What Is Insomnia?
Millions of people worldwide have been suffering a nightmare named insomnia, a kind of sleep disorder that makes people stay awake or struggle to sleep at night. Base on the duration of insomnia, scientists classify it as severe insomnia and chronic insomnia. Acute insomnia is more common than chronic one, and it often lasts for a short period, about several days or weeks while chronic insomnia happens for some months.
Causes Of Insomnia
There are many causes of insomnia: internal and external factors. Many people meet difficulties in falling asleep because they are suffering from some medical conditions such as nasal allergies, asthma, chronic pain, low back pain, arthritis, neurological conditions (Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases), etc. Some others, due to psychological issues like depression and anxiety, stay awake until the next morning. Besides, unhealthy lifestyles (for example: using computers and phones at night, going to bed with an empty stomach, etc.), or noises do make insomnia.
Insomnia brings people many disadvantages at work and in the study, for example, poor concentration, poor performance, headaches, depression, and some other health problems. Therefore, in this writing, we recommend some home remedies for insomnia treatment, which help you escape from terrible insomnia and bring you a beautiful night. Let’s check them out.
Change Your Habits
Unhealthy lifestyles and sleep habits can be the reasons for insomnia, or they can make insomnia caused by other factors worse. Therefore, breaking your bad habits is an excellent way to “say goodbye” to your terrible sleep disorders.
Here are some must-read tips for you:
- Turn off your mobile phone and laptop, which release blue wavelength light, a cause of insomnia when you go to bed.
- Do not eat too much or too little before bedtime.
- Stop the habit of drinking alcohol and caffeine, which keeps you alert at night.
- Improve your sleep environment: a comfortable bed in a quiet, dark, and cool room would make you quickly fall asleep.
- Develop good habits, for example, doing exercises like yoga, and aerobics; going to bed and getting up at a particular time; and so on.
Use Music Therapy
As mentioned before, many people get insomnia because of depression, anxiety, and stress; and listening to music is known as an excellent method to reduce stress in life. According to the research of the University of Sussex (United Kingdom), 6 minutes of listening to music can help to relieve 61% of stress. Therefore, you should:
- Listen to your favorite songs, or slow music like jazz, or classical music about 45 minutes before you go to bed.
- Make it become your daily habit.
Eat Foods Good For Sleeping
Changing the diet would bring benefits to many people in their insomnia treatment. Consuming foods high in tryptophan (a substance that helps to increase the amount of serotonin-regulating sleep patterns), magnesium (helps to relax bodies), and B vitamins can improve the quality of sleep. Here are some foods you should eat for your daily meal.
- Milk: Milk, with a high level of tryptophan, is one of the best-known foods for insomnia cures. Drinking a cup of milk mixed with a teaspoon of honey and a little cinnamon powder an hour before going to bed helps to relax your muscles and your mind to have a deep sleep.
- Oatmeal: Considered a source of melatonin, a hormone promoting sleep, the grain is advised to be taken by people with sleep disorders.
- Banana: Another source of tryptophan is bananas. Also, some minerals such as magnesium, potassium, and iron found in bananas help to relax your body. Eat a banana roughly 30 minutes before bedtime for your benefit.
Use Aromatherapy
There are some methods for relaxation, which help you to get into a deep sleep at night, and one of them is using essential oils. Of all the essential oils suitable for insomnia, lavender, and chamomile are the two most popular oils thanks to their positive effects in promoting relaxation and reducing stress and anxiety. Before you go to bed, take a few drops of lavender or chamomile oil and rub them on your neck. Bathing with such oils also brings a similar benefit.
Take Minerals
Getting enough amounts of calcium and magnesium may help to cure sleep difficulties. This is because these minerals work together to help the body to calm down and aid the nerves and muscles in relaxing, thus reducing twitches and cramps.
If you are stressed or overeat sugar, the levels of magnesium in your body may be low. In this case, you should eat a lot of magnesium-rich foods including seafood, seeds, green vegetables, nuts, and whole grains.
Besides, you should add green vegetables, nuts, seeds, and milk products to your diet because they are good sources of calcium. Or, you can take 300 mg of magnesium and 500 mg of calcium supplements before going to bed.
Increase Melatonin
The sleep hormone melatonin plays an essential role in brain function as it keeps the sleep-wake cycle regulated. Without melatonin, it is difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep. The best way to increase melatonin is to provide more building blocks, including 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), which is used to make serotonin. This block is made from different nutrients, such as folic acid, zinc, and vitamins B6, B3 (niacin), and C, plus tryptophan. For a good source of tryptophan, you can eat seafood, tofu, chicken and turkey, eggs, milk, nuts, and seeds. Also, you could take 3 to 6 mg of a melatonin-rich Sleep Supplement to get a sound sleep.
Try Kratom
Kratom is a relative of the coffee plant found in Southeast Asia. Although it may seem counterintuitive to consume a plant related to coffee when treating insomnia, in larger doses, kratom actually has a sedative effect perfect for helping people sleep. Kratom active ingredients are complex, offering a stimulative effect in low doses but a calming, relaxing effect in higher doses, so it’s important to dose correctly.
Establish A Routine
Establishing a routine before bedtime creates a sign showing that it is time to sleep. For instance, you could listen to your favorite songs, take a bath, or have hot chocolate or any warm drink before going to sleep every night. Also, you should plan when to go to bed and when to get up to maintain a daily routine. Although you have gone to sleep later than usual at night before, you still should get out of your bed at the same time every morning. This prevents your body from breaking down synch.
Counting Meditation
Counting meditation can help your mind to stop thinking and focus on counting. You can count up to 100 or more to fall asleep. If you have difficulty in counting meditation, admit that you’re thinking and then return to counting immediately.
Mindful Breathing
Unlike meditation, this method forces you to focus on breathing. In detail, you need to pay attention to the exhales and inhales of your breath. This can help to stay calm by extending the exhales longer than the inhales. Your mind wanders, but you need to move your focus back to breathing. With this method, you inhale through the nose by counting to four, hold your breath by counting to seven, and then open the mouth to exhale for eight-count tracking.
Above are ten simple ways how to treat insomnia that you can easily apply at home. All content provided is for informational and educational purposes. We recommend you consult a healthcare professional to determine which method is appropriate for you.
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