Insomnia Can Be Beaten – You Can Get a Good Nights Sleep

Insomnia or the inability to sleep at night is an affliction which 40 million Americans suffer from to at least some degree. For some it may be just the occasional bad night. For others it is a continuing condition which leaves them sleep deprived, tired and depressed on a daily basis.

When insomnia is affecting your daily life adversely it is a serious problem which needs to be addressed, and you should seek medical help. Your doctor is in a much better position than anyone else to determine what the problem is. Common causes of insomnia are hormonal changes which can occur at different ages, anxiety, depression, improper diet and side effects of medications to name only a few. Apart from this there is growing evidence that insomnia is a condition unto itself in some people. In other words it is not a result of some other condition.

Numerous ways to combat insomnia have been documented and many of them will work for certain people. There is no one recipe for sleep that works for everyone unfortunately. Insomnia in some people is the result of improper diet, dehydration and lack of exercise. Your diet should include foods which are high in calcium and magnesium and you should drink plenty of water.

Do not eat a large meal less than 3 hours before bedtime. Digesting the meal takes several hours and can keep you awake. Include some proteins in your meal a few hours before going to sleep. This will keep your blood sugar level more stable and avoids low blood sugar levels which can keep you awake.

Cut caffeine from your diet completely if possible. Caffeine is a stimulant which works for hours after consumption and gives some people “the jitters” and sleepless nights. Caffeine is also present in some medications, such as Excedrin, which should not be taken at night. Look at the label on any medication to see if caffeine is an ingredient.

The old sleep remedies such as chamomile tea, valerian or hot milk have proven sleep inducing properties. They are mild remedies which most people can take, and they do work. Don,t consume a lot of alcohol for several hours before bedtime. It may send you off to sleep briefly but there is a rebound effect. When the effect of the alcohol wears off, it will keep you wide awake in the middle of the night.

Learn to relax. Stress is considered by experts to be the biggest problem in causing insomnia. Use any method which works for you, to get relaxation in the evening, before going to bed. It may be yoga for some people or meditation for others. A good physical workout during the day even for only 15 or 20 minutes gets muscles relaxed and the lungs and heart working harder. Getting naturally tired is a great way to induce good sleep, but do it no less than an hour before bedtime. Otherwise the exercise will stimulate you and prevent sleep for some time.