Home Remedies For Insomnia - Sleep Better At Night

Our home remedies for insomnia will help you tackle the growing problem which is facing many people in this hectic, fast paced world we find ourselves living in today; and that 'problem' is, lack of sleep or what the professionals call sleep deprivation or just plain old insomnia.

The following tips will not neccessarly work for everyone but you should stumble across a few which you'll find helpful in overcoming your particular problem.

Below you'll find the hints, tips and advice, from herbal remedies for insomnia, to tried and tested relaxation techniques. They will provide you with the tools to combat this terrible affliction.

A nice glass of warm milk- If you're having trouble sleeping at night, then why not try this old remedy? A glass of warm milk before bed. The theory behind this is that milk contains plenty of calcium which is packed full of properties which stimulate the nervous system, thus calming your nerves and relaxing your body and mind. The warm nature of the milk will provide you with a feeling of inner peace.

A hot cup of herbal tea - This is one of the best alternative home remedies for insomnia, if, like many people, you don't like the taste or texture of warm milk. A cup of herbal tea before bedtime, camomile, fennel, catnip and anise are the varieties which contain the best combination of properties in order to induce a good night's sleep. These teas sound rather exotic, but they can be found in many supermarkets and health food shops.

Avoid working too late - If you work long hours, or say work from home. If you're having trouble sleeping then this could be attributed to your mind not being given the chance to settle down before you retire to your bed. Try to finish work a good 2 or 3 hours before settling down to go to sleep, because this is how long it'll take for your brain and body to reach a relaxing equilibrium.

Orange essential oils - Although, orange oil - which can be purchased from most health food shops - is supposed to have properties which envigorate your mind, body and soul; if sprinkled on your pillow before going to bed, can help you sleep better at night. I use it quite often and have reccomended it to family and friends, who have all been converted. I'm not sure why it works but it's probably down to the fact that more often than not insomnia is caused by stress and the envigorating properties contained within the orange oil help releave the stress, thus helping you sleep better.

A nice warm bath is the order of the day - One of the most relaxing and comfortable home remedies for insomnia is to take a long warm bath before going to bed. A twenty minute soak should do the trick with plenty of bath salts thrown in to help remove toxins and relax the muscles. When the muscles are relaxed most of the tension is removed fro the body, giving you a fighting chance of getting that good nights sleep your body is craving.

A lovely massage - Following on from the bath tip, a massage is also a candidate for the best home remedy for insomnia award - if there was such an accolade of course. The whole point of a massage is to remove tension knots from the body which in turn helps soothe the recipient' leaving them virtually tension free and in a good position to sleep well.

Soft music - Many people point to music as great tool in getting them off to a good night's sleep. Some radio stations play soft, soothing music throughout the night, why not tune in? You could even go as far as purchasing one of the many CDs on the market which have compiled music specifically geared towards people who have trouble sleeping. You can even buy special relaxation CDs of the sound of waves, leaves rustling, streams running etc which can also induce a sleepy sensation.

Drinking too much tea and coffee? - It always surprises me that when you ask most people - who find it difficult in getting to sleep at night - how much tea and coffee they drink, or any other source of caffeine they say "4 or 5 cups / cans per day". The surprising part is that many people fail to realise that caffeine is one of the main causes or irritability and restlessness, which more often than not results in the drinker sleeping poorly.

It also needs to remembred that hot chocolate, some alco-pops and cola are high in caffeine too. Therefore perhaps think about ccutting down on these drinks or switching to decaf alternatives.

When I stopped supping drinks containing caffeine a few years back, at the time I didn't realise how strongly packed full of this stimulant some of these beverages are; that was until the first time I had a glass of cola in about three years. I drank it at at about 9 in the evening and that night I found it extremely difficult to get to sleep and kept waking up throughout the night. At the time I wondered whether or not it was the caffeine which made this happen or if it was just a coincidence. So me being me I decided to test the theory out a few more times. I was not surprised that on all the occassions that I drank the glass of cola I had a dreadful night's sleep and that was just from drinking a 250ml glass. Just think what the effect of drinking, say, 1500 ml (5 mugs worth) has on your sleeping patterns.

