Insomnia Cures

Using CBT to Cure Insomnia Problems

2011-11-30T05:23:00.001+08:00

CBT, or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, is essentially a psycho-therapeutic method for dealing with some insomnia problems. It's an approach which aims specifically at cognitive, emotional, and behaviors considered dysfunctional or problematic and in turn, lead to sleeplessness. There is enough empirical evidence to suggest that CBT can be useful and effective as one of many insomnia cures and treatments. There's even a great deal of testimonial evidence that suggests CBT is most beneficial when used to augment other insomnia treatments, such as meditation, white noise, and audio therapy.

CBT uses 4 basic components to try and combat people afflicted with sleeplessness.

Stimulus control
Sleep scheduling
Sleep restriction
Sleep hygiene education

When deciding whether or not to go the route of CBT, it's critically important that you first rule out other possible culprits for your insomnia. This is a good general rule for any sleep disorder. In order to be sure your issue actually requires one or more insomnia cures, the following must be eliminated, or upon discovery, properly addressed:

Other psychological issues, such as mood disorders, depression, anxiety disorders, PTSD, e.t.c...
Unknown physical illness or disease that remains undiscovered. Insomnia can manifest as the body's immune system reacts to a new problem, sending alarm signals to the brain that can cause insomnia.
Known medical conditions, such as chronic pain, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, menopause, sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, e.t.c...
Medication side effects, whether being used as a prescribed treatment or a simple over the counter self medication. It's always important to note the side effects, and to watch out for those drugs that contain large amounts of caffeine. (a substantial amount of over the counter pain medication has caffeine included)

For all these reasons it is important to be assessed by a medical professional first and foremost, and properly tested for any possible ailments and conditions that could either be the cause, or a significant contributing factor to your insomnia. Otherwise you may end up finding insomnia cures that you don't even need.

The second step in CBT for dealing with sleeplessness is to have you author a sleep journal. Some therapists require 1 week of notes, others like to have 2 weeks or more data on your sleep habits before suggesting further treatments. When writing this journal, the patient is asked to note the following:

alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine use, (and when)
the timing of meals,
how many naps are taken (and when).
when you go to bed,
how long before you turn out the lights,
what time you fall asleep,
when and how many nighttime interruptions or awakenings occur,
when you wake up, and
how long after waking before you rouse from the bed.

Diagnostically, properly noting these things is critical to finding an appropriate treatment within the main components of CBT. Some therapists have journal templates for use, which can make jotting these things down easier. That said, there are other important reasons to journal your process for sleeping.

You should be as candid as possible inside the journal, elaborating on your thoughts regarding slumber. These thoughts can be noted at any time you have them. For example, when you have negative thoughts about sleep at night causing you to fear that slumber won't come, it will keep you awake. Often called somniphobia, this problem is actually known as "excessive nocturnal mentation". Noting thoughts like this for a qualified CBT therapist is extremely helpful in correcting your problem.

Also important is your sleep hygiene, which is another area CBT can be beneficial to you. As an example, if you are doing your daily work out at 9pm and need to sleep by 11 pm, your sleep hygiene is, for lack of a better term, crap. If you're eating heavy meals or egregious amounts of snacks late at night or close to bedtime, a) you won't sleep well, and b) insomnia will eventually be the least of your health problems. If you are required to be awake at 6am, and you put on your favorite video game at 12 am for a quick run through, well, you have issues with sleep hygiene without a doubt. CBT can advise you how to correct these lifestyle faux pas.

Finally, CBT is effective for dealing with stress, which can be the worst culprit for sending you in search of insomnia cures. Qualified therapists can teach you ways of better managing stress - which in turn can allow you the respite you need from the chaos of the day.

Get some rest!

4 Reasons Why Bright Light Therapy Can Cure Sleepless Nights

2011-02-04T06:35:00.007+08:00

Have you heard about DSPS (delayed sleep phase syndrome)? Many haven't. But if you've watched the truly hilarious video I posted above, then you know there are companies out there acutely aware of DSPS and actively developing products to help combat the problem. We here at Insomnia cures have taken up the cause as well, delving into the research and potential benefits of the treatment for DSPS, which is divided between antidepressants and light therapy.

To understand how light therapy works, one has to understand the effects of light on our overall well being. And before you write off light therapy as "just another useless toy", do note that The National Sleep Foundation endorses the use of these machines, they publish a guide titled "Managing Light for Better Sleep", and they work closely with Philips products such as the Philips Energy Light.

Many of us who live in cold or wet climates often fall victim to "Seasonal Affective Disorder", known as SAD (truly an appropriate acronym). SAD has been related to a lack of serotonin production, in which cases anti depressants such as Fluoxetine have been shown beneficial in treatment, since the drug increases the amount of the enzyme Serotonin N-acetyltransferase, resulting in an antidepressant-like effect. Most people suffering SAD or SSAD (Subsyndromal Seasonal Affective Disorder) simply fall victim to the lack of solar, light, and UV exposure. Somehow the body reacts to a lack of appropriate daily light by retarding the production of many of the hormones and chemicals we need to feel vibrant and experience normal emotive responses.

Long story short, since I truly don't want my site to turn into a text book, SAD can be treated with light therapy, and has been used effectively as one of many insomnia cures that that become necessary as a result of SAD. How it works might seem simple enough, but there has been numerous research done to dig into the deeper answers for why light therapy is beneficial to the insomnia patient and the person suffering seasonal depression.

How Does It Work to Cure Insomnia?

Exposure to light activates neuro-endocrine processes in the body. The main receptors for light absorption exist through the eyes and the skin. Such processes include regulating the production of hormones and chemicals that are shown as deficient in certain insomnia problems, as well as SAD patients. As such, these chemicals are the body's own sleep agent, and any increase in their production results in less occurrences of insomnia
Biophotonics is the study of biophotons emitted by biological cells, and has proven that cells communicate via biophotons. Simply put, our cells emit light and receive light as part in parcel of the physiological process of symbiotic communication with the world we live in. This field of research has therefore shown by empirical evidence that our bodies, down to our very cells, react and co-mingle with light to benefit our well being. By increasing the exposure to light at certain times of the day, you are communicating to the body's natural rhythms, telling it when it's own natural relaxation/wind down process should occur.
Night Owl Insomnia - The layman's term for DSPS. This process is when the person is seeking insomnia cures due to severe trouble winding down to sleep until very late in the evening. This syndrome usually forms in the teens and results in a maladjusted body rhythm that fails to recognize late night as the time for resting. Here is where light therapy has proven to be most effective. By exposure to light therapy for 2 hours in the morning, along with a restriction from bright light in the hours after dusk, light therapy successfully re-calibrates the circadian rhythm and induces sleep at much earlier hours.
Harvard Research has concluded that light therapy is a meaningful and highly successful treatment, with documented positive results in their own sleep tests. Yes. Harvard. So folks, don't take my word on it. Look to the world's most esteemed research University. Harvard has publicly stated that some Light Therapy products work in over 86% of their own instances of applied research. And folks, they didn't study normal insomnia victims, they were studying astronauts on the International Space Station. I think it's pretty safe to assume you can trust that research. :)

In closing I feel it necessary to add that my research into light therapy was strictly based on it's application as one of many insomnia cures; but what I discovered is that light therapy has many health benefits completely not related to sleep cycles. It benefits moods and dispositions, it increases the body's production of the hormones and chemicals we require to be as healthy as we can. It has shown marked improvement in a person's daily energy levels. In fact the list of things that light therapy can do to cause improvement in overall health is rather breathtaking.

So I strongly suggest that anyone thinking about it should get a light therapy machine. In the grand scheme of things it's not expensive. You can click here to get Philips most promising machine, at a significant discount from store bought prices.

4 Useful Treatments To Help Cure Insomnia

2011-01-30T08:40:00.001+08:00

"Count sheep? OK, sure, that will surely cure my chronic, long term, debilitating insomnia. Thanks for nothing, knucklehead". That sentence is the normal, frustrated response from any insomniac when told this kind of lame advice. The truth is, if some of us actually resorted to this comically useless home remedy we'd have counted 640,000 sheep and still be at the task when the morning alarm sounded. As it applies to insomnia cures, counting sheep is about as useful as rubbing a cow belly for luck.

That said, there is the tiniest proportion of logic behind why people advise you to count sheep, the reasoning being that by busying the mind with a mundane and boring task, you free your mind from worrying over life's stresses. Since it is such a boring task, apparently counting sheep can also bring about a lull that induces the sleep cycles to begin. So all in all, as an impetus for better ideas, this ridiculous technique could be thought of as useful. Like I said, as an impetus for better ideas. In theory, sure, counting sheep should work. In practice? Absolutely not, at least not for someone with true insomnia problems.

The concept however, it can be applied to insomnia problems by taking such misguided pseudo-wisdom and applying certain technologies that have been scientifically studied to assist the brain and induce a sleep response. Things such as binaural beats, properly designed audio CD sleep programs, white noise devices, e.t.c... all have shown very promising results because they successfully distract the mind from complex thought, hone and focus the mind on a simplistic yet repetitive task, thus allowing relaxation and sleep to come without much pause.

So once you're in bed and the insomnia cycle begins, your mind races and you know it might be another rotten night of bad TV and eventual eye bags; before you do get up and raid the fridge, read, or go online, try utilizing one or more of the techniques below and see if that can help you relax and fall into the comfortable bliss we insomniacs find so elusive.

