Insomnia relief with alternative therapies

Insomnia relief with alternative therapies

Insomnia can be caused by various medical disorders including asthma, COPD, heart failure, enlarged prostate, gastroesophageal reflux, chronic pain, restless leg syndrome, depression, and anxiety. There are a number of steps you can take in order to reduce your risk of insomnia. A good night's sleep enhances energy, vitality, sex drive, and reduces the risk for chronic medical conditions. Insomnia is one of the major causes of low libido. For more information on insomnia.

How common is Insomnia

Insomnia is the most common sleep complaint among Americans, affecting about 10 to 15 percent of adults chronically. More than half of adults have insomnia a few nights a week or more. According to an article by The National Academies, insomnia may be cheaper to treat than to ignore. Untreated insomnia creates a 'significant economic burden' through missed work and medical expenditures. Natural treatment options for insomnia should be tried first before resorting to insomnia drugs.

Stick to a schedule, and don't sleep too late on weekends. If you sleep late on Saturday and Sunday mornings, you'll get Sunday night insomnia. Instead, go to bed and get up at about the same time every day. You may not need to rely on an alarm clock to wake up when you get enough sleep.

Don't eat or drink a lot before bedtime sleep. Eat a light snack about 1 to 2 hours before sleep. If you drink too much liquid before sleep, you'll suffer insomnia by waking up repeatedly in the night for trips to the bathroom.

Don't eat too many spicy or fatty foods. They may cause heartburn and insomnia.

If you get the munchies, eat something that triggers serotonin, which makes you sleepy. Carbohydrates (whole grain bread, pasta, potatoes, lentils, barley, fruits, or cereal) with small amount of foods containing the amino acid L-tryptophan (milk, tuna, or turkey) will do the trick. A fruit salad and vegetable soup are good options. Another idea is whole grain bread with tomatoes (or salsa) and melted cheese .

Don't drink more than one or two ounces of alcohol before sleep. It may cause insomnia since you may wake up repeatedly, snore and possibly develop sleep apnea.

Avoid caffeine, nicotine, and stimulants. Caffeine may keep you perky in the morning, but it can lead to insomnia. Smokers experience withdrawal symptoms at night, and they have a harder time both falling asleep and waking up. Some people are so sensitive that even a cup of coffee at lunch can lead to insomnia.
Caffeine is found in tea (including green tea), certain soft drinks, chocolate, cocoa, and of course coffee. Caffeine is also found in certain herbs such as guarana and kola nut.
Diet pills that contain ephedrine type chemicals and citrus aurantium can lead to insomnia. So can the nutrients phenylalanine, tyrosine, certain hormones, ginseng and other adaptogenic herbs, tongkat ali, and the anti-depressants St. John's wort and SAM-e. High doses of vitamins may act as stimulants, interfering with sleep. Take most of your supplements early in the day.

Exercise. If you're trying to sleep better, the best time to exercise is in the afternoon. Physical activity enhances the deep, refreshing stage of sleep. My best sleeps have been after a full day of walking, hiking, or biking. Also, take a 20 minute walk in the morning to expose yourself to morning light which will help reduce your insomnia.

A slightly cool room is ideal for reducing insomnia. This mimics your internal temperature drop during sleep, so turn off the heat and save on fuel bills.

If you overheat at night, wear light nightclothes and sleep under a single sheet. If you have athlete's feet, or fungal infection of the nails or toes, keep your feet out of the blanket and expose it to the cool night air.
Use an air conditioner or fan to keep the room cool.
Use a dehumidifier if you are bothered by moist air. Use a humidifier if you are bothered by dry air. Signs of dry air irritation include a sore throat, nosebleeds or a dry throat.

Sleep only at night. Daytime naps can certainly make it more likely to have insomnia. Limit daytime sleep to 20-minute, power naps. Don't take a nap after 2 PM.

If you work nights, keep window coverings closed so that sunlight, which interferes with the body's internal clock, doesn't interrupt your sleep.
If you have a day job and sleep at night, but still have trouble waking, leave the window covering open and let the sun's light wake you up.

Keep it quiet. Silence is more conducive to prevent insomnia. Turn off the radio and TV. Use earplugs, a fan or some other source of constant, soothing, background noise to mask sound that you cannot control, such as a busy street, trains, airplanes or even a snoring partner. Double-pane windows and heavy curtains also muffle outside noise.

Make your bed comfortable.

If you share your bed, make sure there is enough room for two.

Use your bed only for sleep and sex.

Go to bed when you are tired and turn out the lights. If you are feeling like you're going to have insomnia, get up and do something else. Go back to bed when you are tired.

Do not agonize about falling asleep. The stress will only cause worse insomnia.

Soak and sack out. Taking a hot shower or bath an hour or two before sleep helps bring on sleep because they can relax tense muscles.

Use ear plugs and eye shades to block noise and light. You may be amazed on how much better you'll sleep and feel in the morning when you use ear plugs since you will be able to get a deeper sleep without frequent overnight interruptions from traffic noise, airplanes, dogs barking, roommates snoring, etc. Being woken up and exposed to bright light at night can throw off a person's biological clock for the next few days, a new study shows. What's more, the researchers found that being woken up at night at all--even in a dark room--also disrupts the body's timing, although to a lesser degree.

