What is the best cure for insomnia? How to Relieve Insomnia Without Medication

Feeling sleepy? You're not alone. According to the CDC, on any given day, as many as one in five adults suffers from an insufficient quantity of sleep! Adults teens and the elderly affect. And as we age, sleep can become more elusive, so developing good sleep habits when you are younger can pay off later in life.
What Is Insomnia?

Many people think the term"insomnia" Describes a complete lack of sleep. In truth, insomnia encompasses a host of sleep problems, such as:

•     Difficulty falling asleep
•     Waking up in the middle of the night
•     Early morning awakening
•     Non-restful sleep

Don't Be a Hero: The Negative Effects of Insomnia

Ever heard someone brag that he or she Requires six hours of sleep? Taking a heroic attitude toward sleeplessness can be bad for your health while it's admirable to try and put a positive spin on a negative situation. Most people need between seven and nine hours of sleep. Getting insufficient sleep may:

•     Conquer fatigue, irritability, and excessive daytime sleepiness
•     Cause weight gain and make it difficult to lose weight
•     Weaken the immune system, making you more susceptible to getting sick
•     Cause elevated blood pressure and may increase the risk of diabetes and heart disease
•     Contribute to chronic pain
•     Exacerbate mental illness, such as depression and anxiety
•     Reduce focus and concentration, leading to decreased performance at work
•     Reduce motor function, making driving hazardous

Techniques for Relieving Insomnia without Medication

Meds can be helpful for some things. And certainly some natural or herbal sleep products may allow you to get some rest. But prescription pills for sleeping are not always the best solution.

Unfortunately, Some sleep medications can actually make the problem worse. Sleep aids often disrupt sleep cycles, causing restorative sleep. The sleep is not restful or deep, if they help you sleep during the night. People can become dependent on these meds, requiring them to sleep, and many develop a tolerance to sleep meds over time, requiring drugs to get the identical effect. These meds may cause rebound insomnia, meaning it becomes even harder to fall asleep with no medication. Before you pop that pill to your sleep problems, try these methods instead:

1. Sleep Hygiene
2. Brief Cognitive Behavioral Treatment Intervention for Insomnia (also called"CBT-I"), which will be covered in part two of this series on insomnia.
What's Sleep Hygiene?

Sleep hygiene is a collection of customs That can help you fall asleep more easily and sleep. Good sleep hygiene can be developed by you by yourself. Try following our 7 Habits of Highly Successful Sleepers and this list of do's and don'ts.

The Thing You have to do:

•     Stick to a regular sleep schedule (same bedtime and wake-up time), seven days a week.
•     Exercise at least 30 minutes per day most days of the week. Restrict exercise to the morning or day. More relaxing exercise, like these yoga poses to help you sleep, can be done before bed.
•     Get loads of natural light exposure during the day. Open your blinds first thing in the morning and get outside during the day. You can even try using a light box first thing in the morning through winter days that are dark regulate your body's rhythms and to help your brain wake up.
•     Establish a regular, relaxing bedtime routine.
•     Take a hot bath or shower before bed.
•     Do relaxation exercises before bed, including mindful breathing and progressive muscle relaxation.
•     Make certain your sleep environment is pleasant and relaxing. Your bed should be comfortable, and your room shouldn't be too hot, too cold, or too bright. If needed, use an eyemask and earplugs. Make sure your pillow is comfortable.
•     Partner your bed with sleep and sex only. Don't work, eat or watch TV.
•     Go to bed when sleepy, and get out of bed if you are tossing and turning.
•     Turn your clock around so that you can't see the time.
•     Switch off the alert for emails and texts on your phone.
•     Maintain a"worry journal" If something's on your mind while you're trying to fall asleep, write it down on a pad of paper so that you can revisit it the following day.
•     If you are not able to fall asleep after about 20 minutes, leave bed and do something relaxing (like reading); return to bed later.
•     Download free screen-dimming software for your PC. Two popular programs are f.lux and Dimmer. These programs help you prevent the stimulation of bright light if you are using your computer late at night. Better Put away the computer an hour!

The Thing You Shouldn't to do:

•     Don't ingest caffeine after noon. This includes tea, coffee, iced tea, energy drinks and soda.
•     Do not have that second glass of wine with dinner. It also disrupts sleep especially causing arousal through the second half of the night, once the body needs to be entering deep sleep, while alcohol is known to accelerate the onset of sleep.
•     Do not take other stimulants close to bedtime, including chocolate, nicotine and certain medications.
•     Do not eat a big, heavy meal close to bedtime.
•     Do not watch TV, use the computer or spend long periods on a mobile device before bed. These activities stimulate the mind and make it harder to fall alseep.
•     Do not use your phone, notebook, or other mobile device in bed.
•     Do not give into the urge to nap during the day; it may disturb the normal sleep/wakefulness pattern.

If Sleep Hygiene Isn't Enough

Sleep hygiene is often enough to get you sleeping better. The tricky part is currently keeping your good sleep Customs --it can be hard to have the self-discipline to stay with good sleep hygiene.