Insomnia Treatments

Can't sleep? Discover a variety of insomnia treatments from alternative medicine to use as sleep aids. Find an insomnia remedy that works for you. Get insomnia help, including natural remedies for insomnia.

Sleep Disorders
There are two types of common sleep disorders for which people need insomnia treatments: sleep onset insomnia, which is trouble going to sleep, and sleep maintenance insomnia, which is difficulty staying asleep.

Valerian
For sleep onset insomnia, that is, you can't go to sleep, the herb valerian has proven as effective as the benzodiazepine drugs, such as the prescription drug Valium (diazepam), and it doesn't cause mental fogginess. In one study of over 200 insomnia sufferers, age 18 to 73, treatment with either 600mg/day of valerian extract vs 10 mg/day of a benzodiazepine drug found that valerian was at least as effective as the prescription drug for improving sleep quality without impaired mental functioning.

Valerian is often combined with hops in over-the-counter (OTC) sleep aids. A clinical study on this sleep aid, with patients receiving two tablets at night, each tablet containing 250 mg valerian extract and 60 mg hops extract, showed that after two weeks of treatment, patients found they could go to sleep faster and their overall sleep efficiency was better. Jonathan Wright, M.D., recommends 600 mg valerian with 120 mg hops taken about an hour before bed for sleep onset insomnia.

Chaste Tree
Insomnia treatments for sleep maintenance problems, also known as sleep interruption insomnia, include the herb chaste tree. Research has shown that chaste tree can increase the body's natural production of melatonin, which helps produce continuous, uninterrupted sleep. Patients in the study took 120 to 480 mg of chaste tree extract for 14 days, which caused a 60 percent increase in natural melatonin production. Although chaste tree is also used for female problems, it is fine for men, for sleep disorders.

For both valerian and chaste tree, keep at it for at least two weeks, to see their benefit as sleep aids in alleviating sleep disorders.

Melatonin
Any list of insomnia treatments that includes alternative therapies will include melatonin. A 2001 article on melatonin for insomnia treatment reported studies by MIT researchers published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism showing a correct dosage of 0.3 milligrams of melatonin for insomnia in adults over 50.

When I can't sleep, I take the convenient one milligram tablet as an insomnia treatment, rather than trying to split it into thirds for 0.3 mg. I used to take three milligrams as a sleep aid, but I found that dose gave me a melatonin "hangover" of drowsiness and fatigue. This side effect is discussed in the article. Melatonin helps me stay asleep through the night, or it helps me go back to sleep if I wake up in the middle of the night.

Recently, I was under heavy stress and was waking up at 3:30 or 4:00 in the morning, so I took one milligram of melatonin about an hour before bed and half of a one milligram tablet when I got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Then I started sleeping through until 6:30 a.m. Then I upped the dose to one milligram before bed and one milligram of melatonin in the middle of the night, but I didn't sleep any more, and the next day I had the melatonin "hangover," described above, so I cut back the dose.

Natural Remedy For Insomnia: Soothing Music
Another insomnia solution is soothing music. A six-month study at the University of Louisville, in Kentucky, studied 25 adults with insomnia. To induce sleep, patients listened to baroque or new age music. Listening to the music at bedtime, all but one of the patients showed improvement in the quality of their sleep, going to sleep quicker and sleeping longer. When they stopped listening, their insomnia returned.

Dramamine
Some insomnia treatments work, even though they are unorthodox. When I can't sleep and I really need to sleep, I take half of a 50-milligram tablet (25 milligrams) of chewable Dramamine, which is usually used for motion sickness, but causes drowsiness in many people, like me. (Sometimes, though, for other people, it has just the opposite effect!) I used to take the whole 50 milligram tablet as a sleep aid, but I find I get results just as good with half a tablet. (Here's what Consumer Reports says about Dramamine.

For me, the Dramamine takes about a half hour to kick in, but then I sleep a long time. If I take it because I have waked up in the middle of the night at 3 or 4 a.m., I even sleep till 10 or 11 a.m., so if I need to catch up on my sleep, it works great for me.

I like the fact that Dramamine has been around a long time, so a lot is known about it, but Dramamine has many negative side effects, and people with certain conditions should not take it. (Lucky me; the only side effects are drowsiness and dry mouth.) I'm not going to say any more, because you know the drill:

CPAP
If you have sleep apnea, sometimes misspelled sleep apnia, an effective insomnia remedy from alternative health methods is continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP. Sleep apnea is a condition involving intermittent partial or full collapse of the airway, which contributes to insomnia. Many insomnia suffers have achieved relief with CPAP, which involves wearing a mask that applies air pressure through the nostrils, keeping the airway open to prevent sleep apnea. For more information, see our page on Sleep Apnea Treatments.

More Sleep Tips
I read about some more insomnia treatments in the October 2007 issue of Reader's Digest:

• Avoid caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, exercise and bright light before you go to sleep.
• Here are some books mentioned in the Reader's Digest article:

  Lithium
  A woman with severe chronic insomnia since childhood wrote her personal experience with lithium orotate to Dr. Jonathan Wright's newsletter. She had tried everything: Ambien, herbs, malatonin, hot baths, bedtime rituals, exercise, restriction of time in bed, diet, supplements, filtering her water. Nothing worked. Then she started taking 20 mg of lithium orotate per day. During the first month she took it, she had three or four "not-so-good" nights, and the other nights she slept like a normal person through the night.

  Dr. Wright comments that this particular woman's results are probably related to her family history of alcoholism (although the woman is not an alcoholic). He says that even "totally dry" relatives of alcoholics have found that low-dose lithium provides improvement in a variety of symptoms. Dr. Wright also recommends at least one tablespoonful of flax oil per day to prevent lithium toxicity.

  Sources:
  Health News Weekly, an e-mail newsletter from healthresources.net, May 12, 2008.

  Nutrition & Healing, February 2005, by Jonathan Wright, M.D.

  Reader's Digest, October 2007

  Fatty Foods May Contribute To Insomnia
  Insomnia treatments may include certain foods or the elimination of other foods. Research indicates that eating fat may contribute to insomnia, especially if you eat fatty foods close to bedtime. A study using mice found that fat disturbs sleep by disrupting metabolic bodily functions. The eating of fat interferes with the natural rhythms that induce sleep.

  A high-fat diet, say researchers, affects DNA in the body, and that can cause permanent sleep problems. As if that's not enough, eating fat causes you to want more fat, which just makes everything worse.

  For a better night's sleep, cut down on fat, especially at night.

  Source:
  Second Opinion Health Alert, May 16, 2008. Subscription information at secondopinionnewsletter.com

  Secondary reference:
  Science Daily, November 7, 2007; Cell Metabolism, November 2007, Vol 6, 414-421, 07.

  
  

  
  

  ---

  The content of Alternative Medicine Digest is presented for general informational purposes only, and you should review it with your doctor before taking any action with regard to your health care. The information on alternative medicine at this site is not presented as advice or recommendation, nor is it intended to treat or cure any disease or disorder, nor to substitute for consultation, diagnosis or treatment by your M.D. or other medical professional. See our Medical Disclaimer.

  ###

  
  
  

  Go From Insomnia Treatments To The Site Map

  Copyright 2006 Joanna Fuchs Insomnia Treatments