How to beat Insomnia?

Sleep is as essential to us as food, air and water. Every living thing sleeps, from the smallest insect to the largest whale. Sleep is the power source that keeps our mind alert and calm. Every night and at every nap, sleep recharges the brain's battery. Sleeping well increases our attention span and allows us to be physically relaxed and mentally alert at the same time.

However not all of us get the adequate sleep. Insomnia sleep disorder affects millions of people around the world and the vast majority of them would love to find a natural insomnia cure, say good night to insomnia and get back to those days of night after night of natural sleep.

What is Insomnia?

Insomnia is defined as repeated difficulty with the initiation, duration, maintenance, or quality of sleep that occurs despite adequate time and opportunity for sleep that results in some form of daytime impairment.

Simply defined, insomnia is the inability to get high-quality sleep. It can last a day or two, a month, or even months on end. Insomnia is not defined by the number of hours you sleep or by how quickly you fall asleep. Instead, it depends on the quality of your sleep, and how you feel after sleeping. Even if you are sleeping eight hours a night, if you're still feeling drowsy and fatigued during the day, you may be experiencing insomnia.

What are the Causes of Insomnia?

Insomnia most often stems from some other problem. Common causes of insomnia include:

• Stress.
• Anxiety.
• Depression.     
• Medications.
• Medical conditions.
• Change in your environment or work schedule.
• Poor sleep habits.
• Eating too much late in the evening.

What are the symptoms of Insomnia?

Symptoms of insomnia can include:

• Sleepiness during the day.
• General tiredness.
• Irritability.
• Problems with concentration or memory.
• Frequent headaches.
• Not refreshed on waking.
• Take longer than 30-40 minutes to fall asleep.
• Wake repeatedly during the night.
• Wake far too early and are unable to get back to sleep.
• Only get to sleep with the aid of sleeping pills or alcohol.

Who can suffer from Insomnia?

Insomnia is found in males and females of all age groups, although it seems to be more common in females. Women are twice as likely to suffer from insomnia as men. Some researches suggests that certain social factors such as being unemployed or divorced, are related to poor sleep and increase the risk of insomnia in women. Also, insomnia tends to increase with age.

What can I do about it?

There are a number of things that you can do to help overcome insomnia. These are:

• Don't take naps during the day.
• Try taking a warm bath, having a warm glass of milk or listening to soothing music to create a relaxed mood before going to bed.
• Make sure your room isn't too hot or too cold and your bed is comfortable.
• Meditation and exercise such as yoga can have a relaxing affect, helping prepare your body for sleep. But don't do strenuous activity immediately before going to bed.  
• If you can't sleep, get up and read until you feel sleepy or do something you find relaxing. Try not to lie in bed thinking about how much sleep you are missing.
• Don't have heavy or rich meals, especially in the few hours before you go to bed.
• Try to get into a daily routine to establish a sleep rhythm. Go to bed the same time each night and get up the same time each morning.
• Mentally dealing with the day's unfinished business is also helpful. Try to have a complete routine of your next day written on a paper.
• Reduce your intake of stimulants like caffeine, especially late in the day.
• Try to reduce the intake of depressants like alcohol and smoking. Drink alcohol in moderation. It may make you sleepy, but it will cause you to wake up early. Avoid smoking completely. Night-time breathing problems are more likely in smokers.  

After regularly practicing these cures to insomnia and enjoying the benefits of sleeping you will find that you don't worry so much about things and you will take things in your stride. You won't become stressed about things and you'll feel more peaceful and relaxed about everything.