. If you exercise, the best time to do it is in the afternoon, then you willl get a better sleep.
5. Sleep primarily at night, stop the naps during the day.
6. Your sleeping environment should be comfortable, dark and quiet. Keep it quiet: silence is more conducive to sleep . Limit the amount of artificial light in your room.
7. Use your bed only for sleeping and sex. Don’t take your work there.
8. Go to bed when you’re tired and turn off the lights. If you don’t fall asleep in 30 minutes, get up and do something else. Go back to bed when you’re tired.
9. If you get the bedtime munchies, eat something that triggers serotonin, it makes you sleepy. Carbohydrates or foods containing the amino acid L-tryptophan ( tuna or turkey) will do the trick. But if you want to have a balanced diet, go for a meal replacement shake or smoothie that has protein, mineral and vitamins.
10. Foods rich in magnesium such as lettuce promote healthy sleep. A modern chemical analysis shows that this effect is due to an opium-related substance combined with traces of anticramping agent hyoscyamin that is found in lettuce. Add lettuce to your salad for dinner.
Lettuce is a great natural cure for insomnia. Other foods rich in magnesium that work wonders as insomnia remedies are legumes and seeds, dark leafy green vegetables, wheat bran, almonds, cashews and whole grains.
Homeopathic remedies for insomnia
The following homeopathic insomnia remedies are very useful in case you have trouble to fall asleep and are unable to get enough sleep during the night.
Choose one of the remedies according to your own condition and take the remedy every 15 minutes up to three times until you fall asleep. Repeat this process every night up to for two weeks if necessary.
-If your mind is awake and actively working and your thoughts are not fixed on disappointment, but the nervous system seems to be overexcited, as if from drinking too much coffee. Take Coffea Tosta 6C or 15CH, 5 pellets every time.
-If you have physical overwork or your body feels aching, the bed feels too hard and uncomfortable, take Arnica C6 or CH9 . This remedy is also a good natural cure for insomnia in case of jet lag!
-When exhaustion is related to changing work shifts, or too many sleepless nights o, as when caring for a sick person then take Cocculus 6C (5 pellets before going to bed).
Supplements and Vitamins
–Calcium deficiency can cause restlessness and wakefulness. Take 1000-mg of calcium before bedtime.
–Magnesium deficiency causes nervousness that prevents sleep. Magnesium combined with vitamin B6 would be a good natural cure for insomnia. Take 500mg of Magnesium and vitamin B6 . Lack of both calcium and magnesium can cause leg cramps during sleep.
–Melatonin deficiency is another cause of insomnia. Melatonin is an antioxidant secreted mainly at night, produced by the pineal gland in the brain stem. Melatonin helps your body regulate your sleep-wake cycle.
You can 1-3 mg Melatonin before bedtime.
We hope this page has guided you to find ways on how to treat insomnia. If this page has given you some new insights, the insomnia remedies we recommend have worked for you and you feel like others can benefit from it, please share it with your friends and loved ones.
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