Sleep Aids: Natural Way To A Great Night's Sleep
Author: Millard Hiner
No one will make it through this life without few sleepless nights. However how you decided to deal with them is the important part. Do you run off to the doctors for a bottle of high powered sleeping pills that are guaranteed to put down an angry charging bull moose should one come along? You can find the time to go to the doctors, get the prescription, fill the prescription and then what do you have? In the morning you are likely to discover that you have gone from the frying pan into the fire. Yes, you went to sleep in record time, but how do you feel the next day? Drugged, lethargic, can't quite get alert? Now you need to get behind the wheel of your car and drive yourself to your job or your children to daycare. I think you can see where this is going.
What if you take the wonder pills, tuck yourself in and 30 minutes later there is an emergency. Can you wake up, get out of bed and make the decisions you would need to make to keep yourself and your family alive if there was a fire, or natural disaster in the middle of the night? Would you hear if someone broke into your house? If someone was hurt or ill and needed to go to the hospital could you drive them? We all have heard the commercials on TV. No, you can't. You can only take sleeping pills when you know you are going to be able to be in bed and not have to function for the next 8 hours. Most of the time you would probably be OK, but do you want to chance it?
Why should you when you can have a great nights sleep with natural sleeping aids. Many have found natural sleeping aids to be the safe, effective way for them to get the good nights sleep they need without the side effects they don't. Herbs like valerian, kava, and chamomile work wonders for some. Supplements like tryptophan, SAMe and melatonin give others the boost their bodies need to find their way to be sleep filled nights.
What if you want a sleep aid without having to take anything? Natural sleep aids are not just things you put in your mouth. Some people use hypnosis, progressive relaxation, yoga, long walks before bed, or mediations instead of medication to relax themselves to sleep. All this sound like a lot to things to try? Where do you start? Why don't you do the easiest first? Turn down the lights an hour or so before bedtime and try to relax your mind with the thoughts of the countless options for sleep filled nights and the knowledge that one of them will work for you as it has for so many others before you.
What are some natural sleep aids? I know Lavender is supposed to have relaxing properties but….?
But lavender doesn’t help me fall asleep. Does anyone know other natural ways or home remedies to help me fall asleep.
herbally – Valerian, Hops, Skullcap, Catnip
aromotherapy – Lavender, Clary Sage
/Jabril
Does anyone know of any natural sleep aids?
I don’t want to take pills. Are there any food items that will help me sleep?
there are teas
one is called Sleepy Time Tea
kind of silly but it is suposed to work
What are some effective natural sleep aids?
I’ve been having trouble sleeping recently and don’t want to keep having to rely on sleeping medication. What natural home remedies are available?
Depending on the season, a warm bath is a great way to relax. If you can’t take a bath, you can give yourself a foot massage with slightly warm massage oil, sesame oil, or castor oil from a health food store.
What was very helpful to me, especially when my mind was racing, was to lie in bed and listen to relaxation CDs, especially those that contain someone speaking with relaxing music in the background. Many of these CDs are available on eBay for very low prices.
A helpful technique is to relax your body one part at a time. So you could relax your feet, your lower legs, upper legs, moving up from your lower belly up to your chest, etc., etc.
Of course, guided relaxation methods can help, imagining yourself in the country, the beach, or whatever is most soothing to you.
If you have annoying thoughts or personal issues that run thru your mind when you are trying to sleep, you might have to deal with those issues first. You might want to talk to a counselor or therapist about that. I suggest avoiding prescription sleeping pills unless nothing else helps.
There are herbs that are helpful for sleep, eg, valerian root, kava kava, chamomile, hops, passion flower, skullcap. If you get the real herbs, you can make teas out of them. Otherwise get the herbs in capsule form. You can try a single herb or herbal combinations. Probably, valerian root and kava kava are the best.
You can also try trytophan, 5-HTP and melatonin (1-2 mg). I would not take melatonin for over a month. It is a hormone produced by the pineal gland. If you take too much, your pineal gland might get “lazy” and produce less melatonin naturally. Life Extension and TwinLabs are probably the best brands, in that order.
What natural sleep aids can I take with an antidepressant?
I take Lexapro. I would like to try something like Valerian or Melatonin. Is it safe to take either of these?
If valerian or melatonin don’t help, you can try good old Benadryl, the antihistamine. Start with one, I take 2 myself.
What are some useful natural sleep aids?
I’ve been using Melatonin tablets and Valerian Root Capsules but they aren’t working very well. I’m looking for an aid that is natural and non-habit forming. Thank you.