Insomnia - What is It?

There are many types of sleep disorders ranging from somnambulism to narcolepsy to restless leg syndrome to sleep apnea to circadian rhythm disorders to insomnia - just to name a few. Insomnia is poor quality and very unsatisfying sleep. Insomnia can be short lived, called transient insomnia, meaning that it lasts for a few days or even up to a month or it can go on for years - then it's chronic insomnia. The inability to get to sleep, stay asleep, or both can characterize either form of insomnia. If you are like me, you generally don't have difficulty falling to sleep, but your nights can be plagued with countless wake up events. When morning finally does arrive, you often wake up restless and groggy. To say you are lacking the spirit to jump out of bed refreshed and ready to go, is an understatement.

There are lots of market and pharmaceutical medications for insomnia, but many of you don't want to become addicted to these pills. (These drugs are habit forming for the most part because anything that you do repeatedly will surely become a habit in your subconscious as well as conscious mind). Secondly, prescription sleep medications are generally expensive. Thirdly, it would just simply be nice to sleep peacefully on your own the way nature intended us to.

The NSF (National Sleep Foundation), says there are at least 50 - 70% of you who have insomnia. It may not be chronic, but even during the transient phases, it sure isn't pleasant. You may have tried some of the cures for eliminating insomnia - some may work temporarily - some don't work at all for you. Since all of you are individual, not all of the traditional remedies or cures will work for you. Don't you just wish you could switch off that incessant mind chatter just long enough to fall asleep or get back to sleep? The techniques offered in the ebook the Spirit of Sleep can help you do just that. You can gain back your natural circadian rhythm.

How best to begin addressing your sleep habits? Look to your daytime and nighttime routines. We are creatures of habit and even though you may not believe it, you developed the habits and you can break them. You can replace those less-than-restful habits with positive ones. Sometimes other influences affect your sleep, as an example, physical pain can wake you up, your partner's snoring, a sick family member needing attention, room temperature too hot or too cold, but if none of these seem to be causing your insomnia, there is a better than 50% chance that it is coming from unresolved tension and stress. Just imagine...eliminating your stress! That may seem like a pretty tall challenge, but when you reduce or eliminate some of the stress and tension in your life your rewards are bountiful...among them, a good night's sleep!

We all live such busy and complicated lives, so reducing or eliminating stress may in and of itself, seem like a huge challenge. One method I suggest is beginning a nightly 'Let It All Out' journal. I know some of you resist taking the time to write anything, much less your daily worries and stress. And you also wonder when you will ever find the time to add one more thing to your day/nighttime routine. Some of you worry that if you write it down, someone else may read what you've written, which of course is totally private. Understanding these concerns, writing is truly a magnificent process to use to express your worries and concerns of the day. It's best to do this just before you go to bed because it is amazing how many of your problems can be solved while you are sleeping. Your subconscious mind is a phenomenal computer sifting and sorting through an immense amount of data - it will often offer solutions to those concerns and your issues will resolve through this processing.

And in time, as you go back and re-read some of the concerns and worries you expressed in your 'Let It All Out' journal, you will find that some of the issues simply resolve themselves without further intervention by you. Perhaps they weren't as big as you originally thought. Writing is a remarkable tool to relieve the stresses of the day.