Insomnia Causes | Insomnia Cures

Getting Help for Insomnia and How to Treat Insomnia Naturally

Lee Miller — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 14:13:45 +0000

Getting help for insomnia can be a major barrier. Many who suffer from the disorder choose to self-treat it without having discussed it with a physician or really knowing what has caused it to occur in the first place.

Why Getting Help for Insomnia is so Important

Knowing how to treat insomnia properly is important to proper recovery and eventual resolution. Insomnia sufferers often find themselves with substance abuse problems after trying to handle it on their own. This makes the disorder worse as they then become dependent on drugs and alcohol to get to sleep or to attain a more focused state of concentration than they might ordinarily have. As the body begins to weaken from a lack of proper sleep, the sufferer also faces the effects of anxiety and depression.

How to Treat Insomnia Naturally

Get a Workout: Adding 3 30 minute workout session to your weekly schedule can do wonders for your sleep cycle. This is because exercise is a great stress reliever and most cases of insomnia have stress and anxiety as their root causes. By relieving the anxiety the body is tired out and given cues that it should relax. Walking, running, and swimming are great examples of workouts that can do the job and fit easily into your schedule.
Setting the Mood: A major first step in improving your ability to sleep is making sure that your room has the proper setting for sleep. It should dark, quiet, and cool in your bedroom and any bedding you use should help you feel comfortable as well. Don’t use your bed for any other purpose but sleep and sex, this helps your mind develop a better understanding of the bedroom as a place for sleep rather than for activities such as reading, watching television or hanging out.
Warm Baths do Help: Taking a warm bath before bed can help tremendously. Make sure that it is warm and not hot, you should be able to relax in it for awhile to help signal to your mind and body that it is bedtime. Adding an essential oil like lavender to the bath water may also help.
Have a Cup of Tea: Herbal teas have long been used to treat insomnia. You can find several herbal blends of “sleep time” teas in health food stores and in most super markets. Herbs that help insomnia are valerian, chamomile, passion fruit, kava kava, and hops many of which you’ll find combined.
Meditation Gives us Focus: Contrary to popular misconception meditation does not require special classes. Simple exercises can be just as a big a help for insomnia. Close your eyes, clear your thoughts and focus on each part of your body one at a time starting with your feet. Imagine each appendage slowly falling asleep until you can feel each part of your body relax.
Develop Sleep Habits: If you’ve ever raised a child you know that repeating a cycle of certain behaviors can help to train the body to relax as it grows used to the repetition. The same is true of training the body to a sleep cycle.

Determining What Causes Insomnia

Lee Miller — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 19:54:35 +0000

There are three main classifications of insomnia disorder, understanding these classifications will help determine what causes insomnia in each patient. Knowing which type of insomnia you have also helps determine the best form of treatment. Many patients with chronic insomnia, for example, require more care and may need to try several methods before their sleeplessness is resolved.

Transient: This is a more common form of insomnia which is usually caused by an inability to relax due to a change in environment, for example if you were to move to a new home or have to spend the night in a hotel.

Short Term: Lasting no more than three weeks this type of insomnia is typically triggered off because of stress or anxiety brought about by emotionally duress. For example if you were dealing with a stressful divorce or loss of a loved one.

Chronic: This form of insomnia is much more severe, resulting in at least 3 nights of sleeplessness each week, which lasts for at least a month. Chronic insomnia is split into two forms: Primary, when the individual suffers from no other conditions beyond sleeplessness and Secondary where the sleeplessness is usually the result of medication or emotional and psychiatric disorders.

General Causes of Insomnia

Stress: Nearly all cases of insomnia break down to this cause. Stress causes anxiety and in turn sleeplessness as the mind and body become more frantic and incapable of relaxation.

Anxiety: This cause is usually directly linked to stress and is the second leading cause of insomnia. Anxiety sufferers have a mind that is always active ad always pumping adrenaline which keeps the body on alert, preventing sleep and relaxation.

Medical Issues: Several medical problems may cause insomnia, among these are : Stroke and other forms of heart disease, asthma, sleep apnea, tumors, chronic fatigue syndrome, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.

Psychological Problems: Mental issues also play a part. If you suffer from one of several forms of mania, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia you’re likely to suffer bouts of insomnia along with them.

