Insomnia is one of the most common sleep disorders. It impairs your ability to sleep or stay asleep the whole night. It affects the quality of sleep and quality of life as well. Because poor sleep leaves a very bad impression on your life in every way. Lack of sleep or poor sleep disrupts your life in many ways:

·         Impairs your immunity

·         Lowers performance at school, college, or the workplace

·         Increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, weight gain

·         Increases the risk of mental health issues like anxiety, depression, or memory issues

Many people spend their nights tossing and turning in the bed struggling to fall asleep. But tossing and turning in the bed will not help your sleep issues. If you face these issues for a long time, it leads to insomnia and many other health issues. So, it is very important to treat insomnia on time to get a peaceful sleep and live a quality life.

Many treatment approaches are there to treat insomnia in people. These approaches include lifestyle strategies, natural remedies, and medications. This article will let you know how these methods will help you in dealing with insomnia.

Lifestyle Strategies To Treat Insomnia

Lifestyle strategies are very helpful in improving your sleep cycle. Little changes in your lifestyle can make a great difference and help you get better sleep. Here are some of the most effective lifestyle strategies for treating insomnia:

Avoid daytime naps: If you sleep in the daytime or late in the evening, you will not be able to sleep at night. If this happens frequently, it will disturb your sleep cycle. So, you should avoid daytime naps. Although you can take a power nap, that should not last more than 30 minutes.

Limit alcohol consumption and caffeine intake: People often think that alcohol helps in get better sleep which is not true. Alcohol makes you drowsy and sleepy, but it affects the quality of sleep. On the other hand, caffeine makes your brain alert and it takes 5-6 hours to metabolize. So, you should not consume coffee or other caffeinated products in the evening. It will keep you awake late at night.

Avoid eating heavy meals and taking more liquids at night. Because heavy meals will take time to metabolize and cause discomfort. Furthermore, excess liquid consumption will wake you up repeatedly for urination.

Setting a sleep schedule: Sleeping and waking up at the same time daily will help you improve your sleep cycle. You should follow the sleep schedule even on weekends. It will help in improving the sleep cycle and getting better sleep.

Regular exercise and a healthy diet are also important for getting quality sleep. But you should avoid heavy workouts 3-4 hours before bedtime.

Natural Remedies To Treat Insomnia  

Stress management techniques: Stress is one of the contributing factors to insomnia. So, managing stress will help you in improving sleep cycle and getting better sleep. Stress management techniques include:

·         Aromatherapy and Massage

·         Listening to soothing music

·         Taking a hot bath

·         Meditation and Mindfulness

·         Yoga, Acupuncture, Tai chi

Valerian root tea and chamomile tea: Some recent studies have shown that valerian root and chamomile are very effective in inducing good sleep. You can take valerian in the form of tea, tincture, capsule, or tablet. 400-900 mg is a sufficient dose for getting better sleep. You can use chamomile as tea, an essential oil, and as a dietary supplement as well.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): This is one of the most effective methods for treating insomnia. This is the first treatment that your doctor might suggest for better sleep.

Maintain good sleep hygiene: Sleep hygiene involves your sleep routine and activities you do around bedtime. According to some studies, good sleep hygiene boosts the chances of consistent and quality sleep. Below are the things that you should do to maintain good sleep hygiene and get better sleep:

·         Having a fixed sleeping and waking up time daily, even on weekends

·         Avoid using electronic gadgets at bedtime like T.V., cell phones, laptops, etc. Because they emit blue light which disturbs your sleep cycle.

·         keep the bedroom dark, and quiet with low temperatures

·         Make sure the bedding i.e. mattress, pillow, and blankets are comfortable

Different Medications To Treat Insomnia

There are plenty of medications that help in getting better sleep. But before taking any medicine, you should first consult with the doctor. Antihistamines are very effective in treating sleep disturbances. Besides this, some prescription medications also treat insomnia.

Prescription medications work magic for insomnia and many other sleep disorders. But these medicines are only for short-term use. Because these medicines may cause addiction or dependence. These medicines involve:

·         Melatonin receptor agonists

·         Orexin receptor antagonists

·         Benzodiazepines

·         Z-drugs like zopiclone and zolpidem

Zopiclone and zolpidem are some of the best sleep medicines. If you are struggling for quality sleep, your doctor may suggest you take these medicines. These medicines suppress your brain activity and make you less alert. Moreover, they enhance the activity of GABA neurotransmitters. GABA has a calming effect on your brain and relaxes your nerves. By doing so, it helps fall asleep easily and get better sleep. However, these medications may have some side effects. But they are very effective if you take them under the doctor’s supervision.

At last, I want to say that every method has its own benefits and working pattern. Not every method needs to be suitable for you. First, find the issues you are having and their severity. Then, choose the right treatment method for your issues. Because tossing and turning in the bed is not going to help you. You need to do something to fix your sleep cycle and get better sleep.