Find Help in Your Sleepless Haze

Natural Remedies For Insomnia

Although it is normal for you to have sleepless nights from time to time, regular sleeplessness is a bit more serious. This is called insomnia and may in itself be a symptom of a more serious medical condition like heart disease and depression. Therefore, it is very important to consult your doctor immediately if you find yourself suffering from this condition.

If you are fortunate enough not to have a serious condition as the cause of your insomnia, and your doctor gives you the go signal to self-medicate, you may try any of the following natural remedies for insomnia:

Relaxation TechniquesLearning how to relax is one of the most effective natural methods to fall asleep quickly, lengthen the period of sleep, and ensure that you wake up feeling fresh and well-rested. It is best to perform a relaxation technique about 20 minutes before you go to bed. Here are the most common relaxation techniques that you can take advantage of:

1. Yoga – This technique makes use of a combination of meditation, stretching, and breathing exercises. A study conducted in Harvard University revealed that performing yoga daily for eight straight weeks effectively rids an individual of insomnia.

2. Visualization – This technique involves your imagination. It is done by thinking of a relaxing scene as you lie in bed waiting to fall asleep. For example, you could imagine yourself lying in a hammock that hangs between two palm trees on a tropical island. As you visualize this scene, try to imagine as well how the ocean breeze would feel against your skin and how the hammock would lull you to sleep with its gentle swaying motion. The more vivid the scene is in your mind, the faster you will fall asleep.

DietThere are certain foods that can actually cause or aggravate sleeplessness, and it is important for you to avoid or cut back on your intake of these foods in order to get rid of insomnia. Caffeine is one substance that you should avoid, especially within two hours of going to bed. It causes not only insomnia, but also restlessness. Caffeine is usually found in coffee, soft drinks, and tea. Sweets should also be avoided at night because they are known to give you a short burst of energy, which can cause sleep interruptions.

As you avoid foods that cause sleeplessness, you should also increase your intake of those that can help you sleep better. Whole grain crackers are good snacks to have before bedtime. Foods that are rich in magnesium content are also advisable because magnesium is known for its sedative properties. In fact, a deficiency in magnesium is one of the common causes of sleep problems. Magnesium is found in legumes, seeds, leafy greens, cashews, almonds, and whole grains.

AromatherapyPeople have used English lavender for years as an aromatherapy herb. Its scent is believed to help people fall asleep quickly. The good news is that research is now beginning to prove this belief to be true. Aromatherapy has been found to work especially well for women, probably because a woman’s sense of smell is generally more acute than that of men. You can take advantage of this technique simply by placing a sachet of lavender under your pillow. Chamomille and ylang-ylang are also believed to be excellent aromatherapy oils.

 

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/sleep-articles/natural-remedies-for-insomnia-3790275.html

What Causes Insomnia: 3 Main Elements

Insomnia, trouble falling or staying asleep has over 500 different causes. What causes insomnia? It can be caused by natural, situational or health-related conditions. These are the three main elements of insomnia causes.

Natural cause

What causes insomnia can be natural in nature. Natural like the weather. Hot temperature can cause people to have trouble sleeping. Studies have proven this to be true. As opposed to cold temperature, more problem sleeping occurs when it’s hot.

Natural aging also causes insomnia. This is the reason why insomnia gets more common at older age groups. Almost every adult 55 and above have insomnia. Humans lose one minute of deep sleep every year of their life. Loss of deep sleep leads to easily interrupted sleep.

Stages in life can also cause insomnia. When men reach their 50′s, they go through andropause. Women experience a similar event with menopause. Both these conditions have insomnia as a symptom. The reason behind that would be the change in hormone levels. Hormonal shift, lower or higher, can be what causes insomnia. Women, during pregnancy and menstruation, also get those hormonal shifts. During these periods, women may have trouble sleeping as well.

Situational cause

People go through several occasions in their life that may lead to trouble sleeping. Worrying about bills in times of depression, for one. There may be other concerns as well like their job, health, and relationships. An event that can bug a person’s head can be what causes insomnia. Normally, the difficulty sleeping goes when the event is over.

Feelings that are born from stress, depression and anxiety can all contribute to a person’s sleeplessness. If the feelings, however, do not go after some time. It might be a psychological disorder.

Health-related cause

An underlying health-related condition can be what causes insomnia. These may be either psychological or physical. Conditions that have chronic pain as a symptom can cause interrupted sleep. They can account for the middle of the night awakening some people experience.

Other physical conditions that can cause sleeplessness are numerous. A problem with the heart, lungs, digestive system, brain etc. can be what causes insomnia.

Psychological problems like phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder and major depression can make a person unable to fall asleep. Unlike situational causes, these may not go away naturally. A form of treatment is still needed.

Oftentimes, when what causes insomnia is another medical condition. Treating the condition is the first step. Once the condition is treated. Insomnia might just go away with it.

There are times when it is the medication a person takes that causes sleeplessness. Some asthma and epilepsy medicine can cause sleeplessness. Beta blockers to treat high blood pressure can also cause insomnia. In any case, if insomnia starts interfering with a person’s daily life. That must also be taken into consideration.

What causes insomnia may not just be a single cause but several causes at the same time. Nevertheless, the cause of insomnia must first be determined. In order to find a cure that will work for a person.

Know more about what causes insomnia at http://insomniarevealed.com/causes-insomnia/. Insomnia Revealed also has information on insomnia causes and treatment.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/sleep-articles/what-causes-insomnia-3-main-elements-3405248.html