Insomnia: Is your mind keeping you up at night?

Insomnia

Insomnia: Is your mind keeping you up at night?

By: Nimba - March 25, 2022

Sometimes, it’s as if you can’t get your thoughts to stop talking long enough to fall asleep. You’re mentally analysing the day that just passed while simultaneously anticipating the day ahead; occasionally, your memory may go well back into the archives and bring up something humiliating you did in high school. Isn’t it entertaining? Racing thoughts might indicate a significant mental health disorder such as anxiety. But these moments come to everyone now and then, and we’re all too old for bedtime fairy tales. “I just can’t get my brain to shut off at night.” This is a frequent complaint among people who suffer from insomnia or have problems falling asleep.

Worrying about daily concerns like workloads and bills, counting the minutes that pass, and anticipating how exhausted you’ll be in the morning may give you a headache. If your thoughts are keeping you up at night, the key is to break the cycle. We’ve included some basic information about this issue as well as solutions to help you find relief from your sleepless nights.

What Is The Significance Of Sleep In Terms Of Overall Health?

The proper amount and quality of sleep are essential for optimising your mental health, physical health, quality of life, and safety. When you sleep, your body works to promote healthy brain function and emotional well-being. Your brain is developing new connections to help you learn and recall information while you sleep. According to research, getting a good night’s sleep boosts learning and problem-solving abilities. Sleep also improves your ability to focus, make decisions, and be creative. Sleep deprivation has been connected to risky behaviours, depression, and suicidal ideation.

Chronic sleep deprivation has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease, renal disease, hypertension, diabetes, and stroke. Obesity is also increased by a lack of sleep. Your immune system relies on sleep to function properly, and chronic sleep deprivation can make it difficult for your body to fight common diseases. Sleep also has a role in puberty and fertility, as well as in children’s growth and development.

What Are The Root Causes Of Insomnia?

Sleep disorders can be influenced by a variety of causes, including lifestyle and environmental factors, psychological concerns, and medical illnesses. Naturopathic doctors spend a couple of hours or more analysing the whole person, looking into a wide range of underlying causes of sleep disturbances such as alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine, all of which can contribute to insomnia. Refined sugar in sweets, sodas, and simple carbs like white bread and barbecue sauce has also been linked to poor sleep quality. When what, and how much you eat can all disrupt your sleep.

Noise, light, room temperature, and other environmental irritants frequently interfere with sleep. Naturopathic physicians investigate and treat environmental exposures that might cause irritation, inflammation, and disruption of body clock cycles. Causes include emotional and psychological factors. The link between sleep and mood is complicated since interrupted sleep can create emotional disturbances, clinical depression, or anxiety, but these states can also exacerbate or worsen sleep. Hormone imbalances such as serotonin, cortisol, melatonin, oestrogen, and testosterone can all contribute to sleep issues. Individuals with hypothyroidism, a disorder in which the thyroid gland does not produce enough thyroid hormone to keep the body working correctly, are also more likely to experience sleeplessness.

Insomnia can be caused by medications such as those used to treat the common cold and nasal allergies, high blood pressure, heart disease, thyroid illness, birth control, asthma, and depression. 

Changes You Can Make To Improve Your Sleep

There are a variety of lifestyle adjustments that can help reduce the intensity of insomnia, including:

  • Before going to bed, you can use behavioural therapy and listen to relaxation recordings.
  • 15–20 minutes in a hot bath with Epsom salts. 
  • Eating a small, high-carbohydrate snack, such as bread or crackers, boosts serotonin levels and decreases anxiety. 
  • At least four times a week, but not too close tonight, 30 minutes of aerobic exercise.

What To Do When You Can’t Sleep Because Of Your Thoughts

Create a To-Do List

Work projects must be completed, phone calls must be made, and children must be wrangled. It’s difficult to sleep when you’re trying to recall everything you need to do when you wake up. Put this mental burden to rest by writing it down. Take 5 minutes before bed to note down every duty you need to take care of in the morning. You’ll be able to fall asleep sooner because you’ll be able to get it off your mind.

Allow your muscles to completely relax

You’ll find it easier to let go of anxious thoughts if you release tension in your body. Allow your body to get slack by lying down on a flat surface. Take a deep breath and exhale deeply. Then, one region of your body at a time, squeeze and release. Start with your toes. Following your heels, you may go on to your knees, thighs, abdomen, and so on. Allow your forehead to be the last thing to go. Take note of how calm your body is feeling and appreciate it! 

