From Insomnia to Better Sleep

Jet lag is a term used when you have traveled across several time zones. Because of this, the body tries to adjust to the new time, which actually puts some stress on the body. The symptoms of this stress is referred to as jet lag.

Severe symptoms of jet lag can include anxiety, constipation, diarrhea, confusion, dehydration, headache, irritability, nausea, sweating, coordination problems, and even memory loss. The main symptom of jet lag is acute insomnia.

Melatonin and Jet Lag

Melatonin is a hormone that is released into the blood when the eyes perceive darkness, the melatonin then helps the body to sleep. But when the regular pattern of the release of melatonin is interrupted it takes a few days for the body to put the system right again. In the mean time sleeping problems occur

For the purpose of treating jet lag, it is possible to that a dose between 0.3 mg and 5 mg of melatonin on the first day you travel at the time you will want to go to sleep at your destination. This should be continued at bedtime for a few days once you are at your destination.

The use of melatonin in this way is still controversial and if you can manage with natural sleep remedies that would be less controversial measure.

Other jet lag remedies.

The most popular homeopathic remedy for Jet Lag is called “No Jet Lag”. It is available in health foods stores and some grocery stores, drug stores, and airport convenience stores. No Jet Lag contains the homeopathic remedies arnica montana (Leopard’s bane), bellis perennis (Daisy), Chamomilla (Wild chamomile), Ipecacuanha (Ipecac), and Lycopodium (Clubmoss). Remember that homeopathic remedies are specially prepared and that regular, non-homeopathic doses of these substances can be toxic if taken internally.

Valerian is a herb used as a natural sleep aid. For jet lag, it is used to help adjust to new time zones by helping people fall asleep at their desired time. Unlike other sleep aids, Valerian is not believed to be addictive or cause grogginess the next morning.

Jet lag is an inevitable result of changing the time clock of the body but there are remedies too.

One of the most obvious and important aspects of sleep is the comfort of your bed and pillows. At the end of the day your bed should be most welcoming and comfortable enough to send you off to sleep pleasantly and pleasurably. Sometimes a bed is considered a place just to sleep, and the quality of bed may not be a factor when one is buying a new bed. Sleep patterns can also become fixed, even if they are not really comfortable for us.

Mattress Firmness

It was very common to believe that a firm bed was the most beneficial mattress for your spine. This is a fallacy. It is completely up to the individual as to the firmness of their mattress. As long as the mattress supports the body and the spine is not pressurized in any way, the bed can be any firmness at all. For couples sharing the same bed there is a solution as many manufacturers produce mattresses that allow both sides of the bed to have different degrees of firmness.

There are other mattresses that do not have springs or coils and that instead contain pockets of air. You can vary the degree of air pressure to adjust the overall firmness. These are not as common as spring or coil based mattresses.

Position of spine when sleeping

Your Pillow

The pillow is a very important part of getting a good nights sleep. It is commonly used to vent ones anger when one cant get to sleep! Apart from that it has an important use. As mentioned, the mattress supports the spine, but the same is also true of the pillow. A pillow should support the head in such a way as to maintain a straight, relaxed spine. So adjusting the pillow is a very important factor in overall sleep comfort.

It may sound strange, but there are more things you can do with pillows to have a relaxing sleep. When lying on your side, a pillow can be used to support your top arm. This also takes some of the weight from your shoulders, reducing the pressure on your spine. Another use of a pillow is to use it between the knees as you lie on your side. Again this can take pressure from the hips, and maintains a good alignment on the legs.

Like most things in life, going to bed should be fun. Experiment with things, you could even put the pillows under your legs to elevate them and take pressure from your lower spine.

Insomnia can be treated in many ways, from changing your daily routine, to remedies such as herbs in the form of tablets or teas, or even the use of medication. As with many illnesses, they are an indication of some sort of imbalance. It is usual these days to treat the symptoms, however it really is better to find and treat the root cause of insomnia.

Many life situations can bring on sleepless nights. Financial stress, worrying about people or situations at work, the list goes on. In the modern world the fight or flight mechanism gets restimulated daily, though in this modern age these instincts are suppressed and tensions build. Anxiety can then be a cause of insomnia. The tension and apprehension that can result in sleepless nights, and then one convinces oneself that they can’t sleep.