Binaural Beats – binaural beats are auditory processing artifacts. They are made when two or more separate tones of slightly variant frequencies are perceived by the brain simultaneously, in the stereo field. These sound waves have been shown in numerous studies to induce relaxation, meditation, creativity, in fact many desirable mental states. Many people with chronic, long term insomnia have seen their ailment all but disappear by utilizing binaural beat recordings. (See Holothink for more info)
Meditation – When properly applied, meditation helps not only the act of falling asleep, but the quality of restful sleep you receive is said to improve greatly. As well, meditation has been linked time and time again to better heart and vascular health and a more balanced and serene lifestyle. I can't speak highly enough about adopting a program of meditation in one's life. Some Eastern monks have taken the art of meditation to such lengths that their resting heart rate is less than half that of normal human beings, which can't be a bad thing ;). Plainly, as history has shown, meditation is extremely powerful when applied correctly. (See Mindful Awareness Training for more info on proper meditation)
White noise – products such as the Zeo Personal Sleep Coach, or Adaptive Sound Therapy have also been shown in study after study to affect a positive result in those in need of insomnia cures. This process, as with binaural beats, connects with your brain on a subconscious level and does not require learning a technique or application of action per say (minus turning the machine on of course :)). Many of my readers have written to me after purchasing the Zeo Sleep Coach in particular, singing praises to it's effectiveness.
Deep Breathing Exercises – deep, or diaphragmatic breathing is useful for inducing relaxation and sleep, which is why it is used in most meditation therapy. Some experts believe deep breathing helps affect a sleep response from the concentration required, along with it's repetitive nature. Others say it is due to the increased oxygenation of the blood vessels. Either way, studies have shown it is effective, so if it works it's certainly worth a try.
- The best technique for achieving proper diaphragmatic breathing is to breath deeply in through the nose, slowly, holding the breath for as long as it is comfortable, and then letting out the air through the mouth. Optimally your exhalation should last at least twice as long as the inhalation. The goal of deep breathing exercises is to expand the stomach and not the rib cage, while concentrating solely on filling your entire body with air.

So even after you've settled in for the night, PJ's on, light's out, and pillows fluffed, as long as you have a remote on the nightstand for your binaural beats or your sleep audio program, you can still have some insomnia cures available to assist your relaxation. Practicing meditation is as easy as learning the proper techniques, and deep breathing is something human beings have been doing naturally since we invented the wheel. Try any or all of these four things if you regularly suffer sleeplessness, and you may end up having more restful sleep than people without insomnia. Even if you have to spend a few dollars acquiring a quality program or white noise device, the money you save in health benefits and quality of life are definitely worth it.

Get some rest!

The Monster In Your Medicine Chest

2011-01-29T01:03:00.002+08:00

If you've suffered long enough with insomnia, there is every possibility that you've ended up at the doctors office and asked for a prescription to aid your issues, to provide that much needed rest and relief. As insomnia cures go, there's nothing like popping a pill and being temporarily relieved.

However, the moment we take these pills we are instantly beginning to build a tolerance to the effects from these prescribed drugs, and unless they are used strictly for short term relief, the insomniac runs a serious risk of addiction/dependence on said medication. This can lead to strong dependence, and eventually some of the worst withdrawal symptoms of any drug, whether prescribed or considered illegal.

Most sleeping medications are benzodiazepene class drugs, which is normally what a GP will prescribe for insomnia simply because these formulas work like gangbusters to combat a poor sleep regime. Drugs like Ambien, Xanax, Valium, Ativan, e.t.c... are all benzodiazepine class drugs. In effect, with benzos you need only take a pill, wait about 30 minutes and presto, you're in la la land. However, these “benzos” are quickly becoming one of the most abused substances of all the prescribed drugs.
What's worse is that many habitual drug abusers and alcoholics - people who have also taken benzodiazepines long term - have documented that a withdrawal from benzodiazepines is far worse than that of their drug of choice – be it heroine, alcohol, cocaine, e.t.c... Essentially, the noted experiences of benzo dependent individuals, both addicts and normal folks alike, is that the worst part of withdrawal doesn't last days, it can literally last several months after they ceased the medication.

For a complete list of benzodiazepine drugs, Wikipedia has you covered. You can find the list here. If you already have a prescription sleep medication, do check the brand name and run it against wikipedia's list to be sure of what you're taking.

Let's take a moment to look at what happens when the search for insomnia cures leads you to benzos as a long term solution:

A patient can develop tolerance and dependence very quickly, eventually requiring a larger dosage to get the same effect. In fact dependence can develop in as little as 10 days.
Benzodiazepines cause enhanced GABA inhibition. When this process is sustained for long periods, the brain and central nervous system responds by manipulating it's own GABA inhibition. This leads to increased excitability of the glutamate system. OK OK, explaining how these harsh withdrawals can occur in certain individuals is far too technical. In layman's terms, the body takes a very long time to re-adjust it's normal functions when Benzos are ceased, and markedly more pronounced when ceased abruptly.
The part of your brain that combats anxiety and regulates fight or flight responses can become so “out of whack” that without benzos, you experience the reverse of the pill's intended effect, multiplied exponentially. In other words, when you stop taking benzos after long term exposure, you can potentially look forward to rebound insomnia that was far worse than before you took the pills. You can also experience extreme bouts of anxiety, panic attacks, agoraphobia, mania, e.t.c...
Abrupt "cold turkey" withdrawal from long term benzo exposure puts the patient at a very high risk for seizures, which are life threatening.

Because any explanation I provide behind you not taking sleeping medication for long term assistance might come across as preachy, I'll just leave you with some examples from actual people who have become addicted to benzos. The quoted withdrawal symptoms I've offered below all come from a popular addiction recovery forum for alcoholics, addicts, even from people unaffected previously by addictive behavior. What is truly surprising is that these forums document many people whom only developed such addictions due to their insomnia or anxiety condition, as a result of their own GP's recommendation to use benzodiazepenes as a long term treatment.

I really should clarify at this point that I am by no means suggesting you do not listen to your Doctor and trust his opinion. By and large they really do know what they're on about. This post is only meant to show you the adverse reactions that can occur when a doctor's sleep aid prescription is taken over a long period, and only if that prescription is a benzodiazepine class drug.

So please, before deciding that the only way left to deal with insomnia is by taking prescription sleeping pills, just read these stories. My goal is that you heed the words and experiences of people, some of whom were in exactly your position once, only to find their lives dramatically and negatively affected by the reliance on sleep and anxiety medications. Plainly, my fair and gentle readers, be extremely careful to exhaust any and every natural and behavioral insomnia cure before heading down the pharmacological road.

Look through my sidebar or here for some of the natural insomnia cures I endorse, at least before heading to the doctor out of pure frustration. And I'm not suggesting this to "get your cash" by any stretch. I literally make pennies from these products. If not my site, find another avenue to purchase a natural sleep aid, or a behavioral enhancing sleep program such as meditation. Those programs and products work folks, some even better than a sleeping pill. Most importantly, a natural solution won't leave you facing potential dependency or any cruel and potentially dangerous prolonged withdrawals once you decide to stop using them.

I don't lend my reputation to anything that hasn't heaps of positive data, and everything I endorse costs less than the average sleeping pill prescription. That said, whatever it is you do try don't just offhandedly believe "all I need is a pill" without understanding the potential consequences. That pill can become the monster in your medicine cabinet, the one that keeps you awake and in fear, long after you've thrown out the pill bottle.

Patient Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Stories:

...from SR recovery forum: Just a bit of history on me... I'm a hard core alcoholic, my disease evolving since I was young. It should be obvious from that qualification that I've had many extremely painful and protracted withdrawals and detox from the booze. A few times I came as close to death as humanly possible without actually kicking the bucket, all due to alcohol withdrawal.

Here's the thing. Those pains and experiences with booze withdrawal, and I'm talking about the worst times I've ever had coming off of the drink, they were walks on a sunny day in a park filled with dancing bunnies and rainbows, compared to the withdrawal from benzos. I would rather die than experience that agony again. Seriously, I can honestly say that under no circumstances would I put myself through that again. If it was a case of me not having a choice but to face the 5 months (yes, 5 months) I spent in living hell coming off of Xanax and Ambien, I would just top myself.

________________________________________________________________________________

...another post from SR recovery forum: I came of 10mg xanax, a few other benzos and a stupid drinking. I stopped them all on the same day, nothing comes even close to what happened.

I had over 150 symptoms at once, from hallucinations to a seizure on day 7
Now at 5.5 months off I still have 20 symptoms remaining.

The most annoying being a 5.5 month long migraine

________________________________________________________________________________

...A thread from another recovery forum: Something else I forgot to mention about benzo withdrawal: Most people get whacked out on these things begin using them to find relief from anxiety, or from insomnia. The ironic (read: evil) thing about benzos is that when you stop taking them cold turkey, the problem of anxiety and insomnia comes back fast, only it's at least 1 000 000 worse. It's the reverse of the pills intended effect, multiplied exponentially.

In the first 2 months of coming off Xanax and Stilnox (Ambien) I can count the number of days I slept on one hand. Seriously. One stretch was 11 days without a wink of sleep, and most other days I'd get maybe 15 minutes before having some of the worst psychotic dreams one can experience. With that little sleep I had many days of audio hallucinations and a few visual as well. (Room swelling, floor waving)

Insomnia Cures That Soothe The Ears

2011-01-27T15:59:00.001+08:00

Anyone reading this site has likely been there and done that. You lay down, bone tired, and yet sleep will not come. This is the tried and true reason why some of us seek out the most ridiculous insomnia cures, remedies that do nothing but hurt you in the long run. Some of us turn to alcohol. Huge mistake. Others might get prescriptions from the doctor, which in the long term can serve only to exacerbate the problem of insomnia, making it worse. Some of just us lay in bed for hours tossing and turning, some of us get up and read or watch extremely bad late night TV. One thing we all have in common though, is the intimate knowledge that the most insidious thing about insomnia is when you truly need and want a good night's rest, it just will not come without some form of outside help.

There are wholly natural programs that have been proven to help the insomniac sleep. The problem with holistic or natural insomnia cures is that most hard core insomniacs consider it putting a band aid on a bullet wound. Therefore, most of us fail to recognize a potential cure as being useless, simply because seems just too darned easy.

Having said that, there are audio programs - such as the award winning Sleep Tracks (click the link for more info) - that when applied correctly have shown time and time again to work, helping even the most hard core among us. There's also white noise generators that have pages after pages of supporting data as to it's success in combating sleep disorders of all kinds.

