Natural Cures for Insomnia Guide

Is It Insomnia?

Insomnia is a condition of having difficulty in falling asleep and/or maintaining sleep. Insomnia is experienced as a result of either poor quality or quantity of sleep, despite having the time and desire to sleep.

What Type of Insomnia Do I have?

Uncovering the type of insomnia will give you insight into the cause and solution for the problem as well as suggest for you some natural cures for insomnia. Take the time to answer the questions below to identify the possible type of insomnia.

Which of the following statements is true for you?

• I tend to be unable to sleep for one week or less. (This is called transient insomnia.)
• I tend to be unable to sleep for between one to three weeks. (This is called short-term insomnia.)
• I tend to be unable to sleep for more than three weeks and up to three months. (This is called chronic insomnia.)

For transient and short-term insomnia, the insomnia resolves itself quickly when the cause passes or is removed. For chronic insomnia, seeking insomnia help from a Doctor who is a sleep specialist is highly recommended. There may be medical and psychiatric conditions responsible for causing chronic insomnia.

Do you have any of the following factors occurring in your life?

• Physical discomfort
• Snoring
• Shift work
• Drug or alcohol withdrawal
• Caffeine before bed
• Cigarette smoking
• Stressful life or work situation

All of the above factors can be the source of insomnia in the short-term and you may sleep better once they have been removed or corrected.  It usually does not last for more than 3 weeks. With short-term and stress-related insomnia it is easily reversed when the situation causing the stress is over or is resolved. It will pass.

Some types of insomnia may not be connected with an underlying condition.  Consider the following questions:

• Are you unable to relax your mind due to busy thoughts?
• Does your thinking increase when you try to fall asleep?
• Do you often feel anxious when going to bed?

If you answer ‘yes’ to these three questions, you may suffer from a combination of psychological and physiological insomnia.

Finally, there is a type of insomnia where you may complain of insomnia, but if you were to have a professional sleep study done it would indicate that you have a normal pattern of sleep.  It is where you don’t think you have slept at all, but your partner tells you were asleep and you might remember that you were dreaming. This is called subjective insomnia.

What Insomnia Treatments Are There?

The treatment depends on the source of the problem. If you identified the obvious cause earlier in this article, it is simply a matter of dealing with the factor or issue. Removing the cause will likely cure the insomnia. If you don’t tackle the problem and deal with the underlying cause, the insomnia may continue.

For lifestyle problems such as poor diet, lack of exercise, stress and worrying – it is simply a matter of changing your habits during the day (read my 7 Steps article for more information.)

For snoring problems, there are many natural snoring remedies including pillows, alcohol and smoking reduction, weight loss, and nasal strips (check out this anti snoring aids site for more information.)

If your insomnia persists a medical evaluation by your Doctor is definitely advisable. Medicinenet has more information on insomnia diagnosis and treatments.

DISCLAIMER: The content and opinions delivered through this website are offered as a source of information about health and well-being and are for informational purposes only. The articles and written comments made on this site are not to be understood as a substitute for the accurate and appropriate professional medical advice in a one-on-one relationship with a Medical Doctor.