Natural Remedies for Insomnia: A Comprehensive Guide

Hello All,

I'm reporting back again on the use of Dead Sea Salts to help with improved sleep and reduced tension.

I also enlisted one other to try the DS Salts bath and he reports a dramatic improvement in a chronic condition he has suffered with for years. It is a neuropathy that goes down the side of his head then into his shoulder and down his side. It centers in extreme sensitivity to cold; even a breeze on his head can produce this painful condition. He'd suffered with an ear infection that predated the condition and now is very sensitive to loud sounds.

He uses colloidal silver with DMSO compress to his neck on the painful side and takes the Dead Sea Salts baths.

He reports much less pain and improved energy.From my perspective, I found the DS Salts baths have dramatically improved my sleep.

I now sleep through the night five out of seven nights. Over the years as I was a caretaker for years for my wife, I never slept throughout the night. So this "sleeping through the night" is a happy thing!

I take this Salts bath once every ten days. I use about 2/3d of a cup of Dead Sea Salts and 2/3d Epsom Salts; 3 tablespoons of MSM and a tablespoon of Borax. If I only had the DS Salts, it would be fine. But the combo covers a lot more issues.

I dissolve the combo in a big pot of hot purified water while running the bath water ... then I add the solution and just soak for 20 minutes or so.

That's it.

I started using valerian root capsules when I couldn't fall asleep several years back. A 500mg capsule worked ok for me. Usually takes me about half an hour after ingestion. Recently, I've found that drinking 1 teaspoon valerian root powder an hour or 2 before I asleep works really well. I'm able to fall asleep quick and sleep through the night.

In general, I've found that ingesting powdered herbs works faster and better than taking capsules. Not sure exactly why. Maybe it's being slowly absorbed by my body as I sip drinks instead of all the dosage at once. Make sure you mix it with some kind of fruit or sweetener. It smells like feet but doesn't taste bad.

I used to take a long time to go to sleep or wake up shortly after falling asleep. I had read on Dr. Mercola's site that the lowering of body temperature acts to put us to sleep, so my hypothyroid, too-low temperature didn't allow more lowering. I guess I was wide awake to preserve life when my temp was 95.9 - 97.2F. (In cold survival situations people who fall asleep die.)

I have had some 1,2 and even 3 hot bath nights to get back to sleep. I used to monitor my temperature frequently at night. Now I just take a hot water bottle to bed. I go right to sleep and sleep all night long. Electric heating pads are not recommended. They put off harmful EMF, ElectroMagnetic Fields, plus I got a fatty tumor where I fell asleep on one set on low. Sweet dreams!

Hi everyone,

I often have trouble falling asleep, recently I found out about the the "4-7-8" breathing trick, and it seems to work for me.

"You breathe in through your nose for four seconds, hold it for seven seconds, and exhale through your mouth for eight seconds. She explained to me that it slows down your heart rate and it also releases chemicals in our brains that soothe you".

Article about it on Dr Weil's site here.

Dear Beckywolf,

An epsom salt bath before bed may be of help. 1 cup in a warm bath for 20 minutes. I take Natural Calm before bed (1 teaspoon) and sleep like a rock.

I hope you get some much desired and needed rest soon!

~Mama to Many~

Last night I wasn't able to get to sleep till 1:30 am, then I woke up at 3:43 am, I wasn't able to fall asleep at 1:30 am till my long distance boyfriend called me, and now he's off doing something and I'm still unable to sleep, I am thinking maybe I can't sleep because I don't want to fall asleep without him. Any help?

I've been suffering from insomnia for years and I finally found something that really works & wanted to report it for people here! I've been taking 2 heaping tablespoons of Chia seeds in 8 ounces of almond milk, and within an hour after, I'm out like a light and super relaxed all day, I may even feel a bit too sleepy throughout the day, but it's a welcomed relief from the insomnia that has left me stressed out & debilitated for years. Chia has been a real miracle for me, definitely try it if your stressed out, have anxiety, and can't sleep!

Hi Timh,

Dr. Sinatra seems to be one of a few doctors who have an honest understanding of heart disease. I have read other articles he has written and often take his recommendation of CoQ10, d-Ribose and Carnitine. I found a carnitine product that has L-Carnitine, Acetyl-L-Carnitine, Arginate and Taurinate and GlycoCarn-GPLCto to cover all the bases. This combination helps relieve symptoms in congestive heart failure and with hearts in general. Ironically, one person got a snapshot of a warning on the British National Socialized medicine site saying there is an epidemic of CHF expected due to the use of statins because of the muscle damage they can cause, which of course includes our largest muscle, the heart. It has since been removed. Dr. Graveline, Space Doc, astronaut and MD, has had a difficult time after taking statins, but is doing very well after using dolichols for the muscle damage. There is hope!

