Insomnia

Insomnia is referred to the inability to sleep. It is a condition when a person faces difficulty in sleeping at night. Sleepless nights are a worrisome issue and affect the day-to-day work. The major symptoms of insomnia are difficulty in falling asleep/ staying asleep, waking up during the night, inability to fall back to sleep when awakened in the middle of the night and inability to sleep during regular hours. For some people the problem is such that they need to take sleeping pills every night to get some rest. Tension, anxiety, stress, suppressed resentment, anger, bitterness, constipation, overeating, excessive tea/coffee/smoking are some of the causes sleeplessness. Insomnia can, however, be cured using some natural remedies. Learn more about how to treat/cure insomnia or sleeplessness at home.

• Difficulty in falling asleep
• Changes in the duration and quality of sleep
• Persistent changes in sleep patterns
• Memory lapse
• Lack of concentration during the day
• Loss of coordination
• Confusion
• Emotional instability
• Awakening during the night
• Waking too early in the morning
• Not feeling well rested after a night's sleep
• Daytime fatigue or sleepiness
• Irritability
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Increased errors or accidents
• Tension headaches
• Gastrointestinal symptoms
• Ongoing worries about sleep

• Taking too much tension
• Excessive stress and anxiety
• Mental strain
• Overwork at workplace/home
• Overexcitement
• Suppressed resentment, anger or bitterness
• Constipation
• Overeating
• Excessive intake of tea/coffee
• Too much smoking
• Dyspepsia
• Overeating at night
• Going to bed hungry
• Hormonal changes in women
• Decreased melatonin
• Medical conditions, including allergies, arthritis, asthma, heart disease, etc
• Pain and discomfort from a medical illness
• Disturbances of the circadian rhythm, such as shift work and jet lag

• An effective way to treat insomnia would be to have milk form the poppy seeds. Extract 30 grams of milk from poppy seeds and add some sugar to it. Have this mixture everyday after dinner.
• Grind four nutmegs to make a fine powder out of it. Have this powder every night before going to sleep.
• Insomnia can be treated following the same routine i.e. try to sleep at a fixed time every night and wake up at a fixed time in the morning. This would set a sleeping schedule.
• Hot fomentations help to solve the problem of insomnia. Apply hot packs to the spine and have hot footbath before going to bed.
• Intake a cup of milk with honey. This is effective in curing insomnia.
• Grind the root of pippali (Piper longum) plant to make a fine powder. Every night, have 1 tsp of this powder along with jaggery and a glass of warm milk.
• Take a ripe banana and mash it. Add roasted cumin seeds to it and mix properly. Consume this mashed mix before going to sleep.
• Extract fresh juice of valerian wallichi. Intake 1 tsp of this every night before going to sleep.
• Do regular exercise or partake in some physical activities everyday. This would /solve the problem of insomnia. Walking, jogging, skipping and swimming are the good exercises for treating insomnia.
• Mix 1 tsp each of juice of celery leaves with stalks and honey. Consume this mixture everyday.
• Consuming raw onion salad everyday can solve the problem of sleep.
• Combine 2 tsp of fenugreek leaves juice with 1 tsp of honey. Have this combination at bed times daily.
• It is advisable to have 3 cups of curd everyday for people suffering from lack of sleep.
• In a cup of boiling water, add 1 tsp each of chamomile flowers, hops and valeria. Let it steep for 45. Thereafter, strain the drink and have it an hour before sleeping.
• Combine bottle gourd juice and sesame oil in equal parts. Massage this combination on the scalp every night.
• Alternatively, cooked leaves of the bottle gourd can be taken as a vegetable. This is also helpful in curing insomnia.
• Increase in the consumption of vitamin B foods such as wholegrain cereals, pulses, and nuts. These are effective in treating insomnia.
• In half a liter of water, ad one tablespoon of lettuce seeds. Boil this concoction until it reduces to 1/3rd quantity. Have this decoction when warm.
• Boil 375 ml of water. Add a tsp of aniseed and cover the lid of the pan. Let it simmer for 15 minutes. Strain the decoction and drink when warm. Hot milk and honey can also be added to the tea.
• Mix 0.25 gm to 0.5 gm of rauwolfia with some scented substance like cardamom. If the problem is chronic, double the intake, one in the morning and one in the evening.