To illustrate the effectiveness of audio and noise therapy as useful help falling asleep; a reader had emailed me asking for help with his acute bout of insomnia. After accumulating a bit of research on his lifestyle I discovered he was a frequent business traveler, changing time zones more than most of us change the sheets. Long story short, upon asking him where and when is it that he finds little problem sleeping, he immediately responded by instant message, saying “while I'm in the air.” He went on to say that he could nod off in minutes after his plane takes off.

My solution was to find a recording of nothing but the low drone of an airplane engine mid flight. Finding one (thanks google :)), I sent an MP3 of this “white noise” to him, and explained that it was necessary to play it as he finished his nightly routines and was about to lay in bed. Again, long story short he emailed me back and in capital letters his email said “YOU'VE CURED ME! THANK YOU...” We chatted via skype for a few minutes the next day, wherein he told me he was so grateful that he didn't need to get a prescription pill, and that he never once believed something so elementary and simple could actually work. This is truly a common response when people find help via the various audio therapy sleep systems.

So the point is, insomnia cures don't necessarily have to be elaborate schemes, or uncomfortable lifestyle adjustments. Help falling asleep can really and truly can be as simple as having an open mind to the possibility that even if your sleeplessness is chronic and impossible to live with, it may not be rocket science fixing it.

To find out more about some of the more popular and beneficial sleep systems, visit Sleep Tracks. To get your own white noise generator, visit amazon by clicking the links you've just seen. Again folks, this stuff doesn't necessarily have to have you jumping through hoops. Sometimes the simplest answer is the right one.

Get some rest!

Insomnia Cures Wishes The Best This Holiday Season

2010-12-26T01:05:00.000+08:00

I just wanted to take the opportunity to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! I hope that everyone is having a peaceful and loving holiday with family they love, and getting all the insomnia cures you require from the awesome turkey dinner!

Merry Christmas everyone, I bet tonight you won't need any help falling asleep! But if you do, stop through my site and click away. We're open 24/7/365! :) Here's a great Xmas song for you to enjoy while you're winding down. Stay safe, and stay healthy!

Insomnia Cures Hunts Down A Few Ghosts and Aliens

2010-11-27T12:14:00.003+08:00

Thanks to some great and entertaining email questions, Insomnia Cures has decided to go on the hunt for the monsters under your bed. Why? Well... umm... because we can :). So let's start with a few questions: Have you ever awakened convinced you have been abducted by aliens? Ever had a spooky experience with a ghostly apparition and thought for sure it was real, only to later recall it as a dream? Well, discounting the paranormal and your normal dreams momentarily, let's consider that what may have happened is a rare case of sleep paralysis.

I say rare because for a normal person this kind of an event happens once or twice in a lifetime with no lasting problems as a result. However there are some who experience this quite often, and because it is rarely talked about (thus seldom diagnosed) it can lead to waking conditions such as stress, anxiety, and even PTSD.

Sleep paralysis has been described as being a condition wherein you are experiencing some effects of REM sleep (muscle atonia) while you are still somewhat conscious. Thus, it only happens noticeably when you are falling asleep or waking up. It can last for a mere moment or continue on for several minutes and in almost every case it causes the afflicted to feel a panic response, and/or extreme anxiety.

Because the mind and body is "stuck" in the beginnings of a sleep cycle, people have often described hallucinations as being present during this experience - hence it has been postulated that everything from alien abductions to ghostly encounters can be attributed to sleep paralysis. People have described all manner of strange and out of place objects and/or situations present during SP, all of which are no more real than a 3 dollar bill.

AM I DREAMING?
One of the biggest problems in properly diagnosing this condition is because normally people will discount the experience as a dream (or nightmare, respectively). Since it is such a fantastical experience, we don't really have the faculties to consider the alternative of having just had a "bad dream". In fact, while it is entirely possible we were just dreaming about drowning in that huge bowl of spaghetti sauce, it may actually have been more than a dream, it may have been a bonafide physiological condition and documented sleep disorder.

There are a few treatments to consider, some of which mirror the insomnia cures your own Doctor (and this site) would recommend for normal sleeplessness. Benzodiazipines, for example, have been known to lessen the frequency of this condition. It's also smart to see your local doctor or sleep clinic and be evaluated for possible narcolepsy, another sleep disorder I'll be talking about in later articles.

So should you find yourself floating towards the little gray people in the sky and unable to stop it, keep in mind that you may not be bound for interstellar travel - you may just be stuck dealing with the remnants of REM sleep and a process the body has been known to manifest from time to time. With some pretty average insomnia cures you can combat the problem but most of all, never let it stop you from getting a good night's rest!

6 Essential Tips When You're Afraid To Fall Asleep

2010-11-23T21:29:00.004+08:00

Insomnia Cures is back after a very long hiatus! Yep, it's been awhile, as the real world of work and study has bogged me down these past few months. But believe me when I say I haven't forgotten about this, my home on the web, and to that end let me say how much I appreciate all the emails I've received in the interim. My readers rock!

Today I want to dig a bit deeper into the concept of being afraid to fall asleep. As I mentioned before in my post (What's Under Your Pillow?) there are many reasons that people can find it hard relaxing when it's time to wind down. The most common being anxiety that can come when you become aware of your sleeping problems. This can sometimes lead to abnormal stress and worry over whether or not you will actually sleep. The nagging feelings can start as much as 90 minutes or more before bed time, meaning that by the time you lay your head to pillow, you've wound yourself up so much by worrying that sleep becomes next to impossible.

Also as mentioned previously, there are circumstances, such as trauma and psychological conditioning, all due to past experiences that can literally make people afraid of becoming unconscious - as they have developed little trust for a world wherein they are not fully aware and prepared for danger. This is an extremely foreboding and stressful experience, and can lead to many more damaging physical ailments due to a combination of the consistent lack of sleep and the nightly release of cortisol (a stress hormone that is poisonous to the body with repeated exposure).

In this article I hope to leave you with a few short term solutions - because dealing with somniphobia is never a quick fix and not something a website can really tackle in one article. Finding the remedy for a problem of this magnitude at it's root is extremely critical for any long term success, but that can take weeks or months of discovery and analysis. Having said that, there are 6 essential tips that can gear you up for a restful sleep, all of which - in combination - have been known to help those with bouts of somniphobia (the fear of sleep).

1- Cooler Heads Prevail
Strenuous activity - such as exercise or too much running around with the kids will increase your body temperature - this makes falling asleep that much harder - even for a normal person. For someone with insomnia the problem of a high body temperature is exponentially worse. Therefore it is advisable to leave the heavy lifting and treadmill routines for mornings. No exercise for at least 2 to 3 hours before your scheduled bed time.

2- Become The Chairman Of The Bored
Leave your favorite DVD's and video games alone already. Call Of Duty Black Ops can wait, because if you plan on saving the world just before bedtime, your heart rate and temperature can also increase, and of course your mind will almost certainly be geared towards craving more stimuli, not less. Instead, do something menial, something repetitive like hand washing clothes or polishing the silverware. Find your daughter's calculus text book and read chapter 1 thru 7. GET BORED! My favorite? CSpan. Works like a charm. :)

3- Plan "Operation Tomorrow"
Journals, as I have mentioned in the past, are an excellent way to clear your mind of troubling and nagging thoughts, things that can easily haunt you into the wee hours. When there are upcoming worries you know will require attention, first write down what they are and then jot down 2 or 3 things you can do tomorrow to help ease the stress. If you have scheduling conflicts or commitments that have you on edge, write down first what they are, and then 2 or 3 proposed solutions you can implement tomorrow. Once you've listed all that you think could be adding stress to your immediate future, shelf the journal - and the worries. Now you have a few cohesive solutions, so any more stressing out over the problem(s) is redundant, especially when a proper rest will certainly help you tackle them with a clearer mind set. You would be surprised at how well a journal works.

4- Never Go To Bed Angry
If you have any conflicts at home with a family member, leave the arguments and frustrations for some other time. Because 3 hours before your bed time is not the time to bring up overdue bills, your husband's late nights, or your kids bad grades. This may seem obvious, but for someone who worries about sleeping, sometimes the subconscious will poke a conflict out into the open just because it needs a legitimate excuse for why you can't sleep. Strange I know, strange but true. So Ignore and avoid arguments and household problems 3 hours before bedtime. If one starts, walk away from it.

5- Visit The Arctic Circle
Cooling down the bedroom 30 minutes before you sleep has statistically been proven as effective for inducing sleep. When I say cool, I mean as cool as you can stand it. The reason being that in the first place you'll need to bundle up under the covers for warmth, and secondly if your core body temperature is higher than it should be, a cool room can quickly rectify that situation. Ask anyone who's ever gone camping in the fall or winter months, most will tell you they "slept like a log". A cooler ambient temperature can assist you to stay in a deeper sleep longer, and can lead to more quality rest.

6- Enough Is Enough
Once everything is done and your under the covers, turn on a white noise source and lay your head down. As I've said many times, Sleep Tracks is a highly recommended and excellent program based around white noise techniques, with many more benefits than I could list in this article. Having said that, any white noise source - from an MP3 of the ocean to rain showers, e.t.c... all can be the source for quieting your mind, allowing sleep to come. Some frequent travelers have found that MP3 recordings of the the engines on a plane helps them sleep with tremendous ease. Same has to be said with for train tracks (in transit) and a car engine cruising noise. For some, these are extremely soothing sounds and useful to induce a sleep state. Perhaps you can try and see for yourself.

If you feel that you may have somniphobia, or at least that your chronic condition leaves you anxious come bedtime, first off don't panic, just start by trying these 6 tops as potential insomnia cures, they have been known to work.

Insomnia Cures and Sleep Apnea: A Potential Breakthrough.

2010-02-20T07:41:00.004+08:00

Firstly, here at insomnia cures and treatments we like to give props where they're appropriately due. That being said, I'm often compelled to mention that Europe is often at the cutting edge of sleep research, and it's usually the Swiss doing the heavy lifting. Lately, however, an *American company is beginning a pilot study in Belgium, and have developed something extremely promising in the treatment of sleep apnea.