I've had great success with l-tryptophan and l-glycine for insomnia. To keep costs down, I bought the bulk powders of each. L-glycine is sweet and easy to take. But, the l-tryptophan tastes horrible and I can't get it to dissolve. Does anyone have any suggestions for me? A reviewer stated to mix with collagen, so I did that and it worked but wow that taste is awful! I can stomach anything, but I'll take suggestions if anyone can offer them. Thanks.

Thanks for all your support Rsw. Let me assure you that no matter how much my Dr. demanded the statins, it was so much in the category of not medicine and yes toxin that I discontinued. It was worth the try and I even took it in combination w/ Red Yeast Rice and Niacin plus CoQ10. Low dose statins plus these additional nutrients may be beneficial in some cases of advanced heart disease.

Dr. Sinatra has found that women are much more sensitive to the side effects of statins than men. speaking of Dr Sinatra, he has a new publication out on the big cholesterol myth and did a lengthy interview w/ Pat Robertson tonight. Here is a link http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/healthscience/2015/February/Heart-Disease-Cholesterol-Is-Not-the-Real-Enemy/

Hi Timh,

After reading your post on niacin, I started to look around for a low dose option and found that Dr. Clark has a 25mg capsule at a good price. I am going to try it. Thanks!

For neuropathy caused by statins, there is new research on the use of dolichols that looks encouraging. For more info, look at the Stopped our Statins Yahoo site.

HI U Timh, , , , , , , , , your posts of niacin and niacinamide are right on, but I fear some folks don't realize that these are two different compounds. One, as you say, is to clean out your blood vessels by dilating your capillaries which allows more blood into the cells. In his book Ron L. Hubbard used the niacin flush and saunas to detox his lSD buddies from the 60's.

We starting using niacinamide when the U of Calif at Erving published their study how they cleared alzheimers in mice in a few months. They stated that humans were next, but that study will never happen.

For our sleep, we drink a cup of hot Jasmine Green Tea with a scoop of Magnesium L Threonate. It calms you down and does not mess up your bowels. I appreciate the tip about niacinamide for sleep and will try that.

===========ORH===========

Rsw: I have so much amiss in my physiology to provide any normal reference as to sleep or waking. If tiredness is an issue as a side effect of Niacin, try the Chromium and Ribose in combination. There are a few manufacturers who have these NAD precursor nutrients that ultimately raise the body NADH levels.

Additional B-6 may also prove beneficial w/ Niacin especially for heart health by reducing Homocystein.

I haven't found any Niacin below 100mg and split these w/ a pair of scissors to 50mg.

I made a cup of just plain old apple cider with a kcup maker and it cut my wind down time by a half an hour. Now I use it every night and I am thinking since everyone says apple cider vinegar works, maybe it's apples in general.

2 table spoon of old pine vinegar will give you a good sleep.

Hi Timh,

I read your post on the niacin. Thanks, as always! Does taking a low dose several times a day help with your sleep without making you too tired during the day? I'm not too fond of the flush and this sounds like a good option. Good for the heart, too. I didn't realize it came in 25-50mg until you mentioned it. Thanks!

L: To gain the most benefits I almost always take 50mg Niacin w/ either 500mg Nicinamide or 500mg Inositolhexaniacinate. At 50mg Niacin, taken several times per day, the flush is almost never for me. This must be why they make a 500mg Niacin as a "time release" which some folks report w/ good results.

Using all three forms of Niacin must produce a more broadspectuim effect which may be necessary for some folks that don't get such a positive response w/ only Nicinamde as yourself.

Speaking of "broad spectrum", Chromium and Ribose synergize w/ Niacin to produce benefits like lowering blood lipids & sugars, as well as needed weight loss.

WARNING!

Niacinamide lowers my blood pressure so much that I faint. I was taking 100 mg. Be careful.

When I rub castor oil on my chest at night, I go to sleep like a bear in hibernation! Be sure you have at least 8 hours to sleep because you may feel a bit groggy if you don't have enough time to sleep. Someone else posted this here on earth clinic awhile back.....happy sleeping!

Niacinamide, which is vitamin B3, will make you very sleepy. I have trouble getting to sleep due to menopause. I take 1000 mg of nicacinamide 1 hour before bed with about two small bites of food. Don't take regular niacin as it produces a flush to your skin and has other side effects. Niacinamide does NOT have these side effects or make you flush. It might be better to start at 1 pill which is 500 mg. One side effect is it may lower your cholesterol.

You should all try apple cider vinegar with honey and camomila tea hot when you are already in bed. Make three camomila tea bags or four.

Plus take a 250mg of magnesium plus a calcium citrate pill that should contain vit d-3 plus one l-taurine 500 ml capsule. Have a nice sleep!

I read that hypnic jerks are caused by a copper deficiency. I am currently taking a combination capsule of copper and zinc twice a day. I must say by the third day they have stopped.

