Natural Sleep Aid for Lack of Sleep
When you’re fighting with a lack of sleep, many times you might be searching for a natural sleep aid that can help you with your problem. Many times you are already tired of the many pills and chemicals you’ve been pumping your stomach full of and you’re ready to try something natural like herbal remedies for your lack of sleep.
Here are some of the herbs that can help you fall asleep faster - although please note that they are not FDA approved.
Valerian - this is a herbal extract that is used to manage lack of sleep and anxiety and panic attacks. Many people say that taking valerian actually improves the quality of their lseep and also it minimizes the time needed to fall asleep once gone to bed. Also when waking up the next day there are no side effects, such as dizziness or headaches after having taken the valerian.
Apparently if you use valerian for a longer period of time rather than as a one-off remedy it will be more effective in helping you fall asleep easier.
Melatonin - is actually a hormone produced by our body and it usually regulates our circadian rhythms. Just before going to sleep our levels of melatonin are the highest.
Again, without an actual FDA approval, melatonin seems to help with lack of sleep problems by decreasing the time needed to fall asleep once in bed. Also it has the added benefit of increasing sleep duration. There are studies are trying to prove that melatonin works in people with depression by improving their sleep patterns.
You can find melatonin as a dietary supplement. A few side effects that various people found with taking it is that it causes dizziness and in some even depression. Alternatively some people found that they do fall asleep easily but they wake up in the middle of the night instead. When taken it should be only used for a short time (less than 3 months).
Maybe one of the most popular sleep remedies out there that have practically no side effects is chamomille. This is truly a folk remedy passed down from grandmother to mother to daugther. Chamomile is also used when experiencing stomach pains and to reduce inflammations.
The German chamomile can be consumed as a tea and the Roman chamomile as it has a rather bitter taste can only be used in the form of tincture. Basically chamomile helps the body to relax enough that sleep can be easier induced.
There are many other natural sleep aid types available, however these are the most common. In future articles I will address a few more.
Sleep-Deprived Americans Can’t Get Any Shut-Eye
FRIDAY, Oct. 30, 2009 (Health.com) — Whether they blame it on the kids, stress, or the lure of the Internet, most Americans feel like they’re not getting enough sleep.
And people in the eastern United States—particularly West Virginians—have it the worst, according to the first survey to take a state-by-state look at people’s perceptions of sleep—or lack of. (People in California and North Dakota seem to get the best rest.)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) survey found that overall, more than 1 in 10 people, or 11.1%, did not get enough sleep or rest on any night in the past 30 days. A lucky 30.7% said they got enough rest or sleep every night for the past month.
The rest fell somewhere in the middle, according to the 2008 survey of 403,981 adults.
As people got older, they tended to report better sleep. Hispanics slept better than whites or blacks, while men slept better than women. A whopping 25.8% of people who were unable to work said they had not gotten a single night’s good rest in the previous month, while 13.9% of unemployed people fell into this category, compared to 9.9% of people with jobs and 11.1% of students and homemakers.
There were big differences among states, with 19.3% of West Virginians reporting no nights of adequate rest for the past 30 days, compared to 7.4% of North Dakotans and 8% of Californians. Other bad-sleep states included Tennessee, with 14.8% having been sleep deprived for the past month; Kentucky, with 14.4%; and Oklahoma, with 14.3%.
The study suggests that people out West really may be more relaxed than Easterners: in fact, 12 of the 14 best-sleeping states were west of the Mississippi.
The authors of the CDC report suggest that the higher prevalence of obesity, hypertension, and other chronic disease in the southeastern U.S. could be a factor in why people there aren’t getting a good night’s rest.
But this report didn’t look at the reasons behind people’s lack of sleep, or ask them how many hours of sleep they actually got. While the National Sleep Foundation recommends that people aim for seven to nine hours a night, many seem to be falling short.
For Elizabeth Gordon, six hours of sleep a night is pretty darn good. She’s had trouble sleeping on and off since second grade, and now with a 1-year-old and a 3-year-old, those quiet hours after the kids go to bed are a good time to get things done.
“I’ll be exhausted at 9 and then I get a second wind and I’m up to like 1 or 2,” says the Maplewood, N.J., mom.