If you're unfamiliar with sleep apnea you can read my previous article "Is Sleep Apnea A Silent Killer?". That post will definitely fill you in. If you do know - perhaps far too well - what a scourge sleep apnea can be and have been treated for it in the past, at some point you've likely been introduced to a device known as CPAP. A CPAP device - put simply - is a largish mask that provides continuous airflow, which in turn keeps the airway from closing during sleep.

The main problem with CPAP is that it's a rather Draconian, a pretty laborious set up, and can be as uncomfortable as a toothache. You can see from the picture above how it would take a good deal of time to get used to sleeping with the device on. From my experience, most people who have been given CPAP will end up throwing it in the trash after a few attempts, if only because it is so uncomfortable and hard to get accustomed to using. While that may not be the smartest thing to do for someone afflicted with Apnea, I can certainly understand the frustration.

Here's the really good news: an *American company is doing some good things in Belgium right now (ImThera Medical, Inc.) having just received approval for human trials on a vastly different and potentially groundbreaking new treatment for people suffering from sleep apnea. For those of you reading that do suffer from the disorder, this could potentially be the best news you've heard in a very long time.

While I could go on and on explaining the process to you in long, boring detail, my guess is a video will be a much better educator. So please do watch the video below for a proper and detailed explanation on this new and hopeful insomnia cures treatment. I'll definitely be keeping my eye on the human trials over the next passing months.

*Edit: In my haste to post this good news it seems I was less than generous to my American cousins. As was pointed out by a reader (see the comments below) it is in fact an American group doing this good work, not a company from Belgium as I initially reported. Very glad that Marcelo stopped by to point that out. Thanks Marcelo!

Turning The Tides on Depression and Insomnia

2009-09-25T08:49:00.006+08:00

Once in a "blue moon" (as my mother used to say) not sleeping is no reason for alarm. In the world today there are literally thousands of external stressors that will cause an occasional bout of acute insomnia. These stressors won't always lead you to a bad case of depression and insomnia. On that occasional sleepless night, you are best served by simply using the awake time to catch up on some reading, watch a good movie, and otherwise not concern yourself that you'll never sleep again.

It's only when insomnia turns chronic and habitual that we have to look at the underlying causes, to try and find a solution that helps. And by helping to solve the problem without hurting us in some way we must look to natural remedies first, otherwise our treatments can result in having a reverse of their intended effect. Certain medications for example, such as over the counter and prescription sleeping pills, can hinder our body's own natural ability to affect sleep and therefor they should be considered as only a last resort, and most importantly, only as a short term solution. Being dependent on prescription sleep aids is not a good road to travel.

I'm always on the hunt for solutions that do not involve drugs or other harmful treatments but that statement comes with this disclaimer: I'm not a tree hugging, psychedelic alternative medicine guru wannabe. Not in the least. Dwelling on finding natural solutions comes only from seeing the research and thus knowing that they are highly effective - sometimes more so than their pharmacological counterparts. Just so we're all clear, prescription sleep aids truly do have their place in treating insomnia. By applying natural insomnia cures as a first response, we are allowing our body a chance to prove it can cure itself. As a rule, attempting the least invasive approach first is just good common sense.

How Does Insomnia Lead To Depression?

The interesting thing about natural sleep disorder treatments is that many also come highly recommended as effective treatments for depression. Knowing this, we can make a logical mental leap that it's not just the treatments that co-relate, but the disorders themselves. In people suffering depression, there is a significantly lower level of serotonin level in the body. Since serotonin is so crucially important to regulating moods and the body's sleep cycle, it's fairly obvious why having a decreased serotonin production will lead to increased instances of depression. In my last post (Depression and Insomnia Like Each Other, A Lot) I outlined how decreased serotonin and depression leads to insomnia, but just as importantly, chronic insomnia can lead to a decrease in serotonin - which can end in a depressed state.

To be frank however, this is a "chicken and egg" question. Which disorder causes which is rather a redundant path to scrutinize. However there are a few factors to understand when looking at how insomnia can be the cause, not the symptom, of depression. Here's a few obvious reasons:

being overtired leads to being less effective at problem solving. Over time a negative reaction can lead to depressive disorders.

Fatigue makes it difficult to cope with many stressful situations, leading to depression.

Extreme fatigue leads to feelings of hopelessness, sadness, and an inability to control emotional responses. This obviously will lead to depression when left unchecked.

As I've eluded before, treating depression with SSRI medications (such as Prozac and the like) can help reduce insomnia a great deal. But there is also a strong case for how treating insomnia with various natural sleep disorder treatments (like Sleep Tracks) can significantly reduce cases of depression. The two conditions are so closely related that treating one will normally have positive benefits on the other.

If you're feeling like you have a case of the blues, and that it may have something to do with your inability to sleep, I highly recommend a combination of both the Sleep Tracks program and getting to your GP for a prescription SSRI. Neither are dangerous, neither are addictive, and using both in concert is a very effective weapon against both depression and insomnia.

Depression and Insomnia Like Each Other, A Lot.

2009-09-20T17:23:00.004+08:00

Depression and insomnia go hand in hand. While it may be a common assumption that depressed people sleep a lot, in at least as many cases of depression a significant lack of sleep is noted. As a result, chronic insomnia is often a symptom of deeper rooted depressive disorders, and when looking into causes for insomnia, doctors will often closely examine a patients current state of mind. If depression is successfully diagnosed, in many instances insomnia will be the result of that depression.

This is why, in some cases, when people seek out a doctor to help with insomnia they are prescribed an SSRI tablet as a treatment option. In cases of chronic insomnia coupled with depression, it is very common to be provided with a short term dose of popular sleep medications as well as the longer term SSRI meds. This is done because an SSRI takes time, sometimes up to 2 weeks to be effective at inhibiting seratonin re-absorption. A sleeping pill is used to allow for proper rest until the SSRI is up to speed in your system. I'll get into that a little more later on, but if you were treated for insomnia with a prescription sleeping med as well as an SSRI such as Prozac, e.t.c... don't panic, your doctor knows what he's on about.

Depression is normally treated with the ever popular Paxil, Zoloft, Prozac, e.t.c... which are all SSRI derivatives (Selective Seratonin Reuptake Inhibitors). As I eluded, these medications work to stop Seratonin from being reabsorbed back into the nerve cells of your brain. It useful to know what seratonin is, for the purpose of understanding how suh a deficiency can cause insomnia.

What Is Seratonin?
Seratonin is a neurotransmitter that produces what we often think of as the "happy" feeling. It is the neurotransmitter that most regulates moods within a functioning, normal brain. Melatonin - the hormone our body produces to reguate sleep patterns is made from seratonin - so to speak - in that it is not uncommon to see an increase in melatonin production of up to 48%, when tied to SSRI medication use. So, following this particular rabbit hole, we can see where the logical path ends. This is why many people prescribed an SSRI will comment on how their sleep cycles become more regular while on the medication.

What is perhaps less widely known is that seratonin is produced from tryptophan, and therefore not a direct result of brain activity, persay. Tryptophan is produced via food digestion and metabolizing, so it stands to reason that when your digestion is not working properly, you will not be producing the right amounts of tryptophan - and as a result - seratonin. Properly digesting proteins and amino acids breaks down tryptophan into seratonin, and when the digestive tract is unhealthy or diseased, this will cause problems such as insomnia and depression.

Most general practitioners may miss this important fact when prescribing your sleep meds and SSRI meds, overlooking a potentially serious situation. Doctors that are well versed in SSRI pathology are known to look directly at your digestive system to be sure there is no lingering issues there that could cause a mal-absorption of your nutrients.

If the root cause of the problem of depression and insomnia is the digestive system, then it only makes sense to look after this issue. Having a proper diagnostic procedure(s) done to determine your digestive health is paramount. Having said that, it is always wise to use what you can for the short term, but not at the expense of finding the core of the problem. In more cases than are widely known, depression is often traced back to a problem with your nutrition and/or digestive system's ability to metabolize foods - foods that provide the building blocks for every neurotransmitter that your cells and brain needs to properly function.

Should you be considering the possibility that your insomnia and depression are co-related, they very well may be. And the answer is not always within the pharmacy walls. You should first ask yourself if the following symptoms affects you on a regular basis:

indigestion/ heartburn
frequent gas/ wind
Constipation
Chronic/ constant diarrhea

Any of these symptoms - in any combination - on a chronic (recurring) basis, can be the root cause of your depression and insomnia. Now I certainly would never promote NOT taking a prescription for depression, as in the short term it will be something you likely require to feel better and get some proper rest. However, dealing with the issues of proper digestion are likely the single most important factor in maintaining a healthy body, so with that in mind, don't hesitate to get a proper check up to be assured you are not suffering from a hidden chronic digestion issue.

Now you know that depression and insomnia are close cousins in the family of rotten conditions we can encounter, so it's very important to note that one leads to the other. In some cases, which I will detail in future articles, insomnia is the root cause of depressive disorders. This is an entirely different beast of course, mutually exclusive of the above details. God never makes things simple it would seem. :)

Your Sleep Kung Fu Could Be Way Too Strong!

2009-08-07T07:32:00.005+08:00

Insomnia, acute or chronic, has many allies, contributing conditions that cause us to suffer greatly in the quest for proper rest. Caffeine, alcohol, artificially bright lights after 3pm, they are all culprits. An under-active pineal gland, due to any number of reasons, can cause a lack in the body's melatonin production - yet another very common culprit for a bout of insomnia.

Then comes the environmental causes. Babies crying, a loud neighbor or neighborhood, an unfamiliar surrounding - such as a hotel room, the cottage, or a friends couch. Even a ticking clock can become annoying enough to interrupt a good night's sleep to an insomniac.

The causes are great and many. But one that is seldom explored is a rare condition that can be hell for a person, or at least their spouse and/or sleeping partner.

