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Cure Insomnia Naturally

Updated: 10/11/2009

DISCLAIMER
Our readers offer information and opinions on Earth Clinic, not as a substitute for professional medical prevention, diagnosis, or treatment. Please consult with your physician, pharmacist, or health care provider before taking any home remedies or supplements or following any treatment suggested by anyone on this site. Only your health care provider, personal physician, or pharmacist can provide you with advice on what is safe and effective for your unique needs or diagnose your particular medical history.

SUAN ZAO REN

06/27/2008: Tan Koon Peng from Singapore writes: "Suan Zao Ren For Insomnia And More:

Major herb for insomnia, it has a very calming effect which alleviates symptoms such as anxiety, worry and restlessness, which may be contributing to insomnia. A neurocardiac sedative, it helps to regulate blood pressure.

nourish heart yin, tonify liver blood, quiet spirit
-irritability, insomnia, palpitations, anxiety due to deficiency
-prevents abnormal sweating
nourishes blood, calm spirit, clear Heat, relieve mental restlessness

A superior herb, one of the most popular herbs for insomnia, hypertension and other nerve disorders. Nontoxic and nutritious and can be used long-term. Regular use can brighten complexion.

THERAPEUTIC EFFECTS:
Nourish the heart, benefit the liver and tranquilize the mind for insomnia and heart palpitations; nutrient; reduce perspiration.

To replenish the liver, to cause tranquilizations, to arrest excessive perspiration, and to promote the productionof body fluid.

Insomnia, dream-disturbed sleep; excessive sweating due to debility; thirst due to consumption of body fluid.

Nourishes the heart and the liver. Its natural tranquillizing properties are used to treat mental tiredness. It helps reduce sweating, especially anxiety sweating, and can be used effectively for insomnia and palpitations.

You can buy suan zao ren from chinese medical shop. Just put 30 g in a cup and pour in boiling water. Drink it after 15 minutes while it is still warm. The herb can be reused many times. Do not throw it away after your first drink. Good sleep to all who suffered from insomnia.

Avoid use during Pregnancy."

SUPPLEMENTS

3 YEA

[YEA]  05/31/2009: Marianne from Clear Spring, MD writes: "...Just to share, my fight for sleep for over 50 years has been hard, and I even thought I like the night and hated the morning. I realize now, it's because the world stopped bugging me at night, after I'd spent all day trying to please them in an exhausted state. Yet, once I finally did fall asleep at night (well, 2-4 am..), I had felt like I'd been in a doctors waiting room for hours.

I tried everything conventional, yada, yada, yada...and ended up needing to recover from side affects from treatments that weren't working..so-o..I decided to pray hard, to be lead to things I'd never heard of--to things I'd never find any other way.

That day I came across four subjects of matter in a row, and ordered the supplements that were suggested. My depression is lightning a lot, I am now sleeping while liking morning(!) unless I run out of any one of the four (unfortunately this has happened for three weeks at a time, 6 six times this year because of lack of stock or whatever..)

Seems my hormones were severely whacked out since the age of 3 even!..especially the hypothalamus, and this can happen for a number of reasons like emotional trauma, and things like thinking you can play with mercury and chew on lead fishing sinkers when you're little...

Now before these supplements, of course, I started on some excellent things that got the health ball rolling: 2000 mg of coral calcium div into 3xs/day with 400 mg of magnesium citrate--div the same way..need VitD & an acid and a protein to make them absorb-able.

The other thing I was doing was taking a mg of melatonin which only worked between the optimal hours of 10pm and 2am--or you lose your night-recovery benefits causing you to need more hours per day. The other two main thing I was doing was using hgh, cloned, not a precursor (one company only, makes it here), and then the almighty stem cell-producing glyco-nutrients.

I assumed that was more than plenty (incidentally I was on a thyroid prescription for hypothyroidism after a 3-week binge on new & "raved about" artificial sweetener 12 years ago(!).

But, like a fine car, lots of great parts aren't enough if you're still missing something important. So now for the four things I added (on top of basic good green nutrition..) raw muti-glandular supplement real gland substance--yes, it was hard to find, so if you'll allow me to at least mention that it comes in a label the color of a--fire engine..(!)..?

