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At some point in our lives many of us have had to deal with insomnia. Curing insomnia is especially important to those that deal with bouts that last an extended period of time. Lack of sleep can have far reaching effects on our ability to deal with our daily lives, as sleep deprivation can impact our efforts to concentrate and can lead to chronic health issues.

If you are one of those that suffer from ongoing insomnia, you know how difficult it is to be productive. And since the problem has become so wide spread, there are more and more sleep aid products on the market claiming to be the magic pill that will give you a good night sleep. And while many of these medications can and will help, why not try a few drug free alternatives first.

A few simple steps could go a long way in curing insomnia. Take a look at your bedtime routine and see if a change of habit might provide you with a restful night. See if you can force your body into a sleep schedule by going to bed and waking up at the same time every day. If you have a habit of reading and/or watching television in bed, this is only making your problem worse. Your body needs to learn that bed is about sleep, so don’t get into bed until you are ready to sleep. Soft music or the use of a white noise machine are great ways to sooth you into a restful state.

Before going to bed you should avoid exercise, alcohol and heavy foods, as these tend to stimulate the body, which is the last thing you want if you are trying to sleep. Instead, try stretching, deep breathing or meditating for a while before going to bed. Or have a cup of chamomile tea – caffeine free of course! If after this, you are still unable to go to sleep, get up and don’t go back to bed again until you feel as though you could sleep. Lying in bed tossing and turning is not conducive to training the body that this is the place to sleep.

Many don’t think of this, but what you eat and drink during the day could still have an impact on your ability to sleep at night, so make sure you limit your caffeine and alcohol intake. Whatever time of day you drink these, they can still interrupt your sleep.

Curing insomnia likely isn’t going to happen overnight! But with a little trial and error and some adjustments to your lifestyle, hopefully you can find relief. If not, go see your doctor before your lack of sleep causes health issues.

In traditional Chinese medicine, the shen (spirit, consciousness) resides in the brain and heart. During the day, the shen rises into the head, stimulating the brain. At night, it sinks down, into to the heart, where it sleeps, rejuvenating the body mind. Insomnia is the inability to fall or stay asleep. There are two types of insomnia, acute and chronic. Acute (sudden, recent) insomnia is relatively easy to cure via supplements, herbs, meditation, etc. Chronic insomnia is more difficult to cure as all chronic long-lasting diseases take months and years to not only develop but also cure.

Sleeping is a function of blood, energy, and the five major organ systems:

(1) Spleen controls digestion, transformation of food into blood

(2) Heart stores the spirit, circulates the blood

(3) Lungs purify, oxygenate the blood

(4) Liver purifies the blood and

(5) Kidneys purify blood, store jing.

Blood, protein and fat enable the heart (blood, nutrient rich organ) to hold, anchor the spirit. Too much, especially animal, fried foods, in the extreme, tend to thicken the blood, which in turn, thickens clogs and weakens the liver (stores, cleanses, removes excess protein, fat, cholesterol, impurities, etc. and releases the blood). Less protein, fat, cholesterol, etc. are cleansed, removed more stays in the blood (clots, high cholesterol), arteries (plaque, atherosclerosis, arteriosclerosis, high blood pressure, etc.), skin, organs, etc. Clogged arteries reduce blood flow to the heart making it difficult to fall asleep. Excess fat hardens, tenses the body, liver, muscles making it difficult to stay asleep.

Too little protein and fat, in the extreme, tends to weaken, thin the blood, which in turn, weakens the heart’s ability to anchor, hold the spirit during the night, allowing it to roam, rise up into the head stimulating thinking (hot), dreaming (hot) and or wakefulness (hot).

Too much cleansing (salads, tropical fruits, juices, cold drinks) and or too little building, in the extreme tends to weaken digestion. Digestion warms and dries the body, lungs. Weak digestion (see spleen, Chapter 7) cools and dampens (creates excess mucous) the lungs, nose, sinuses, which shortens and disrupts the breath (coughing, snoring, hacking, sleep apnea). This is one reason why spices (hot, aromatic) are added to the diet to not only dry excess fluids, mucous but also open the sinuses, allowing the breath to flow freely. For cold, conditions reduce cold, damp foods (milk, ice cream, salads, tropical fruits, juices, cold drinks).

The excessive consumption of chocolate, coffee, caffeine and alcohol overheats the body as does overeating and late dinners. It is hard to sleep when the body is overheated via stimulants, excessive digestion. and or impacted intestines (intestinal heat).

Jing (sexual essence) fuels all function. Excessive sex drains jing and does overwork, caffeine, etc. which in turn, weakens the heart’s ability to store the shen. Jing is moistening, cooling, as is sleeping.