Calm your mind, and your thoughts will eventually follow

You have a ready-made instrument in your breath to calm your body and slow down the thoughts that keep you awake. Consider the following: Feel the rhythm of your heart with your hand. Inhale deeply for 4 seconds, then exhale slowly and slowly. Repeat this process until your heart rate begins to calm down. Your mind should begin to calm down as well.

Make your bedroom a screen-free zone.

Phones, tablets, and other gadgets can disrupt your sleep. What’s the reason? They emit blue light, which tells your body to cease producing melatonin, the hormone that regulates when you fall asleep. Instead, this light instructs your brain to stay cautious. Not to mention the late-night pings and buzzes that might startle you awake. Keeping laptops, TVs, and, yes, your phone out of your bedroom is your best choice of action for better sleep.

Relax your thoughts by meditating.

You’ll find it easier to sleep at night if you can relax your thoughts on demand. Finding a place of focus is beneficial if you are new to meditation practice. It might be the sound of your breath or a simple statement you repeat to yourself, such as “I am at peace.” At first, you may find it difficult to shut out your thoughts. It’s fine to stop after a few minutes but try again the next night. You’ll be able to meditate for greater periods of time as time goes on.

Go ahead and be concerned.

You will not be able to completely eliminate your fears. In fact, the more you convince yourself not to worry, the more likely it is that you will. Scheduling a “worry time” during the day might be beneficial. Choose a small period of time to sit quietly. Allow yourself to go over all of the things that are bothering you, as well as some possible solutions. You could find that doing so permits you to worry less and sleep better.

Who Is Prone To Insomnia?

Almost everyone has a restless night now and then. However, you are more likely to suffer from insomnia if you:

  • If you’re a woman, hormonal changes throughout the menstrual cycle and during menopause may be involved. Insomnia is frequent throughout pregnancy as well.
  • If you’re over the age of 60, insomnia worsens with age due to changes in sleep habits and health.
  • If you have a mental health problem or a physical health problem, many factors that affect your emotional or physical health might cause sleep disruption.
  • If you’re under a great deal of pressure, temporary sleeplessness can be caused by stressful situations and events. Chronic sleep deprivation can also be induced by long-term or severe stress.
  • If you don’t keep a consistent routine, changing shifts at work, for example, or travelling might disrupt your sleep-wake pattern.

Naturopathic Approaches For Insomnia Treatment @ Nimba Nature Cure Village

People suffer from a variety of conditions due to an imbalance in hormones and energy, such as depression, anxiety, high blood pressure, and so on. Nimba treats these conditions using nature and natural remedies. Nature Cure Village is one of the best naturopathy therapy centres in Ahmedabad and helps in the prevention of many diseases through the use of nature. There are various naturopathic medicine treatments that we at Nimba have found effective for reducing the intensity of insomnia in certain people. If you suffer from insomnia, a health adviser can link you with one of our naturopathic physicians who have expertise in treating people with sleep issues. After evaluating your medical history, we can design a treatment plan to help you get the sleep you need to safeguard your overall health.

 

FAQs

– Ayurvedic home remedy for good sleep

  • Kava 
  • Scullcap
  • Chamomile 
  • Passion Flower
  • Valerian 

– Symptoms of insomnia

  • Difficulty sleeping at night.
  • Waking up in the middle of the night.
  • Waking up too early.
  • Not feeling refreshed after a good night’s sleep.
  • Tiredness or drowsiness during the day.
  • Are you irritable, depressed, or anxious?
  • Have trouble paying attention, concentrating on activities, or remembering?
  • Errors or accidents have increased.
  • Concerns regarding sleep persist.

-Types of insomnia

  • Acute insomnia
  • Behavioural insomnia of childhood 
  • Onset insomnia
  • Maintenance insomnia 
  • Chronic insomnia 

-Yoga for sleep

  • Reclining Butterfly 
  • Standing Forward Bend
  • Child Pose 
  • Plough Pose
  • Corpse Pose
  • Cat stretch 
  • Legs Up The Wall Pose

-Sleeping problems solutions

  • Keep a healthy balance in your sleeping hours
  • Make your bedroom a relaxing place to sleep
  • Check that your bed is comfortable
  • Regular exercise is essential
  • Caffeine consumption should be reduced
  • Quit Smoking
  • Before going to bed, try to relax 

-Treatment for insomnia in adults

 Some of the naturopathic insomnia treatment 

  • Acupuncture
  • Shirodhara
  • Abhyangam
  • Tratak 
  • Hot Stone Massage
  • Valerian extract
  • Tart cherry juice
  • Lavender oil
  • Melatonin
  • L-tryptophan