This is the most complete combo I have found and there doesn't seem to be a competitor straight across the board--also, this is essential a dried 'food'-type animal-based dietary thing. The second is the same food-type thing: hypothalamus glandular--the actual substance..these can come in either bovine, porcine or lamb..some people do not like porcine.

The third thing surprised me: gaba...which turns off serotonin and turns on melatonin..this is found in everyone hypothalamus in abundance. And the fourth category was extra glandular of natural thyroid and pituitary tissue.

I hasten to add 5HTP is a nice cherry on top but isn't always necessary now, and royal jelly is the same way...but that is incredible stuff when you read about it..apparently, the queen eats it and lives about 6 yrs while the worker bees eat honey and live 6 weeks. If the diet is reversed, the workers live 6 years and the queen lives six weeks..just goes to show...

I take bvits w/ subliminal B12, too, because I had a terrible nervous breakdown and a B-deficiency was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Having learned about glyco-nutrients, I learned that volatile spices, herbs, gums, fibers and fungi like mushrooms all have them in and are stem cell-producing--literally from 0 to trillions in one WEEK in tested blood work, and that lets us fight off our own cancer, which did have.

Two other things that help sleep, are apple cider vinegar (my acid reflux stopped dead in it's tracks..hmm, mysterious..--yOu live with your own stomach so leave the 'cure' word to that certain gov organization to play with..I can only say we, in my household, have been off of acid reducers for three years now...and we were bad off...

My doctor in Maryland said this, that the sphincter will Not close until it detects enough acid...and low and behold, she hands me a prescription of stomach acid to take!!--but the vinegar did enough even that left me symptom-free too (vinegar was cheaper)..I sleep through the night without acid coming up now, you be the judge.

Wonder if you might have a better night? ..you see, a lack of sufficient stomach acid cause lack of nutrient absorption, and there you go...who can sleep with that going on.

I have learned that my all-'caring' government--bless their little hearts--can't really own the word 'cure', it's mine...but, I'll play along, the law is very important.

So are our own rights to personal boundary protection.

The truth is, abuse is perpetuated by the victim, no one can hurt us who isn't allowed to first, so we must ask ourselves, are we willing to allow the self-abuse that precipitates being taken advantage of by others?

When take responsibility for ourselves, what others are able to do to us becomes limited even tho they have a temper tantrum.

Right now my 'other' dr. wants me on cholesterol medicine, so I put myself on something better and faster. I will no longer take pressure from those who say they won't treat me unless I do it all their way. That's power abuse. We need to nurture ourselves."

06/01/2009: Anonymous from Anonymousville, USA replies: "Magnesium and vitamin d3 should help also and have you had your adrenals checked?"

06/01/2009: Anonymous from Anonymousville, USA replies: "You might want to check out the connection between insomnia and fluoride intake."

[YEA]  01/05/2009: Amy from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada writes: "I suffer from occasional insomnia and find this is a sure-fire cure:

1000mg L-Tyrosine (capsule form)
3-9mg Melatonin (sub-lingual tablets best)
500-1500mg Vitamin C (chewable best)

For me, this works best if taken as soon as you realise it's going to be one of those nights. I take it with a glass of water, and a slice or two of bread. Ideally, try this when you'll be able to devote 6-8hr to sleep--after that I always wake up 100% refreshed. Best of luck!"

12/26/2008: CheeMiss from Toronto, ON writes: "Hello,

I have genetic chronic insomnia. My max sleep time is 2 hrs. On rare occasion 4 hrs. I have tried pretty much everything on this site. Nothing seems to work for a long deep sleep. BTW: even the strongest sleeping pills don't keep me down past 4 hrs and leave me very groggy, so I avoid them.

I have been searching the net and came across GABA & a product called Great Nights Sleep 2.Has anyone had any experience with either of these products? Please advise. I'm so burnt out and desperate and I don't want to spend any more monies on things that don't work. Thank You."

12/27/2008: Jake from Chicago, IL replies: "blackstrap molasses, aloe vera, coconut oil, melatonin and DHEA supplements have all helped me. I suffer from a similar problem and only recently have been having more than 2 hour stretches of sleep on a regular basis.