Drugs and Alcohol: Both legal and illegal drugs which act as stimulants preventing sleep. These drugs include: heart and blood medications, ephedrine, cocaine, meth, allergy medications, amphetamines and other stimulants. Caffeine and nicotine also affect the wake/sleep cycle because they too are stimulants. If you drink heavily your body made have become dependent on the hypnotic affect of alcohol on order to fall asleep, without it sleep may seem impossible.

Menopause: Women going through menopause deal with added stress, mood swings, night sweats and irregular body temperature due to hormonal shifts in the body as the cycle of menstruation comes to an end. These symptoms and the hormonal changes themselves also affect the wake/sleep cycle of the body.

Discussing some of these factors with a doctor may be difficult, but it’s very important to the treatment process. Many insomnia sufferers abuse drugs and alcohol while trying to resolve the disorder, seeking treatment for both is an important first step.

Insomnia Herbal Remedy

Lee Miller — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 17:02:58 +0000

Insomnia is a disorder that can prevent the sufferer from living their life at full potential. If you suffer from insomnia disorder, night after night of restless and interrupted sleep or a total lack of sleep can leave you feeling irritable, ill and depressed. To make matters worse insomnia can lead to several different health conditions including heart disease, cancer, diabetes and premature aging.

The frustration of a restless night can lead to dependence on prescription and over the counter sleep aides or abuse of alcohol and stimulants for many insomniacs. The side effects of such things can be disastrous and result in greater damage to the mind and body than insomnia alone. There have long been safer ways to treat insomnia that are overlooked; one of these is the use of herbal remedies. Insomnia and herbal remedy are often discussed but often dismissed without fair consideration.

What are the Benefits of Herbal Remedy Treatment?

Natural Sedatives Without Dangerous Side Effects or Risk of Dependency: The reason these herbs are effective for the treatment of insomnia is that they act as natural sedatives, providing many of the same effects that prescription and over the counter sleep aides promise, with much less risk for negative side effects such as dependency.

Help at Reduced Expense: By using simple teas, supplements, and tinctures you can effectively treat insomnia at a much cheaper cost as well.

Treatment for Anxiety and Stress: Anxiety and Stress are the two leading causes of insomnia whether on their own or as part of a health condition. These herbs help relieve anxiety and stress and allow you to relax.

Readily Available: Unlike prescription sleep aides herbal supplements can be purchased at many pharmacies, health and even many grocery and department stores.

Which Herbs are Effective?

Valerian: The most powerful of herbal remedies, valerian root is strong enough to be effective against even chronic insomnia due to its similarity to drugs like Valium. Use caution if you have high or low blood pressure, liver damage or are pregnant or may become so, interactions can result in these conditions.

Chamomile: An effective herb for sleeplessness in any of it’s forms chamomile has a soothing smell.

Hops: This is effective for mild forms of insomnia, it relaxes and soothes the nerves.

Passionflower: This herb is especially effective for the stressed and overworked.

Kava Kava: This herb has been known to help with dreaming and communication while calming and relaxing the user.

Lavender: Available in many forms lavender is the easiest to attain herb. It’s found in lotions, bath soaps, essential oils, sachets and aerosol sprays in health and beauty sections everywhere.

Talk to your Doctor

No one else has such a thorough knowledge of drug interactions and your health. Discussing insomnia and herbal remedy with your doctor can help determine how effective it can be for your case. Remember that insomnia is a symptom rather than a separate condition and evaluating your symptoms is the most effective way to determine its cause and a proper course of treatment.

Dealing With Insomnia During Pregnancy

Lee Miller — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 02:35:02 +0000

Insomnia: Just One of the Many Symptoms of Pregnancy

Insomnia is as common a symptom in pregnant mothers as nausea/vomiting and swollen ankles. There is no reason to think that your insomnia during pregnancy is affecting or will affect your baby. The reality is that the baby might be just what is keeping you awake. Insomnia is common enough during pregnancy that nearly 2/3 of mothers suffer from it at some point during the three trimesters, for some it may even come and go at random.

