When it comes down to it, millions of people suffer from insomnia. However, it is one of the most misunderstood sleep conditions. A lot of people don’t know what causes it and a lot of people don’t know how to treat it. This can create a dangerous situation – if you don’t get diagnosed and then seek treatment, your insomnia could start to have a negative effect on your life. Not only is sleep deprivation an unpleasant feeling – it can also have serious consequences on your cognitive and physical health. Insomnia has been known to make people feel confused and foggy, which can increase the risk for car accidents and mishaps at work. Also, insomnia can weaken the body’s immune system. The truth of the matter is that sleep is a critical human function that serves as a vital reset button. This is exactly why it is so important to treat insomnia. Here are five natural treatment tips for insomnia sufferers.
- Regulate your sleeping hours and waking hours – if you have SAD, or seasonal affective disorder, your clock may be off. Indeed, our brains have a unique clock that tells us when to sleep and when to wake, but people with SAD can often have trouble falling asleep when there is either too much daylight in the summertime or when there is a shortage of light in the winter. This is why you may want to invest in a specialized UV light and undergo at least twenty minutes of natural daylight therapy.
- Stay away from caffeine and other stimulants past a certain hour – studies show that staying away from these stimulants will help people not only fall asleep faster, but also stay asleep. When it comes down to it, it is staying asleep that is often the hardest for people with insomnia. Usually, you want to have a set bedtime and then stop yourself from ingesting any stimulants up to three or four hours before that time.
- Be sure to find a way to relax and not let your mind wander right before bed – if you are worried or stressed before bed, you may not be able to fall asleep and your insomnia will be exacerbated. This is why you may want to stay away from TV or other distractions. When you have sleep apnea, the television can be a source of procrastination, which will keep you up for hours.
- Tackle your sleep apnea – obstructive sleep apnea is a sleep condition that affects millions of people and causes insomnia. When it comes down to it, sleep apnea is an evolutionary disorder that causes the person to stop breathing multiple times per night, which can jolt the person out of a waking state. One of the most commonly prescribed treatment methods for sleep apnea is CPAP, which can be purchased from an online retailer like CPAPman.com. CPAP therapy will keep your respiratory passageways open, so that you can breath much more easily in your sleep.
- Speak with a psychologist or sleep therapist – there could be an underlying psychological condition, like depression, that is causing your insomnia to be worse. Indeed, you may want to work out some personal psychological issues so that falling asleep and staying asleep is a lot easier.
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