How to get rid of insomnia at home

Insomnia. If we could use for our own purposes: if you do not want to sleep, do your work, create, study. But insomnia is not just the inability to fall asleep. It is also fatigue, accumulating fatigue, stress and, as a result, deterioration of well-being. What is the reason for this phenomenon and how to get rid of it?

The concept and symptoms of insomnia

Surely any person faced with sleep problems. Which of us at least once did not toss and turn in bed, unable to fall asleep after a strong coffee, a hearty dinner, or because of disturbing thoughts? If insomnia rarely bothers you and only in such "special" cases - this is more likely a norm option. Regular sleep disorders leading to chronic lack of sleep should be considered a disease.

If we approach this issue from the side of psychology and psychiatry, we can distinguish three groups of disorders, popularly called insomnia:

1. Problems falling asleep is the most common type of insomnia. A person cannot sleep for a long time, sometimes tormented for several hours.
2. Constant awakenings during the night. Sleep with such an ailment is superficial, and, therefore, very sensitive. Waking up is so frequent that a person does not have time to relax and regain strength. Normally, this phenomenon is also characteristic of a healthy person who has fallen into a new environment.
3. The inability to fall asleep after waking up in the middle of the night or, in other words, an early awakening.

For any of these sleep disorders, there is one common feature: a person may experience severe drowsiness during the day, but not sleep a wink at night.

Causes of Insomnia

Insomnia can be defeated only by finding out its causes, which can be divided into two large groups:

Domestic - these are the features of the nervous system, temperament and human health, as well as his habits:

• mental illness (e.g., Parkinson's or Alzheimer's disease);
• hormonal disorders;
• diseases accompanied by severe pain;
• taking medications, a side effect of which are sleep disorders;
• stress, anxiety, depression;
• abuse of tonic and invigorating drinks;
• overeating before bedtime or, conversely, refusal of dinner.

Increased brain activity can also cause insomnia: a person is often unable to relax when you need to solve a problem. As a result, the brain actively works on it even at night.

External - this is what surrounds us:

1. Unsuitable conditions for sleep: uncomfortable bed, inappropriate air temperature, stuffiness, light (even muffled), extraneous sound. It would seem that these are trifles, but not all people can fall asleep in any conditions;
2. Sleep in a new place: a person who is in unusual conditions for himself, sleeps most often restlessly, sensitively, often waking up and falling asleep again. But as it adapts, this reaction goes away and the dream improves;
3. Surplus of information: life in the era of the Internet not only helps to provide quick access to information, but also makes it difficult to restrict its flow. Which of us at least once a month didn’t sit at the computer until late at night, saying to himself: “Another five minutes and that’s all!”

These are the most common causes of insomnia. In some cases, identifying them is not difficult, in others they may not be so obvious. But to identify them you always need to work, becauseonly their elimination is the key to a good sleep.

What is the danger of insomnia

Unlike simple lack of sleep, insomnia is fraught with serious consequences for human health. It provokes not only a deterioration in overall well-being, weakness, irritability, but also causes the body much more significant damage.

Chronic lack of sleep depresses the central nervous system, brain activity, upsets the hormonal balance, and often causes depression.

A manifestation of insomnia can also be:

• decreased immunity;
• muscle and skin withering;
• blood pressure problems;
• cardiovascular diseases;
• decreased metabolic rate and, as a result, overweight;
• decreased mental and physical activity.

How to get rid of insomnia at home

If the cause of insomnia is not a serious illness, then you can try to cure it using traditional medicine methods. However, you must first review some of your habits and adjust your lifestyle.