Restless Leg Syndrome

RLS, also known as Wittmaack-Ekbom's syndrome, is an irresistible and uncontrollable urge to twitch and move - sometimes violently - in order to stop uncomfortable or peculiar sensations. People who suffer this condition describe it as having the extremities feel itchy, and/or they feel a burning sensation which is temporarily relieved by sudden twitches and movement. Although it most commonly begins as middle age sets in (40 - 50 years of age) it has been documented in infants all the way up to young adults.

The condition of restless leg syndrome has been shown to be most common in people with an iron deficiency. Such a deficiency can account for 1/5th of certain clinically scrutinized RLS cases. There are other conditions that both exacerbate and co-relate with this problem, things like diabetes, thyroid disease, magnesium deficiency, poor vascular consistency, e.t.c... and as such, a proper diagnosis is required to rule out the many possible physiological causes.

If you suffer from this condition, you may gloss over it by making jokes, or maybe your partner has poked fun at how you "chase rabbits" in your sleep. Quite simply, it is no laughing matter, and not a small problem. Rare yes, small no. Firstly there are no known preventative measures. Secondly, once all other potential contributing causes are ruled out, RLS treatment is an expensive and long term proposal that - using drug therapy - has known, serious side effects (like nausea, dizziness, hallucinations). In fact, drug therapy treatment should be only considered as a last ditch effort, and only if the condition is becoming violent and potentially dangerous to you or your sleeping partner.

If you believe you have RLS, or perhaps your partner has let you know that you've kicked or punched out in your sleep, my best advice is to immediately see a doctor and schedule a polysomnogram - as well as a full medical/blood work up. However, to combat the problem immediately you may try an additional iron supplement, or do your best to get more iron in your diet through your nutritional intake. Additionally you may need extra magnesium, available in supplement form or by eating foods rich in these vitamins and minerals.

One other thing you can try is to stretch, either just before bed time, or at the onset of an attack. If an onset of RLS wakes you, simply stand up and stretch by touching your toes. Complete a cycle of 5 stretches, held for 20 seconds each time. This has been known to significantly reduce the severity of RLS in some patients.

There Is Hope

According to wikipedia... "a non-drug musculoskeletal approach has been developed by a small group of doctors working at the London College of Osteopathic Medicine, London, UK and appears to produce relief of symptoms in 80–90% of patients." So it is good to know someone, somewhere, is on the case. I can't comment on the approach yet - since this is ongoing research - but I have put in more than a few phone calls and emails. I will certainly report back with any new and pertinent info.

In the meantime, don't panic, restless leg syndrome is not going to kill you, (although your spouse may try to beat you senseless if you are kicking them in their sleep:)). In all seriousness, if you are showing any signs of RLS, be sure to act promptly and do not ignore it like one can ignore the occasional sleepless night. Here's some things you can do right away:

Have a blood work up to see if you have proper iron and magnesium.
Try iron and/or magnesium supplements if you can't change your diet or get to a doctor in a hurry.
Make sure to limber up before you sleep by stretching and loosening up.

If these weapons don't work to combat your issue, it may be time to get a proper sleep study done (polysomnogram) wherein a doctor can assess the severity of your problem, and even potentially rule it out as nothing more than bad dreams.

One thing I cannot stress enough. Only in the worst and most extreme cases should you seek out drug therapy for RLS, because of both the expense (100-150.00 per month, for life!), and the potential side effects. Regular readers know that I always try and preach a non pharmaceutical approach to insomnia cures. In cases of non-RLS related insomnia, that is just my hope that you can help yourself and avoid certain dependency issues. However RLS drug therapy is an entirely different beast. There are far more serious side effects associated with RLS drugs. Just be aware, and be extra cautious.

Now, stretch your legs, relax with some valerian root tea, and get some sleep!!!

The Road To Understanding Insomnia Starts Here

2009-07-27T11:19:00.006+08:00

First off, if you're having trouble sleeping right now and need help, click the links below for some immediate solutions.

Life Sign Sleep Key

Sleep Tracks White Noise Therapy

Ambiatol

Magnetic Therapy Sleep Pad

Apollo Blue Light Therapy

If you're still reading, I thought I would take the time in this post to further help wrap our minds around insomnia. You see, contrary to popular belief, insomnia is a symptom, not a disease. It usually occurs in relation to a variety of medical, psychiatric and physiological disorders. Complaining of insomnia usually means you are upset by the following:

difficulty falling asleep
sleeping too lightly
having multiple spontaneous awakenings
early awakenings with an inability to fall back to sleep

It is important to assess the timing of insomnia in order to determine its' cause and origin. When you suffer from persistent sleeplessness it is crucial to define exactly how the condition is effecting you, being as specific as possible. This is why it is very important that each patient defines to the best of their ability what he or she means by the term “insomnia”.

Research has found that patients with insomnia show a variety of consistent features. They are more likely to have:

higher rate of depression and depressive and/or anxiety issues
longer daytime sleep latency (unable to rest during the day)
an increased 24 hour metabolic rate
more night to night variability in their sleep (irregular sleeping patterns)

How Do We Get Insomnia?

Experts believe that there are three main factors that will cause sustained sleeplessness. These are what we call the three P's

The Predisposed personality, sometimes including people with a higher than normal rate of neural activity. This can include any combination of the following personality traits:

anxious
pessimistic
emotional hyper-activity
general stress or tension.

A Preceding event, or an event(s) that is outside of the person's control that is the cause of sleep problems. These events are usually easy to spot as changes in our routines caused by anything from a family conflict to surviving an earthquake. Such preceding events could easily include:

work stress
financial stress
health problems
death in the family
surviving disaster situations (earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, e.t.c...)
shift work
*melatonin deficiency

The Perpetual practicing insomniac. If you look back at my previous post regarding the condition of somniphobia, you can note from that analysis that a perpetuating insomniac can fall under the category of somniphobe. It develops as a response to sleeplessness, but inevitably ends in prolonging the condition by developing series of thoughts and fears about the insomnia, wherein the subject can “talk” themselves out of a quality rest. Traits of a perpetuating insomniac can include:

sleeping too early
staying in bed late
caffeine
reactions to sleep medications
excessive worrying over sleep
daytime napping

So What Can We Do?

As mentioned at the beginning of the article, if you find yourself relating to any of the above criteria, there are certain sleep systems that are available without prescription that can significantly help to combat the problem. Sleep Tracks or Light Therapy will normally help the perpetuating insomniac by allowing a calm, soothing environment. (click the links to examine the systems) Melatonin hybrid preparations like Ambiatol can assist those who have a specific predisposition to insomnia (as eluded to in this post).

Those that find themselves with insomnia due to a preceding event should also use things such as sleeping pads and even a sleep computer to at least have weapons in the battle. However if the conditions of a preceding event are due to a specific traumatic event, it is extremely wise to seek out a diagnosis of emotional health, since PTSD (Post Trauma Stress Disorder) must be ruled out. A combination of therapy and anti-depressant medications will certainly help immensely in dealing with PTSD.

This article was meant to list the variables associated with insomnia, and to provide some natural insomnia cures to assist you in getting a proper rest. It is always most wise to consult a proper sleep clinic with concerns as they become more and more persistent, but in some cases, the products and systems I've listed above can help significantly. You can click on any of the systems to order or examine. I'll end by saying the same thing I've said many times within this site, it is always best to try non-intrusive therapies before resorting to medications.

Get some rest!

A Natural Approach To Insomnia Cures

2009-07-26T07:44:00.008+08:00

Most of the masses suffering from sleeping disorders like insomnia are not always ready to take the plunge and get a prescription sleeping aid, either due to the many side effects (outlined in this post), or because they have understated the problem. People often trick themselves into believing insomnia is a condition that can be handled "on their own", using insomnia cures such as warm milk or a hot bath. By doing so they are ignoring that the problem may be a simple physiological issue, and therefore completely beyond their control.

There is one hormone, melatonin, that is naturally produced within our bodies to trigger the sleep cycle. It occurs according to our body clock - or circadian rhythm - and is triggered by the fading daily light. With technology now allowing us to prepare synthetic versions of this hormone, we can now self-administer melatonin to make use of its' many health benefits. Conveniently for this article, one of the health benefits is it's known curative quality for insomnia.

Melatonin is said to have anti aging benefits, and it has also been touted as one of the most powerful non-narcotic solution for fighting against depression and anxiety. These surprising benefits are not endorsed by many medical organizations, due to a limited base of study. Having said that, anything is worth trying once or twice before going down the road to pharmaceuticals. So if you are wondering whether or not melatonin can help you fall asleep, let me do my best to show you how to get the most bang for your buck.

Taking Melatonin

When it comes to taking melatonin you need to be sure that you don’t overdo it, or you will interfere with the body’s own ability to create it. 1 to 3 mg is an optimum dosage, administering every second sleepless night. If you take too much for too long, your body is tricked into believing that melatonin is already in your system, and will shut down its' own natural production. Doctors normally recommend not to ever exceed 5mg of melatonin for more than one dosage, so that your naturally producing melatonin can stay regulated without interruption.

Why Is My Body Not Producing Melatonin?

As I eluded to before, melatonin begins production as light fades, during the normal sleep/wake cycle. The circadian rhythm is roughly a 24 hour cycle, wherein most of our physiological functions complete their daily routines, according to a natural rhythm. This cycle is not exclusive to us. Plants, animals, and even micro-organisms have a natural rhythmic cycle. Having said that, you may wonder why we sometimes fail to produce something that seems as natural as blinking. Outlined below are just a few of the reasons why this happens:

Exposure to an unnatural level of artificial light.
Using a sun tanning bed after 3pm.
Bright night time activities - such as clubbing, concerts, sports games, e.t.c...
Night lights, TV's, even low level lamps, when trying to sleep, can have a surprisingly negative effect on your body clock.
Shift work.

In order to combat this attack on your hormones and get a good night's rest, artificially increasing your melatonin with preparations like Alteril or Melatonex (click the links to purchase) can help normalize your production to a standard level, thus regulating your sleeping cycles and patterns. A normalized sleep/wake cycle can go along way to alleviate insomnia symptoms.

