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6 Common Insomnia Cures
By Rachel Johnson, Ph.D., Eating Well magazine
Unrelenting insomnia has become a part of my life. Colleagues joke about my 3 a.m. e-mails; my husband groans at my late-night online shopping. (He knows I’ve had a bad stretch when packages pile up at the door.) There are weeks when I’d give just about anything for a good night’s sleep. I also know that I’m not alone.
Fifty to 70 million Americans suffer from insomnia. It’s more common among women (I know the hot flashes keeping me awake are caused by declining estrogen and hopefully will pass as my hormones even out). It is also common among people who are obese or have high blood pressure, anxiety or depression. And more and more studies are linking weight gain with sleep loss. A new study in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine suggests that adults should sleep eight to nine hours per night to help maintain a healthy weight. One theory is that lack of sleep disrupts hormones, such as leptin and insulin, which regulate appetite and body weight. Another explanation is that sleep deprivation leaves us too tired for exercise. And since losing sleep can also make us moody, we may turn to food to cheer us up.
I could take one of the many sleep medications touted on TV, but I’d rather not; their long-term use can lead to headaches and possible dependency. Instead, I’m channeling my late-night energy into researching the science behind some common advice.
Drink some warm milk before bedtime.
Decades ago, scientists looked into this folk remedy and posited that tryptophan, an amino acid in milk (and turkey), might be responsible for its supposed sleep-inducing effects. Earlier research had shown that when tryptophan is released into the brain, it produces serotonin–a serenity-boosting neurotransmitter. But when milk (and other tryptophan-rich foods) were tested, they failed to affect sleep patterns. Tryptophan-containing foods don’t produce the hypnotic effects pure tryptophan does, because other amino acids in those foods compete to get into the brain, explains Art Spielman, M.D., an insomnia expert and professor of psychology at the City University of New York. Warm milk at bedtime may be comforting, but it won’t boost sleep-promoting serotonin.
Have a bedtime snack.
A light bedtime snack can stave off hunger, a known sleep robber. But eating high-glycemic-index (GI) carbohydrates hours earlier at dinner might also help. (High-GI foods cause a greater rise in blood sugar and insulin than do lower-GI foods.) A recent paper in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that when healthy sleepers ate carbohydrate-rich suppers of veggies and tomato sauce over rice, they fell asleep significantly faster at bedtime if the meal included high-GI jasmine rice rather than lower-GI long-grain rice. While the authors aren’t sure how it happened, they speculated that the greater amounts of insulin triggered by the high-GI meals increased the ratio of tryptophan relative to other amino acids in the blood, allowing proportionately more to get into the brain. Save high-GI carbs for dinnertime, when their side effect drowsiness is a plus.
Drink herbal tea.
Chamomile, lemon balm, hops and passionflower are all touted for their sleep-promoting properties. You’ll often find them in sleep-formula tea blends, but unfortunately their effectiveness hasn’t been proven in clinical studies, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. I don’t doubt these teas work for some. A warm liquid before bed may produce sleepiness by generating body heat, speculates Spielman. Beware: Drinking liquids close to bedtime can mean nocturnal trips to the bathroom. A cup of sleep-time tea might be worth a try–if you have a strong bladder.
Take a sleep supplement.
Shelves in supplement stores are stacked with sleep formulas. According to one NIH survey conducted in 2002, 1.6 million people tried complementary or alternative therapies like these, and over half of them reported their insomnia improved a great deal. However, those glowing anecdotes haven’t been backed up by rigorous scientific study; evaluations of most nutritional supplements haven’t shown any effects whatsoever. The one exception is valerian root, which seemed to help improve sleep with rare, and mild, side effects, such as stomach upset. But finding an effective formulation of valerian root is tricky, since the FDA doesn’t regulate herbal supplements. Don’t waste your money on sleep supplements; hold off on using valerian until standardized formulations become available.
Have a nightcap.
Though a glass of wine may help you fall asleep, excessive alcohol use can make you wake up in the night. One theory is that alcohol suppresses the REM (rapid eye movement) sleep state that’s critical to a good night’s sleep, says Spielman. One of my insomnia patients became remarkably better when he reduced his alcohol intake from 20 to three drinks per week. Drink moderately, if at all; avoid drinking within a few hours of bedtime.
Cut out all caffeine.
Caffeine affects everyone differently, so if you’re sensitive it might be worth trying to cut down or limit caffeine to the morning only. This can mean more than just cutting out a cup of coffee. The major sources of caffeine in Americans’ diets are coffee (71 percent), soft drinks (16 percent) and teas (12 percent) but chocolate is also a source Our ability to excrete caffeine decreases with age, says Spielman, so while you might have tolerated four cups of coffee a day when you were 20, you’ll probably need to cut down as you get older. Cut down on caffeine or limit it to the morning; if insomnia persists, consider going cold turkey.