Poor posture, misalignment, injury, excessive emotions, thoughts and or environment (climate, electromagnetic radiation, noise, etc.) can also be a cause. Relaxing, sleeping is difficult if you are overheated, have too much energy: work all day long, in the sun, sleep in a room that is hot, damp, or eat drink too many building, hot foods, drinks. Regular exercise dissipates excess heat, energy, which relaxes, cools the body. Proper diet also relaxes the body.

Long-term, severe insomnia takes time (months, years), discipline, and patience to cure. The middle diet, meal plan adjusted accordingly is recommended. Vegetarian meals (ideal for dinner) are less heating. Fruit is cooling, and makes an excellent nighttime snack, although not too late, as too many fruits, cold drinks increase the urge to urinate causing frequent risings, awakenings. Eat more building during the day and less heating, more cooling at night. Avoid coffee, caffeine, chocolate, etc. Sleeping on the right side generally opens the left nasal passage, which is more relaxing. Breathing through the right nostril is more stimulating For acute insomnia; the following herbs may be helpful: valerian root, passionflower, Sleepy time tea, etc. For severe, hot insomnia, try 1 TB Brewer’s yeast (high in B vitamins, cools the liver) in a fruit juice and or magnesium (250 mg) 1-2 times per day. Magnesium relaxes the liver, and softens the stools. The need to sleep long hours, decreases as one gets older.

Insomnia is one of those words that scare most people. The word ‘Insomnia’ scares most people either because they do not know what it is, or do not know how to deal with it. If you have Insomnia, you do not want to ‘deal’ with it, rather solve the mystery of missing sleep and cure the Insomnia that plagues us.

No matter what kind of insomniac you are, whether it be intermittent or advanced, the end result is the same… no sleep. Insomnia cures should be on the basis of individual needs, this is very important. Six of seven good hours of sleep every night are absolutely essential in order to function properly during the day. Any If you are not getting enough sleep at night you going to feel tired throughout the day and you will also increase your risk of health problems.

The problem lies with the big pharmaceutical corporations. We have been led to believe that insomnia can be cured with just a few pills like a headache or indigestion. What people don’t realize is that these big corporations are businesses and are purely profit driven.

The major benefit of herbal cures is that they’re gentler on your overall health than drugs. It’s best to use the herbal insomnia cures in combination with the next two cures, especially exercise.

The most common of curing insomnia is by taking medications. This is probably the way most people take when they start to have sleepless nights. The medications can indeed serve as a way for insomnia cure. However, it should not be seen as a long-term cure for it. One of the risks of taking insomnia medications is that one can become over dependent and additive to it.

Popular insomnia cures include chamomile (as a tea), hops (also as a tea), and valerian, which may be taken in tablet or liquid form. While valerian’s taste won’t thrill you, it’s very effective and will help you to get a good night’s sleep. The most common way people treat insomnia is by taking medication. This is usually how most people react when they start having sleepless nights. Medication should not be seen as a long-term way to cure insomnia. You can become very dependent and addicted to sleep medication.

This is a huge reason why so many people suffer from insomnia. When this is the cause, acupuncture insomnia cures can really help. One of the best applications for acupuncture is in pain reduction. When the pain is reduced or controlled, the acupuncture insomnia cure has done its job. Long-term treatments might be necessary for chronic conditions, but they can help keep sleep issues at bay. When pain is the cause of sleep disorders, acupuncture insomnia treatments tend to work very well for some people.

Most sufferers treat insomnia like a cold or a cough, believing that it can be cured with the use of a few pills. It’s easy to fall into this way of thinking because we believe what we see. We turn on the TV and see sleep aids advertised by big corporations. We instinctively assume that there is a quick fix solution and that the big corporations are not just in it for the money.

The US Department of Health and Human Services reports that 40 million people in the United States suffer from sleep problems. Sleep disorders affect a person’s overall quality of life and are related to difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, the quantity of sleep, quality of sleep, and level of alertness during the day. There are 81 official sleep disorders. The most common sleep disorders are sleep apnea, insomnia, narcolepsy, and restless leg syndrome (RLS). Most sleep disorders can be helped by changing personal habits and behaviors. Nightmares, sleepwalking, headbanging, bedwetting, and teeth grinding are just a few sleep problems called parasomnias. Parasomnias are disorders that disrupt sleep.