Although I mentioned that there is no standardized tests to prove melatonins' worth, in my experience it is a remarkably efficient insomnia cure - in certain cases. In fact there are times when it can seem like a miracle cure, due to it's obvious targeted nature. I can't impress upon you enough to at least try it first as a possible treatment, before rushing to the GP for a prescription solution. It may be that all you need is to normalize your hormones and not ever succumb to the potential dangers and side effects of pharmaceuticals.

Sleeping Pills. Insomnia Cure Or Bad Medicine?

2009-07-25T06:00:00.002+08:00

Sleeping disorders are more and more common in today's adult population. For complex reasons such as long working hours, and other economic stresses, it is now estimated that almost 25% of the adult population suffers some kind of sleeping difficulty. Slumber issues without the necessary insomnia cures can wreak havoc on a person's life by making them visibly irritable at work, by not allowing their body a chance to revitalize itself, and by making it increasingly harder to stay alert during the day - especially when driving long distances or performing otherwise complex and potentially dangerous tasks.

As pharmacological treatments evolve, people now turn to prescription sleeping aids as a quick "get it and forget it" fix to assist them in getting the sleep they need. Taken correctly and as prescribed, there is no reason to believe they can’t be extremely beneficial to you. Taken habitually however, or over-medicating from the prescribed dosage, these medications can have extremely hazardous side effects that can enhance the insomnia, instead of providing relief. Below you will find a comparison between the risks and benefits of prescription sleeping aids so that you can be well informed and well armed before heading off to your doctor.

The Benefits of Sleeping Aids

For starters you need to understand that sleeping pills are not bad. They are not spawned from the lab of some evil corporation, and they do not necessarily cause you to become a drooling, addicted mess. They also do not - necessarily - cause hangover-like symptoms, which is a very common complaint. Having said that, they can be all of that and more, when not used correctly. The truth is that prescription sleeping pills have helped millions of American every year who suffer from sleeping disorders, such as transient and chronic insomnia. It is a multi-million dollar a year business because they are an effective - but temporary - relief.

Sleep inducing meds are used to slow down the neurological activity in your brain, enabling you to fall asleep much easier then you would naturally. They depress the central nervous system which inevitably causes the sleepy feelings to take hold and facilitate unconsciousness. It is said that with people with strong neural activity routinely find it harder to fall away to slumber, some regularly complaining of chronic bouts of insomnia. Sleeping pills are extremely effective at slowing down this neural activity - thus inducing sleep.

When you’re taking sleep medications you are most likely to fall asleep, in most cases, within 15 to 30 minutes - with the added benefit of preventing frequent awakenings during the night. These awakenings exist as a form of insomnia in and of itself, and the condition can be just as frustrating as the initial onset of insomnia. This is normally because it is harder to get back to sleep after waking abruptly. Having said that, sometimes frequent awakenings are a result of other medical conditions, such as sleep apnea, and worth a proper diagnosis.

The Risks of Sleeping Pills

As effective as these medications can be, they still come with side effects. It's a virtual guarantee that over time your body will begin to build a tolerance to them, leaving you to require consistently higher dosages to get the same result you experienced from the initial administration.

One psychological component of dependency to sleep medication is that you begin to feel it's impossible to sleep without the drug. This is based within the physiology of the drug's co-relation to your ever increasing tolerance. At this point the exacerbated condition becomes "hyper insomnia", and will continue until your body has successfully weaned from the medication.

In effect, by treating the symptom of insomnia and not the cause of said condition, you will have become more and more dependent on an increasingly less effective drug. This is why treating insomnia with prescription pills is normally used as strictly a short term solution (between 3 and 5 days). The insomnia itself must be investigated with other diagnostic methods (such as a polysomnogram/ sleep study), for more healthy and appropriate treatments to begin.

Weaning from a dependence to sleeping pills can also cause feelings of depression, along with the aforementioned hyper insomnia. These medications were never meant to be taken long term, except in the most egregious cases, because the metabolism of the brain becomes less responsive to the effects, very quickly. The other withdrawal symptoms range from dry mouth, increased daytime drowsiness, and nausea. There are certain drugs now in development, that are said to have no quantifiable dependence/abuse side effects. One such medication is already on the market and is branded as Lunesta, otherwise known as Eszopiclone. While this new treatment shows promise, it's effectiveness and corresponding side effects are still being studied.

As you can see, prescription sleeping pills can be of great benefit to you - for short term treatment, or they can cause you more trouble then they are worth - if you don’t have the discipline to use them as directed. Visit Insomnia Cures if you feel like you need more information on sleeping pills, or for any questions or comments about the horrible condition of insomnia. Remember, your ultimate goal should be to become completely independent from prescription drugs, thus tackling the condition and not the symptom.

A Sad Day

2009-06-26T14:59:00.002+08:00

RIP Michael. You will be missed.

Enough With The SoapBox, Help Me Fall Asleep!!

2009-06-23T17:18:00.005+08:00

I must quantify this post by saying this: within this article you WILL find some sleep products that are proven effective.

So, first off, if you can't sleep, look over these links for a product that may help you.

Sleep Tracks
Light Therapy
Noise Therapy
Sedamine
Somnitrol

Having said that, allow me to elaborate on why I felt it necessary to make the preceding statement. Thing is that so many emails have been reaching me lately, telling me that although they find insomnia cures articles very useful, they were not reading so much to understand their problems, only to find help fast. Yep, go figure, google searchers were looking up my site seeking out actual insomnia cures and not long rants about the physiology of this disorder. Who knew? (I guess I should have known, but we'll keep that a secret ;))

In fact in one email from Paul Bowden in Calgary (Hi Paul!!) he mentioned that the last thing he was looking for when he couldn't sleep was MORE reading material. That email really had me in stitches, but even more telling, it showed me that I truly need to add some quality remedies here to offer some immediate solutions.

So as you can see above, and by the new links in my sidebar, (right above the subscribe button) I have added some of the remedies that I know have been proven beneficial to many insomnia sufferers. Some are popular, some are not, but they are in my link list because I have seen them at work and can attest to their effectiveness.

Within that list, one top choice for me to pass on would certainly be Sleep Tracks, since it has a very high rate of success. It's a program that I was given to review long ago at my clinic. I believe it's one of the best selling non-intrusive sleep systems on the net these days. If I'm not mistaken Sleep Tracks also offers a rock solid refund policy, so it's worth checking out.

Remember, even those of you that consider yourselves "hardcore" insomniacs, sometimes it's the most mundane and simple apparatus that can do the trick. As an example, this electro-mechanical device, (known as the MarPac Sleep Mate) has worked for countless numbers of people suffering sleeplessness. So while you may be convinced that the only help you can find involves a doctor and a pharmacy, I implore you to try more natural remedies first, to avoid the nasty side effects and addiction issues that come with prescription sleep aids.

Where your health is concerned, you never know what can help until you try. These are a few solid products that may help you. I will always post more and more advice on lifestyle changes, and occasionally I'll nag at you about why it's very important to find out the reason you are not sleeping, but in the meantime, these links may help.

Insomnia Cures Wishes Dads A Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-22T06:31:00.004+08:00

I gave my husband the day off. Actually the whole weekend. He's been a trooper and rasing our 2 boys like a champion. He deserves it. Mercifully, he never seems to need insomnia cures since he could sleep through an earthquake. :) So off he goes to get his yearly sun burn while pretending he's Phil Mickelson on the golf course.

Let us never forget that fathers are bastions of strength, givers of sound advice, the body guards against all closet monsters, and extremely useful at sneaking us ice cream for breakfast when Mom sleeps in :)

Happy Father's Day to my own Dad - and to all the Dads out there that deserve our praise and thanks.

Busting The Top 10 Sleep Myths Wide Open

2009-03-15T01:45:00.008+09:00

Sleep is the consummate target for myth creation. Whether it be curing insomnia with the latest snake oil - myth, or telling your child to stay awake so he'll be sleepy on your next road trip - myth. The themes and logical assumptions range from comical to tragic, and as we all know, there are so many out there circulating around the water coolers and clubs of this world. Below you can read about the most popular myths about a good night's sleep, and why they are absolute rubbish.

Myth 1: Sleep merely means to rest

Truth:
Sleep is much more than just a period of rest; it is an essential time for the body to perform routine maintenance, creating long-term memories, and repairing damage from your day. Getting between 7 and 9 hours of sleep each day ensures your body and mind will function well the next day.

Myth 2: Sleep Is A Passive Event

Truth:
Sleeping is not at all passive. The brain can be more active during dream sleep than it is in an awake state. Although the metabolic activity during dream sleep is high, it is essential in rejuvenation, memory rebuilding, and feeling refreshed.

Myth 3: The more I dream, the more tired I am.

Truth:
It is well accepted that dream sleep is important to rejuvenation, and to feeling refreshed. All dreams, even nightmares, are good for people.

Myth 4: Losing an hour of sleep is no big deal.

Truth:
When you get less sleep than you need, your ability to do certain cognitive and physical activities is greatly reduced. As sleep loss builds over time you develop a sleep debt. Having a sleep debt can interfere with hormones that monitor your appetite, change your moods and increase the risk of long term illness.

Myth 5: You can learn to get less sleep.

Truth:
There is absolutely no way to “train” yourself to get less sleep. Research has shown that restricting a person to only 5 hours of sleep per night for a period of weeks can severely effect performance, impair judgment and cause mood swings. There have been studies done in the late 1980's that have linked chronic sleep debt with depressive disorders.

Myth 6: Naps are wasteful.

Truth:
Naps are a great way to catch up on lost sleep. After taking naps people can accomplish cognitive tasks much quicker and feel refreshed. Naps are also an excellent way to train someone to fall asleep quicker, which is very beneficial to anyone with insomnia. It is worth noting that napping for longer than an hour or after 3pm can make it more difficult to fall asleep at night.

Myth 7: There is such a thing as sleep “Catch up”.

Truth:
Simply put, when you don't get the proper 7 to 9 hours of sleep, you are accumulating a sleep debt. On weekends it would seem ideal to wake up later to catch up on lost slumber. However, it is much more efficient and healthier to develop a daily schedule that allows you a consistent 7 to 9 hours per night.