First of all, you need to adjust the following areas of life:

1. If possible, get up and go to bed at the same time. It is not recommended to sleep during the day, as this makes it easy to shift your sleep schedule.
2. Try to eat right. Prefer a light and light meal. You need to avoid heavy, fatty foods, the absorption of which requires considerable time. But to refuse an evening meal is also impossible. Optimal will be a meal 2-3 hours before bedtime.
3. Reducing the consumption of alcoholic drinks and cigarettes, you will do a great service to your body. This will allow you to restore all metabolic processes, physical and mental tone, as well as increase immunity.
4. Moderate exercise helps to increase muscle tone, overcome stress, give energy and just give a good mood.
5. You should not watch or read criminal news, thrillers, horrors before going to bed. Learn not to take petty troubles and work problems to heart. Various meditation practices, as well as yoga, will help maintain emotional balance.
6. Determine what conditions for falling asleep you consider optimal and try to provide them for yourself. For example, the effect of complete darkness can be achieved with a fabric mask for the eyes, and a night light will help to create soft light. Do not forget to ventilate the room more often and moisten the air in it (especially during the heating season). Of great importance for a comfortable sleep is the bed. Buying an orthopedic mattress and pillow will be a profitable investment in your own health.

Folk remedies for insomnia

In addition to all of the above, recipes of alternative medicine will help to cope with insomnia. They are based only on natural ingredients, so there are practically no contraindications to them.

An effective remedy for insomnia is considered to be honey. Recipes based on it are most often very simple, just mix honey with 1-2 available ingredients, and the tool is ready. Herbs are also popular: decoctions of them can not only be drunk, but also added to water when taking a bath. In addition, cushions are stuffed with dry herbs.

Here are some effective and easy recipes:

1. Drink from a tablespoon of honey dissolved in a glass of warm water. Such a cocktail should be drunk before bedtime. If desired, water can be replaced with slightly warmed milk.
2. Pour 20-25 g of hawthorn with a glass of boiling water and let stand for half an hour with the lid closed. Then strain and drink 30 minutes before the planned retirement.
3. Prepare a mixture of lemon balm leaves, motherwort and valerian roots in equal proportions. A tablespoon of the resulting dry mixture should be filled with 300 ml of boiling water and insisted for one and a half to two hours. You need to take such an infusion 50 g three times a day, before eating.
4. Finely grind two tablespoons of hawthorn fruit and pour 400 ml of boiling water over them. After 30 minutes, strain.Divide the drink into three servings, which must be drunk one before each meal.
5. Chop a tablespoon of mint and pour a glass of hot water. After 20 minutes, strain. Drink should be taken before meals (for 15-20 minutes).
6. A pillow filled with dry herbs with calming properties will give a good effect: St. John's wort, oregano, hops, mint, laurel, lavender, fern. Such a pillow can be kept at the head of the bed. And if you put it on a warm battery, then the unobtrusive smell of herbs will fill the whole room.
7. To take a soothing bath, it is good to use infusions of plants such as a string, calendula, oregano. A tablespoon of any of the listed herbs should be poured into a glass of boiling water and allowed to stand. Then strain and add to water, the temperature of which should be about 37-38 ° C, not higher. It is advisable to take a bath immediately before bedtime and always on an empty stomach (before meals or 3 hours after). The water level should be below the level of the heart. Also, you should not take a bath daily, 2-3 times a week will be enough.
8. Baths with essential oils will also have the same effect, provided that you are not allergic to them. It is enough to add two drops of chamomile oil, orange and peppermint to feel the positive effect. The main thing is not to take a bath in a state of severe fatigue, because in this case, there is a high risk of falling asleep at this moment.

Medications for insomnia

When insomnia becomes threatening, there is no choice but to treat it using traditional medicine. In what cases does a medical visit become necessary? Do not postpone a visit to the doctor if:

• The use of folk methods and adjustment of habits do not bring results;
• Insomnia visits you almost every night;
• After a sleepless night you are tormented by body aches, aches, shortness of breath.

And also if insomnia is a consequence of diseases of the brain, nervous system, internal organs, etc. Only a doctor will help you choose the optimal treatment regimen for the underlying disease, which will help eliminate the manifestation of its symptoms, expressed in the form of sleep disorders.

Medications taken as prescribed by a doctor can be divided into two groups:

Herbal remedies - differ in a rather mild action, because they are based on natural ingredients. They include peptides, amino acids, herbal extracts (valerian, hops, peony), vitamins and trace elements. These drugs help get rid of irritability, improve blood circulation, make up for the deficiency of vitamins and minerals, and increase physical and mental tone. The most famous of them: Biolan, Balansin, Orto-Taurin, Balansin, Neurostabil.

