Insomnia

Several self-care techniques exist to promote a good nights sleep.

• Limit caffeinated drinks.

• Limit alcohol (a small amount of alcohol may help to relax, but after that, alcohol irritates the nerves and creates sleep problems.

• Do not do any strenuous exercise a few hours before bed.

• Practice relaxation exercises

• Be aware the chronic use of opiates or sleeping pills may exacerbate sleep problems.

Adapted from "When You Can't Sleep: The ABCs of ZZZs," by the National Sleep Foundation.

Set a schedule:

Go to bed at a set time each night and get up at the same time each morning. Disrupting this schedule may lead to insomnia. "Sleeping in" on weekends also makes it harder to wake up early on Monday morning because it re-sets your sleep cycles for a later awakening.

Exercise:

In 2006, Senator Kennedy was cited for reckless driving. Officers at the arrest cite stated Kennedy appeared disoriented. Kennedy reported that he had taken a sleeping pill the night before, didn't realize he was even driving, and checked himself into a rehab facility.

The average person requires somewhere between 6 and 9 hours of sleep per night. If this sleep is disrupted temporarily, Benadryl may help to alleviate the problem. This drug does not come without attenuated side effects, however; notably dry mouth, urinary retention, increase in ocular pressure, constipation. Therefore, it is contraindicated in people with benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) or glaucoma.

The normal person requires 6 to 9 hours a sleep a night. Many things can disrupt a person's sleep; i.e. medication, cramming for tests, alcohol, anxiety, the aging process, etc.). While it is always a good idea to examine the reasons for insomnia, so one can eliminate root causes, sometimes a common anti-histamine, if used intermittently and only for a short duration, may also be helpful.

Meditation: All Roads Lead To Rome…
By Steve Ross, MA

There have been a number of studies over the years about the health benefits of Transcendental Meditation (TM). To read a recent one, click here. However, I would like to suggest that these positive results are not the sole propriety of TM. One does not need to belong to any group or subscribe to any particular set of beliefs to receive them. I worked with TM and other forms of meditation for over a decade, on a regular, disciplined basis. My conclusion is that any form of meditation, spiritually oriented or not, will show similar results if done regularly for the same amount of time.

Here are common sense approaches for dealing with insomnia. This is not a medical source. The tip I liked the best was "Deep Breathing." Follow that link for a good description about how to do it.

Treatment for insomnia depends on the type of insomnia a person has. Some common treatment options include:

• behavioral modification
• following good sleep hygiene practices

The twelve changes in your routine suggested in this article may help you to get a good night's sleep tonight. In addition, you might try an alternative medicine therapy such as melatonin. If everythi

Researchers in Norway have tested and compared the short- and long-term clinical efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with that of drug treatment in older adults experiencing insomnia.

The CBT methods tested were: