Natural Remedies for Curing Insomnia

Insomnia or sleeplessness is one of the most common problems in modern times. Mostly people from the upper class in urban areas suffer from this disease. A wide range of drugs are prescribed by the physicians to tackle this problem.  However these medications have been proved to have a large number of fatal effects, when taken in overdoses. Insomnia hinders the efficiency of a person in the performance of day to day routine activities.

Sleep is the resting phase of body which is absolutely necessary for its normal functioning. It gives relief from stress, tensions, rests the mind and body and after waking up early in the morning a person feels fresh and relaxed. However the time of sleep varies from one person to another. Normally 6-8 hours of sleep is adequate for many people.

Generally the problem of insomnia is most common among the elderly or old aged people. They often suffer from disturbed sleep by waking up in between, during the night. In this case it is not the quantity but the quality of sleep which gets affected. A small child sleeps more, middle aged persons have normal sleep and elderly people suffer from reduced sleeping hours. Age diminishes the sleep requirements.

The most common symptoms of insomnia are frequent changes in the sleeping patterns, changes in the quality and duration of sleep, lack of concentration and lapses of memory during the day. Other symptoms are confusion, loss of co-ordination and emotional instability.

The most common causes of insomnia are mental tensions, overwork, worries, and overexcitement. Even when feelings of anger, resentment and bitterness are suppressed it may cause sleeplessness. Other important causes are excessive intake of tea, coffee, constipation, overeating, dyspepsia and going to bed without eating anything.

Nature Cure for Insomnia: Sleeping pills do not offer a permanent remedy for sleeplessness. When taken continuously they are habit forming and loose their effectiveness. Sleeping pills have a large number of ill-effects such as rashes on the skin, indigestion, low resistance to infection, respiratory and circulatory disorders, loss of appetite, liver and kidney problems, high blood pressure and depression.

To treat the problem of insomnia one should plan a regular sleeping schedule, going to bed at fixed time and getting up at a fixed time early in the morning. Students disturb their sleeping schedule during exam time by drinking tea, coffee and studying upto late night hours. This usually results in lack of concentration and dull memory power during the next day.

Marked deficiencies of vitamins such as B-complex, Vitamin C and D, manganese, potassium, calcium, magnesium and zinc also lead to sleeplessness or insomnia. Proper supply of all these essential nutrients is necessary for the proper functioning of sleep mechanism. They should be present in adequate amounts in our day to day diet.

Taking a well balanced diet with necessary changes in eating habits go a long way in the treatment and cure of insomnia. This diet should exclude tea, coffee, sugar, chocolates, colas, white flour products, fried foods, fatty foods, alcohol, condiments and excessive use of salt should be avoided.

Milk is also very helpful for inducing sleep and treating insomnia. A glass of milk should be taken every night before going to bed.

Breath control is another good way of inducing sleep. Under this method the patient should lie on his one side in the bed and then take 3-4 deep breaths expanding the abdomen completely. Then the person should hold his breath as long as he can. Next again the patient should take 3-4 more breaths and repeat the breath holding. During breath holding carbon-dioxide is accumulated inside the body which in turn induces sleep.

Regular physical exercises also play an important role in activating the sleeping mechanism. It brings about a change in the hormonal balance which is beneficial to the body and inducing sleep. Walking, jogging, swimming, skipping are all the ideal exercises. However vigorous exercises should be avoided as it can be over stimulating.

Water Therapy has also proved to be useful in the treatment of insomnia. Applying hot packs to the spine, hot or cold foot bath and hot fomentation to the spine before going to bed are all proven methods.

Yogic exercises also help in treating cases of sleeplessness. It tones up the respiratory, circulatory and nervous system. Secondly yoga also gives relaxation to both the mind and body in coping up with the routine stress and tensions. Yogasanas which are effective for curing insomnia are Paschimottanasana, Shirsasana, Sarvanasana, Shavasana and Uttanasana.

Thus we can conclude that insomnia has become one of the most widespread problems, and every individual gets affected by it to some extent or the other. A proper application of various methods of nature cure offers a permanent relief from insomnia and improves the quality of life.