Top 10 Home Remedies to Cure Insomnia

April 14, 2022

Insomnia is a prevalent condition, particularly in the developed world. A lot

of people are at an increased risk of getting insomnia due to stress,
anxiety, and depression as precipitating factors. Insomnia is a preventable
condition and also a treatable one. With effective remedies and knowledge
on the topic, you are better able to combat the conditions associated with
insomnia. The major goal in all these therapies is to set the perfect
environment for REM sleep. Some of the common home remedies for
curing insomnia include the following:

1)Lavender Aroma Oil

 

Lavender aroma oil is one of the best therapy oils for insomnia due to its
relaxing effects on the nervous system. People having insomnia most
usually have anxiety as a major causal factor, and the cycle aggravates
with poorer quality of sleep every day. In this regard, lavender oil can help
you in different ways. You can apply aromatherapy-infused oil on your
temples or simply smell it through your nostrils. Apply some on your
pillowcase as you go to bed and try to sleep. Chamomile oil, lemongrass,
and lily are also some added options that can help you in achieving a
healthy night’s sleep.

2) Meditation

Meditation is one of the techniques that you can apply in your daily life to
counter stress, anxiety, and depression. People with insomnia often report
having racing thoughts which render them unable to sleep. In that
essence, meditation can help them in soothing the mind and relaxing a bit.
As you meditate, you attain peace of mind. This elevated mindfulness and
calm help you in reaching a state of rest. Therefore, it helps you get a
better sleep eventually. People who struggle with insomnia and other
mental health conditions should consider doing meditation. You can take
classes for meditation to get the best night’s sleep if you want to dive into
more technicalities.

3) Tai-Chi
 

Tai chi is also another effective therapeutic remedy with high popularity in
alternative medicine. People with insomnia and other mental health
conditions where they are unable to find calm, and mindfulness can
practice doing Tai chi to benefit themselves. There are certain practices of
doing tai-chi, and there are multiple sources of learning tai-chi from
masters practicing this art for many years. In simple words, Tai chi is
considered an effective methodology to counter disturbances in mood,
heightened anxiety, elevated stress, and problem-solving asleep. If you
want to achieve deep REM sleep, consider including Tai chi in your daily
routine.

4) Yoga

Yoga is considered an effective therapeutic method for a number of

different problems ranging from flexibility issues to improved sleep. Yoga
helps in building and enhancing the connection between the mind and the
body, which helps the individual to get better sleep at night. When you do
yoga, you are better able to achieve a heightened state of mindfulness,
which actively helps you in sleeping better at night time. What’s more, it
helps to sync your breathing and help you stretch your muscles, which
combats stress. You attain better relaxation as the different poses in yoga
help you to counter muscle stiffness and tension from your body.

 
5) Journal Writing

Journal writing is particularly helpful in bringing ease to your mind, which

helps you sleep better at night. We often have racing thoughts as we go
through insomnia. One of the particular reasons behind it is that we are
unable to organize our thoughts, and they tend to form a complicated
thread that turns into overthinking. It makes us difficult to find peace as we
go to bed, and it eventually affects our quality of sleep. To cater to this,
there are certain ways, such as journal writing. You put your raw thoughts
into words and let them flow. As you begin to fill the pages with ink, you
begin to see a better organization in your thoughts with daily practice.

It helps you attain a better sense of calm, and in this way, you are better
able to sleep peacefully at night. Alternatively, talk to someone you trust
and ensure yourself that speaking it out is always better than keeping it all
in. When you don’t bottle up your thoughts, you are better able to sort
things out and seek the much-needed listening and even guidance you
need for that reason.

6) Talk Therapy

Talk therapy is one of the most effective remedies against insomnia and
associated disorders, as discussed previously. For talk therapy, a
professional in mental health disorders is of the best use for certain
reasons. They know the root causes and help you define the different
narratives which are causing a disturbance in your sleeping pattern. Not
only that, they can help you in combining different techniques that suit you
the best and help you in bringing out the best possible associations to help
you sleep better and longer at night. As you talk with a therapist, you begin
to see the reasoning behind your disturbed sleeping patterns, and you get
enabled to find the right solutions for your problem.