Causes of Insomnia during Pregnancy

A Lot to think About: What mind is more occupied than that of the pregnant mother? Her mind is always on the growing life inside her, whether she’s thinking about the future of her child, the anxiety of the coming birth, or asking herself what sort of mother they will be to their child. The trouble is that an active mind is a mind that has trouble relaxing, which makes it harder to fall asleep and stay there.
Restlessness: There are many new changes to your body several of which leave you aching and uncomfortable when you lie down. Leg cramps, swollen ankles, an aching back or the never ending urge to empty your bladder are all distractions from getting the rest you need.
Strange Dreams: It is common for a mother to experience strange or particularly vivid dreams during her pregnancy. The trouble is that this can make it harder to fall asleep as you wonder what you’ll dream about when you do. It’s not clear what causes this particular symptom but the hormonal shift experienced at this time could be more than enough to cause insomnia during pregnancy.

Symptoms of Insomnia during Pregnancy

Difficulty in getting back to bed once awakened for whatever reason
Waking up several times during the night
Tossing and turning, unable to sleep

Easy Changes that Can Help Insomnia during Pregnancy

Start a Routine: If you do not have a particular routine before bed this can be the best way to tell your body it’s time to relax.
Take a Warm Bath: The soothing sensation of warm water (not hot this can be too much for you and the baby) can help you and the baby relax before bed.
Mediation and Massage: Meditation can help your mind relax and can be as simple as closing your eyes, focusing on each part of your body and imagining it falling asleep. Massage helps you work out all of those aches and pains and gives you the comfort of your partner’s skin on skin contact.
Exercise: If you get some exercise during the day it can help you work out some of the anxiety and stress it also relaxes your body, making it easier to fall asleep. 3 30 minutes exercises can be good for you and the baby and need not be any more strenuous than a good walk.

How To Deal With Menopause and Insomnia

Lee Miller — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 03:25:17 +0000

Menopause is a time of life during which major changes occur. With the changing levels of hormones in the body, several symptoms can begin to affect the way we live our lives. Women who are going through menopause will experience typical symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats and will also have an increased risk for developing cancers.

However, along with these well documented symptoms, there are other symptoms too, which, though lesser known are just as serious. One of the most serious of these is insomnia. While measures to overcome the common symptoms are discussed at length, most women underestimate the effects menopause and insomnia can have on our lives and are unaware of how to deal with it.

Insomnia most often occurs as the result of stress on the body or mind and is more commonly a symptom of another condition rather than an illness on its own. For menopausal women the disorder is linked to the shift in hormones, which cause hot flashes and added stress on her emotional state.

How Do I Know I’m Experiencing the Effects of Menopause and Insomnia?

Insomnia is a common issue among menopausal and peri-menopausal women and is most commonly present as an inability to achieve a full night’s rest. Sufferers often awaken in the night and cannot get back to sleep.

The following are all signs that you are experiencing menopausal insomnia:

Bouts of sleeplessness, often just before a nigh sweat or other form of warm period that could cause you to toss and turn.

Vivid dreams

Awakening in an anxious state with a rapid pulse rate

Sudden bouts of wakefulness without reason.

How Can the Effects of Menopause and Insomnia be Reduced?

There’s no magic trick that can completely resolve the matter and bring instant sleep but these tips can do a lot to help reduce the effects.

Consider Using Herbs: There are many herbs that can help you sleep and several ways to use them. Valerian, Lavender, Chamomile, Hops, and Kava Kava are all herbs used for this purpose. The most common of these is lavender which can be found in essential oil, lotion, bath soap, and sachets to be placed under the pillow. Most of these herbs can be found available as tinctures, teas and supplements. Ask your doctor before beginning any new supplements to avoid negative drug interactions.

Start a Routine: If you make it a habit to follow a set of steps every night it can help your body and mind relax for bed. It also helps to go to sleep and wake up at specific times. Avoid naps during the day too.

Take a Warm Bath: This relaxes your body and mind without much effort. Adding essential oils like lavender to the bath and using a lotion with the herb may help as well.

Proper Environment: The best bedroom state to sleep in is cool, dark and comfortable.

After Noon Avoid Caffeine: Caffeine is a stimulant that can stay in your system for longer than you think.

Keep Your Bed for Rest: If you body recognizes the bed as a place for sleep alone it should help you relax.

