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TOPIC:
"Natural Cures for Insomnia"
There are many causes for insomnia, from diet and not enough exercise to the everyday stress of work or finances,
or decreased levels of melatonin with advancing age or even the natural sounds in your environment that may contribute to a less than restful night’s sleep.
However, no matter what the cause for your insomnia, there is no doubt that night after night of less than adequate ZZZZZ’s will eventually take a toll on your body, not to mention your productivity and mood.
A little detective work should be your first step toward eliminating your sleepless nights. For instance, you may be very sensitive to caffeine, which is a stimulant, and may need to omit any food or drink containing high amounts of caffeine as much as 10-12 hours before bedtime. Are you waking up because you drank a
liter of water an hour before bed?
Did you have a glass of wine with dinner? Alcohol may help you get to sleep initially, but did you know that it will increase the number of times you wake up in the later half of the night?
Examine your personal habits around sleeping. If your bedroom is too hot or noisy this will obviously have an adverse effect on your sleeping pattern. Does your partner snore? Eating a heavy meal before bed can cause nighttime discomfort later on which leads to disturbed sleep. Also, going to bed feeling hungry can also cause insomnia.
Does your bedroom double as a work space? Bringing your work or daily problems into the bedroom can make it difficult for many people to associate the bedroom with sleep. Make sure your bedroom is the most calming and relaxing space in your home and leave the work outside and the TV in the
living room.
We're all aware that there are many unnatural drug solutions out there to counteract your sleepless nights, but these can have harmful side effects on your body and create unhealthy, addictive patterns.
After you’ve done your detective work, why not choose one or more natural remedies for your insomnia?
For instance, herbal remedies have been used safely to treating insomnia for centuries, the leading herb for insomnia being valerian. Valerian root makes getting to sleep an easier process and also increases deep sleep and dreaming without the morning hangover, which is a common unhealthy side effect common to prescription drugs.
A double blind study showed that 600-mg of valerian extract taken 30 minutes before bedtime for 28 days was comparable to one of the drugs most commonly prescribed for insomnia (oxazepam or Serax).
As well, a combination of valerian and lemon balm has been tested for sleep improvement, comparing it to the drug tiazolam or Halcion, with results indicating that this herbal combination had similar effects, again without the troubles concentrating and feeling hung over the next day.
Training yourself to relax and slow down before bed will help you settle down to sleep. Develop a bedtime ritual perhaps starting with a warm, lavender scented bath. While the bath is running, don’t forget to spray a little lavender mist onto your pillows. If you don’t want to take an entire bath, try just a warm footbath because this will encourage blood to flow from your head to your feet.
Rub the soles of your feet with lavender essential oil and place a drop on the pulse points of your wrists and forehead just before bed because lavender has a very soothing and calming effect.
Next, while you settle into bed, play a relaxing CD or tape to fall asleep to while you take long, slow calming breaths.
Some foods that contain sleep-inducing compounds include lettuce and mandarin oranges. Also, elderberry tea is thought to relax the nerves and induce sleep. As well, (if you are a milk drinker) a warm cup of milk and honey sprinkled with a dash of cinnamon or nutmeg will help you get to sleep because the chemical change that occurs when you heat milk sends a sleep signal to your brain.
And here’s a simple pressure point trick that you might like to try. It works for me.
First, you’ll need some supplies: 1 kidney bean, surgical tape and
scissors. You are going to tape your kidney bean to the inside of your right wrist…..but exactly where is the trick.
Now, turn your right hand upside down and look at your wrist. Take your left hand and place your 2nd, 3rd and 4th fingers across your right wrist, laying your 4th or the ring finger of your left hand where your wrist creases when you bend it upward. Make a mental note of the point where your 2nd finger lays across your wrist and here tape your kidney bean in place with some surgical tape.
If you don’t have someone to help you with this process, the easiest way to do it is to get your tape piece cut about as long as the width of your wrist plus enough extra so that it wraps around the sides. Next, place your kidney bean on the sticky side in the middle of your piece of tape oriented in a north/south direction. This way you can tape the bean down with your left hand. Don’t use too much pressure, just a light even pressure, and before very long you will find yourself getting sleepy….very, very, …. sleepy.
Sweet dreams.
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