Insomnia

By Marilyn Zink

I remember those nights when I couldn't get to sleep - some worry gnawing at the edges of my consciousness.

Then there were those mornings when I woke up feeling tired, like I should sleep several more hours. Or the mornings when I heard the birds chirping at 4 a.m. and realized I didn't sleep at all. It's a lousy feeling when you need sleep and can't get it.

Our bodies are designed to repair themselves while we rest. If we don't get that crucial rest, that deep sleep known as the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) cycle, we end up feeling anxious, irritable, have difficulty thinking clearly or even difficulty speaking.

Sometimes we do it to ourselves - drinking coffee or alcohol, eating the wrong foods, taking late afternoon naps. Indigestion can certainly have an effect on our sleep patterns.

Many times it's a temporary occasion, caused by worry or a major change to your life. Other times, it's due to a health concern or a medication a person is taking.

It's a good idea to have a warm-up routine before going to sleep. Young children, like our young daughter, like to have a regular routine prior to going to bed. It usually involves the bathroom and ends with a good book and hugs and kisses.

Fortunately, I haven't suffered from much insomnia. But I have a list of things to try if it becomes a problem.

Treatments

The first stop is often the local health food store. There you can find a combination of homeopathics, herbs, teas, tonics and more.

Sometimes I find a nice warm bath with my favorite bubble bath and essential oils is just what is needed to calm a stressed nervous system. My favorites are geranium and lavender essential oils. Lavender helps calm the body while geranium helps balance the system. Bergamot is another one to try to calm your system. You can find aromatherapy products, such as essential oils and products for bathing at spas, bath and gift stores or health food stores.

A variety of herbal remedies, tonics and extracts can also be found at health food stores such as Ladysmith Health Food store.

Owner Janice Peters says insomnia is "extremely common. It's one of the most common issues."

She says there are many remedies available, such as tonics, extracts, herbal drops that can be put under the tongue. Herbs such as valerian, chamomile, lavender and passion flower are soothing and calming.

Peters says there is one remedy called a 'Chill Pill,' which contains a combination of B vitamins, inosital astragalus, passion flower and other herbs.
"So it's adaptogens to help the body adapt to change and stress, and the rest to nourish the nervous system."

Another useful aide for insomnia is a pharmaceutical grade melatonin.
"It's the only one I trust," notes Peters.

Melatonin helps adjust the body's sleep and wake cycles.
"People who have insomnia for long periods of time need to reset the body clock," says Peters.

Besides herbs, on another occasion I found a hypnotherapy CD to be particularly useful. It promoted relaxation techniques such as tightening and then relaxing muscles. While listening to the CD, I imagined walking down a path to a clearing in a forest. Many times I fell asleep before I found out what happened next.

Hypnotherapy for sleep disorders is part of practicing behavioral mind and physical techniques and ties in with meditation and self-guided imagery.
Another technique to try is to keep a sleep diary and use it to guide your progress.

In a sleep diary, you record all sleep-related information, what time you went to bed, how long you slept, how rested you felt, how many times you woke up, what you did before bedtime, what you ate and drank, etc. A sleep partner can add observations as well. Keeping a sleep diary for at least two weeks will give you information about your sleep schedule and may uncover some sleep patterns of which you were unaware.

Keeping a sleep diary can also make you aware of your sleep hygiene. We have a bathroom hygiene practice before bed - so being aware of our sleep hygiene can help give us better sleep habits.

Sleep hygiene refers to sleep habits and conditions, which promote sleep as opposed to habits such as drinking alcohol or caffeine in the evening, which make it hard for you to unwind and get to sleep. Sleep hygiene should be your first line of attack against insomnia, and it is often used in conjunction with stimulus control and changing your behavior. Review your habits and make some changes in your routine to see if behavioral and environmental changes improve your sleep.

Techniques such as massage and reflexology also help with relaxing and reducing stress. Read about more ways to deal with insomnia from various contributors in this issue.

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