Tired of Being Up All Night? Here Are Some Amazing Interventions For Insomnia

Are you getting any sleep? If you’re not let’s talk about it.

Insomnia can be really aggravating. I mean it’s no fun to not sleep right? The good news is that there are all kinds of things that we can do about it. Let’s start with just some general principles first and then, of course… because I’m the crazy herb guy, we’ll talk about some plants. But there’s some things we can do that have nothing to do with plants. 

Eat Right…And At The Right Time

The first one is to eat right…wait a minute did I say this didn’t have to do with plants it kind of does. There’s an old saying that “you are what you eat”. That’s a pretty alarming thought in light of the modern diet. Many of the foods we eat nowadays are scarcely food at all. They’re so full of unnatural ingredients and unnaturally excessive amounts of natural ingredients (like fats and simple carbs) that they do a lot of irritating things to our bodies. They increase inflammation and cause digestive issues and other gut problems. They cause imbalances in our gut microflora that interferes with neurotransmitter production and balance (and lots of other functions). We just weren’t designed to eat that sort of thing. They make us feel lousy. Cleaning up our diet by increasing the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables and quality meats can have a big impact on how we feel and how we sleep. 

It’s also a good idea not to eat much a couple of hours before we sleep. Eating too close to bedtime causes the body to tie up resources for digestion rather than for the rest and recuperation functions it’s supposed to be doing at bedtime.

Get Moving

Another thing we can do is we can get some exercise. Now when I say get some exercise I don’t mean you have to go to the gym and work out for two hours pumping iron. You don’t have to be Arnold Schwarzenegger. Just get on your bike and go for a ride. If you don’t have a bike go for a walk. A little more activity is better, but anything you do is going to be a lot better than doing nothing.

Getting a little exercise can often help improve circulation and decreases stress markedly. In the old days, we used to run away from scary things. That’s what adrenaline and other stress hormones are for. The fight or flight, sympathetic nervous system’s function is to get us away from danger. So, one of the ways your adrenal glands decide that you’re okay is if you exert yourself for a little while and then stop. You see, your adrenal glands can’t see anything. The poor little guys are down there in the dark and can’t see what’s really going on.  But if they feel you run for a little while and then quit, they figure you must have gotten away from the bear that was chasing you and they turn off the stress hormones. 

Make Sleep a Habit

Another thing you can do is make sleep a habit.  And what does that even mean? It means that you need to make it so that bedtime is bedtime. Bedtime is not the time to put together your sales report for your big business meeting tomorrow. You don’t want your brain to get into the habit of thinking that when you get into bed it’s time to get to work, or have a snack or watch a movie, or check your Facebook page. You need to train your brain to think that when it hits the pillow it’s time to sleep. That’s what bedtime is for. If there’s other stuff you need to do, get out of bed and go somewhere else to do it. Our bodies really are creatures of habit. Retrain your brain and body to think that when you lie down in bed, it’s because it’s time to sleep.

Decrease Stress

The next thing we can do is decrease stress. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a college kid during finals week or a mom that has to get one kid to ballet lessons and one kid to little league and then go to a PTA meeting and then finish her project for work tomorrow. There are all kinds of stressors in life. Sometimes we put too much on our plate and would do well to take a few irons out of the fire. That said, some phases of life really do need to have some extra obligations so then what? Well then we compartmentalize our lives a bit. When we’re at work, we work. When we’re not at work…we aren’t. When you’re home, be home. When it’s the weekend, let it be the weekend. Take your sweetheart on a date, play with the kids, or sit on the porch and do nothing. We really do need some down time. Making that down time is a conscious (and really important) choice that can have huge benefits for insomnia…and lots of other health issues.

Clear the Mind

Another way to decrease stress is to clear the mind. Our minds respond chemically to every thought we have. If those thoughts are stressful, stress hormones elevate and sleep doesn’t happen. 

Think about your mind like it’s a TV set and you have control of the remote. What sort of show would you like to watch? You have control of what’s playing. Bedtime isn’t the time to think about stressful things. If you find your mind drifting to irritating topics, take charge and change the channel. If you can’t do that, get out of bed and do something else that’s distracting to take your mind off the stressful topic. The bad habit of lying in bed and worrying about something is one that has to be changed if you want to get any sleep. Take charge and make it happen.

Ditch The Screens

Another aid to decreasing insomnia is to ditch the screens. There’s a time and a place to watch a YouTube video or check your social media page or check your emails. Bedtime isn’t the time for any of that. Social media is particularly bad for insomnia. The creators of those platforms hire psychologists and programmers to write algorithms to keep your brain excited and engaged. Everything about those pages is designed to stimulate and excite the brain so that’ you’ll stay engaged and interested. It really is the last thing your brain needs when it’s time to go to sleep. So ditch the screens an hour or so before bedtime. They really aren’t going to help you sleep.

Medicinal Plants

Okay so let’s talk about some plants that can help. The first is Siberian ginseng. I know, I know, Siberian ginseng is a stimulant. So how the heck does a brain tonic and stimulant help you sleep?

Well, it helps you sleep by helping your brain do what it’s supposed to do. And one of the things it’s supposed to do is produce melatonin and other neurotransmitters so that you’ll go to sleep when it’s time. Now don’t take this herb at bedtime or you really will be up all night. But if you take it during the day, you will generally sleep much better later on when it’s time. 

Another great herb to help us sleep is oat straw. Oat straw is made from oats collected during the milky stage. It isn’t sedating at all but, like ginseng, it helps to produce and balance neurotransmitters to decrease stress. Oat straw is amazing for clearing the mind, improving focus and decreasing stress. It’s the best thing in the world for unfrazzling frazzled nerves. As a result, we sleep better.

Both Siberian ginseng and oat straw are in my General Stress Formula.

Three other herbs that can help us to sleep are valerian, chamomile and skullcap. All three of these actually are sedating and calming to the mind and body. I combine them in a formula called Rest Easy. Have a look at our 40 Winks tasty tea. It has these herbs in it as well and is very nice before bedtime. Taking herbs like these half an hour before bed can be a big help to getting to sleep. Interestingly, I find that these herbs usually don’t need to be taken for long if the other things we’ve mentioned above are happening. They’re a great short-term aid to get us back in the habit of sleeping at night. But once that habit is back in place, we’ll rarely need them anymore. 

So there you have it; some simple things you can do to get better sleep.
Sweet dreams. :0)

Doc Jones