Bedtime Rituals and Herbs for Insomnia

[Guest guest]

Good Morning!

 

Bedtime Rituals and Herbs for Insomnia

 

Insomnia is a symptom, not a disease. Insomnia can have many causes,

but the biggest cause is due to stress. Stress related to work,

school, health or family concerns. Depression is the second biggest

cause. The use of stimulants, including caffeine, alcohol, nicotine

or other over-the-counter or prescription medications will also cause

insomnia. Prescription drugs, including some antidepressant, high

blood pressure and steroid medications, can interfere with sleep.

Many over-the-counter medications, including some brands of aspirin,

decongestants and weight loss products, contain caffeine and other

stimulants. Change in your environment or work schedule and even long-

term use of sleep medications will actually interupt your sleep

cycle. Medical problems, including fibromyalgia or complex diseases

of the nerves and muscles can make it very difficult to fall asleep

and stay asleep.

 

Behavioral insomnia, occurs when you worry excessively about not

being able to sleep well and try too hard to fall asleep. Most people

with this condition sleep better when they're away from their usual

sleep environment.

 

Bedtime Rituals

 

Create a ritual or pattern to prepare your body for sleep.

 

Be Pro Active and determined when it comes to finding the culprit of

your sleep issues. Do not just brush it off to " that's how it is " . It

is always a revelation when we discover more about ourselves. Use

your finding to improve your situation!

 

Spend quiet time by doing things that can make falling asleep easier.

This may include meditation, relaxation and/or breathing exercises,

or taking a warm bath. Try listening to relaxing music or Andrew's

guided imagery program.

 

Listening to Soft Music: cues your body that it's time to slow down

and begin to prepare for sleep.

 

At Night: Try to keep your bedroom dark while you are sleeping so

that the light will not interfere with your rest.

 

Create a Sleep Journal: Overthinking is one of our biggest enemies.

Write down your worries and possible solutions before you go to bed.

Get them out of your head and on paper. This allows you to see

your 'fears' in writing. This brings you one step closer to disarming

your fears. A journal or " to do " list may be very helpful in letting

you put away concerns and organize your mind in order to make

tomorrow easier.

 

Go to Sleep When Sleepy: When you feel tired, go to bed.

 

Don't Lie in Bed Awake: Get out of bed. Go into another room and do

something relaxing until you feel sleepy. Worrying about falling

asleep actually keeps many people awake.

 

Television in the Bedroom: is a real no-no! To much light,

stimulating commercials and news shows tend to be alerting and keep

us awake.

 

In the Morning: Expose yourself to bright light/sunlight soon after

awakening. This will help to regulate your body's natural biological

clock.

 

Herbal Remedies

 

Catnip Leaf (Nepeta Cataria) produces a sedative effect. Animal

studies (except in cats) have found it to increase sleep.

 

Hops (Humulus lupulus) if muscle tension is causing sleeplessness

before bedtime. In addition to its use in beer, hops has a long

history of use in medicine as a sedative/relaxant.

 

Passion Flower (Passiflora Incarnata) is rich in flavonoids, which is

its primary constituents responsible for its relaxing and anti-

anxiety effects.

 

Skullcap (Scutellaria Lateriflora) is often used in synergy with

Valerian to create an effective remedy for insomnia. It is primarily

an anti-spasmodic and relieves muscle pain due to stress and

menstrual cramps.

 

Valerian Root (Valeriana officinalis) is a safe and effective

sleeping aid, more powerful than L-tryptophan. It is a wonderful,

natural sleep assistanting herb and is considered the 'valium' of the

herbal world.

 

 

 

Andrew Pacholyk, MS, L.Ac

http://www.peacefulmind.com

Therapies for healing

mind, body, spirit

[Guest guest]

Great message... Thank you yogiguruji...

Ingrid

[Guest guest]

, " yogiguruji "

<yogiguruji wrote:

>

> Good Morning!

>

> Bedtime Rituals and Herbs for Insomnia

>

> Insomnia is a symptom, not a disease. Insomnia can have many

causes,

> but the biggest cause is due to stress. Stress related to work,

> school, health or family concerns. Depression is the second biggest

> cause. The use of stimulants, including caffeine, alcohol, nicotine

> or other over-the-counter or prescription medications will also

cause

> insomnia. Prescription drugs, including some antidepressant, high

> blood pressure and steroid medications, can interfere with sleep.