I’m going to try all of the above advice in my quest for shuteye. I know enough about the placebo effect to be content with just believing it will work. As for my husband, he’ll be content–no, grateful–if my nighttime shopping tapers off.
Rachel Johnson, Eating Well’s senior nutrition adviser, is dean of the University of Vermont College of Agriculture & Life Sciences.
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29 comments
add your comment »I read your whole article and I loved your article. Yoga today is very important in people’s life. It keeps people healthy. Yoga and Meditation are effective in the treatment of insomnia. And I have some good yoga tips at http://www.jiyohealthy.com/category/stress/ which will help u.
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I'd faced similar sleep related problems as Rachel mentioned, until I found REM Sleep Capsules, which is a research-based formulation from Natural Health Laboratories that contains nutrients known to support both sleep-onset and sleep maintenance. If you are not taking any other anti depressant medication, you can try this. It has worked very well for me.
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I had used melatonin for years, with decent results, however I did not like the feeling it left me with in the morning. I recently found a great alternative called Zenbev! It's made from pumpkin seeds, which I learned are the highest natural source of tryptophan (the natural precursor to melatonin). It was developed by a Canadian psychiatrist and is a natural, food-sourced tryptophan. It has absolutely no side effect, since it is essentially just a food product. It also has helped to alleviate my anxiety during the day since tryptophan is also a precursor to seratonin. Somehow they isolate the tryptophan from other amino acids in the pumpkin seeds, making it much more effective than milk. I highly recommend that anyone suffering from sleep problems check this product out right away! They have a website www.zenbev.com.
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If you are noise- and light-sensitive, you can use wax earplugs (much more effective than foam) and an eye cover.
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Aerobic exercise is supposed to be one of the best ways of assuring a good night's sleep. It's better not to exercise in the late evening though.
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I have been making my own valerian, skullcap, passionflower and chamomile alcohol extracts for years. I use them myself and give them to friends and family. They work very well. I grow most of the herbs I tincture. Valerian and skullcap are quite easy to grow.
It's well known that stress makes sleep difficult and that relaxation helps. I try to do deep breathing and relaxation exercises for 10-20 minutes before bed if I feel as if I won't be able to sleep, and to avoid over-stimulation prior to bed (no scary movies or novels, no heavy computer work).
Menopause/hormonal imbalance can definitely be a contributing factor, it's important to get good nutrition and support your body's wellness-- again there are herbs that can help, as well as other supplementation.
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As long as I can remember my issue has been falling asleep not staying asleep but I suppose this routine could help with staying asleep too. I have tried many remedies and have found that what works for me is a combination of various techniques. About an hour or two before bed I take 1/2 of a 1 mg melatonin tablet (it is difficult to find lower than 1mg tablets so I just split them in half - GNC makes sublingual cherry ones that are good quality and also inexpensive) if I take the whole 1mg I seem to have difficulty getting up in the morning. Then, after getting ready for bed and putting on my PJs, I spray a small amount of lavender mist on myself and my pillow, then dim the lights and settle down with a book or the TV (usually an hour but at least a half hour before I want to be asleep) and cross my forearms in a way that looks similar to a lifeguard's rescue wrist grip and press on the acupressure points in my wrists with the heel of my opposite hand while doing calming diaphragmatic breathing for a few minutes. I know this may just seem like a combination of ridiculous things to some but I have used this routine with great success for years, so if you can't sleep give some or all of it a try.
If you don't know where to find acupressure points just get a book or look it up on the web - this site has easy to understand diagrams http://www.geocities.com/jrh_iii/acupressure/acupoints.html#11
I hope some of this info can help someone else get a decent night's sleep too.
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Have you tried lettuce tea or lettuce soup? It's known in South Europe as a natural, mild sedative. Also known in Portugal for helping to sleep is the corn poppy (Papaver rhoeas) - a few flowers under the pilow.
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I have found Amazing Insomnia Relief a natural supplement wonderful.Visit the website www.AmazingInsomniaRelief.com.Helps you get to sleep and wake up refreshed.
Mandy White
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Another supplement that can aid sleep is Calcium & Magnesium - Magnesuim for the nerves and Calcuim for the muscles. It can make a sifference.
Another supplement is Thiamine - vitamin B1. This is the vitamin that is destroyed by stress, coffee, cigarettes, etc and a lack of it can cause nightmares, etc. Worth trying, especially if you spend a lot of your day in front of a computer.
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