Sleep apnea is a disorder of breathing during sleep usually accompanied by loud snoring. People with sleep apnea do not get enough oxygen when they sleep and experience brief moments throughout the night where breathing stops. There are two types of sleep apnea; obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common type and is caused by an obstruction in the airway during sleep. Central sleep apnea is caused by a delay in the signal from the brain to breath and is difficult to diagnose. In both types of apnea, a person wakes up briefly several times during the night to breathe, usually with no knowledge of doing so. Sleep apnea can be a life-threatening condition if it goes undiagnosed and untreated for a long period of time. The severity of the condition determines how it should be treated.

Mild sleep apnea can be treated with behavioral changes including losing weight and sleeping on your side. However, there are also devices that a person can wear during sleep to help keep the airway open. Moderate to severe sleep apnea is usually treated a machine called the CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) that blows air into your nose via a nose mask. The continuous air keeps the airway open and unobstructed. A Bi-level PAP(Bi-PAP) machine is used for more severe cases of apnea. The bi-level machine blows air at two different pressures; higher pressure when a person inhales and lower pressure when a person exhales. In cases where CPAP can not help or when a person has a facial deformity that causes sleep apnea, surgical procedures to increase the size of the airway are needed.

Insomnia is another sleep disorder involving difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, waking up too early, and sleep state misperception. At times, life events can cause insomnia but it is usually temporary. This is called transient or short-term insomnia. Chronic insomnia involves sleeping poorly most nights for a month or longer. There are usually a number of factors involved including physical and or mental disorders. Depression is the most common cause of chronic insomnia. However, chronic insomnia may also be due to the misuse of caffeine, alcohol and drugs. Chronic insomnia can also be caused by a disruption in the sleep/wake cycle, like shift work and other nighttime activities. Anxiety about sleep and/or chronic stress are other behaviors that can perpetuate insomnia. Medication and behavioral treatment can help with transient, short term and chronic insomnia.

Transient and short term insomnia may not need to be treated because the episodes only last a short period of time. For example, if insomnia is due to a disruption in the sleep cycle, usually a person’s biological clock will readjust to normal on its own. However, short-acting sleeping pills are available for those that experience impaired performance due to day time sleepiness from insomnia. The first step for treating chronic insomnia is diagnosing and treating the underlying medical or psychological problem causing the sleeplessness. This can be followed by identifying and stopping or reducing behaviors that may worsen insomnia. Finally, the use of sleeping pills prescribed at the lowest dose for the shortest duration needed can also be beneficial. Behavioral techniques such as relaxation therapy, sleep restriction therapy and reconditioning are also effective and safe.

Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep condition where a person continues to experience an irresistible need to sleep no matter how much sleep they get. It is mostly a hereditary condition but only prevalent in about 0.3% of the population. Symptoms include, excessive sleepiness, temporary decrease or loss of muscle control (especially when excited), vivid dream-like images when drifting off to sleep or waking up unable to move or talk for a brief time. Symptoms usually begin between the ages of 15 and 30 with a peak in the teenage years. There is no cure for narcolepsy, however, behavior and medical therapy can help control symptoms.

The excessive daytime sleepiness is usually treated with a stimulant drug. Muscle weakness and REM sleep symptoms are treated with antidepressants. The medications reduce symptoms but don’t alleviate them and some medications may have side effects. Maintaining a routine sleep schedule, a good diet, increased exercise and avoiding exciting situations are lifestyle adjustments that can help reduce excessive daytime sleepiness and muscle weakness. With proper medication and support from friends and family, most individuals with narcolepsy enjoy a nearly normal lifestyle.

Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) is a discomfort or prickly/tingly feeling in the legs relieved by moving or stimulation the leg. The most unusual aspect of this condition is that relaxing or lying down tends to activate the symptoms. Therefore, most people with RLS have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep. When undiagnosed and untreated RLS can cause daytime fatigue and extreme exhaustion. 80% of persons with RLS also experience periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD). PLMD is associated with involuntary leg twitching or jerking movements occurring every 10 to 60 seconds throughout the night. The causes of RLS and PLMD are unknown, however, they can be treated.

Mild to moderate cases of RLS can be treated with lifestyle adjustments including reduction of caffeine intake, alcohol consumption, and tobacco. Taking a hot bath, taking vitamin supplements, using a heating pad and maintaining a regular bedtime routine can also relieve some symptoms of RLS. Dopaminergics, benzodiazepines (central nervous system depressants), opioids, and anticonvulsants are the types of drugs physicians prescribe to treat the disorder since there is no one drug to help everyone with RLS. RLS is a lifelong condition that can be managed but usually gets worse with age.

If you experience lack of sleep, too much sleep, non-breathing spells during sleep, or exhaustion is interfering with your daily life, contact your health care provider for assistance.