Natural Cures For Sleepless Nights

The recent media blitz regarding bed bugs has you paranoid the little critters are nesting beneath your sheets.  Perhaps you can’t sleep because your mind refuses to shut down about work, your 16 year old just got their learner permit or your early pregnancy test showed positive.

Tossing and turning does not get us very far nor, is it healthy for any of us.  You may drink some warm milk, read a book, down a few cocktails or watch t.v. until your eyes burn enough and you finally doze off with the remote still clutched in your hand.  Those are tricks that might work short term, or maybe not at all. 

You are not the only one whose sleep is being jeopardized.  More than one quarter of Americans are burning the midnight oil right along with you according to the National Sleep Foundation.  Sadly, most individuals who lack sleep regularly also fall victim to weight gain, smoking more, avoiding exercise and eating unhealthy foods.

So what’s a girl to do?  Here are 10 possible remedies that might just help:

1.  Sweets … we love them but you also know what happens when we give our children anything with sugar before bed time … there is no bedtime because they're too wired.  Your body reacts the same way and the sugar in sweets can also disrupt your sleep in the middle of the night because your blood sugar is higher. 

2.  Passion Flower – Nooooo, it’s not what you think.  Passion Flower is one of nature’s true sedatives and offers a wonderful calming effect that will reduce restlessness so you can fall asleep faster.  It also eases abdominal cramps and nausea caused by anxiety or painful menstruation in women.  Don't combine with alcohol, operate machinery, drive until you know how it affects you in the daytime, mix with other sedating herbs/teas or, take more than recommended on the product label or your doctor.

3.  GABA is a supplement available at health stores and will help most people with sleep disorders and anxiety.

4.  Have a partner?  A night time massage with warm oils mixed with chamomile or lavender will be both relaxing and pleasurable for both parties and will reduce the stress hormone in your body called cortisol.

5.  Yoga & Meditation – the benefits are surmountable but most importantly it relieves stress, also reduces cortisol levels and allows for a sound sleep.

6.   Acupuncture can help in achieving a healthy and restful sleep.

7.  Oils such as lavender and chamomile used in aromatherapy actually possess sedative properties that help you fall asleep.  Try taking a nice warm bath with a few drops of oil or shake a few drops onto your pillow case.

8.  Lull yourself to sleep with recorded sounds that will block out neighboring noises.  The sounds will relax you and create that image in your mind.  Recommended sounds would be soft waves crashing along a shoreline or the light pelting of a spring rain in the forest.  Ahhh!  I can see the vision already.

9.  A cup of Chamomile Tea one to two hours before going to bed can reduce anxiety, calm the digestive system, and relieve muscle tension.

10.  Foods that help you sleep are those rich in magnesium like legumes and seeds, dark leafy green vegetables, wheat bran, almonds, cashews and whole grains.

No one wants to look like a Zombie unless they choose to for Halloween.  Give them a try and experience that peaceful and restful nights sleep you need to look and feel your very best.  Nightie night.