Quick And Easy Insomnia Remedies

Lee Miller — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 14:55:28 +0000

Are you someone who is looking for easy and effective insomnia remedies? Then here are some quick remedies to help you. People suffering from loss of sleep on a regular basis, might find it difficult to get the right solution to their problems. This is in spite of the fact that they know about insomnia and the way to get proper sleep. Moreover, the ideas used to get satisfying sleep fail to generate the kind of cure that they are looking for. Therefore, here are some quick insomnia remedies that can be used to get easy and effective cure from the problem.

There is a need to find out the actual reason for the sleeplessness problem and address the root cause of the problem without putting undue pressure on the mind to sleep. The medications for providing sleep will aggravate the problem and cause drowsiness instead of curing the problem. The main idea is to find a way to get rid of the problem that keeps you awake.

The objective of insomnia remedies is to provide help to deal with stress and anxiety in life. An anxiety-filled person will loose their sleeping habit, as the mind will be distracted due to the problem. There is a need to learn the method to deal with anxiety instead of trying to remove it. One possible remedy would be to go for yoga or meditation. This will help provide the required amount of peace to the mind to overcome undue stress or anxiety. People who try yoga get instant benefits from these practices particularly when they use it as one of the insomnia remedies.

Understanding your sleeping pattern and regulating the sleeping cycle is a very common method used as insomnia remedies. This method stresses on avoiding sleeping late at night or weekends. The sleeping environment is critical to the kind of sleep a person can receive. Blocking any sort of noise or light from affecting the sleep might not be part of insomnia remedies, but is very important for sound sleep. If the occurrence of light or sound tends to distract the sleep, then the same needs to be avoided at all cost. Only then will you be able to get proper sleep as required.

The simplest of insomnia remedies depends on avoiding unnecessary distractions that might lead to waking up in the middle of the night. The simplest type of remedies are the best ones, which can help a person overcome their insomnia problem and get the right amount of sleep for their daily needs. It is essential to understand that very small distractions can also affect the sleeping pattern of a person. Therefore, it is necessary to fix these distractions as well. Most of the insomnia problems are due to stress, poor sleeping environment, and distractions. Therefore, the main objective of the insomnia remedies is to take care of these problems by trying to work with the body and regulate the sleeping pattern.

Anxiety and Insomnia: A Stunning Relationship

Lee Miller — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 03:11:48 +0000

Have you ever felt that you suffer from the effects of excessive anxiety and insomnia in a routine manner? Do you get the sense that both these things are related? If so, then you might be right about this fact. People with insomnia stay anxious throughout the day whereas those who are anxious stay awake at night. One condition is related to the other, which means that you will be stuck in a looping vicious cycle of anxiety and insomnia. This will lead to more sleeplessness due to extreme anxiety. However, the main idea is to understand the relation between anxiety and insomnia and address the issues attached to them. This is extremely important to get rid of this vicious cycle.

How Anxiety and Insomnia Are Related

If you have issues with anxiety and insomnia, then the actual reason that you stay awake at night is because your mind is not distracted due to everyday activities. This is the main reason that you do not think about those thoughts and feel the unnecessary stress due to wandering of your mind. During the night, your mind is like a free wandering soul but at daytime, there are several issues to think about like children, career, family, and similar kind of responsibilities. This can lead to both anxiety and insomnia as the mind races without being quiet and allowing you to go to sleep in a quiet manner. The main relation of anxiety and insomnia is clear from the fact that the reason you stay awake is because the body is supposed to avoid the unpleasant circumstances by keeping awake. This means that if you are anxious then you will face sleeplessness.

Anxiety and Insomnia Relationship

Some believe anxiety and insomnia are related to each other because first they experience sleeplessness and then become extremely anxious due to it. This causes that person to become irritated and angry at the slightest of issues. The body needs sufficient rest so that the mind can get rid of the distractions while being in a state of alert during day and night. If you are working overtime through the day then the mind becomes fatigued. This shows the relationship between anxiety and insomnia. Irritability is caused in your behavior due to anxiousness and sleeplessness.

How to Determine If You Have Both Anxiety and Insomnia

It might become difficult for you to understand whether you are affected by either anxiety or insomnia, and which one of these has occurred first. However, if you find out the relationship between these two, then there should be a way worked out to understand the actual reason to consider these problems. It might not be possible for you to get rid of anxiety from your life but there is a possibility of finding out the best methods of dealing with both anxiety and insomnia so that you can live well. Practices such as regular exercises, meditation, stretching, and yoga will help in reducing anxiety and getting a sound sleep.