Myth 8: Snoring is normal and indicates a state of deep sleep.

Truth:
It's no surprise to know that snoring is very common, frequent snoring can be indicative of very serious sleep disorders. If someone has complained about consistent snoring, or noticed you are short of breath during sleep, you may have fallen victim to the disorder of sleep apnea. It would be very wise to head to a sleep specialist for a sleep evaluation. If you have sleep apnea there are many successful treatments that can help you sleep better and feel more refreshed during the day.

Myth 9: Children with less sleep will become more tired.

Truth:
Children have very different metabolisms than adults. If you think that by making your child stay awake in order to tire him/her out for an upcoming trip, e.t.c... think again. Children without enough sleep have a tendency to produce an excess of adrenaline and can end up more energetic, even hyper-active from a lack of sleep. Sleep deficits in children have successfully been linked with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyper Activity Disorder). Furthermore, children with sleep apnea have been linked with poor school performance and lower sports and health activities. Put bluntly, children need an incredible amount of quality sleep.

Myth 10: Older people need less sleep.

Truth:
Older people have a tendency to get less sleep than young and middle aged adults, but that does not mean they need less. The fact is that older individuals need the same amount of rest as the rest of us, only older people may not be able to achieve this easily due to lower melatonin levels circulating in the blood. This is why you may notice older people nap more throughout the day, as their bodies try to make up for the lack of sleep during the evening.

There you have it. My first Top 10 list. If you have any other myths that need dispelling, leave them in the comments, and I'll be sure to play myth buster and test the theories. As with sleeping itself, plenty of the most popular insomnia cures are also based on pure myth, just so you know. My mother used to say that well informed is well armed, and when it comes to curing a string of long, sleepless nights she was right on the money. The next time someone tells you that in order to fall asleep you should run naked in the woods or bathe in motor oil, check in to this site before you get arrested for streaking or catch fire. :)

Is Sleep Apnea A Silent Killer?

2009-03-12T01:39:00.011+09:00

They say osteoporosis is a silent killer, as it's almost impossible to detect until the damage is done to your bone mass. It is usually discovered only after you've been hospitalized for a broken bone. Another condition that can lead to underlying serious illness is the condition known as sleep apnea. As insomnia cures develop over the years, more and more people are turning to sleep clinics and specialists to diagnose their sleeplessness - only to find out they have developed sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea is caused by pauses in breathing during sleep. A standard definition of an apneic event will be 10 continuous second intervals between breaths. This can cause a blood oxygen de-saturation of 3 to 4%. This condition is diagnosed normally with an overnight sleep study called a polysomnogram. Now, I'm not going to bore you with medical terminology, but it is worth noting that a decrease in your blood oxygen night after night, undiagnosed for years has many adverse effects on your well being.

I was actually inspired to write this article from a comment on my most recent post, titled Steve Martins Ambien Experience. While sleep apnea is not necessarily insomnia, it very much negatively affects the quality of sleep we get and thus I have studied it's causes and treatments often in my tenure. Of all the sleep disorders, sleep apnea can cause the greatest amount of direct physiological damage to our bodies, due to the reasons I listed above.

Sleep apnea occurs in two main types: obstructive sleep apnea, which is the more common form. This occurs when throat muscles relax. Central sleep apnea is the second form, and occurs when your brain cannot send proper signals to the muscles that control breathing. Additionally, some people have complex sleep apnea, which is a combination of both.

Some medical problems that can result from sleep apnea are:

heart disease
high blood pressure
sexual dysfunction
learning/memory problems
Cardiovascular problems
Complications with medications and surgery

There are other areas that can be severely affected by undiagnosed sleep apnea, these just scratch the surface.

Are You At Risk?
If you can answer yes to any of the following human conditions, you may be at risk for developing sleep apnea.

If you have high blood pressure or hypertension, sleep apnea is not uncommon.
You may have inherited a naturally narrow throat or have enlarged adnoids and/or tonsils, all of which can block your airway.
If you are male you are statistically twice as likely to develop sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea occurs 2 to 3 times more often in adults over 65.
A family history of sleep apnea puts you at increased risk.
The use of alcohol, sedatives or tranquilizers relax the muscles in your throat and can lead to blockage.

There have been remarkable advances in the treatment of this disorder, so if you are at all suspicious about this problem, see a sleep specialist to find out about the latest therapies, such as CPAP, oral appliances, or even surgery. The treatments will differ depending on the type of apnea you are diagnosed with, but all are ery effective.

Should you wish to try your own insomnia cure, or in this case sleep apnea cure, there are a few lifestyle adjustments you should make to alleviate the symptoms, but only until you get to a proper sleep specialist. These are not really cures (of course) but they can help.

Lose excess weight. Even a slight decrease in weight can help relieve constriction in your throat.
Avoid alcohol, sleep meds and tranquilizers.
Sleep on your side or abdomen rather than your back.
Keep your nasal passages open at night by using a saline nasal spray. My clinic has used this product as it contains aloe to keep from drying out the nasal passage. Decongestants and/or antihistamines work as well, but most of these types of medications are for short term use only.
Raise your torso and head 4 to 6 inches during your sleep. You can achieve this with a sleep aiding pillow, such as the one located here, which comes highly recommended. Other pillows come designed with people using CPAP therapy to assist their night time breathing. If you are already implementing a CPAP therapy, an excellent sleep aid pillow can be found here.

Remember, if you suspect that you or someone you love may have sleep apnea, don't wait for another insomnia cures post to nag you into doing something about it. Contact a sleep specialist and take a proper test now. You may add years to your life by being proactive.

Steve Martin's Ambien Experience

2009-03-06T22:03:00.008+09:00

Before I explain both the virtues and vices of the popular insomnia cure prescription tablet Ambien, take a look at this video.

I'm not sure if you remember my mentioning the bizarre and adverse effects that can occur for some people who use Ambien, Stilnox, or as it's generically known zolpidem? It was featured in this post. Well if not, I eluded to things good old Steve talks about above, and I can guarantee you that in the video Steve Martin is NOT telling David Letterman a joke. Although it is quite hilarious, the poker experience actually happened to him. These kinds of bizarre things have been known to happen to some people who take this medication.

I'm certainly not suggesting that if you take Ambien you'll become an internet poker millionaire in your sleep, but it is worth it that I point out the incredibly elaborate and complex functions some are capable of completing under the influence of Zolpidem.

Perhaps you remember the story of a Senator (Patrick Kennedy) who was found after he had crashed his car into a security brigade at the US capital? The police assumed he was drunk (Kennedy + drunk = not much of a mental leap) Of course it was later confirmed by blood tests that he had no alcohol in his system. Yes, that, my fair and gentle readers, was another bizarre adverse effect felt from Senator Kennedy taking an Ambien tablet prior to his accident. Here's the link to the full story.

Some other stories that you may find amusing regarding Ambien are the tale of a house wife in Michigan. Apparently she fell to a sound sleep after taking an Ambien tablet, and when she woke the next day her front door was painted green (the kind of green paint used to finish decks). Since she was alone she assumed it was some kind of practical joke, but later she realized that it must have been her sleep painting (?) as her bed clothes and slippers were splashed with the paint. Now I can think of many things I'd like to get done while I'm walking in my sleep, painting the front door is definitely not one of them.

Another story, and one entirely not amusing, is about a Korean man prescribed Stilnox who walked off his 23rd story balcony to his death. He was happily married with a good job and no reason to commit suicide. The only difference between that night and any other for him was that his doctor had recently prescribed Zolpidem to help him sleep.

So now you know what horrors, embarrassments and potential winfalls await you from the use of this drug. I am not saying it is not completely beneficial to getting a good nights sleep, in fact it is one prescription that frequent travellers swear by. But it should also be noted that people in hotel rooms have been known to wander from their rooms into the hallways of hotels to relieve themselves, thinking in their sleep state that the outer hallway is a bathroom. This, according to an official at the Grand Hyatt, is a very common occurence.

My advice is that if you must take an Ambien, you make sure you've locked yourself in for the night - keeping the doors double latched to prevent any wandering and keep the balcony doors tightly sealed from any sleepwalking incidents.

Again I cannot crucify this medication as it truly does help people sleep, people who are afflicted with most types of insomnia. I have used it myself on occasion, and can attest to the fact that it will knock you out cold fairly quickly. The newer timed release versions will also let you sleep longer - as normal Ambien has a very short half life. The plain truth is it works well, and these side effects are on the rare end of the spectrum. However in this case, saying "it will never happen to me" is a fool's wage. Make sure you have taken precautions.

So just remember to be careful of your insomnia cures as some remedies contain serious medications. Be aware that you must have some preperations in order before taking drugs to help you sleep, to ensure you cannot fall victim to this kind of side effect. And for the love of all things good in this world, NEVER take sleep medications while you are drinking alcohol.

Men At Work

2009-02-07T09:48:00.003+09:00

Nope, not the '80's Aussie band. I just wanted to let you faithful and sleepless readers know that the blog is undergoing a complete redesign, which means occasionally you may end up here and see some fairly wonky stuff going on.

As a brief explanation, the site is being redesigned because I have just been sponsored by a sleep research clinic located at a very reputable hospital, and as such I will be adding sponsors and migrating visitors over from their own sleep disorder static site.

This is a huge job for someone who thinks "code" means my credit card pin number. Doh! Please be patient gentle reader!! In the meantime, for some reading on other subjects that are close to my heart, as well as some faithful subscriber blogs, please head to Juicing Recipes or to The Interior Living Room . They don't have insomnia info unfortunately, but both are great reads for your health, and for remodeling your home, things many of us think about on sleepless nights. Also, the site owners there are.

far ahead of me in knowing how to make a blog look decent
too busy to help me figure out this nonsense, and
very passionate about their subject matter.

I hope to have everything back to normal within the week. In the meantime, if you decide not to visit my subscriber blogs, you can read my recent posts What's Under Your Pillow, and 5 Insomnia Cures You Already Knew as they contain some golden nuggets of insomnia research and facts.