Depression, despair, and feelings of sadness can also cause insomnia. What tends to happen is one becomes weary and tired during the whole of the day. The rest that one gets during this time is not refreshing. If these things remain unresolved the depression can progress into insomnia.

So before reaching for sleep aids and sleeping pills, take a look at some of the possible causes of the insomnia. From this you can start work on a more holistic approach.

Once these issues have been investigated, and if you suffer from any, seek help in dealing with and overcoming the problems. You will find that that this is the most optimum way to deal with insomnia.

Sometimes it is the lifestyle that one has that cause insomnia. It is very easy to drink a lot of caffeine during the day. Caffeine gives one a false kind of energy. It gives the body a boost, but a deficit of energy is created. Minimize your caffeine intake, especially in the evenings. Be careful about soft drinks as these can sometimes be loaded in caffeine. Doing this should improve immensely the quality of your sleep. Chocolate is also something to watch out for.

Your eating habits can also have an effect on your sleep. Try not to go to bed hungry. Ideally you should have a light snack. It is best if you have the breakfast of a king, the lunch of a prince, and the supper of a pauper.

Exercise is always good, and sadly it can be neglected these days. Try and include some type of exercise in your daily routine. Try to do more walking for example. One thing to remember is to avoid exercise before bed. Exercise releases endorphins and adrenaline – so not good when one is trying to get some sleep.

One of the most obvious things to ensure is that your bed is comfortable and has the right firmness/softness that suits you. You should not wake up in the mornings with any stiffness. If you do then this could be your mattress or the pillows that you have. A bed should be very relaxing so it should be easy to fall asleep in one.

Your bed is for sleeping in. This might sound simple, but you will be amazed at how many people use it to read in or watch television in. What you are doing if you are doing this is conditioning your mind to be alert whilst in bed. No wonder you have difficulty sleeping if this is the case! If you insist on reading in bed, try and get a low wattage lamp so you set the mood for sleep.

Sometimes the weekends are times for staying up late and getting up the next day late. This can disturb your sleeping patterns – especially if one is older. If you do suffer from insomnia, try getting a good nights sleep during the weekends by going to bed early and rising early, sticking to the routine you have during the week.

More Insomnia Treatments

If you you have made efforts to deal with the stresses in life, have adjusted your daily routine, or any other of the recommendations and find you are still suffering from insomnia, there are still many things you can do.

Many sleep aids are on the market, some of the more popular ones come in the form of herbal insomnia remedies. Here is a list of the most popular herbs used in the treatment of insomnia:

• Valerian is a herb used for insomnia treatment. It helps in two ways, firstly it helps you to get to sleep and then helps to bring on deep sleep. The combination of valerian and lemon balm has been tested for improving sleep in insomnia sufferers and has been found to be very effective. Other combinations with valerian root that act as mild sedatives are, chamomile, hops, passion flower, lemon balm, American skullcap, and catnip.
• Bitter orange can be used as a calming agent for insomnia.
• Corydalis can provide pain relief and help relaxation. Many people with insomnia fell asleep easier when corydalis extract was supplemented.
• Oil of lavender is known to be calming when inhaled and can improve some cases of insomnia.

There are also many other methods of dealing with insomnia. These natural insomnia cures however can go a long way if not all of the way to helping you get a good nights sleep.

Insomnia is a speep disorder which can either be chronic or could just happen occasionally. Chronic insomnia has two categories, primary insomnia and secondary insomnia.

Primary Insomnia

Primary insomnia is a condition in which the sleeplessness or inability to sleep is not a symptom of something else. It is not brought on by other things, it exists as a condition itself.

Secondary Insomnia

Secondary insomnia is a symptom of some other malady such as:

• Pain, stress, depression
• Alcohol, tobacco, caffeine
• Some other type of illness

Insomnia Help

Secondary insomnia is treated by targeting the above maladies. With secondary insomnia there can be a spiralling effect which makes the insomnia worse. Sleepless nights add to tiredness during the day which in turn lead to more stress, so the cycle continues.

Secondary insomnia can often be cured by lifestyle changes, the important thing is to correctly isolate the underlying cause and then take action to change the situations which lead to it.

Primary insomnia might need a little more investigation, if it persists or becomes chronic, medical help might be needed.

There are two types of insomnia, actute insomnia and chronic insomnia, and both can have slightly different side effects.

