Originally published November 7 2014
Beat insomnia and sleep easy with these herbs and natural remedies
by Michael Edwards
(NaturalNews) You lie in bed staring at the ceiling, or worse, staring at the clock. Minutes pass. Hours pass. You count the hours until you have to get up. Six hours. Five hours. Four. Once again, regardless of how tired--how utterly exhausted your body and mind feel, you cannot sleep.
Insomnia can be both debilitating and dangerous. According to The National Highway Safety Administration, 100,000 or more auto crashes each year are due to fatigue, with a resultant 1,550 deaths and 71,000 injuries.
A chronic lack of sleep not only affects your work, your relationships, and your enjoyment of life, it also wreaks havoc with your immune system.
You don't need to resort to pharmaceuticals with dangerous side effects like sleepwalking, eating or driving in your sleep or fatigue upon waking. Instead, use these natural remedies to reset your sleep cycle and end insomnia.
The # 1 Guaranteed Insomnia Cure
If you can get away for a few days, go camping. Leave your electronic devices at home. Leave your phone in the car. Take some time to meditate, write, and do some yoga. Most importantly, sleep on the ground, not in a camper, your car, or a cabin. Get grounded. Your goal is to de-stress, to take a break from distractions and EFTs, to avoid artificial light, and to use natural light and magnetic fields to re-set your circadian rhythms. By the third day almost anyone will be going to sleep shortly after nightfall, as nature intended.
Other Steps to End Insomnia
Eliminate stimulants from your diet. Coffee, tea, chocolate, soft drinks, energy drinks... If you won't give these up, be sure to limit them to the early hours of the day. Thyroid and adrenal fatigue can lead to insomnia and poor quality sleep, so address those glands if needed. B vitamins are essential to the nervous system and deficiencies can result in disruption of sleep cycles. Take a high quality B complex vitamin each day. If you do not get daily exposure to sunlight or if you live north of Atlanta, Georgia or Los Angeles, California, supplement with vitamin D.
Get grounded, and take that time to do some peaceful meditation. This can be especially beneficial to our internal clock if done early morning and just before bedtime.
Herbs for Insomnia
The following three herbs make a very powerful sleep formula when combined.
Valerian Root
Valerian root also aids in sleep onset as well as quality of sleep. Best results are found when combining valerian root with melatonin or hops. Take 400-500 mg at bedtime.
Melatonin
Melatonin is a hormone secreted by the pineal gland. It does not help with length of sleep or sleep quality, but does help with sleep onset. Side effects may include nightmares and daytime drowsiness. Dosage ranges from 1-10 mg.
Hops
Hops extract is another sleep aid that improves sleep and aids in sleep onset. It works well with valerian extract and the combination may help increase alpha brain waves.
Conclusion
Once you get your biological clock reset, your new sleep habits require discipline, but you will reap the benefits of healthy, restful sleep. The trick to developing a set sleep schedule is all in the wake up time. If 7 a.m. is when you want to wake up, then that's when you wake up, no matter what, for the next 6 weeks.
For me, I do have my own protocol, and I use herbs and vitamins to eliminate insomnia. Check out these articles for thyroid issues and adrenal problems. Let us know tricks and tips you have to get to sleep easy. For more on grounding, see the first source.
Sources:
http://www.healingthebody.ca
http://www.organiclifestylemagazine.com
http://www.organiclifestylemagazine.com
http://www.organiclifestylemagazine.com/earthing-touching-earth/
http://www.organiclifestylemagazine.com
http://truthwiki.org/Vitamin_D
http://truthwiki.org/B_vitamins
About the author:
Michael Edwards is the founder, owner, editor-in-chief, and janitor for Organic Lifestyle Magazine and Green Lifestyle Market. At age 17, Michael weighed more than 360 pounds. He suffered from ADHD, allergies, frequent bouts of illness, and chronic, debilitating insomnia.
Conventional medicine wasn't working. While he restored his health through alternative medicine he studied natural health and became immersed in it.
Michael Edwards is the founder, owner, editor-in-chief, and janitor for Organic Lifestyle Magazine and Green Lifestyle Market. At age 17, Michael weighed more than 360 pounds. He suffered from ADHD, allergies, frequent bouts of illness, and chronic, debilitating insomnia.
Conventional medicine wasn't working. While he restored his health through alternative medicine he studied natural health and became immersed in it.
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