What is Insomnia

For insomnia include:

difficulty falling asleep,
too early awakening,
waking up in the night with the inability to sleep later,
complete lack of sleep.

It is common knowledge that the person is vital to a healthy restful sleep, because to live without rest can not no living creature. Sleep is essential on a par with air. After a sleepless night, a man can not fully work, gets tired quickly, can not concentrate on anything, it has neither the strength nor the desire nor the mood to do something.

In ancient China used sophisticated torture - sleep deprivation man to knock out a confession. The man who for a long time, not allowed to sleep with the help of different tricks - noise, beating when you try to sleep, the use of various medications, began experiencing severe headaches, coming in a semiconscious state, which was ready to confess to any crime.

Sleep disorders in our time are beginning to take the epidemic, because, according to research scientists, one in five people in the world suffering from insomnia, and these numbers are growing steadily. This is evidenced by the wide distribution and use of sleeping pills.

Occasional insomnia symptoms do not cause significant harm to the body, but if it is repeated often becomes chronic, it can significantly damage the quality of life and undermine health.

Causes of insomnia

The causes of sleep disorders, experts call a great variety. But there are two main causes of insomnia, which are chronic and require mandatory treatment:

Mental disorders, most often depression;
Chronic mental overload.
It is necessary to carefully try to understand the causes of insomnia, to analyze, it is primary or secondary.

Insomnia, especially with premature early awakening, is one of the most common symptoms of depression and other psycho-emotional disorders. Patients with depression are usually wake up at dawn with an acute sense of anxiety, fear and hopelessness, and can no longer sleep.

Also, very often insomnia occurs in patients with chronic pain. In these cases, secondary insomnia is because there is already available on the background of disease and, therefore therapy should be directed primarily to the treatment of the primary disease.

Chronic mental overload, mainly characterized by the thinkers, scientists and creative people displaced in connection with the specifics of their work every day to come up with something new and original. When life under such pressure inevitably comes mental fatigue, weakness and constant fatigue, even at minimum load.

Apart from these two major causes of insomnia, requiring immediate treatment, there are a lot of small reasons that deprive people of needed night's rest:

For example, a common cause of inability to sleep too late or extensive dinner, for fat protein food is in the stomach up to 6 hours and disrupts normal rest of the body. That is why doctors do not advise to eat later than 3-4 hours before bedtime.
But to go to bed is also not recommended to sleep with a strong sense of hunger, because the thought of food will not allow normal sleep; so no need to torture yourself with hunger, strictly observing the postulate "do not eat after six," and quietly drink a glass of kefir or eat some fruit.
Insomnia can also provoke discomfort in bed, or a change of scenery, certainly many known problems with falling asleep in a new place.
Uncomfortable pillows (too high or, conversely, a flat, hard or too soft), sagging mattress stuffy and dry air in the bedroom, the noise or bright light, as well as disturbing and upsetting thoughts - all this prevents proper rest for the brain and body.


What to do with insomnia

Sleep Disorders Center specialists at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, USA, have developed a set of recommendations as to sleep with insomnia and normalize the process of falling asleep.

They are advised not to attempt to deal with insomnia, if you wake up at night and can not get back to sleep within 15 minutes, because it is useless. It is better to stay in bed and listen to the radio, until then, until it is sleepy.

In the morning, you should try to wake up on time, do not attempt to watch "interesting" dream. This also applies to weekends, or to the beginning of the working week will reappear difficulty falling asleep.

Going to bed is advised only when you feel sleepy. If you can not fall asleep within 15-20 minutes, get up and do something pleasantly monotonous type of knitting, reading a magazine or watching TV programs calm.

No need to play computer games, which can be excited by or read a book that can captivate a long time. When you feel sleepy, go to bed again, and so repeat the procedure until you fall asleep. But it is important to remember the main thing - in the morning always wake up at the same time, how much ever you fall asleep.

You do not need to smoke before going to sleep and to eat foods such as coffee, cola and chocolate that contain caffeine, which is a powerful stimulant.

Do not drink alcohol the night, hoping that it will help you relax and sleep well. This is a misconception, because the effect of alcohol over a few hours and you wake up among, not having slept the night.

At night you need to drink a glass of plain water with salt - it protects the body from dehydration and has a good therapeutic effect in various diseases. Be sure to read the article on our site about the benefits of water and salt for humans.

The use of sleeping pills is permissible only for a short time, if a person is chronically sleep and literally falls from the weariness of legs. Medicine, of course, help you sleep, and bring relief, but not for long, because the problems are not being treated for insomnia sleeping pills.

Moreover, sleeping pills must be chosen wisely, depending on what exactly you are suffering disorders. They are divided into short-acting drugs that are indicated for the problems with falling asleep and a long-acting - to maintain a sleep in the middle of the night.

Before you go to bed, try to disconnect from the daily worries and problems, try to think about something quiet and pleasant.

If you live in a noisy environment, use earplugs if you interfere with the light outside the window, put on blinkers.

Do not forget to ventilate the bedroom before going to bed, try to at any time of the year, weather permitting, to sleep with an open window, that will provide fresh air for the whole night. 


Traditional recipes for insomnia

The most effective and safe traditional recipes from insomnia, used since ancient times - a medicinal herb, invented by nature as the ideal tool for the treatment of any disease, because they are natural, have virtually no side effects and is not addictive with prolonged use, unlike synthetic drugs.

Traditional recipes for insomnia with the help of herbs is very diverse - from them prepare a variety of teas, infusions, inhalations, teas, baths and sew special pads made of natural fabrics, stuffed with dried mint leaves, lemon balm, lavender and valerian.

You can prepare a decoction of a mixture of herbs:

Mix 100 g of leaves Leonurus, mint, 50 g of valerian root and hop cones 5 pcs.
1 tbsp. l. mixture to pour 250 g of boiling water and infuse it in a thermos for 2 hours.
Then strain, add 50 ml of water and 2 tsp honey and taken at night.

Before going to bed is useful to take a warm bath with the addition of mint, chamomile, lavender or lemon balm (add enough to the bath 3 drops of available oil). If this is not possible, just poparte feet, adding to the water valeric pharmacy tincture (1 bottle bucket of water).

For a quick sleep can drip a few drops of lavender or chamomile oils directly on the pillow. Then do yourself a warm tea with lemon verbena and lemon balm, or just drink a glass of warm milk with honey.

To combat insomnia is very good self-massage with aromatic oils. To do this, prepare the olive oil or corn oil, and drip it 2-3 drops of chamomile oil and lavender. Massage with your fingertips from the bottom up the ear and the neck and shoulders.

Not the least role in the fight against insomnia and other sleep disorders difficulty playing a walk before going to sleep, and it should not be running or other physical activities that activate the body.

The most useful Ordinary walking is calm. Regular nightly half-hour walk perfectly calm the nervous system, will help to distract from the sad thoughts and negative emotions and provide a strong healthy sleep.