Chronic insomnia is a condition of prolonged sleeplessness which occurs over a period of weeks or even months, whereas if you only have a couple of sleepless nights that would be acute insomnia. With acute insomnia you may get a feeling of tiredness during the day, or a feeling of not being refreshed in the morning. These syptoms will go once the acute insomnia goes. The symptoms of chronic insomnia sometimes become a problem as the condition continues.

Insomnia symptoms include:

• tiredness during the day
• frequent headaches
• irritability
• lack of concentration
• not refreshed when waking
• taking longer than 30-40 minutes to fall asleep
• waking during the night
• waking too early
• only being able to sleep using sleeping pills or alcohol

What can happen is that these symtoms could make the insomnia worse. Some experiencing chronic insomnia develop anxiety about the condition, which makes it worse. One of the worst things to do is to convince yourself that the situation is helpless. This could deteriorate into a depression. Things are never as bad as they may seem. If you suffer from any of these conditions the best thing to do is consult a doctor. There are many things you can do. For example there are many remedies for chronic insomnia. You could impliment lifestyle changes such as staying up late waching tv or playing video games. Cutting back coffee and instead drinking tea like chammomile. Try and deal with stressful situations that you may have, confront them and handle them. Herbal remedies can also help to relax the body and mind. Even listening to relaxing music before bed can help. Start with some simple lifestyle changes, you may be very surprised and relieved at the effects.

It is not exactly known what the cause of narcolepsy is. It is difficult to say why one person gets narcolepsy and another does not. It is thought that there may be a combination of things which cause narcolepsy. For example, a low level of hypocretin, a brain chemical which monitors alertness levels, may play a part in the cause of narcolepsy. What causes these low levels of hypocretin is not well understood.

Possible causes

Heredity is thought to be a factor, as the gene which affects hypocretin levels is inherited. Around ten percent of people who have narcolepsy have reported that a relative has had the same symptoms. Infections caused by brain injuries such as tumors or strokes is thought to be a possible cause of narcolepsy. Autoimmune disorders where the body’s immune system attacks the body’s healthy cells is also considered a factor.

Those suffering from narcolepsy may have ny permutation of the above possible causes.

Effects of Narcolepsy

One of the most obvious symptoms of narcolepsy is etreme daytime sleepiness, where there may be a few or many periods of sleepiness. A bout of narcolepsy can usually last 30 minutes or less.

One of the other effects of narcolepsy is cataplexy. Cataplexy causes loss of muscle tone while you’re awake. Muscle weakness occurs in certain parts of the body or in the whole body. Some people can even lose all muscle control during an attack.

People with narcolepsy also have very vivid dream and which seem real to them, this often happens when dosing of falling off to sleep.

Sleep paralysis is also another effect of narcolepsy. This condition prevents a person from moving or speaking while falling asleep or waking up.

As more research is carried out it is hopefull that scientists will gain a better understanding of the causes of narcolepsy and then be able to offer effective treatment.

Narcolepsy is a disease of the central nervous system. One of the main symptoms of narcolepsy is sudden sleep, soeople suffering from narcolepsy can fall asleep with practically no warning at all.

Other symptoms also include loss of muscle tone, distorted perceptions and inability to move or talk. A persons nocturnal sleep is also disturbed.

Symptoms of Narcolepsy

The first symptom of narcolepsy is usually daytime sleepiness which tends to develop gradually. The other symptoms can follow over months or even years. Because of this narcolepsy can often go undiagnosed for a long time, sometimes narcolepsy is not diagnosed in most patients until 10 to 15 years after it first appears.

It is not known fully what actually causes narcolepsy. It is probable that narcolepsy has many factors interacting to cause neurological dysfunction and sleep disturbances.

Narcolepsy Facts

Narcolepsy is quite a common sleep disorder. It is estimated that narcolepsy affects about one in every 2000 people. Narcolepsy is the third most frequently diagnosed primary sleep disorder after obstructive sleep apnea and restless legs syndrome.

Narcolepsy is not a fatal disorder, but it does have a great impact on the life of the suffers. There are different leves of severity with narcolepsy.

Due to the excessive sleepiness, narcoleptics may fall asleep while driving and that is sometimes fatal. Some with mild narcolepsy can have mild sleepiness or rare cataplexy less than once per week. Others may have moderate sleepiness or infrequent cataplexy every 2 – 3 days. Others may experience severe sleepiness or severe cataplexy daily. Narcolepsy is usually treated with a medication to improve alertness and an anti-depressant that helps control cataplexy.

