Nowadays, a lot of people are struggling with poor sleep and insomnia and cannot fall asleep easy. They toss and turn for hours and think about when they will be able to get some good night’s sleep.
According to Dr Axe, around 30 to 50 percent of the general population experience acute insomnia at any given moment whereas up to 10 percent suffer from chronic sleeplessness that lasts for months.
What Is Insomnia?
Insomnia is defined as habitual sleeplessness or an inability to sleep.
From time to time, every person will have a problem falling asleep; however, insomnia is a different and a more serious issue which can cause serious problems, including sleep deprivation, daytime tiredness, physical issues, mental issues, poor concentration, etc.
When a person is struggling with insomnia, he/she will experience some of the following symptoms:
- Inability to fall asleep
- Waking up throughout the night
- High stress when trying to sleep
- Tiredness during the day
- Poor focus
- Low mood
- Irritability
- Higher risk of depression, heart disease, and obesity
- Low job performance and high risk of errors and vehicle crashes
What Are the Causes of Insomnia?
Some of the major causes of insomnia are the ones shown below:
- Lack of healthy sleep habits (tendency to stay up late or watch TV for hours, as well as drinking caffeine or eating sugar-rich foods shortly before bedtime)
- Sleeping in a room with too much light or too warm
- Problems with stress or life changes and situations
- Environment changes like travelling or sleeping elsewhere
- Lack of a sleep-wake routine, for example, shift work
- A mental health problem like depression or anxiety
- A health problem causing digestive issues
- Chronic ache like arthritis or neck pain
- Sleep apnea
- Some meds, alcohol, and drugs
What Are the Treatment Options for Insomnia?
In conventional medicine, these are the most common treatments for insomnia:
- Lifestyle improvements like exercise, health diet, and reduction of alcohol, drugs, and caffeine
- Cognitive behavioral therapy
- Use of meds or melatonin, a hormone released by the pineal gland
- Antihistamines with sedative properties
In addition to conventional options to address your insomnia, there are also natural and useful methods you can try.
Here are the most helpful ones:
- Better your diet
Do your best not to go to bed hungry, but also, don’t eat right before bed. Make sure you avoid carb- and sugar-rich foods before bed.
Opt for healthy fats and make sure you get sufficient amounts of potassium and magnesium throughout the day. This is because they are pivotal nutrients for a relaxed body, as well as foods rich in tryptophan, complex carbs, and B vitamins.
- Manage stress
When it comes to insomnia, it is crucial to lower your stress levels in order to encourage quality sleep. This being said, avoid using electronics and watching TV shortly before bed-they are stimulants and keep you from falling asleep.
Read a light book or write in your journal and practice gratitude- say thanks for the good things that happened throughout the day to encourage the production of endorphins. Regular exercise is also a beneficial method to fight off stress.
- Try supplements
Quality supplements such as calcium, magnesium, melatonin, passion flower, valerian root, and vitamin B12 can help you relax and naturally lower stress and improve sleep. Consult your doctor to learn more about supplementation.
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