Just One Good Night's Sleep
When we aren't able to sleep at night, it's easy to feel like we're the only person in the entire world who is still awake. However, Insomnia is much more common than we'd normally think. Fifteen to seventeen percent of us have problems sleeping at some point in our life. Not only is it a problem all by itself, but it's also a symptom of just about every other disease or illness. Insomnia is not only the inability to sleep, but it is also any disturbance in our sleep patterns.
Everyone's natural sleep patterns are different. We all require a different amount of sleep, some less than others, some more than others. Studies say that about 66 of people sleep between 6.5 and 8.5 hours a night, while 16 percent sleep for more than 8.5 hours and 18 percent sleep under 6.5 hours.
So what is this telling us? Fatigue isn't directly related to how much we are sleeping. Research also shows that almost 80 percent of people who are tired all the time can alleviate some of the problem through diet and nutrition, not just sleep. Also, sleeping more isn't necessarily helping if you aren't getting a good quality of sleep.
What are some of the causes of insomnia? Nervousness, restlessness, irritability, mood swings, excess caffeine, alcohol, drugs, pain, food allergies, an over-active mind, and nightmares, just to start with. When we go to the doctor for any of these problems, we're usually prescribed a sleeping pill. Fifty percent of the people who take these pills actually feel worse and sleep less.
If you're not sleeping, you're probably experiencing a lot of other symptoms such as depression, body aches and pains, anxiety and a lowered immune system. From this point, the problem circles back around to not being able to sleep because you are depressed, hurting, anxious or sick, etc., and it becomes a vicious cycle.
So if you don't want to take sleeping pills, what do you do? There are a wide range of sleep therapies including Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Herbalism, Folk Remedies, Aromatherapy, Homeopathy, Hypnosis, Bach Flower Remedies, Reiki and vitamins and minerals. Each system listed here has its own abilities to help you sleep and heal. I'll cover as many remedies here as I can.
Ayurvedic medicine would use a combination of herbs to treat insomnia, including henbane, which is a natural sedative. Other natural sedatives, such as the ones used in Traditional Chinese Medicine would be gypsum, fleeceflower, hoelen; or the ones used in Herbalism, such as valerian, lavender, chamomile, catnip, lemon balm, or limeflowers. These three methods would use the herbs in a tea to drink before you go to bed at night, or in the case of lavender or gypsum, in a pillow.
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