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There are certain insomnia cures in this world, ones that most of our friends and family prescribe as if they could guarantee a good night's sleep. Such cures are often notoriously oversimplified, comical and sometimes downright infuriating. These are the people, God love them, who just don't get why insomnia is a serious problem because for them - as for most - sleeping and feeling rested in the day is a natural and automatic function of their physiology. They just do not have a capacity to relate to those of us that simply can't sleep for days on end, nor do they understand how it affects our quality of life.
The problem is that some of the more annoying things people like this give as advice actually can help us with sleeplessness, but due to the gravity of our problem we tend to overlook the obvious at times. I know when my sister says "You'll sleep fine if you just stop drinking coffee" I quietly explain that "it's just not that simple", and then I go somewhere so I can beat my head against the wall in abject frustration.
For some of us though, it really is as simple as ... say... turning of the radio, or fixing the leaky pipe that drips aural madness into our ears. Yes, insomnia is a very complex problem with many far reaching causes and conditions, but in some cases it's not necessarily a complex solution. We must be very careful not to overlook what may contribute to our problem just because it seems so brain dead or simple.
The following are a few of the more elementary cures that people have likely mentioned to you at least once, and a few that you may not have known about that have proven effective in certain transient sleep disorders. My advice is that if you haven't tried the following you should, as every little bit helps.
1. Avoid caffeine after 3 pm. This may seem ridiculously over stated but there are many products containing caffeine that we are not necessarily aware of. For example, many pain relievers contain caffeine - such as extra strength Panadol/ Tylenol. You may cure your headache at the expense of sleep. Also note that Tea can give you as much of a caffeine fix as coffee. Try to be vigilant about what you put in your body and read the ingredients when you're not sure - as you can be getting stimulants in your blood stream at the exact wrong moment, without even knowing it.
2. Don't read, watch TV, or plan your next vacation while you're in bed. You have to develop a rule about the bed and bedroom, which is that your bedroom exists for two reasons only; sleeping and having sex. If you have a 42" Plasma and your IMac in your bedroom, get rid of them. If you have a stack of great books and magazines on your night stand, put them elsewhere. Your goal is to train your mind to do what should come natural, to trigger your body to react to your sleep location by adjusting and relaxing. Where you rest your bones has to be conducive to a good nights sleep, not a place where you can watch a movie, check your emails, or read about skydiving.
3. Get some sunlight during the day. If you can't get sunlight, look into some form of light therapy. In future articles I will detail some light therapies known to have positive results. Getting vitamin A through sunlight is very beneficial to your body in the first place, but it has also been known to help people sleep at night. Studies show that people who don't receive enough sunlight are far more prone to sleep disorders, and it's also well known that sunlight is necessary to regulate your body's circadian rhythm.
4. Start a journal. You may ask how this would help you sleep, but it is a powerful technique known to help certain sleep disorders. Anything worth noting is worth worrying over, and for most of us letting go of daily problems and ambitions is not that easy. Somehow by documenting our daily activity it can allow us to purge ourselves from problems that would otherwise keep us awake, obsessing to find answers.
5. Find your Zen. There is always one scene that we can find in our minds eye that will relax us. Some of us may have a harder time figuring out what that scene is, but somewhere in the annals of time there exists a memory wherein we were completely at peace and relaxed. Once you discover what that scene is for you, practice recalling it by remembering how it smelled, what you heard, how your body temperature was, e.t.c... Sensory recall is a very powerful trigger, so use it to recall calm and restful moments.
Trying these things for a few days and giving up is not effective, as most of these techniques require a period of time for your body to adjust. However most of what is listed above is crucial to ensuring you can get a good nights rest and things that should never be taken for granted or ignored. They are not so much techniques as lifestyle adjustments, so before you run off to get your insomnia cures from a doctor or your local pub, make sure you have treated your own environment accordingly. It may be all you need to get a good nights rest.
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