Natural-Cures-For-Insomnia

Not sure how many of you caught the segment on the Today show a while back, but they were referring to new research about innovative ways to help insomniacs.

Dr. Matthew Ebben of Weill Cornell medical center in NYC  said one of the most common sleeping problems from which Americans suffer — insomnia - would be better treated with cognitive behavioral therapy, not a new bed.

I have heard of cognitive behavioral therapy before - it's used to treat all kinds of ailments.

Now they're using it to control the temperature in the hand and feet before you go to bed.

Why? Because during the day, core body heat rises and peaks during the mid-afternoon. Then, in the evening, body temperature begins to falls gradually and rises in the limbs. Rising temperature in the limbs at night has been associated with sleep initiation.

So they are having participants in a study use a biofeedback device, with the hope of teaching insomniacs how to train their body for ideal sleep conditions. Results have found that raising the temperature in the hands and feet before bedtime may promote sleep.

Participants in the study warm their hands and feet through relaxation techniques like visualization and deep breathing, which helps to draw the blood from the core of the body to the extremities, says Dr. Ebben.

Scientists are trying to take advantage of this knowledge to artificially raise the temperature in the limbs of insomniacs – making them sleepy. At the sleep lab, study participants, who have trouble getting to sleep, view a monitor that displays different images, like a setting or rising sun. Temperature probes read the person's hand and foot temperatures, causing the image of the sun to rise if they are successfully raising their temperature, and set if they are cooling down.

Sounds interesting, but am I the only one that wonders if just warming your hands and feet before going to bed will have the same effect? 

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Insomnia has many causes, some of them physical such as menopause,chronic pain,drugs and alcohol use and other physical conditions. 

Stress plays a big part in the causes of insomnia.  But when we stop to think about it - what causes most of these conditions? Our Emotions!

Everyone suffers from stress to some degree, but how you react to that stress determines how that stress will affect you. If you have your emotions under control, then your reactions to stress in your life is reduced. And when your stress is reduced, then a lot of the physical ailments caused by stress are also reduced, such as insomnia. You can even control your response to pain (to some degree) by learning to control your emotions.

How EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) Can Help

EFT is based on an ancient technique that is used in both acupuncture and acupressure. Energy flows through your body along paths called meridians. When you access these energy flows, your energy improves. Acupuncture uses needles to access the energy flow, acupressure uses massage and EFT uses tapping. But it's not just tapping. You need to combine the tapping technique with focused thought. EFT can release the blocks in the energy flow that are causing your insomnia.

What's great about EFT is it's simple to learn and people of all ages can benefit from it. Children and the elderly are now experiencing relief from their insomnia and other sleeping problems. The added benefit is by discovering the root emotion that is causing your stress or insomnia, you will experience relief in that area, too!

Although the theory behind EFT is old, the practice of EFT is still fairly new and unknown to many. The good news is that it's inexpensive to learn the technique, so if for some reason it doesn't work for you, it's not a big loss. EFT's success rate is pretty high in many areas, so it's definitely worth a try. 

How To Learn EFT 

Although it's fairly easy to find a manual on EFT, the best way to learn is by actually watching someone do it. I found a basic DVD called First Steps In EFT that also comes with a e book manual. That should help you get started if you've never tried EFT before. Be sure to check out their other products for more advanced training.

FIRST STEPS IN EFT

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Here's some more interesting research under the Watch What You Eat post.

According to a study done by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, there are several mineral deficiencies which MAY contribute to insomnia and sleeping problems.

Copper Deficiency Contributes To Sleep Problems - in some pre-menopausal women. Generally, those women who had a low copper intake took longer to fall asleep and felt less rested in the morning. Copper? Really? Geez, that's one of the LAST nutrients/minerals I would be thinking about.

So, what do you eat to get more copper? I found this list of Dietary Sources of Copper. Lobster and oysters seem to be high on the list (as evidenced by the little + symbols after them). I wonder how well that would fly next time I'm eating out and insist I have to eat more lobster in order to sleep well.

Of course, if you want a cheaper source of copper, you could go the supplement route. I would check with a doctor first to see if you're actually deficient first. Here's the supplement: Copper Supplement

Iron Deficiency- is another culprit for poor sleeping patterns. There's plenty of women that seem to have a problem in this area. Although I've read that combining iron with your multivitamin is NOT a good thing, here some food sources of iron: Dietary Sources of Iron

Too Much Aluminum - typically not a problem for most people, but if you take quite antacids in the liquid form, you may be getting too much aluminum.  Try switching to the tablet kind.

Low Magnesium Levels - can contribute to shallow sleep and waking up more during the night. This can happen if you are on a calorie restricted diet or taking diuretics. Here's some dietary sources of magnesium: Food Sources of Magnesium .

You should definitely check with a doctor before taking magnesium supplements, especially if you have heart or kidney problems.

Here's a supplement source if you have a Magnesium Deficiency: Magnesium Supplement

GiGi 

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There are many causes of insomnia and some of them are diet related. People that suffer from eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia and even obesity also often have insomnia or other problems sleeping. Obviously, those disorders require more care than tips on what to eat to prevent insomnia. Disruptive sleep patterns may be a sign that you are deficient in certain nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, copper, iron, zinc, and many B vitamins. For the rest of us , there are foods to avoid and dietary advice for preventing insomnia:

• Avoid caffeine late in the day. This includes coffee, tea, sodas, and chocolate. 
• Cut back on alcohol consumption. It may seem relaxing at first, but usually causes sleep problems later
• Eat a lighter meal in the evening. Keep it healthy!
• Don't go to bed hungry.

Certain herbs are beneficial in promoting sleep and can be used in making bed-time teas. Some of these are valerian root, camomile, lemon balm and lavender. Of course, many of these herbs are available in ready-made teas you can buy in any grocery store.

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If you missed it, there was a new press release recently about a new herbal-based product that treats Sleep Maintenance Insomnia. What the heck is that? Something you've probably suffered from before - waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to get back to sleep. This differs from regular Insomnia which is not being able to fall asleep in the first place. According to the National Sleep Foundation, more of us suffer from the Sleep Maintenance Insomnia (32%) than from regular insomnia (21%). It can caused by physical problems, such as obesity and heart disease, to the normal problems of fatigue, exhaustion, depression and headaches. Funny they didn't mention stress or anxiety, but I'm guessing that should be in there, too. Now there's a new natural remedy for your sleep problem, called MidNite. It allows you to take a tablet when you wake up in the middle of the night instead of having to take something BEFORE you go to sleep. That's kind of cool, since you never know for sure if you'll wake up. The only issue is you should allow yourself at least 3 hours of sleep after you take it. I haven't tried it yet, but I did read the ingredients. Mostly Melatonin, Lemon Balm (an herb that helps calm nerves); Lavender (one of nature's most soothing herbs) and Chamomile (a natural herb known for its relaxing effects). It's probably the mix of ingredients and the dosages that allow you take it during the night. My guess is - pretty mild. I've taken melatonin before and it's worked for me - not always, but certainly more times than not. The plus to MidNite is that it will be available in drugstores. I think it will be sold for $9.99. Or you just buy Melatonin, maybe try taking just half a tablet when you wake up and see what happens. Hey, I'm not a doctor. But you can find Melatonin on sale here for less than $4. (at the time of this post)

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