Say Goodbye To Your Sleep Problems With Natural Treatment For Insomnia

Do you find it difficult to sleep on time despite feeling tired? Do you wake up in the middle of the night and struggle to go back to sleep? You might be having insomnia. 

Sleep disturbances once in a while are normal and natural. But if it prolongs over a certain period, it starts to interfere with your day-to-day activities and lead to many health issues in the future. If you are trying to get better sleep at night, you would like to know these home remedies for insomnia.

Natural Treatment For Insomnia:

We may not get our perfect night's sleep every time due to our hectic lifestyle. Especially during the lockdown period, people have exposed themselves to various stress-inducing habits that will cause more health hazards in the future. In a recent survey, about 56.2% of participants in the study reported that the lockdown had changed their sleep patterns.

A healthy lifestyle is vital for getting your sleep pattern back on track. A regular sleep schedule enhances your melatonin production at night and lowers the release of stress hormones. Following is a set of effective home remedies for insomnia that enables you to balance your hormones and improve your sleep quality:

1. Take Melatonin Supplements:

Our brain naturally releases the melatonin hormone before we feel sleepy. This hormone releases when the exposure to light is low, which naturally happens at night. When you switch on the TV, smartphones or any blue light containing devices at night, your body does not produce sufficient melatonin to put you to sleep. This is when melatonin supplements come in handy. 

Melatonin supplements may not work for everyone, but it is an effective natural treatment for insomnia, especially if you go to bed and wake up much later than others.

2. Make Sure Your Sleep Surrounding Is Comfortable:

Your room in which you sleep should be as cool as possible. Wear comfortable clothes to bed. Noise, light or heat tends to disturb your sleep. Make sure that your bed, pillow, mattresses are comfortable to sleep in.

3. Get Adequate Sunlight Every Morning:

Sun exposure plays a vital role in determining how well you sleep. Ensure that you get some quality exposure to sunlight every morning. Adequate sunlight exposure works as a natural treatment for insomnia as it influences your body's vitamin D, calcium and phosphorous levels, which in turn plays a huge role in your metabolism.

4. Breathing Exercises:

Breathing exercise is one of the most beneficial home remedies for insomnia. Breathe deeply such that it not only involves your chest but also reaches your abdomen, ribs and lower back. Close your eyes while doing a deep breathing exercise and ensure that each breath is more profound than the previous one. Inhale from your nostrils and exhale through your mouth.

5. Relax Your Muscles:

Muscle relaxation technique for natural treatment for insomnia involves clenching your muscles as tight as possible and releasing them. To perform this, you need to sit or lie down in a comfortable position and tense your muscles as tightly as possible, starting from your feet to the top of your head. Tense your muscles one by one, hold them for 10 seconds and then relax. Do this for every muscle in your body until you feel completely relaxed.

6. Practice Mindfulness:

Sit or lie down in a position comfortable for you. Focus on your breathing and body. Pay attention to your body when you are breathing normally. Do not try to control your thoughts. Let your ideas flow in and out of your mind while focusing on breathing.

7. Physical Activity:

Aerobic exercises of moderate intensity help reduce daytime sleepiness and improve your sleep quality. Aerobic activities make you breathe rapidly and increase your heart rate. Hence, it is advisable to do these exercises during the day and not at night. Try to mix aerobic exercises with resistance exercises like push-ups, sit-ups, weight lifting etc., in your workout routine. These exercises improve your heart health and reduce the risk of two primary insomnia triggers - anxiety and depression.

8. Yoga To Make You Sleep:

Yoga focuses on breathing exercises, posture improvement and meditation that relaxes your mind, helps you lose weight and reduces pain. A study revealed that regular https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/yoga-for-sleep and worked as a natural treatment for insomnia in women who have attained menopause.

9. Watch What You Eat And Do:

Avoid alcohol, cigarettes, caffeine and heavy meals before bedtime. Try to eliminate everything that is stressing you out. 

Dos And Don'ts For Insomnia:

Sometimes, insomnia can also be triggered by underlying health issues. But before you conclude your health problem, make sure that your daily routine does not involve indulging in stress-inducing events that eventually lead to insomnia. Some habits are hardly noticeable, but they significantly impact your sleep. Some dos and don'ts to keep in mind that works as a natural treatment for insomnia include the following:

Dos For Insomnia:

• Try to exercise during the day. Regular walks, bicycle rides or anything that you enjoy doing during the day will help you sleep better at night.
• Drink one glass of warm milk half an hour before going to bed.
• Make sure you wear breathable clothes at night.
• Try to sleep and wake up uniformly each day, including the weekends. Wake up in the morning even if you are tired to balance your sleep rhythm.
• When you find yourself awake at night, rub the top of your ears to calm your mind. Another helpful method is to close your eyes and roll upwards a few times.
• If you are constantly worrying or are nervous about something at night, brainstorm your thoughts by writing them in a paper or diary. Postpone your worries to the next day so that you can sleep peacefully.
• Observe your lifestyle closely and identify things that stress you to eliminate them. 
• Bath in a tub of warm water about 45 minutes before sleep to relax your body and set the mood to fall asleep.

Don'ts For Insomnia:

• Do not force yourself to sleep. If you do not feel sleepy at night, leave your bedroom and try to relax your mind by reading books or drinking herbal tea and go back to sleep once you're ready to sleep.
• Do not drink caffeine-containing drinks at least six hours before sleep. 
• Drinking alcohol or a considerable quantity of fluids before bedtime wakes you up at night to urinate. The need to use the washroom in the middle of the night could be one of the most common factors disturbing sleep.
• Eating spicy or heavy foods two hours before sleep can cause acidity and stomach problems which could wake you up in the night.
• TV, smartphones, laptops consist of blue lights that interfere with your sleep. It is quite understandable that not using these gadgets is almost impossible in today's world. But you could try not using them an hour before you go to sleep.
• During bedtime, fighting with your spouse, checking messages on social media, working, etc., aggravates stress. It stops you from getting a night of quality sleep. Avoid doing things that add to your stress levels at night.
• Napping during the day makes it difficult to sleep at night. If you feel the urge to sleep in the daytime, restrict it to 30 minutes before 3 PM.

When Should You Seek Help?

Try to implement the changes mentioned above to your lifestyle and check whether these home remedies for insomnia work for you. It could take a while to notice some positive changes in your sleep health. If you do not feel better even after trying natural treatment for insomnia and your sleep disturbances are interfering with your life every day, it is time to visit your healthcare practitioner to find out what works for you.