Medications - have a strong and quick action, helping to fall asleep within 10-20 minutes after taking. Their reception is not recommended if a person needs to wake up at night (for example, while caring for a child), as well as those whose activities are associated with increased sources of danger (driving, working with hazardous chemicals, etc.). Often, these drugs help to cope with depression as well. contain antidepressants. The following medicines are considered the most effective and safe: Roserem, Ambien, Lunesta, Sonata, Trittiko.

Take any drugs, whether herbal or medicinal, can only be prescribed by a doctor. This is especially important in the treatment of insomnia in the elderly, pregnant women and children.

How to get rid of insomnia in old age

If in young people insomnia is usually inconsistent, random in nature, then with age it is necessary to deal with it more often. Statistics say that the older a person, the more sleep problems he experiences. But is age only to blame for this?

Closer to old age, the phase of deep sleep becomes shorter, and the surface - longer. A person sleeps sensitively, restlessly, easily waking from a dream. But a significant contribution to sleep disorders in old age is also made by how life was lived. The abuse of nicotine or coffee, unhealthy diet, and the lack of regular physical activity in the past affect sleep quality and overall well-being in the present. Meanwhile, sleep is very important for the elderly, because it is at this moment that the body is restored, pressure and blood circulation are regulated, the functioning of the immune system is adjusted.

If the causes of insomnia lie in chronic or acute diseases or mental disorders, the appointment of a doctor will help to fundamentally solve this problem. In other cases, giving up some old habits and acquiring new ones can give a good effect.

You should abandon excessive physical activity in the evenings, as well as reduce the consumption of coffee, cigarettes, alcohol. You need to be more often in fresh air and ventilate the room before going to bed: oxygen calms the excited areas of the brain and it becomes easier to fall asleep.

Scheduling going to bed will benefit: it helps the brain tune in to regular sleep at a specific time.

If changing daily habits does not help, then you should consult a doctor who will prescribe suitable medications. However, taking the prescribed medicine should not stop the implementation of the above recommendations, only an integrated approach will help to cope with insomnia. Sleeping pills are not designed for long-term use. Their goal is to help the brain acquire the habit of "disconnecting" at a certain time, after which the medication is gradually stopped. And if at this moment new habits do not become something permanent for you and do not require a reminder, then insomnia is likely to become your frequent guest again.

How to get rid of insomnia during pregnancy

Insomnia is one of the most frequent pregnancy partners, especially in the last stages. Among its causes are worries about a future birth and an unborn baby, back pain, leg cramps, sleep in one or two poses (usually pregnant women can sleep only on their sides), fatigue.

What can be done in such cases?

1. To realize that insomnia in pregnant women is a temporary phenomenon. You need to try to relax during the day, if a night's sleep does not allow you to properly restore strength. If suddenly you can’t sleep, then you should not force yourself to lie in bed waiting for sleep. It is better to get up and do some inactive monotonous affair, listen to calm music, read a light book.
2. Try to move more, to be more often in the air and eat balanced. Low physical activity and poor nutrition will only aggravate the situation. It is necessary to take multivitamins in addition, as to provide yourself with all the vitamins and minerals is quite difficult. You should also give up heavy food in the evenings, dinner should be light and healthy.
3. If possible, adhere to a certain schedule of going to bed and morning rise.
4. Refuse products based on cocoa beans and coffee, especially in the evening.
5. Set up a place for a comfortable night's sleep. Pregnant women often sleep on their side, because sleep on the stomach is impossible for obvious reasons, and on the back it is harmful for the unborn child and uncomfortable for the mother. As a result, a woman often wakes up at night from body aches. In order to avoid this or minimize discomfort, you need to experiment with the position of the body. It is possible that sleeping in a semi-sitting position, relying on large pillows, will be much more comfortable than lying on your side.

When fleeing from insomnia, you should not take any medications without a doctor's prescription.Caution should be taken with traditional medicine methods; not all herbs are safe for a pregnant woman.

Absent-mindedness, fatigue, weakened immunity, decreased mental and physical tone are just some of the effects of insomnia. Having noticed her signs, do not give up. You can cope with it not only with the help of drugs, but also with traditional medicine. And in some cases, to win it is enough to just adjust your daily habits and join the basics of a healthy lifestyle.

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