Is There Any Natural Cure for Insomnia?

Lee Miller — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 18:42:45 +0000

Insomnia is a disorder that affects people from all walks of life and can occur at any age. Though insomnia is a symptom that is common to certain diseases and conditions such as menopause, depression and arthritis, its primary cause is stress and anxiety. Insomnia is a disorder that is often overlooked and mistreated. Many sufferers attempt to treat it on their own which for many can lead to substance abuse of things like alcohol (which acts as a sedative due to its hypnotic qualities) stimulants (which can help the person reach an artificial state of consciousness they don’t feel as a result of sleeplessness) and prescription or over the counter sleep aides. The danger of becoming dependent on these substances is one of the greatest risks for insomnia sufferers who are already at risk for developing cancers, heart disease and diabetes. All of these concerns lead to an interest in finding a natural cure for insomnia.

Why Use A Natural Cure for Insomnia?

Herbs, which are the most effective natural cures, are not addictive.

When used in the right dosage, the side effects are minimal or non-existent.

Most natural cures can give you a good night’s rest without leaving you feeling heavily drugged.

Many natural cures for insomnia are inexpensive and easy to use.

Which are the Most Effective Natural Cures for Insomnia?

Proper Environment: The best environment for restful sleep is a room that is quiet, cool and dark. This allows your body to produce the right amount of melatonin ( a hormone which regulates the circadian rhythm of the body) and tells your body that this is the time for rest and relaxation.

Melatonin: Supplements of the hormone melatonin are readily available and have been proven effective when used in small doses. Larger doses can incite side effects such as headaches, irritability, nausea and vivid nightmares as your body has reached a level of melatonin that ceases to be helpful and instead may make it worse. Using any hormone warrants caution to maintain the proper balance of the body.

Herbal Remedies: Using herbs such as chamomile, valerian, passionflower, kava kava, and lavender can be effective in treating less serious cases of insomnia. All of these drugs are available as supplements and tinctures and most are available as teas. Lavender can be especially helpful as it’s available in soaps, shampoos, lotions, essential oils (which can be added to the bath) and in sachets that can be placed under the pillow.

Forming a Routine: Developing a consistent schedule of actions before bed can help your body to naturally relax for rest. Establish a bed time and wake time you can stick to and follow a nightly ritual you can do every night.

While there is no one natural cure for insomnia that is most effective, a combination of all of these measures will work best towards promoting a restful night’s sleep.

Use Caution when Using any Natural Cure for Insomnia

Most natural cures for insomnia are available from your local health store or pharmacy in the forms of teas, tinctures and supplements. Always discuss your symptoms and any plans to use supplements with your doctor. Insomnia is a symptom of other health conditions and as such it needs to be evaluated to determine its cause. Using any form of medication should merit caution as drug interactions and interaction with health disorders can have serious side effects you may not know about on your own.

Herbal Remedies for Insomnia

Lee Miller — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:18:39 +0000

Most people tend to underestimate the effects of insomnia with the result of which it is often mistreated. Very often, in an attempt to alleviate the symptoms of insomnia, physicians and patients alike can overlook the fact that insomnia is a symptom of other conditions and should be looked at closely before treatment begins. Too often the result is that insomnia is treated with medications that may not be necessary at all. Even in the event that these drugs are effective, they may bring along side effects that can be just as harmful such as a risk of dependency, grogginess and an increased risk of heart problems. As a result, many patients who seek to treat insomnia on their own get trapped in a cycle of drug and alcohol abuse to avoid the problem.

How Can These Risks be Avoided?

Herbal remedies for insomnia, which come from healthier, all-natural sources can be just as effective as prescription and over the counter treatments and they are the preferred mode of treatment as they have fewer side effects. Most of these remedies are easily available in health food stores as well as pharmacies at affordable prices as well. When used with a regular bedtime routine they can prove especially effective in treating insomnia.