My DHEA levels are normally well below the reference range and supplementation brings them up. You might check your level.

Most important perhaps is the coconut oil. When I went up from 2 Tablespoons to 4 to 6 Tablspoons - 2 or 3 after dinner time before bed, I noted a definite improvement. You need to find your own levels her and especially for the melatonin - I currently take a quarter of a 3 mg. lozenge under the tongue type - each time I wake up to go to the bathroom.

Experiment."

12/28/2008: CheeMiss from Toronto, ON replies: "Hi Jake,

Thank you for your help. I have been taking or tried all that you mentioned to no avail except for the DHEA supplement. I will ask my doctor to check my levels as you suggested. Our gene pool insomnia is tough on all of us, as nothing much works. I wonder why doctors just dismiss this without checking our blood for imbalances. All they seem to want to do is push the pharmaceuticals."

[YEA]  12/28/2008: Pamela from Houston, Texas replies: "I have used Gaba for years for insomnia with great results. I used the Now brand in powder formed with a 5 mg of B6. The key is to take right before you go to bed on an empty stomach. It needs to get to the brain receptors to make neuro-transmitters. I used anywhere from 2,000 - 5,000 mg, depending on how I was feeling. Anything over 5,000 mg did not do any good. Beware that you may get rapid breathing, heart rate, or shortness of breathe for a minute. This because the Gaba relaxes the blood vessels and blood is moving faster; I did. It seem to be the more intense I felt the more I would experience these symptoms. I did research on Gaba a lot before I used these higher amounts. The lower amounts of Gaba had no effect on me, but they may you. Don't take my word for it you can research it too. I hope this helps."

12/28/2008: Mary from Regina, Canada replies: "Hi CheeMiss: Regarding your insomnina, have you ever considered thyroid insufficiency? Hypothyroidism runs in families and is often not detected by blood tests.Insomnia is a huge symptom of hypothyroidism. I have had this problem and as my blood tests were low normal I got No help from my md. go to www.wilsonstemperaturesyndrome.com Doctor Wilson has devised a wonderful protocol for treating hypothyroidism that works!

Also I sleep alot longer each night now. Good luck, Mary"

05/19/2009: Cal from Calgary, AB Canada replies: "Sea salts worked for me. The one without any additives etc, just wind and sun-dried. You can get at health stores. I used to always wake up around 2 am and couldn't fall asleep again. Also could only sleep on my left side but since I started taking sea salts things changed immediately. I just add a little to my drinking water, enough to taste it without it being salty and I can sleep on any side and even if I wake up I fall asleep again."

SWEET WOODRUFF

1 YEA

[YEA]  02/24/2009: Tricia from Murrells Inlet, SC USA writes: "To combat insomnia, take 1/2 tsp of powdered woodruff mixed with honey or fruit puree 30 min before bedtime.Take Care! In large doses, woodruff may cause internal bleeding. Don't use it if you're pregnant or taking conventional medication for circulatory problems."

EC: More info here: http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/w/wooswe31.html

THE PILLOW METHOD

1 YEA

[YEA]  Tammie from Greensboro writes: "This works everytime for me. Put a fat pillow under your legs/knees and take your pillow out from under your head (make your head level with or below your heart). I can lay awake for hours but as soon as I do this, I'm asleep within 10 mins."

VALERIAN ROOT

3 YEA
2 NAY
1 WARNING!

[YEA]  10/15/2008: Saskia from TKPK, MD, USA writes: "I just started taking Valerian Capsules (500 mg) right before going to bed for my insomnia, and it works GREAT!! I used to not be able to fall asleep until 4 am, and was always sleepy and groggy when I woke up no matter how many hours of sleep I got. The first night I took one capsule at 11:30, and although I did fall asleep, I woke up around 2:30, and was unable to fall back asleep until I took another capsule an hour later. However, last night I took two capsules before going to sleep, at around midnight, and I fell asleep, slept through the night, and woke up at 7:30 (my alarm was set for 8:30!!) feeling awake and refreshed. I wasn't groggy and when I woke up I was ready to get out of bed- which is usually never the case!

