Insomnia
You are lying in bed, feeling worried, tense and anxious. You know you need sleep, but you still toss and turn restlessly for most of the night. Finally, you are exhausted and worn, and you fall asleep for an hour or two before your alarm awakes you to start another day.
This is insomnia. It affects your entire life - health, relationships and work.
You are not alone. About 15% of the population consider themselves to have chronic sleep problems. About half of us will suffer from insomnia at some point in our lives.
Sleeplessness is not just discomfort or frustration; it has catastrophic effects on judgment, motivation and health.
This website is a result of the research conducted over time on the latest information from various sources about causes and remedies for insomnia, including modern, traditional and natural.
The information here is written in plain language and it is intended for people who are tired of sleepless nights that are caused by insomnia. Many have tried numerous medications (both traditional and not), have done sleep studies in specialized clinics, consulted specialists, ran out of options and are now committed to getting this matter under control.
I personally know how difficult it is to stay awake most of the night, get up in the morning feeling miserable, not thinking clearly and not being able to perform at work and in life. I'd like to think of myself as fairly capable person, but not on those days when I didn't have at least some amount of decent sleep. On those days, I call myself a "walking zombie".
I probably could cope with the one or two sleepless nights per week. However with time and age more and more of those sleepless nights burdened me, until I got to the point where I had no nights with good sleep at all. I reached the point where I was not me anymore. I was someone else, some amnesiac with no feelings and responses, incapable of thinking straight most of the time. This could not continue to be my life. Something had to be done. I determined to get my life back!
The pages on this website are not just vague generalities about "relaxing", but they are specific recommendations based on considerable research on natural cures for insomnia, as well as personal experiences.
When you sleep better, you live better. When you live better, you sleep better. This is a circle of positive reinforcement.
Insomnia Causes and Treatments
Generally, insomnia can be characterized as:
- Difficulty falling asleep
- Difficulty staying asleep
- Waking up too early
- Poor quality of sleep (not feeling well rested even after sleeping 7 to 8 hours)
The most important thing to understand is that insomnia is not a disease, it is a symptom. Insomnia is the body's way of saying that something isn't right. It is symptom of some other health problem or imbalance that needs to be addressed. It could be stress, too much caffeine, depression, lifestyle, changes in work shifts, pain, discomfort, or certain medical conditions.
It is difficult to cure insomnia because:
- There are different kinds of insomnia, and each insomnia case is different.
- There are a multitude of possible causes.
- Different people respond differently to the same treatments.
The treatment of sleep disorders differs from one individual to another. In fact, what is good for treating one kind of insomnia in one person may not be the suitable solution for another.
The key in treating sleep problems is to find out what kind of insomnia you have, what is causing it, and what treatment should be used in your particular case.
This website will guide you throug this process.
By implementing as many recommendations as possible from this site you will get your sleep and life back.
While reading these pages, you may encounter suggestions that seem contradicting. This is not an inconsistency. It simply means that some sleep improvement methods work for one person, while other methods may be better for someone else.
Among other reasons, insomnia is often caused by:
- Stress
- Your daily sleep-awake rhythm does not match the world's 24 hours cycle
- Depression, anxiety or other psychological problems
- Hormone upset
- Pain
- Reaction to medications
- Allergies
- Smoking
- Diet or eating habits
- Drinking too much alcohol
- Caffeine beverages
- Bad sleeping habits or sleeping hygiene
Sleeping Pills Are Not the Answer to Insomnia
Insomnia is like your pain. You can relieve it with a sleeping pill for a little while, but that will not help you in the long run.
It is like taking Tylenol to cure chronic headache. It only provides temporary relief for a while, but with time its effect diminishes. You will need higher and higher dosage, until the pills eventually become useless.
The causes for a headache could be radically different (high blood pressure, low blood pressure, fatigue, chemical and hormonal imbalance, etc.), their cure requires completely different treatment approaches.
In the similar manner, causes for insomnia and other sleeping problems differ and require different solutions for different people.
Find what is causing your sleep problem, then work out what is your best method of treatment. The information on this website will help.
By the time you finish reading this website, you should have a highly personalized treatment for YOUR sleep problem, one that may be totally different for someone else.
This website is also for people to share their ideas and gained personal knowledge in dealing with sleeping problems. Read the comments on the various topic pages to learn what has helped others and share your experiences.
Use links on the left side navigation bar to explore particular insomnia subjects, or follow page-by-page links below each topic.