7) Exercising

Exercising is also an effective technique, which helps you sleep better at

night. When you do work out, you work on your muscles which causes
natural fatigue. By the time you end up being in bed, your body naturally
adjusts itself in a relaxed state. It naturally wants rest, which potentially
helps you in achieving better sleep at night. Your quality of sleep,
ultimately, gets improved to a number of points. You begin to feel more
active and fresh when you wake up. What’s more, exercising helps you
relax your stiff muscles, and it produces serotonin and other hormones to
fight stress hormones being released in your body.

8) Breathing Technique

Breathing techniques can be particularly helpful in improving your sleep

quantity and quality. It is evident that breathing does have categories, and
from a health perspective, many of us don’t breathe at the optimum levels.
For starters, good breathing helps in the circulation of oxygen throughout
our body with better oxygenation. When we breathe deep, we help the
oxygen reach our brain cells in a better way, which ultimately helps in the
improvement of many brain-associated functions, including improved sleep
patterns and alleviation of stress. For that reason, breathing techniques
are particularly helpful in inducing a good night’s sleep.

9)Whole-grain Cereals

Whole-grain cereals are made of complex carbohydrates, which tend to

serve a great role in regulating our sleep cycle in a myriad of ways. For
example, oat bran is considered to have anti-anxiety properties, which help
us in getting calmer at night and have a better sleep. What’s more, these
complex carbs we take serve as food for the gut microbiota we have. In
return, this gut microbiota helps us in a number of different brain-related
functions. For example, it helps us in responding to neuroinflammation,
and other negative responses, such as degeneration of neuronal cells.
With more added fiber and resistant starches to your daily diet, you are
better able to keep insomnia at bay and have a more comfortable sleep at
night. For that reason, it is recommended to take whole-grain cereals
instead of refined carbs if you want to have a good night’s sleep.

10)Massage

 
One of the most practiced ways to get more body and mind relaxation is
the simple technique of massage. Massaging your body with any oil, such
as castor oil, can help you attain a better sense of calm, which induces
healthy sleep. A good massage is effective in helping us get calmer in the
night, which is a reason why many of us may even have an unintentional
nap when having a spa session. Massage with oil helps in reducing pain
and stiffness in the muscles. What’s more, it helps us in alleviating
sympathetic responses and helps us in getting into a more relaxed state of
mind. Going to a massage therapist may help. However, you can ask your
partner to give you a message if you struggle with going to sleep at night.

Final Word

These are some of the simplest yet among the most effective and efficient
techniques to help you get a good and long night of sleep. Applying these
techniques, tips, and tricks to your daily life can help you attain a better
sense of calm and peace, which would ultimately help you in getting a
better night’s sleep. The idea is to keep practicing different modalities
stated as above with discipline and the right approach. However, if you see
yourself getting overwhelmed with all the techniques or you find these
ineffective, you can always go to a professional who specializes in sleep
disorders and ask for help.

 
References:

1) Gross CR, Kreitzer MJ, Reilly-Spong M, Wall M, Winbush NY, Patterson R, Mahowald M, Cramer-Bornemann M.
Mindfulness-based stress reduction versus pharmacotherapy for chronic primary insomnia: a randomized controlled
clinical trial. Explore (NY). 2011 Mar-Apr;7(2):76-87. doi: 10.1016/j.explore.2010.12.003. PMID: 21397868; PMCID:
PMC3077056. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21397868/

2) Halpern J, Cohen M, Kennedy G, Reece J, Cahan C, Baharav A. Yoga for improving sleep quality and quality of
life for older adults. Altern Ther Health Med. 2014 May-Jun;20(3):37-46. PMID:
24755569. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24755569/

3) Hartescu I, Morgan K, Stevinson CD. Increased physical activity improves sleep and mood outcomes in inactive
people with insomnia: a randomized controlled trial. J Sleep Res. 2015 Oct;24(5):526-34. doi: 10.1111/jsr.12297.
Epub 2015 Apr 21. PMID: 25903450. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25903450/