Archive for the 'Insomnia' Category

Insomnia is a nightmare. The more exhausted you are – the harder it is to sleep. And taking prescription or over the counter medicine can cause addiction and disturbing side effects, which can make insomnia worse.

Insomnia can be due to many causes; such as, anxiety, caffeine, depression, low blood sugar, nutritional deficiencies, pain, reaction to prescribed medications, restless leg syndrome, sleep apnea, stress, tension and thyroid gland disturbances. There are also several types of insomnia.

Natural approaches for a good night sleep include avoiding certain foods, foods and beverages containing caffeine, getting enough exercise and proper nutrition, and practicing relaxation techniques.

Going to bed hungry can cause problems sleeping. Eating an ounce or two of a low fat, low protein, sweet, starchy food one hour before bedtime has been as effective as a sleeping pill for many people. Salty foods should be avoided at bedtime, they stimulate the adrenal glands.

Increasing your consumption of foods rich in iron and copper may improve your quality of sleep. When nervous tension causes sleep problems, drinking carrot juice combined with apple, grape, papaya, pear or pineapple juice may also be of help.

When a regular exercise program is part of your daytime schedule, an after dinner stroll or routine gentle bending and stretching exercise before bed can help relax tense muscles and help with the onset of sleep.

Supplements unlike pharmaceutical medicine, lead to a more natural sleep. In addition to a daily multivitamin-mineral supplement, separate supplements may be beneficial.

Vitamin B complex plus extra B5 (pantothenic acid) and B6 (pyridoxine) and inositol help promote a restful state.

A lack of the nutrients calcium and magnesium will cause you to wake up after a few hours of sleep and then not be able to return to sleep.

Melatonin (a natural occurring hormone) used as a supplement may be a natural aid to better sleep. Additional health benefits include its role as an antioxidant, stimulation of the immune system and several parts of the endocrine system. It does not alter your sleep pattern like many prescription sleeping pills and it does not impair performance related skills.

Tryptophan (an essential amino acid) is found to be a safe and a reasonably effective sleep aid. Possibly due to its ability to increase levels of serotonin (a calming neurotransmitter). Foods with plentiful tryptophan include chocolate, oats, bananas, mangoes, milk, eggs, yogurt, cottage cheese, red meat, fish, poultry, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame, chickpeas and peanuts.

Using herbs such as catnip, chamomile, hops, lady slipper, lavender, passion flower, skullcap and valerian root (capsules or extract) are all good and may help the insomniac.

A bad night equals a bad day. Most of us have probably experienced a bad, tightening headache after a sleepless night which persists and worsens during the day and which bothers you in work, play and other daily activities. If you always experience lack of sleep, you are not alone. Every year, 50-70 million Americans seek help for their sleeping problems, which pull out a large sum of money from their pockets.

There are many treatments for sleeping problems available. One is the use of psychotherapy, which often consists of regular, expensive visits to a psychotherapists clinic. Another is in the form of sleeping pills, which works only for short-term, but has the danger of making the user dependent to it in the long run. In addition, there are some side effects related to it and often, the person develops resistance to these drugs over time. Thus there is constantly a quest for newer therapies for insomnia which can regulate the sleeping cycle of every insomniac for long-term.

But do you know that there are some herbs which can actually regulate our sleeping pattern?

One such herb is the Linden Tree or Lime Tree. It is a well-known tree since early civilization. It is a sacred tree which symbolizes love, so that during the Medieval Ages, lovers swore eternal love in the shade of the Linden Tree.

The Linden Tree is a tall tree with big, heart shaped leaves and yellowish-white flowers with a strong perfume. The Linden Tree flowers are rich in sugar, gallic acid, and catechol acids and essential oils, which gives this plant neurosedative and antispastic properties and can also reduce inflammations of the respiratory system. Because of these active substances, it is used as a sedative for insomnia because of its calming effect.

Another herb being used in insomnia is the fig. Figs are 50 ft-tall trees with muscular branches. What is interesting about Fig is that it contains a lot of nutrients, such as calcium, potassium, Vitamin B6, iron and magnesium. It is also rich in pectin, which is a form of fibre that helps reduce blood cholesterol. Figs contain a substance called Tryptophan, which promotes good sleep and helps the brain utilize glucose properly thus encouraging and stimulating good circulation. Fig also contains iron, which enriches the blood and makes the body well-oxygenated at all time. Fig also is a source of energy because it contains 80% of water, thus it is considered a good brain stimulant and makes one alert at all times. It also contains 60% natural sugar, so that it fuels the brain to think fast and recall information quickly. It also clears up the skin and helps prevent acne and other skin problems.

Recent technological breakthroughs in science has permitted scientists to make the substances found in these herbs potent, so as to achieve a maximum effect on your health. The latest breakthrough in plant research is the use of plant stem cells therapy, a form of therapy which uses extracts from buds, young shoots and young roots. These plant parts were chosen to be made into extracts because they were believed to be the center of a plants energy and thus, they are the main source of therapeutic effects. These parts, made into plant stem cells, also differ from the adult plant parts because they are less exposed to toxins and pollution.

Now, the combined power of Linden tree and Fig plant stem cells extracts are here in the market, in the form of the Sleep alpha complex. The Sleep alpha complex is marketed by PSC Distribution LLC, and is being marketed as a Sleep Complex supplement. It enhances the quality of your sleep due to the combination of two buds: Linden Tree, with its calming properties and Fig, which improves the oneiric function (dream state) and has a calming effect on the nervous system as a whole. It can also be recommended to children

The complex is taken 10-40 drops taken ½ hour before bedtime in a ¼ glass of spring or filtered water or directly into the mouth and held there for enough time to take three deep breaths, then you must let it dissipate to be sublingually absorbed. Dosage in children is reduced to 1/3 of the adult dosage.

Are you a person who has insomnia and has tried psychotherapy or medications but still couldnt sleep? Have you been prescribed with sleeping pills for a long time and you SIMPLY want to stop these pills and live a natural life without fear of being addicted to them? Are you a person who experiences daily lifes stresses at work in the daytime and you simply want to sleep and rest soundly and peacefully all throughout the night so that you can function well in the morning? Well, fear not—The Sleep Alpha PSC Complex is here!

Author- Marie Gabrielle Laguna MD