So from now on I will be taking 1000 mg of Valerian Root every night for about a month, and then I'll see if I can sleep on a regular schedule without it. Now I'm not sleepy in my morning classes anymore! I highly recommend it- and I'm so happy I found a natural remedy for insomnia, I love this website! (I found Vegetarian Valerian Root capsules in the GNC section of my RiteAid, so it shouldn't be too difficult to find for anyone else) Good luck!"

[WARNING!]  03/11/2008: Erynn from New Haven, Connecticut writes: "Valerian Root as a sleep aid. WARNING: this does not work for everyone...and DO NOT MIX WITH ANTI-AXIETY OR ANTIDEPRESSANTS... I found this out the hardway. I frequently get insomnia and a friend suggest the valerian root. I called my mother and she agreed I should try it. I was up all night, and not only that, I went into a psychotic rage, cried hysterically and drove off to my job in this state. Luckily my husband found me! I later looked up interactions online and found that when mixed with anti-depreess-or anxiety medicines, this can happen. I was taking Xanax at thet ime, although I had not taken any that day, it must have still be in my system (I take on an as need basis).

Also, 1/3 of people using valerian root tend to feel suicidal. This works great for some people, just be careful!! and please, don't take it alone."

[NAY]  09/03/2008: Alex from Birmingham, Michigan replies: "First of all, I love Earthclinic! Thank you so much Deidre, Ted and anyone else who puts effort in making this site the wonder that it is.

I have a bit of feedback on Valerian Root (tea and liquid capsules). It did not work for me. I have had trouble sleeping due to anxiety. I have tried many other things (warm milk, magnesiun, bentonite clay, etc.), unfortunately, none of them seem to work for me. I believe that my level of anxiety is too high, (I have a big exam coming up and worry about not doing well) therefore I just cannot sleep. I can usually cope well with the anxiety during the day (I usually do oil pulling, take Ted's pH drink (baking soda/sea salt, etc.)). Also for the anxiety, L-Theanine (about 600 mg 3X/day) has been very helpful. Does anyone have any suggestions for the insomnia?

Thanks in advance!"

[NAY]  06/12/2009: rsyoon from Guirae, Korea replies: "Any valerian preps didn't work for me, even after several months' use, not only that it induced almost constant irregular heart rhythm, like trigeminy and palpitation. Didn't realize what caused this crazy rhythm until I ran out of valerian for a more than a month when that uncomfortable rhythm problem disappeared. This hard lesson could have been learned had I google-searched before venturing out for herbs."

06/14/2009: Tina from Salinas, California replies: "this is very good to know...i am taking valerian in a menopause formula for my premenopause symptoms.. i am taking magnesium and more natural sleep aids like 5htp. very hard to stay asleep..i've been taking right before bed..i really don't know how much to take of each!"

[YEA]  Ralph from Mountain City,TN writes: "When I'm having trouble with sleep, I take valerian root capsules."

[YEA]  Joella from NYC writes: "Half a dropper of valerian root and half a dropper of lobelia in a little water 15 minutes before bed does wonders for my sleep. It also induces intense dreaming!"

VITAMIN D

1 YEA

[YEA]  02/07/2009: Kathi from New Brunswick, NJ writes: "I developed severe insomnia last winter (nov 07) and went through quite a trial for months, with none of the many things I tried helping much except some tips on how to improve sleep habits through cognitive behavioral therapy. I was doing better May-Oct 08 then all of a sudden the same severe insomnia symptom was back in full force. Last month I decided to try vitamin D3 2000 IU/day, after reading so many recent articles about the importance of this sunshine vitamin. I chose tablets with D3 source from lanolin, since I am allergic to fish. Within a week I was sleeping soundly at night, and I am continuing to sleep well. In retrospect, it is likely that I became more susceptible to vit. D deficiency after I became lactose intolerant and stopped drinking milk."

WIGGLE THE TOE METHOD

1 YEA

[YEA]  07/04/2007: Hazel from London, England writes: "I had psychotic depression after my childs birth. I didn't sleep for days. A reflexologist told me this. You wiggle one toe, then the next one, then the next one and so on. Over and over. It works brilliantly, try it tonight!"

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