Rich St. Germain, 40, a self-employed business appraiser in New Castle, N.H., doesn’t have little kids—but that doesn’t mean he rests easy. “I personally go through bouts of insomnia when I’m stressed out. My head hits the pillow and my mind starts racing…it is awful. Exercise seems to help, but stress can still get the better of me.”
Experts agree that exercising during the day—if it’s not too close to bedtime—is a great way to improve your chances of getting a good night’s rest. Other common-sense advice: Stay away from caffeine in the afternoon and evening, and make your bedroom a TV- and Internet-free zone.
If these strategies don’t work, get some professional help, sooner rather than later, says Lisa Shives, MD, the medical director of North Shore Sleep Medicine, a sleep center in Evanston, Ill.
Many patients who complain about insomnia to their primary care doctor might immediately be prescribed a pill. However, sleep medications are no long-term solution, Dr. Shives says. “They don’t work great; they don’t work forever,” she explains. “What we really try to do is teach people coping strategies, teach them relaxation techniques, and teach them really good habits.”
Some really bad habits? Late-night TV-watching and Internet surfing, she says. “You don’t want anything late at night that gets a lot of light into your eyes because it signals to your brain center that it’s time to get up and feed the chickens,” Dr. Shives says. Tossing and turning in bed while worrying about not sleeping is another bad idea. “Lying there trying to sleep is going to frustrate you, give you anxiety, and totally perpetuate the anxiety you’re developing around your sleep,” she explains.
Dr. Shives recommends going through the American Academy of Sleep Medicine to find an accredited sleep center.
How to Survive Jet Lag: Advice on Medication and Sleep-Friendly Habits
A jaunt to London, Milan, or Paris just won’t feel like a vacation if you can’t shake off the time-zone shake-up. That’s why Health magazine asked Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center expert Carlos Schenck, MD, author of Sleep: The Mysteries, The Problems, and The Solutions (Penguin/Avery Press, 2007), to share his tricks for combating jet lag. For more than two months a year, Dr. Schenck treks across the country and overseas, speaking at sleep powwows. And he swears he’s never fallen asleep in the middle of a meeting.
Q: Everyone hates jet lag. Why does it happen?
A: There is a master clock in your brain that programs your body to wake up, have breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and go to sleep in concert with the daily sun cycle where you live. The more time zones you cross, the greater the mismatch in sleep-wake rhythm between your home time zone and your “adopted” one—and the greater the feeling of inappropriate sleepiness or wakefulness.
Q: Any ways to prevent it?
A: It depends on where you’re going. Sleeping as much as possible on an overnight flight to Europe (west-east travel) helps you stay awake the next day. Two drinks might help you sleep, but also drink plenty of water. After you arrive in the morning or early afternoon, two cups of coffee may help you stay up. Get bright light early in the day to keep awake by turning on a bright lamp or taking a walk in the sunshine. Unless you can take a nap at home without it affecting your sleep at night, avoid naps; they can increase the tendency to stay up too late, and then you’ll wake up too late the next day.
If you’re going in the opposite direction (east-west travel to, say, Hawaii), arriving typically in the afternoon, take a nap on the plane or upon arrival to help you to stay awake longer and soak up a bit of late-afternoon sun. If you fall asleep too soon, then you’ll wake up too early the next morning.
Q: You didn’t mention sleeping pills. Are those a good idea?
A: A very short-acting pill like Sonata or Ambien may help on the way to Europe, but don’t take it while drinking unless it’s about two hours after having wine with dinner. For east-to-west travel, take a long-lasting pill, like Lunesta or Ambien CR. But never take any sleeping pill for the first time on a plane; get used to it at home first.
Q: Some people swear by the supplement melatonin. Can that help?
A: The levels of the hormone melatonin rise as our brains register darkness and prepare for sleep, regulating our sleep-wake cycles. After arriving in Europe, if you want, take 3 milligrams of melatonin two to four hours before bed to help you feel sleepy.
Q: Is it crazy to shift to the new time before you travel?
A: No, not crazy, but you have to be quite motivated. Do this in steps over a period of days. Otherwise, sleep could become a problem even before the trip.
Q: So you really never have jet lag away from home? That seems hard to believe.
A: It’s true. Going to Europe, I try to take the latest flight in the evening. My favorite time: a 9 p.m. flight. After dinner and wine, it’s easy for me to sleep a good four to five hours.
This article was first published in Health magazine, July 2007.
