Health and Fitness

If you suffer from insomnia you’ll know how it can have a big effect on your life. We are of the firm opinion that drugs aren’t the best remedy for insomnia, natural insomnia cures are much better and can be a long lasting solution to the problem. Although drugs may help initially they are only a short term solution and not a permanent cure. Sleeplessness varies with some people unable to sleep until dawn, others falling asleep easily but then waking and being unable to return to sleep.

Facing this every night will make you very aware of how much insomnia can affect your life. In addition to difficult nights, insomnia can seriously impair your abilities in the day time. We’ve found all the best natural remedies for insomnia for you to try at home and hopefully banish your insomnia once and for all.
Insomnia Symptoms

* difficulty in falling asleep
* easily falling asleep only to wake after a few hours
* waking up much too early
* waking often during the night
* sleeping through the night but so poorly you are not refreshed the next day

Insomnia can lead to problems during the day including depression, irritability, tiredness, mood swings, difficulty concentrating etc. To feel refreshed most people will need about eight hours of deep sleep.
Classification of Insomnia

Chronic – classed as difficulty sleeping for at least three nights a week that lasts for a month or more
Intermittent – insomnia that is short-term but repeats
Transient – insomnia that lasts for up to a few weeks but then disappears completely

Chronic insomnia can also be divided into two types, primary insomnia which is not associated with other health problems and secondary insomnia which results from another medical condition. Some examples are depression, chronic pain, stress, asthma, cancer or other mental or physical conditions. This type includes a poor sleep environment which may include a snoring partner, outside noises or other things that are preventing quality sleep.

Women are more than twice as likely to suffer from insomnia than men. In women, pregnancy and symptoms associated with the menopause, such as night sweats can lead to insomnia. You should always consult your doctor if you suffer from insomnia as there may be a physical cause which can be addressed. Keep a sleep diary for at least a week before you go to see your doctor so you have all the information about your sleeping patterns that he will need. A sleep center may be suggested by your doctor if your insomnia is very severe.

Natural Insomnia Cures

Some natural cures for insomnia include ensuring your bedroom is adequate for good sleep, eating a nutritious diet during the day and not consuming alcohol or caffeine in the evening, use of natural herbs, learning meditation or relaxation techniques and developing a good sleeping routine.

If you suffer from insomnia you’ll be well aware of the effects it has on your daily life and how you feel during the day. However you may not be aware that new studies have shown that there is an association between insomnia and hypertension as well as increasing the risk of behavior and thoughts related to suicide. The study suggests that insomnia should not be treated as a minor problem to be ignored.

A study at the Department of psychiatry at the University of Michigan by Dr. Marcin Wojnar explored the link between people suffer from insomnia and thoughts and behavior related to suicide. The study looked at 5692 people who represented the general population.
The researchers looked at the behavior of the participants over the previous year and found that those who had the problems reported that they were twice as likely to have suicidal thoughts or other suicide related behavior.

Insomnia can be related illnesses like depression but the researchers took this into account and eliminated the effects of depression, substance abuse, anxiety, alcohol and chronic physical illnesses and still found that suicidal thoughts and behavior can be related directly to sleep problems. Dr. Marcin Wojnar says that the cognitive functions can be negatively impacted by a lack of sleep and this can result in feelings of hopelessness, poor judgement and inability to control impulses properly. the levels off serotonin, often referred to as the brains good mood chemical, are affected by lack of sleep and this may also have an effect. he further stated that treating insomnia symptoms effectively could present around 20 attempts of suicide for every 6000 people.

Clearly then it is not wise to neglect to treat insomnia properly, as even know you may not have such drastic symptoms as the, it may be having a negative effect on your mood and ability to cope properly during the day. there are many natural insomnia cures available that do not have drastic side effects and should be tried before resorting to other means that may have serious side effects.