> Many over-the-counter medications, including some brands of

aspirin,

> decongestants and weight loss products, contain caffeine and other

> stimulants. Change in your environment or work schedule and even

long-

> term use of sleep medications will actually interupt your sleep

> cycle. Medical problems, including fibromyalgia or complex diseases

> of the nerves and muscles can make it very difficult to fall asleep

> and stay asleep.

>

> Behavioral insomnia, occurs when you worry excessively about not

> being able to sleep well and try too hard to fall asleep. Most

people

> with this condition sleep better when they're away from their usual

> sleep environment.

>

> Bedtime Rituals

>

> Create a ritual or pattern to prepare your body for sleep.

>

> Be Pro Active and determined when it comes to finding the culprit

of

> your sleep issues. Do not just brush it off to " that's how it is " .

It

> is always a revelation when we discover more about ourselves. Use

> your finding to improve your situation!

>

> Spend quiet time by doing things that can make falling asleep

easier.

> This may include meditation, relaxation and/or breathing exercises,

> or taking a warm bath. Try listening to relaxing music or Andrew's

> guided imagery program.

>

> Listening to Soft Music: cues your body that it's time to slow down

> and begin to prepare for sleep.

>

> At Night: Try to keep your bedroom dark while you are sleeping so

> that the light will not interfere with your rest.

>

> Create a Sleep Journal: Overthinking is one of our biggest enemies.

> Write down your worries and possible solutions before you go to

bed.

> Get them out of your head and on paper. This allows you to see

> your 'fears' in writing. This brings you one step closer to

disarming

> your fears. A journal or " to do " list may be very helpful in

letting

> you put away concerns and organize your mind in order to make

> tomorrow easier.

>

> Go to Sleep When Sleepy: When you feel tired, go to bed.

>

> Don't Lie in Bed Awake: Get out of bed. Go into another room and do

> something relaxing until you feel sleepy. Worrying about falling

> asleep actually keeps many people awake.

>

> Television in the Bedroom: is a real no-no! To much light,

> stimulating commercials and news shows tend to be alerting and keep

> us awake.

>

> In the Morning: Expose yourself to bright light/sunlight soon after

> awakening. This will help to regulate your body's natural

biological

> clock.

>

> Herbal Remedies

>

> Catnip Leaf (Nepeta Cataria) produces a sedative effect. Animal

> studies (except in cats) have found it to increase sleep.

>

> Hops (Humulus lupulus) if muscle tension is causing sleeplessness

> before bedtime. In addition to its use in beer, hops has a long

> history of use in medicine as a sedative/relaxant.

>

> Passion Flower (Passiflora Incarnata) is rich in flavonoids, which

is

> its primary constituents responsible for its relaxing and anti-

> anxiety effects.

>

> Skullcap (Scutellaria Lateriflora) is often used in synergy with

> Valerian to create an effective remedy for insomnia. It is

primarily

> an anti-spasmodic and relieves muscle pain due to stress and

> menstrual cramps.

>

> Valerian Root (Valeriana officinalis) is a safe and effective

> sleeping aid, more powerful than L-tryptophan. It is a wonderful,

> natural sleep assistanting herb and is considered the 'valium' of

the

> herbal world.

>

>

>

> Andrew Pacholyk, MS, L.Ac

> http://www.peacefulmind.com

> Therapies for healing

> mind, body, spirit

>

Thank you Andrew, a comprehensive cover for insomnia.

In my practice a major stress factor, for Insomniacs, is diet, most

people have no idea of the toxic load in their body causing all sorts

of disruptions to the body, including Insomnia and Depression.

The answer is to go back to basics and test for allergic responses

of the body to everything we ingest. This can be done simply and

easily at home. Anyone interested can get a free manual, and advice

on allergies from www.allergiesmaykill.com

Look not what can I give my body to make it better, but what can I

take away from it to stop it being unwell. Allergy testing will

answer that question for you.

Regards, Don Moody. nasalb0ne