Two of my close friends are suffering from insomnia and since
learrning of their predicaments, I've been doing a little reading on
the subject in an attempt to help them as promised.
Now, its very easy to find remedies for such 'ailments' on the world
wide web by simply connecting to Google. I could've just left them to
that, but then where's the fun in that? Anyway, there's a lot of folk
remedies whose unnamed authors swear by. So, this makes it rather
difficult to decide on ones that work. I decided to mention a few
favorites I found and those that are practical.
Some that stood out for me include "sleeping with your head facing
North" which tells me that your sleep pattern is somehow affected by
the magnetic field of the Earth (even though the remedy fails to
mention whether it's true or magnetic North), and this may require a
change in deco as soon as you figure out which way is North.
Another one which I liked says that you"mustn't use your bed for
anything other than sleep or sex". But the question remains, what can
MV and N (that's what I'll call my two friends) do regarding their
sittuations?
Well, it helps to know what kind of insomnia one has before attempting
to 'cure' it. There's acute (primary) and chronic (secondary)
insomnia. The former lasts less than three nights and the latter can
lasts for many more nights and can drag on for a couple of months.
Now, the acute kind is very easily manageable as it has causes such as
stress and tension caused by the loss of a loved one, losing a job,
anxiety for exam results (MV?) and various other related causes.
Anyway, the more serious kind, the chronic insomnia could be caused by
underlying mental and physical ailments such as (clinical) depression
and other illnesses. I suggest you consult a doc if you suspect you
have this kind.
Some medications can also interrupt one's sleeping pattern, of note is
treatment for high-blood pressure, and for asthma.
N said "I drug myself to sleep" and that this has been going on for
months now. Unless these drugs are issued by a qualified practitioner
having diagnosed you of chronic insomnia, and having given you these
for temporary use, then I must tell you that over-the-counter sleeping
drugs can be dangerous overtime and they eventually lose their
effectiveness.
Problems, problems, but this still keeps you up at night and you need
solutions. You could try a few simple acts that are said to improve
your sleep 'hygiene'. The great thing about them is that they make
perfect sense and they're easy to do!
They include: exercising three or four hours before your scheduled
bed-time, a little reading to tire yourself up in case you wake up in
the middle of the night, keeping the same bed-time and wake-up time,
drinking warm milk before bed (yup, it works!), having your supper an
hour before sleep (a light snack in bed also helps), listening to
relaxing music (not depressing) and for all those worriers out there
(ladies) try writing a to-do list as that may help tame the worry-wort
in you.
I really hope this helps, and if you should find that it doesn't, I
again emphasize consulting a specialist as that might reveal something
deeper...my biggest worry being clinical depression.
If push comes to shove, counting sheep still remains an option. Goodnight.
