Insomnia relief, insomnia treatment, cause of insomnia and sleep

Insomnia cause of insomnia, insomnia treatment, insomnia cure

Ways to prevent insomnia, naturally

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, mood, vitality, sex drive, and reduces the risk for chronic medical conditions. Insomnia is one of the major causes of low libido.

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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 isomnia. 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. Many people report deep, refreshing sleep 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. Physical activity enhances the deep, refreshing stage of sleep, and also helps the body release more human growth hormone.

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.

Don't overly rely on sleeping pills. Check with your doctor before using sleeping pills. Make sure the pills won't interact with other medications or with an existing medical condition.

Use the lowest dosage and never mix alcohol and sleeping pills. The occasional use of prescription sleep pills should not be harmful but regular use can lead to rebound insomnia.

If you feel sleepy or dizzy during the day, talk to your doctor about changing the dosage or discontinuing the pills.
Melatonin at a dose of 1 to 2 mg an hour or two before bed can help induce sleep. Limit use to once a week. Sometimes a lower dose such as 0.3 mg taken earlier in the evening, about 6 or 7 PM works better than a higher dose taken later.
The herb Hops in tea or pill can also help with sleep. Hops is taken about an hour or two before bed. A Valerian/Hops combination 500mg/100mg may also work well.
Kava taken a few hours before bed can also be helpful, so can the occasional use of 5-HTP at a dose of 50 mg an hour before bed on an empty stomach or half an hour before dinner.

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.

Aromatherapy
The smell of jasmine in the bedroom has been found to help reduce insomnia. Lavender may also help slightly. For more insomnia cure information.

Insomnia Research Update
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 and disease
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.
Illness, including heart disease.
Impaired safety and performance at work, at home and while driving a car.
Reduced productivity and enjoyment of activities and hobbies.

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