Reclaim Your Sleep: A Guide to Overcoming Insomnia
Insomnia can wreak havoc in your life. You feel exhausted and frustrated. You are more prone to anger, agitation, and sickness.
How can you get a good night’s sleep? If you are not ready to take prescription sleep medication, there are plenty of other more natural remedies to this common condition.
Here are ten ways many have found to be helpful in overcoming insomnia.
1. Remove Screens
Many people nowadays keep their phones by their beds, in case they need to answer an urgent text or call. They scroll through Instagram before bed.
This digital habit can negatively affect sleep habits. The white light from the screes will throw off your circadian rhythms. It also sets a poor example for kids, whose health is even more susceptible to the ill consequences of too much screen time.
Try removing the television from your bedroom, too, for better sleep.
2. Air Conditioning
Keep your room below 65 degrees to get a better night’s sleep. Set the AC to that temperature or lower, or keep a window open.
When you fall asleep in a cool room, your body temperature will drop and your body will increase the production of melatonin (see below).
This magical hormone not only helps sleep but keeps you looking young as well.
3. Lavender
No need to rush straight to the doctor to address poor sleep. There are numerous herbal remedies available that have aided people with insomnia for years.
The scent of lavender had been known to relax people. Try some essential oils on your body’s pulse points, or using a lavender-scented candle or oil diffuser. You can also use sachets filled with lavender tucked within your pillows so you are surrounded by this relaxing aroma while you drop off.
4. Hot Bath
The ritual of a hot bath every night will relax your body and mind, letting you drift away from the stresses of the day. Often this will be your first chance to be alone and gain some peace and quiet!
Put on some soothing music and use some bath salts. The steam from the bath will help aching muscles let go of tension, and will also be good for your skin.
5. Marijuana
Medicinal marijuana is helping people with a wide variety of afflictions, from MS to cancer. Its components like THC, CBN, and CBD all deliver varying levels of relaxants which bring relief to many ailments.
One of the primary CBN benefits is sedation. If you are suffering great physical or mental pain, a CBN product can relieve you of that pain and let you get some much-needed sleep.
Talk to your doctor to see if your insomnia and anxiety may make you a candidate for a prescription.
6. Exercise
Working out regularly is a proven cure for insomnia by creating natural physical exhaustion. Exercise raises body temperature. When it drops afterward it can promote healthful sleep.
Exercise also helps regulate your circadian rhythms. Try working out at different times of the day: some people prefer an evening workout before dinner to help them get to sleep. Others find an evening work out revs them up, so they exercise in the morning to generate maximum exhaustion for the end of the day.
Exercise also gets you out of your head. If your insomnia is increased by endless rumination, working out will put your concentration back into the present and into your body instead of your worries about the past and future.
7. Melatonin
Melatonin is created by your own body. You start producing it when it starts to get dark outside- another reason why too much unnatural light can cause insomnia.
Melatonin is produced by the pineal gland in the brain but also found in other areas, such as the eyes, bone marrow, and gut. It is a powerful antioxidant. Research shows it can also help with eye health, stomach ulcers and heartburn, and tinnitus.
Many people use melatonin supplements to help with jet lag and insomnia.
8. Valerian
Valerian is another natural insomnia remedy. It has been used in natural homeopathy in places like China for centuries.
Like melatonin, it contains antioxidants and has a relaxing effect.
However, some patients experience anxiety and other side effects with valerian. Check with your doctor whether this remedy might work for you.
9. Blackout Curtains
Because light plays such an important role in regulating our circadian rhythms, natural sunlight and other forms of light prevent sleeping. Even the glow of a TV can cause you to fall into a more shallow slumber.
People like doctors or EMTs who work on unusual schedules struggle with the effect of sunlight on their sleep patterns. In addition to turning off the phone and removing the TV from their bedrooms, they often invest in a heavy set of blackout curtains.
A good set of blackout curtains will make sure you have no idea what time it is outside. A weighted blanket might also help.
10. Meditation
Meditation is a great way to help battle insomnia, and it is absolutely free! Many find that meditation every day helps calm their mind, focus their energies, and be more healthy and productive generally. It also helps people fall asleep faster and sleep more deeply.
Meditation has been used for centuries and is now experiencing a revival. Whether you incorporate it into your yoga practice, go to a Zendo, or simply sit quietly for ten minutes a day, you will reap the same benefits.
Meditation can reduce blood pressure, anxiety and depression. It helps regulate your heartbeat and breathing.
Some people prefer to meditate before sleep with a guided meditation or soothing recorded sound effects like rain or water However if this requires you to fiddle with your phone, try repeating a mantra or just sitting quietly.
You will soon see the benefits during your sleeping and waking life.
Overcoming Insomnia: Better Rest for Better Life
If you are seeking success in overcoming insomnia, there are many routes available to you. If you can take a natural herbal supplement, improve your sleeping space or use a breathing device to improve your sleep if you have a sleeping disorder like sleep apnea, you will soon be enjoying the benefits of a good night’s sleep. You are sure to feel better, become more productive, and be more mindful in your life.
Keep checking back for more ways to enhance your health and wellness.