Feel free to comment if there's anything you may want to see included in the new site design. :)

What's Under Your Pillow?

2007-11-18T06:18:00.001+09:00

Somniphobia - The fear of sleeping?

Now here is something one wouldn't consider a topic of conversation for people looking for insomnia cures. After all, insomniacs are not afraid of sleep, we desperately crave it, yes?

Many people who suffer from a continual lack of sleep can develop some form of somniphobia, or the fear of sleeping. Perhaps we're not afraid of sleep in the traditional sense of the word somniphobia - but due to the dread and anxiety we know will come when it's time to sleep we can develop a fear of what will happen from our efforts. What we actually fear is the pain of anxiety and frustration from our insomnia.

What happens to most of us sleep challenged folk when it's time to turn off the lights and seek the restorative work of nature? Well, in some cases we instantly feel anxiety over the possibility of not falling asleep, and our minds race with the prescience of our inevitable coming agony. In this case we face a downward spiral of adding more and more stress to a time of day when relaxation is all we should be pursuing. Eventually this can lead to a trigger for the other conditions responsible for us not sleeping, and in some cases this fear will become the principal trigger itself.

This condition is almost omnipresent in people who suffer chronic bouts of insomnia, fearing sleeplessness that is, but some of us have deeper roots than others. It's not always a fear of sleeplessness, sometimes it actually is exactly as the word implies - a fear of sleep. Personally, under a great deal of scrutiny I came to discover that I have a distinct fear of falling unconscious from certain personal tragedies that occurred in my life during slumber. This, in turn, led to a lasting irrational and subconscious fear that if I slept bad things would happen to those I loved, and thus it came to a point when sleep wouldn't come until I was physically incapable of remaining awake. My record, as I think I've mentioned before, is 11 days with no sleep.

Others can develop this fear from the threat of past - very real dangers within their environment. One woman I studied had absolutely no capacity for sleep - due to her involvement in an earthquake years before, while she lived in Taipei, Taiwan. She lives in Ohio now, but none the less, her irrational association of sleeping coupled with a dangerous earthquake had left her completely unable to find rest. This kind of associative memory is a persistent problem, often manifesting in the form of anxiety disorder, and it does require therapy and potentially medications, to deal with the underlying causes of irrational fear. But there are things we can do to try and help ourselves.

One program that greatly helped me to relax my fear of sleeping was a sleep optimization course very similar to this one. Over a 3 CD course it can greatly dissolve the fears we develop in falling asleep and, incredibly, it does work.

To find real insomnia cures we really have to become relentless in our pursuit, diligent, and we have to recognize that which robs us of what our bodies and minds need. So if you feel you may have developed some irrational fears about sleeping, think back to any time in your life when something may have disturbed you while you slept, perhaps something that left a lasting negative effect. If you find something, write it down, make a note of it, and prepare yourself to deal with this fear in your waking hours. If you can't think of any external memory that may be responsible for a fear of sleeplessness, perhaps you have developed a propensity to worry over your sleeplessness, thus adding to your agony. In future posts we will delve into certain actions and lifestyle changes you can make to combat this problem.

Either way there may not be any magical insomnia cures, but learning about your fears and anxieties come sleep time can go a long way to allowing you some peace of mind. Sleep optimization programs will help, but long term success is dependent on knowing the root causes of your insomnia.

5 Insomnia Cures You Already Knew

2007-11-06T17:12:00.000+09:00

The insomnia cures that most of the blissfully unaware people prescribe for us are notoriously oversimplified, comical and sometimes absolutely infuriating. The problem is that some of the more annoying things people say actually can help us with sleeplessness, but due to the gravity of our problem we tend to overlook the obvious at times. I know when my sister says "You'll sleep fine if you just stop drinking coffee" I quietly explain that "it's just not that simple", and then I go somewhere so I can beat my head against the wall in abject frustration.

For some of us though, it really is as simple as ... say... turning of the radio, or fixing the leaky pipe that drips aural madness into our ears. Yes, insomnia is a very complex problem with many far reaching causes and conditions, but in some cases it's not necessarily a complex solution. We must be very careful not to overlook what may contribute to our problem just because it seems so brain dead or simple.

The following are a few of the more elementary cures that people have likely mentioned to you at least once, and a few that you may not have known about that have proven effective in certain transient sleep disorders. My advice is that if you haven't tried the following you should, as every little bit helps.

Avoid caffeine after 3 pm. This may seem ridiculously over stated but there are many products containing caffeine that we are not necessarily aware of. For example, many pain relievers contain caffeine - such as extra strength Panadol/ Tylenol. You may cure your headache at the expense of sleep. Also note that Tea can give you as much of a caffeine fix as coffee. Try to be vigilant about what you put in your body and read the ingredients when you're not sure - as you can be getting stimulants in your blood stream at the exact wrong moment, without even knowing it.
Don't read, watch TV, or plan your next vacation while you're in bed. You have to develop a rule about the bed and bedroom, which is that your bedroom exists for two reasons only; sleeping and having sex. If you have a 42" Plasma and your IMac in your bedroom, get rid of them. If you have a stack of great books and magazines on your night stand, put them elsewhere. Your goal is to train your mind to do what should come natural, to trigger your body to react to your sleep location by adjusting and relaxing. Where you rest your bones has to be conducive to a good nights sleep, not a place where you can watch a movie, check your emails, or read about skydiving.
Get some sunlight during the day. If you can't get sunlight, look into some form of light therapy. In future posts I will detail some light therapies known to have positive results. Getting vitamin A through sunlight is very beneficial to your body in the first place, but it has also been known to help people sleep at night. Studies show that people who don't receive enough sunlight are far more prone to sleep disorders, and it's also well known that sunlight is necessary to regulate your body's circadian rhythm.
Start a journal. You may ask how this would help you sleep, but it is a powerful technique known to help certain sleep disorders. Anything worth noting is worth worrying over, and for most of us letting go of daily problems and ambitions is not that easy. Somehow by documenting our daily activity it can allow us to purge ourselves from problems that would otherwise keep us awake, obsessing to find answers.
Find your Zen. There is always one scene that we can find in our minds eye that will relax us. Some of us may have a harder time figuring out what that scene is, but somewhere in the annals of time there exists a memory wherein we were completely at peace and relaxed. Once you discover what that scene is for you, practice recalling it by remembering how it smelled, what you heard, how your body temperature was, e.t.c... Sensory recall is a very powerful trigger, so use it to recall calm and restful moments.

Trying these things for a few days and giving up is not effective, as most of these techniques require a period of time for your body to adjust. However most of what is listed above is crucial to ensuring you can get a good nights rest and things that should never be taken for granted or ignored. They are not so much techniques as lifestyle adjustments, so before you run off to get your insomnia cures from a doctor or your local pub, make sure you have treated your own environment accordingly. It may be all you need to get a good nights rest.

All You Need Is Love... (and some freaking sleep!)

2007-10-31T06:22:00.000+09:00

Insomnia. This condition has been the bane of my existence since I was a small child, and my quest to find insomnia cures has led me to the most ridiculous ends. This site lends empathy and hope to you if you suffer sleeplessness. Perhaps I can help stop you from ending up in the same dark alleys as I have, just from trying to alleviate the agony of persistent sleeplessness. Maybe you've already been down those horrid roads yourself, and if that's the case I truly sympathize and offer you sincere optimism here.

As it happens you may have arrived here just because you care deeply for someone with insomnia, and you wish to help. Either way, the words and advice you will read here are golden, for if sleeplessness were money I would be the richest man on the planet. My experiences in chasing away this sickness are truly epic in proportion, and my solutions work.

I certainly won't tell you that there is one magical formula to beating insomnia because there is no miracle cure. There are reasonable and appreciable steps that can be taken that will help, and using these steps over time in a partnership with adopting proper sleep hygiene techniques you truly can get a good nights sleep on demand.

Having said that, it should be noted that pharmacology has made incredible advancements in sleep aids and these pills do have a great appeal to those afflicted with insomnia, but using them comes at potentially a very steep price. Under no circumstances do I condone or promote the use of medications to treat chronic insomnia for any length of time, even though these pills work almost magically. Here's why:

Sleeping pills become redundant and over time and you will need to take more and more to achieve the desired effect.
Sleeping pills will negatively affect your short term memory; I'll get back to you in 10 years to let you know if it affects long term memory.
Modern sleeping aids, called benzodiazepines, can place you in a trance-like state of sleepwalking, sleep eating, or sleep*insert embarrassing activity here*. Take it from personal experience and my own research into the subject, this happens a great deal more than is reported. There are stories of adverse drug reactions that range from the mildly comical to the absolutely tragic.
A cold turkey withdrawal from these medications is akin to being driven quickly insane. I am not exaggerating in the least - there are many case studies wherein this has proven true. In fact withdrawing from certain commonly prescribed sleep aids (such as Xanax) have been reported to lead to prolonged and semi-permanent depressive disorders. Also a complete withdrawal from these substances can take up to 6 months or more, and most general practitioners are not really up on this fact when they prescribe these drugs.

So alas, it really doesn't work for me to just throw up an affiliate link and send you on your merry way without being fully armed with knowledge.That knowledge is this: with chronic insomnia you have to adopt a multi-phaseal approach. If your condition is acute in nature, there are some excellent techniques and products that will soothe your nerves and slow down your mind enough to fall into blissful slumber. In some instances these remedies even helped me on occasion, even though I am what you would call a hard core chronic case. So if you are not suffering insomnia in a chronic or long term capacity I really suggest you try some of the helpful links listed here on the site.

Unfortunately, if your insomnia is of a more chronic nature then buckle down because it does take time and experimenting to find what works best for you. Read on, ask away, learn and interact here, and eventually you will discover that sleeping is not as elusive as you may think. There are some very effective insomnia cures right here and what is not listed can be, just suggest it. We can recognize the problem, and once you can recognize it you can solve it.

Your Privacy Matters

2007-09-25T09:41:00.000+08:00

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