Insomnia and Beneficial Herbs that can help sleep
Insomnia and Beneficial Herbs that can help sleep. Most people need at least 8 hours of sleep a night to be able to fully function and feel rejuvenated. More than 40 million (one out of 10) Americans suffer from sleeplessness known as insomnia.
If you have trouble falling sleep or wake up multiple times at night and cannot go back to bed, you might be suffering from chronic insomnia.
Chronic insomnia is usually caused by medical disorder; 50% of chronic insomnia is related to psychological problems such as anxiety, stress or depression.
Physical problems such as breathing problem, asthma, arthritis, heart, liver and kidney problems, indigestion, muscle pains, digestive problems, and hyperthyroidism can lead to insomnia.
The use of certain drugs like antiseizure medication, antidepressants, high blood pressure medications, thyroid hormone replacement drugs and decongestant pseudoephedrine, jet lag, caffeine consumption, magnesium and calcium deficiencies can lead to insomnia.
Although sleeping problems can last for months or even years, most of the time they are only temporary. Sleepless nights can cause irritability but the continuation in sleep disorder can cause mild changes in personality, problems in relationship and many other health problems.
Keep in mind that millions of people suffer from restless leg syndrome (RLS) that can cause disturbance in sleep.
Some people’s legs twitch, jerk or kick and that can cause painful muscle cramps throughout the day. Magnesium deficiency and anemia can also play a major role in RLS disorder.
Another sleeping disorder is sleep apnea that affects more than 20 million Americans.
Sleep apnea can be related to heavy irregular breathing and snoring at night.
In case of a person with sleep apnea when the breathing stops, the level of oxygen in blood drops and chest muscles stop working.
A person with sleep apnea can wake up more than 200 times a night and sleep apnea besides causing extreme exhaustion can cause serious health issues such as high blood pressure and higher chances of strokes.
People with sleep apnea lack enough rapid-eye-movement (REM) which is a stage that a healthy dreaming happens around 8 to 12 seconds.
Although the healthy dreaming phenomenon is not fully understood, long periods of REM-sleep deprivation can cause serious psychological and emotional health problems.
Herbs that help insomnia:
Herbs such as lemon balm, passionflower, valerian root, skullcap, hops, California poppy and kava kava can help insomnia if taken before sleep.
The combination of passionflower, valerian and California poppy can be beneficial for REM sleep.
Chamomile and catnip can help to tone and calm nervous system and promote restful sleep. Just be aware that taking chamomile on regular basis can cause allergies.