An effective way to deal with insomnia is sleep hypnosis. The popularity of this method has grown over the last few years with the popularity of Neuro Linguistic Programming or NLP. Hypnosis and self hypnosis have however been around for a very long time and has been used to deal with habits, phobias, and behavioral problems. Hypnosis is really a way to instill in the subconscious a pattern of thinking and reacting to certain situations. Hypnosis CDs and videos have been produced to target insomnia. There is also ways that you can use this technique yourself.

Here is a very simple self hypnosis technique which relaxes your mind and body and helps with insomnia. When you are in bed, lie on your back and get comfortable. Now take in a deep breath and hold it. Let it out. And as you let it out concentrate on how relaxing it feels. Focus on this relaxation. Repeat three times. Now concentrate on your left foot. Put in your fut a feeling of relaxation. Gradually move this relaxed sensation up into your calf. Slowly continue this up through the knee and upper leg, into the hip. Repeat on the other leg. Once the sensation is up to the hip, move this relaxed feeling through the hips and up into your abdomen. Continue up through the chest. Inhale deeply and slowly as you are doing this. Once you get up to your neck apply the same feeling to the fingers and up through the arm. Repeat with the other arm, and move the feeling into your head. Repeat this as many times if you are still awake.

The causes of restless leg syndrome are still not understood. Because of this, medication is still in its formative stages. As there can be many symptoms of this syndrome it is possible to help with many of them. The first step is understanding a persons lifestyle, and implementing changes. For example, a person may drink several cups of coffee per day. The person could begin to reduce the amount of caffeine, especially towards the end of the day. If the restless leg syndrome’s symptoms are advanced then simple lifestyle changes may have little impact short term. Supplements have been found to be effective when treating restless leg. If a person suffering from restless leg syndrome also has anemia and/or iron deficiency, a simple course of iron supplements can help ease the symptoms.

There can also be a psycho somatic aspect of restless leg syndrome. For example, when a sufferers mind is occupied their attention comes off the leg and they do not notice any symptoms. Distractions can help such as watching tv or reading. A regular bedtime routine can help. Exercise is also an important aspect of dealing with restless leg syndrome.

There are some medications that are used to treat restless leg syndrome. Some of the most common drugs used to treat restless leg are dopamine antagonists. Dopamine antagonists handle a low level of dopamine, which is thought to be lacking in people with restless leg syndrome. Two of the most commonly used dopamine antagonists are ropinirole and pramipexole. Some people who take these drugs do develop side effects. If you do decide to investigate these drugs do consult a physician and investigate the side effects as reported by the manufacturers.

Restless leg syndrome is a group of symptoms connected to the legs that disrupt sleep. These conditions can be such things as a burning sensation in the legs, a “tugging” sensation in the legs, and even a feeling like insects crawling inside the legs. Other symptoms of restless leg syndrome are pain which can range from mildly irritating, to extremely uncomfortable. These symptoms of restless leg syndrome increase when the sufferer is resting and trying to get to sleep. A persons sleep becomes disturbed, which in turn leads to all of the many symptoms of lack of sleep. The cause of restless leg syndrome is still unknown, but it does seem to run in the family. The symptoms tend to subside when the legs are in motion, this is where the syndrome gets its name.

Restless leg syndrome can occur at any age, it is more pronounced in the middle-aged and the elderly. The intensity of symptoms also increase with elderly sufferers.

What Causes Restless leg Syndrome.

It is still unknown what causes restless leg syndrome. Sometimes the condition can be linked to the following things:

• Low iron levels. When iron levels have been corrected patients may see a reduction in symptoms
• Pregnant women in their last trimester can experience restless leg syndrome. Symptoms tend to disappear within 4 weeks after delivery
• Anti nausea drugs, anti seizure drugs, anti psychotic drugs, and some cold and allergy medications may aggravate symptoms

It is thought that patients who are predisposed to restless leg syndrome can be affected by caffeine, alcohol, and tobacco. Studies have shown that a reduction or complete elimination of such substances may relieve symptoms, although it remains unclear whether elimination of such substances can prevent restless leg symptoms from happening at all. The actual causes of restless leg syndrome are not yet fully understood.