Use sleep relaxation techniques to reduce insomnia.
Once you are in bed, take a deep breath and gradually let it out. Do this a few times. Then, lightly shake one of your feet, and go back to taking a couple of deep breaths. Lightly shake the other foot and then take a couple of deep breaths. Move up to your legs, hips, arms, neck, muscle around the mouth, eye muscles, etc., while going back to the breath after shaking each body part. Soon you'll be in la la land.

Insomnia related to disease
Insomnia affected hormonal levels. Men and women had a 40% to 60% average increase in the inflammatory marker interleukin-6 (IL-6), while men alone showed a 20% to 30% increase in another marker for inflammation, tumor necrosis factor (TNF). Both IL-6 and TNF are cytokines, which are proteins the body releases in response to injury. The findings indicate that getting a full night's rest of eight hours is not a nice bonus, but necessary. In addition, the finding that lack of sleep may stimulate an increase in chronic, low-level inflammatory response is worrisome, because that state has been linked to conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease and most recently, diabetes.

Insomnia can be more than just an annoyance. Insomnia may cause or contribute to:
Depression -- insomniacs are four times more likely to suffer from depression than people who sleep well. Insomniacs are at increased risk of developing major depression. While insomnia frequently accompanies depression, it may not be just a symptom of depression, but a separate condition. Depression is a well known risk factor for insomnia, and people with depression often report difficulty sleeping. Insomnia can, conversely, increase the risk for depression.
Heart disease.
Impaired safety and performance at work, at home and while driving a car.
Reduced productivity and enjoyment of activities and hobbies.

Pharmaceutical insomnia medications
Ramelteon is a medication approved for insomnia treatment. Ramelteon (known as Rozerem), acts in the same way as melatonin,

Insomnia questions
Q. I have chronic insomnia and have been on various sleep aides that didin't help. I am currently on Temazepam 15mg which is a genetic of Restoril. I have taken temazepam four to five months now and take at least three or four tablets a half hour before bed. Restoril doesn't seem to help anymore and I wake up feeling tired every day. My doctor tells me
these sleeping aides become addicted and wear off. So taking it really isn't helping me. Can you suggest something other than prescription drugs? I have tried over the counter and none of them help. I find it very difficult to relax at night. I sure could use some advise since my doctors don't seem to know what to do for me anymore. I also have acid reflux, osteoporosis, and celiac. I control these through my eating the best I can. Please help. I'm really fed up with prescription sleep aides and these doctors giving out drugs like there is no end. In the meantime, I need some insomnia relief before I get really sick.

Q. I am writing on behalf of my mum who has suffer with chronic insomnia for over 30 years. She tryed all prescribed medicine, then she found out it didnt work, she turned to herbal medicine, accupuncture. She tryed many things but nothing seems to work, i have never seen my mum had a good night sleep. She has manage to live with this problem but not cure it. I have tryed to find sleeping clinics which can do a research on her why she dont sleep at all. But i havent been successfull yet. My mum already gave up on finding a cure, so i want to carry on to stop her everyday torture. Please any advice or links or recommendations will be so helpful.

Q. I have insomnia and want to get off Ambien. Any suggestions on your natural products and which ones will help.
A. We can't give any specific insomnia advice since each person is different, however we suggest following some of the suggestions on this insomnia page and if your doctor approves, you could try Good Night Rx which is not as potent as the pharmaceutical drugs but it is excellent for an herbal product.

Q. Can you give me some simple and practical steps to fight off insomnia?
A. Taking an early morning walk with light exposure for 20 minutes can be helpful. Good Night Rx should only be taken at most 3 times a week on a completely empty stomach 2 to 4 hours before sleep. Other good supplements for insomnia include theanine and tryptophan and timed release melatonin. Other alternatives: 2 or 3 Hops capsules can be opened and hot water added, drank as a tea along with a chamomile capsule to make the taste more pleasant and stevia can be added to sweeten. Eating pasta, tomato sauce, cheese sandwich or fruit salad in the evening can help with sleep.

Q. I have been on medication clonazepam for years for insomnia, increasing it from .25 mg. to 2 mg). Apparently, my body has become immune to it. The clonazepam no longer is effective. Someone suggested tryptophan. I have tried numerous supplements to induce a natural sleep -- to no avail. I am really at a point that insomnia has become a major problem. I do not like taking prescription meds. I would rather take natural supplements.
A. We suggest following some of the idea on this page on how to fight insomnia. You could ask your doctor if Good Night Rx is appropriate for you. Many people like this product.

Q. I took a yohimbe bark extract at 8 pm and had insomnia till 4 am. Is sleep disturbance common with this herbal extract? Are there natural insomnia pills that can counter the effects of this herb?
A. Rather than taking another herb to counteract the effect of the yohimbe induced insomnia, we suggest you take the herbal product early in the afternoon.

Does royal jelly and bee pollen alleviate insomnia?
We don't believe they do, in fact they may cause sleep problems in high dosages.

I am suffering from horrible insomnia. I have tried multiple herbs, with no luck, as well as over the counter and prescription meds. Valerian has an opposite affect on me, and the meds don't work. I have read that tart cherry can help. Do you have any experience with this? Is there something else you could reccomend?
We are not familiar with the use of tart cherry for this purpose.