Natural sleep remedies. Herbal and other sleeping aids to deal with insomnia

Running out of ideas?

If you have been suffering from insomnia for a long time, chances are that you have hit on this page desperately looking for the magic ingredient - and now of course you are disappointed. You may not even read to the bottom of the page, because you have tried it all before. You don't know how to begin to sort out your problems or it all sounds like 'too much hassle'.

Sleeping tablets create short-term relief, but long-term trouble! Take the time and trouble to look after yourself for long-term gain.

Consider how much you could have achieved with all the energy you have invested in worrying about things you have no control over.
Make a difference today by investing that energy in sorting out the problems you do have control over.
Deal with depression and anxiety; sleep problems are often a symptom
Contact a Human Givens counsellor/therapist to help you cope with physical and/or emotional pain, and/or treat the sleeping problems.
Shifts that change clockwise are easier for your body to cope with than anti-clockwise shifts. Any room for improvement - shift or even job?

Take the television out of your bedroom, even watching something seemingly 'innocuous' could be too arousing
Site your office elsewhere, buy a room screen, or cover desk with a cloth
Clear up all the clutter and sort out your wardrobes
Have separate bed covers, if your partner needs multiple layers and you don't (or vice versa)
Sleep in separate beds, or even rooms, if your partner is a restless sleeper or snores
Ensure that the room temperature is low (a drop in body temperature, regulated by hormones, triggers sleep)
Turn the clock face away from you to prevent you from becoming agitated about the time
Buy a small travel spray, fill with mineral water, add five drops each of Lavender and Clary Sage essential oils. Spray on bed clothes/linen.

Don't drink coffee, tea, hot chocolate or cola after 4pm at the latest.
Drinking large amounts of 'fluid' (beer) until late into the evening will wake you up for obvious reasons!
Alcohol in quantity may help you to fall asleep, but you are likely to wake up two to three hours later and find it difficult to fall asleep again

Just a small glass of wine taken before bedtime can help
Drink a herbal tea: chamomile, passion flower, lemon balm, or hops
Drink about eight glasses of water a day--thirst wakes you up
Dr Deepak Chopra suggests the following Ayurvedic remedies:
Drink a cup of warm milk (not hot, to prevent raising your body temperature) with two strands of saffron or some grated nutmeg

Establish a regular routine in the evenings, your brain works by matching patterns (the present against the past - conditioned and/or instinctive)
Avoid doing anything stimulating late in the evening (except making love!)
Listen to a 'guided' meditation/relaxation tape/CD
Listen to relaxing music--slow classical (Baroque, roughly 80 beats per minutes) or 'New Age' music
Do not stay in bed any longer than about 20 minutes if you cannot sleep; your brain will establish the pattern: bed is for laying awake! Get up and read a boring book preferably standing up (not a joke!) or do the very chores that you have been putting off because they are so unpleasant
Having your feet higher than you head facilitates relaxation
Take regular exercise -vigorous by day, slow and rhythmic in the eve
Take the time to sleep, don't just fit it in -- you need roughly eight hours, though don't get hung up about it, you can survive on much less