Note: Irrespective of what medication you choose to use, it is crucial that you discuss it with your doctor beforehand to avoid complications from drug interactions or risking the health of your baby if you are pregnant. Remember your doctor is a valuable resource in maintaining your health and wellbeing. It may also be beneficial to see a counselor or psychiatrist to evaluate your stress and anxiety levels, which could be the cause of your insomnia.

Effective Herbal Remedies for Insomnia:

Chamomile: This aromatic herb is effective as a tea, supplement, tincture, stuffed into a pillowcase or as an essential oil. Chamomile gives off an aroma that is soothing and relaxing and when taken orally, the herb works as an effective sedative.

Passionflower: Passionflower helps to relax the muscles and as a result can be especially helpful for those dealing with anxiety and stress. It does not take much to be effective; just having a cup of the tea before bed can do wonders for getting a restful sleep.

Valerian: This herb is great for treating anxiety and insomnia. It can be taken as a tea but may be better as a tincture or supplement as it has a strong odor that might seem offensive. Avoid using this herb if you are driving or are planning on getting pregnant.

Lavender: Lavender is the most readily available of all herbal remedies for insomnia. It is easily found in many forms of health and beauty aids and can be found in most stores. Using a few drops of the essential oil in your bath or placing some of the flowers in your pillowcase and using a lotion or soap with the herb can be very helpful for inducing sleep.

Kava Kava: This herb is good for treating anxiety. It can be used in tincture as well as a supplement form; follow the directions for use on the bottle. Kava kava is best avoided if you are pregnant or nursing and should also not be taken in combination with other sedatives or alcohol.

What is Insomnia Disorder & What Causes it?

Lee Miller — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:13:30 +0000

Have you been dealing with long bouts of sleeplessness? Do you feel exhausted but you just cannot seem to fall asleep and then when you do, you just cannot stay asleep for a significant amount of time? If this is what you’ve been going through, there’s a good chance you are suffering from insomnia disorder.

More Than a Little Trouble Sleeping

While insomnia disorder essentially refers to sleep deprivation, it does not have a simple definition. This is because the factors that trigger off insomnia vary widely from one person to the other. To understand this better, we need to take a look at the three main factors that cause insomnia:

Predisposing Factors: The predisposed sufferer typically experiences insomnia due to an over active or an over anxious mind. This can be brought on either because the individual is driven and ambitious or on the other hand, the individual may be depressed. Both groups of people are equally affected by this disorder.

Precipitating Factors: These are factors that relate to sudden stressful or disruptive occurrences in a person’s life such as the loss of a loved one, a sudden monumental increase in work or responsibilities, acute pain from an injury or surgery and or less serious stressors such as a radical change in work hours or a case of jetlag.

Perpetuating Factors: These are typically self-induced factors such as drug addiction or alcohol abuse that affect a person’s regular sleeping pattern. It can also be caused by taking on irregular sleep patterns such as staying up late or sleeping fewer hours for a time and then trying to go back to a regular sleep cycle.

Insomnia Disorder is a Symptom

While most of us think of insomnia as the problem, the reality is that insomnia disorder is a symptom of other conditions. Look over this list of insomnia types to better understand what role life changes can take in your sleep patterns:

Transient: This is temporary insomnia caused by an increase in stress levels brought on by changes in environment or conflict. You may experience this form of insomnia from having a particularly stressful argument, moving to a new place or even staying in a place which isn’t your home.

Toxin-Induced: This is sleep that is affected by exposure to heavy metal or organic toxins.

Alcohol-Dependent: This insomnia is more common in alcoholics and results when the sufferer needs to drink enough alcohol to achieve the hypnotic affect that will allow them to fall asleep but they often find that they are unable to sleep long enough.

Stimulant-Dependent: This occurs after a user of stimulants quits using them. The brain gets used to the sleep/wake cycle caused by the stimulants and then is unable to achieve a level of exhaustion that allows sleep.

Idiopathic: Idiopathic insomnia is a neurological problem with the sleeping/waking system that could have started at birth and is often a lifelong problem.

Environmental: This is an inability to sleep or to feel fully rested which is caused by outside distractions such as construction or other noises during the rest period.

If you feel that you are experiencing insomnia, it is best to discuss these patterns with your physician before attempting to make any changes or trying remedies. Sleep aides may worsen chronic insomnia so use caution when evaluating their use.