Natural Cures for Insomnia

A few short months ago I was prescribed Lexapro to combat my depression and although there is quite a long list of possible side effects, the only one that I was hit with, and hit hard, was insomnia. I've always been lucky to never have had any problems getting to sleep and staying there very soundly so it was a bit of a shock to my system to be faced with this level of sleeplessness. I could very easily have gone the route of taking another set of pills (ambien, rozerem, take your pick from the seemingly endless list of sleep aids out there), but I am not one for medication and one round of pill taking per day is more than enough for me.

This made me want to find a more natural way of dozing off and it occurred to me that there must be more natural remedies to this problem. Think about it, how did insomniacs ever get any sleep before we became a nation of pill-popping junkies, slamming down meds for every real or imagined disease out there?

I discovered, through talking to my doctor and a little bit of my own research, that there are a number of natural cures for insomnia as well as certain things you can cut out that will help. The first thing to do is cut out things like caffeine, alcohol and smoking close to bedtime. All of these have been proven in contributing to the plight of the insomniac. If you really want to have something to drink then opt for an herbal type tea (chamomile has long been thought of as a good natural remedy) or a glass of warm milk.

Better yet, drink these items while soaking in a nice warm bath, another great way to relax your mind and body and get you prepped for a nice nights sleep. This may sound a little strange but you should also take the time to make sure that your bedroom is comfortable enough for you to sleep in. Get a good, comfortable pillow and make sure your thermostat is set to a temperature that you find comfortable. It's amazing how that type of thing pops into your head when you can't sleep and you lay there thinking how hot or how cold it is. I've also found that reading a book is a good way to unwind and relax too but try to stay away from horror or thrillers and lean more towards the latest from the Oprah book of the month club.

I tried a couple of these, most notably the warm milk and the hot bath with pretty good success but I find that the thing that works best is something that us parents will be familiar with and that is setting up a regular bedtime routine. It's the same principal that you use when trying to get your kids to bed and it works like a charm. If you rise and turn in at the same times every day, or as close to those times as possible, I think you'll find it goes a long way to helping. I usually drink a glass of warm milk a half hour before bed and then read for a little bit and am usually able to nod off very quickly. It's a matter of training your body's internal clock to run on a regular pattern and it is very effective but a word of warning. If you stray off your schedule for a few days, the insomnia issue will return until you get back into that regular routine. Hope these ideas help the insomniacs amongst us and hopefully you'll be asleep before you reach the end of this article.