I took care of anxiety, racing mind, depression and hot flush by taking Vitamin D3 with Omega3 4000IU - 8000IU, plus Vitamin E 1000IU... the only thing not yet fixed is insomnia, I sleep about 3 -4 hrs, always wake up 3-4 am in the morning and then cannot get back to asleep, I also need Melatonin to help me get to sleep when I get to sleeping time.

I found after I took CoQ10 100-200 mg my sleeplessness can be taken care of and now I wake up in the middle of night, go to bathroom, and then I can get asleep in about 5-10 mins. and I have a total of 7 hrs sleep average.

I can't use melatonin, it triggers migraines. Maybe I'll do the tryp in that way, small dose an hour before the main dose. Thanks

Tryptophan is metabolized into melatonin. I have taken melatonin as a sleep aid and it has helped, but the effect is not always lasting so I have gotten in the habit of taking one capsule about two hours before I plan to go to bed and then one more capsule an hour later and then one capsule at bedtime. It is harder to take this way than just three capsules at bedtime, but it seems more effective for me this way because I am quite drowsy by the time I go to bed and I sleep without waking, unless I have to go the bathroom, but I fall right back to sleep after the bathroom.

I imagine that taking it this way would be similar to timed release melatonin, but I have tried timed release melatonin and it didn't work as well as taking the melatonin as above in a one, two, three fashion.

I've never tried it with tryptophan, so I don't know if it would work the same.

I only use this method when I know I want or need to get a good night's rest and it has been fairly reliable toward that end.

Art

WORKED TEMPORARILY

I have chronic insomnia--can't get to sleep or stay asleep. I have tried everything. The latest is l-tryptophan. I took 3 capsules w/ a magnesium tablet and slept so very well. Woke up several times, felt like I was floating in a cloud, very relaxed. Next night, took same combo and slept but not as well. Night number 3 it was hours before I fell asleep and then I woke up very early and couldn't drift back off. I feel I'm on the right track here, but how do I tweak it a bit? If I could get back to that first night's reaction, I would call it fantastic and just do that forever.

Is black strap molasses any good for insomnia?

Since giving up wheat my insomnia has completely subsided. I'm not fully gluten free, just giving up wheat has made an incredible difference in my quality of sleep and life!

I have been trying to find a solution to my persistent insomnia and heart burn. Since giving up wheat both have completely subsided. After years of otc and struggling to find a solution I am so relieved to be sleeping like I did when I was a child (41 years young now).

I tried L-Tryptophan several nights, thought one of the other substances was what kept me alert-awake. (I was taking several things at once - B3, herbs, etc, in desperate effort to get some sleep! Bad idea for figuring what is causing a worse problem instead of helping) I was having strange feelings in my chest which I now know to be heart palpitations.

Thinking no sleep meant I wasn't taking enough L-Triptophan (and that one of the other tools was causing the strange chest thumps), I upped from 500 mg to 1000 mg (2 pills) and took only L-Tryptophan (to eliminating, I thought, whatever was causing the chest spasms). But an hour after I got to bed wow was my heartbeat crazy! Like my whole chest was throbbing! Felt like a superslow beat 5 times the usual strength, but wrist pulse revealed a weak pulse beat in between the super big ones, so the rate was normal but the strength unusual. Really scary to have a resting heartbeat that intrudes on your awareness! Got up and searched for the half life - 1-2 hours. That was reassuring. An hour later my heartbeat was still too strong but far less so. (Food based L-Triptophan has a 10-12 hour half life because it's bound to protein; the pure supplement has a short half life.)

BTW, L-Triptophan supplement wearing off fast means it might be good for helping some people get to sleep but not keeping them asleep.

Dear butterfly, I think you are experiencing candida kill. Look up candida in earthclinic. Fortify your system by taking the supplements recommended to help during the candida kill process. I too have candida and am reading and following the recommended process. God bless you and keep you!

Dear Trudyg,

One of my daughters had a sleep study done when she was 9 months old. (She had sleep apnea.) They measured vitals all night. They measured brain activity. I think they can tell what stage of sleep you are in. She slept fine through it.

It is not uncomfortable, but you do have wires and stuff on your head, pulse-ox meter on your finger, something monitoring your heart...for someone who has a hard time sleeping, it may be hard to get to sleep in that setting.

That said, a sleep study might give you a clue as to what is going on. Knowing the cause might make a solution easier to find.

Let us know what you find out!

~Mama to Many~

I've tried everything on EC for my insomnia, nothing works. My question--dr wants me to do a sleep study. What will this tell me? I don't snore, am not overweight, DH tells me I don't have issues w/ stopping breathing at night. I've been taking 1/2 a 5 mg ambien for some time now and desparately want to quit. What if I go & do the study and they tell me, yep, you don't sleep. Nothing we can do for you? I've never slept well, but it's so much worse after menopause--no hot flashes or other symptoms, just no sleep.