newsletter 15- insomnia
As the sun starts to stream in my window at an earlier hour it wakes my cats who in turn want me to celebrate the dawn with them. As we are reaching daylight savings time this could become a problem.
This month I'm going to focus on insomnia, what you can do about it and how to face the following day without enough sleep.
Missing a night of sleep every once in a while shouldn't pose too much of a problem for most of us. However chronic insomnia is often a symptom of a serious underlying condition. Probably the most common are psychological or emotional in origin such as anxiety, grief or depression. Insomnia can also be a result of hypoglycaemia, restless leg syndrome, hot flushes, arthritis, asthma, indigestion or physical pain. Medications can disturb sleep, including appetite suppressants, beta blockers, decongestants, thyroid replacement drugs and antiseizure medicines.
From a food standpoint the most obvious culprit is caffeine. Avoid caffeine after lunch time if you suffer chronic insomnia. Make sure to have protein with lunch to give you sustained energy rather than reaching for coffee and biscuits at 4pm. Some foods contain tyramine which increases the brain stimulant norepinephrine. These foods include tomatoes, bacon, spinach, cheese, chocolate, aubergine, ham, potatoes, sugar, sauerkraut and wine. If you suffer extreme insomnia, try reducing these foods and see if it makes a difference.
Foods high in tryptophan will help promote sleep. These include bananas, dates, milk, nut butters, turkey, tuna, yoghurt, figs and whole grains. A cup of chamomile tea can also help and are safe for children in tea form. Celestial Seasonings makes a wonderful tea called 'Sleepytime' and you can find it in larger health food stores. If you are allergic to ragweed, avoid chamomile.
Regular exercise can help tremendously as it will tire the physical body and also burn off some mental stress. Avoid exercising too soon before bed. Taking a hot bath can also relax you for bed but keep the showers for the morning as they are more invigorating. Again chamomile or lavendar essential oils in the tub or in a burner will promote sleep.
Nutritionally the supplements that can help are a balanced formula of calcium and magnesium at a ratio of 2:1. Take one with dinner and another before you head off for bed. These two minerals are also excellent for restless legs and nighttime muscle cramps. Other supplementation includes a Vitamin B complex taken with meals which helps calm the nervous system and enhance sleep. Vitamin C is also essential if you are under stress. And once again, trusty zinc makes an appearance in aiding the recovery of cells while you sleep.
Herbalists often use valerian root, hops, kava kava, lemon balm, passionflower and skullcap for insomnia. I have used valerian before to good effect but buy the capsules as the tea is quite strong. It is better to rotate your herbs rather than become reliant on one or two.
As with any condition if there is an underlying problem, you must address this rather than try to band-aid with natural remedies. There are hundreds of remedies that can help insomnia and to pin it down to a few that will work for everyone is nearly impossible but I will give you my top three to use short term. If you do not have any relief, remember the homeopathy has not failed you, it just isn't accessing a deeper issue or cause and you ought to come in for a consultation so we can uncover it.
Use Avena 30C if the cause is nervous exhaustion or drug withdrawal (caffeine, alcohol, tobacco, narcotics). Coffea cruda 30C is good for insomnia due to unusual brain activity, particularly from pleasant excitement such as anticipating a trip. Nux vomica 30C is particularly good if your insomnia is due to work stress and even more so if you keep waking up around 4am and cannot get back to sleep. Take the remedies before bed and if you wake up in the night. For the day after a poor night's sleep, use the remedy Cocculus 30C up to three times a day which helps with that weak, woozy feeling from lack of sleep. I frequently prescribe Cocculus to new parents and those in a role of care taking. If you find your sleep is still disturbed after trying the remedies for a couple of weeks, get in touch with me as rest is essential for good health.
On a final note, I have also read that catnip tea is very good for insomnia as it has mildly sedative properties. Shame it has the opposite effect on cats...
