Natural Sleep Remedies

Natural sleep remedies could be the answer for treating your insomnia, but there are a lot more options available than you may realize.

Yes, prescription medications and over the counter medications are available, but they are really only meant for short-term use. Those searching for a long-term solution should investigate the natural options first.

Emotional Freedom Technique or EFT

The simplest way to explain EFT is to liken it to a type of mental acupuncture. How does it work? Specific areas of the head, face, neck, chest and wrists are tapped with the tips of fingers. At the same time, you're instructed to think about the negative feelings you have and speak positive things to yourself out loud.

It's recommended that the tapping goes in a specific order: the top of the head, eye brows, side of the eyes, under the eyes, under the nose, the chin, collar bone, under both arms and lastly, the wrists.

The basic principle behind the Emotional Freedom Technique is that together the tapping and the positive thoughts spoken aloud will help to restore your body's natural emotional and electromagnetic balance, which in turn will balance out the physical body. It is thought then that people will sleep better as a result.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT

This is one of the lesser known natural sleep remedies, but it is showing some promise for people suffering from insomnia. CBT involves seeing a clinician or physician and talking through the issues that are bothering you the most. The premise is that if you know what issues or stressors are causing you to stay awake at night, then you can deal with them head on and release them.

Several appointments are necessary at which you reveal why you can't sleep. Sleep assessments are conducted to determine your current sleep patterns and establish new ones. You'll learn how to speak positive thoughts to yourself as well as learn how to prepare for sleep and new techniques for falling asleep and staying asleep naturally.

CBT is sometimes combined with prescription or OTC sleep aids, but most often it's used alone or in conjunction with herbal sleep remedies and a good exercise regimen.

Brain Waive Entrainment

This is a very technical topic, so we'll try to provide the simplest explanation possible.

Brainwaves are electrical impulses or activity inside the brain when neurons send messages to each other in the brain. The term entrainment refers to a process of 2 different cycles efficiently working together at the same time.

Now, when the brain is stimulated by something, it will automatically create an electrical charge or response to that stimulation. Repeating the same external stimulus over and over will cause the brain to entrain or cycle so that a rhythm is created. Once that rhythm is created, it can be used to change or redirect brain waves.

How can this technique help with insomnia? Taped sessions of music or sounds are put to the person's ears as a person is going to sleep. Those sounds tell the brain it's time to quiet down and allow the body and mind to sleep.

Additional Effective Natural Sleep Remedies

There are other ways to help your body and mind prepare for sleep each night.

1. Exercise - a consistent and healthy exercise regimen can definitely affect your sleep patterns in a positive manner
   
   
2. Herbs - kava kava, chamomile, valerian root, passionflower, wild lettuce, lavender, hops, St. John's Wort, California poppy. Take herbs during the day in the form of tea or capsules or take them around 1/2 hour before bedtime.
   
   
3. Melatonin - a naturally occurring hormone in supplement form to help people sleep. It doesn't work for everyone, but can help with short-term sleep for people who travel for work or perhaps work third shift.
   
   
4. Avoid Caffeine - avoid drinks and foods high in caffeine from late afternoon into the evening
   
   
5. Get at least 1/2 hour of sunlight per day - increases melatonin levels in the body which allows for better sleep

An Effective Bedtime Regimen - One of the Best Natural Sleep Remedies

Create a bedtime regimen so your body can anticipate that it's almost time for sleep.

Listen to soothing music, read, or knit before settling in for the night. Avoid watching television right before bed as it seems to have a stimulating effect rather than a calming one.

Make sure the room in which you're sleeping is cool and dark. If loud sounds bother you, get a sound machine that provides white noise for you.

Go to bed at the same time each night and get up at the same time every morning as often as possible - even on the weekends.

Resolve issues - home and work issues can keep you from sleeping, so if you can get them resolved before bed, that's ideal. If not, write them down so you can put them aside for the night.

Contrary to popular belief, alcohol is not a sleep aid. Alcohol can actually cause some people to experience insomnia more often because it can interrupt your sleep pattern. Don't drink alcohol right before bed.

Don't eat heavy meals before bed or drink a lot of liquid. This way you won't feel the need to get out of bed to use the bathroom in the middle of the night and the risk of not falling back to sleep isn't as high.

Reserve your bed for sleep and intimacy. In other words, don't sit on your bed to read, surf the Internet, make phone calls, or chat with your children. Guard that area of the home for only the two things mentioned above and your body will associate the bed with sleep more often.

Natural Sleep Remedies Are Worth a Try!

As you can see, there are several natural sleep remedies that could work very well for you in place of prescription or over the counter sleep medications. Try one or more of these to see if you can indeed be free of insomnia using natural methods. Your body will thank you with a solid night's sleep and better health!