Too much alcohol? - Like caffeine, alcohol can have an extremely adverse affect on the ability for us to sleep well. The following tip is one of the best home remedies for insomnia because many people think that drinking a glass or two of wine every night helps them to relax and sleep. The truth of the matter is that alcohol will initially make you feel relaxed and calm and in most cases even help you get to sleep faster, but when the alcohol wears off the body starts to feel the effects of the chemicals it has lost, making you feel irritable and restless, sometimes even giving you a sensation of your mind racing. All this will result in the rest of the night being somewhat sleepless. In fact even if you do manage to sleep through the night, you will probably wake up in the morning feeling tired and lethargic; this is because whilst your brain is sleeping your body isn't getting much rest as it is busy breaking down the alcohol.

A nice little snack - This one of my favourite home remedies for insomnia because it gives me the excuse from time to time to break my diet. Studies show that eating a small snack which conatin high levels of carbs and low levels of protein can help us sleep at night. Perhaps a couple of chocolate biscuits about an hour before bed will do the trick for you. I have tried this theory out a few times and more often than not it works.

Foods containing the amino acid L-tryptophan such as cheese, eggs, poultry and warm milk are other alternatives you can try.

Cut out that afternoon nap - If you have the tendancy to go for a mid-afternoon nap when you get home for work, but find it difficult to sleep at night then try to break the habit of taking this nap. Even a 60 minute kip 4 or 5 hours before you go to bed will shock your body into thinking it's had enough sleep, therefore when the time comes for you to get the reccomended 8 hours your body will complain and keep you awake, unless you are exhausted that is.

Avoid sleeping in - This may seem like one of the most obvious home remedies for insomnia you've heard of but you'll be surprised how many people will sleep in, say on a sunday and then find it difficult to sleep come the night time. This is down to the fact the body will only accept the amount of sleep it thinks it needs. In addition you'll trick your body into thinking it isn't bedtime, thus you'll find it difficult in getting to sleep.

Irregular sleeping habits - Where possible it's important that you don't adopt irregular sleep patterns. For example if on a monday you go to bed at 10pm and awake at 7am, the following day you go to sleep at 1am and get up at 9am and the next you retire at 11pm and wake at 6am eventually your body will not know when it's supposed to be going to sleep and because it's a creature of habit it will not thank you for messing it about.

Exercise during the day - Studies show that office workers suffer more with insomnia than manual workers. Perhaps this could be more to do with the stressfulness of both types of jobs. However, regular exercise gets the blood and oxyen pumping around the body, easing stress and relaxing the body, thus making it easier for us to sleep.

Create the best sleeping conditions - One of the best home remedies for insomnia is to ensure the best conditions for sleeping. Reports indicate that a temperature of 18 degrees C (65 degrees F) is ideal for sleeping well. This is because if the room you're trying to sleep in is un-ventilated or over ventilated, therefore creating a warm stuffy bedroom or a freezing cold one respectively, you don't need me to tell you that you won't sleep.

Sleeping mask or blind fold - I have always found it useful to use a sleeping mask or a folded bandana - as I use currently - to give me the best possible sleep at night. This works because for the eyes and therefore brain to reach it's optimum relaxed state in order to induce sleep the room needs to be as dark as possible. However, if your bedroom - like mine - has a street lamp right outside the window then this task becomes almost impossible. Therefore the sleeping mask can trick the brain into thinking the right level of darkness has been reached

Ear plugs - This is one of my favourite home remedies for insomnia because many people underestmate the power ear plugs have in helping us sleep. They work because the brain can detect the smallest of sounds while you're sleeping, which result in you almost waking or becoming unsettled, which, in the latter case can interupt your pattern of sleeping.

If you do use earplugs it's imperative that your smoke alarm is loud enough to wake you, should the unthinkable happen.

You can can combine this insomnia remedy with the two above in order to created te best sleeping environment.

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