Insomnia Part 1
Insomnia can be acute or chronic. It can come and go, sometimes seemingly without reason. Without getting into a whole lot of depth–insomnia is a big subject and I will address it deeper in the future–I want to leave a laundry list of things you can do for yourself if an acute attack of insomnia has hit.
1. Acupuncture, see your acupuncturist for this.
2. Warm epsom salt bath with lavender essential oil (just a couple of drops) before bed.
3. Do not read anything stimulating, watch tv, or listen to loud, disruptive music two hours before bed.
4. Exercise in the morning or early part of the day, not in the evening. And if you don’t exercise, start doing it now.
5. Darken bright rooms at night.
6. If you are sensitive to noise, try earplugs–you may need to try a number of different types to find the ones that work for you. Move your bed to a quieter room in the house, though sometimes a simple white noise masking device used in therapy offices works best.
7. Is the room too cold or too hot? Experiment with getting the temperature that’s right for you. More blankets on your side of the bed less on your partner. Open windows, close windows.
8. Food can be stimulating and cause problems. Cut caffeinated drinks out, or if you must have your coffee/tea drink it in the morning only. Garlic, hot spicy foods, greasy and otherwise difficult to digest foods can make sleeping difficult. Garlic and hot peppers will cause hot flashing in some people at night.
Tags: epsom salts, experiments, Insomnia
2 comments 
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June 9th, 2009 at 18:28
That is a great list! I get insomnia all the time, usually staying up too late one night does it. A couple more things I find that help me:
Having a regular bedtime routine that signals its time for bed - wash my face, brush my teeth, etc.
No lights on in my room facing the bed or at least where I can see them. The clock is turned away, the cell phone is turned over, no little red flashing lights from a laptop or other charging device.
Speaking of the clock, it doesn’t help either - I especially don’t look at the time if I’ve woken up in the night.
Getting up the same time everyday helps, when I do it.
I’ve also recently been reading an interesting article that suggests broken sleep is actually a more natural way to sleep. http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/55271
When all else fails - take a nap.
June 9th, 2009 at 20:13
Thanks Lyndi! I had forgotten the regular bedtime routine and that’s one I usually tell people. I’ll have to put that in the list. And getting up regularly also sounds like a good idea; I’ll pass on the word.
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