Every night, millions of people around the world suffer from a similar problem. They can’t get to sleep easily. They can’t stay asleep long enough. They wake up way too early, only to have trouble getting back to sleep. What sleep they do get tends to be very restless. It usually isn’t because of excess noise or bright lights. It has nothing to do with the snoring of a family member or pet. Instead, it is caused by a sleep disorder called insomnia.
Insomnia is a very real condition that affects people of all ages. It leaves those who suffer from it feeling tired, cranky, and even depressed. Often times, it is an endless cycle. An insomniac goes days on end running on very little sleep, only to crash from exhaustion. After a long nap or an excessively long night of sleep, the insomniac feels refreshed, and the cycle starts over again.
There are many sleep aids available, both by prescription and over the counter, that offer to help end those sleepless nights. However, most can be habit-forming, and the insomniac learns to depend on these sleep aids to help them sleep easier each night. They can also have unwanted side effects. In many cases, they leave those who rely on them feeling groggy the next morning. In fact, it is recommended that you don’t drive or operate heavy machinery until your body has adjusted to using these medicines. In rare cases, such as I have experienced myself, they can put you in such a deep sleep that you wake up choking on excess saliva.
While sleep aids can be helpful to many insomniacs, there are also those that prefer taking a route that does not involve medication. There are many alternatives that can help solve the problem of insomnia, or at least help insomniacs sleep a little better. Here are a few of the alternatives that I have tried and have found work well.
1) Add some sound: For many insomniacs, the silence only causes more of a distraction. In the quiet darkness, their minds begin to wander to activities, memories, chores, or stressful events. A little background noise can help solve the problem. Some insomniacs find that listening to a quiet CD can help. Others find music to be more of a distraction. For those, a sound machine or a fan can help give just enough noise to soothe them to sleep.
2) Lavender: Take a quiet bath about an hour before bedtime. Add a little lavender oil to the water. The lavender helps relax the body and get it prepared to sleep. Some lavender spray on the bedding can also help you sleep longer.
3) Turn the clock: Clock watching is often a huge problem with insomniacs. They watch the minutes go by, stressing over each extra minute. After all, that’s one less minute of sleep, and those minutes really add up. To avoid clock-watching, turn the clock away from the bed, so the time cannot be seen. If moving or turning the clock is not an option, try covering it at bedtime.
4) Meditation: Meditation can be very helpful, though many people don’t know where to start. A great way to start is by closing your eyes and envisioning the colors of the rainbow. Don’t concentrate on all the colors at once. Instead, start with red and work your way down. In some cases, it might be easier to think of things that are each color. For example, try picturing a stop sign, a rose, or a firetruck for red, then move on to orange. Don’t get discouraged if it takes a while the first few times. You have to get the hang of it before it works really well. However, within a week you should be seeing some major improvements. I do this, and I often fall asleep before I can even get to yellow now!
Each person is different. In my case, added sound and meditation have both helped me a lot. They might not work as well for someone else. You have to find out what works best for you. It might take a few tries to find what you need, but the results (a good night’s sleep!) are well worth it.
