What helps with sleep disorders? Natural medicine options

Sleep disorders can severely affect daily life. When you can no longer properly relax, the...

Sleep disorders can severely affect daily life. When you can no longer properly relax, the body is deprived of the opportunity to rest and regenerate at night. Since sleep disorders can occur over long periods, those affected often do not want to take chemical sleeping pills every night. Therefore, we present natural medicine options.

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Causes of sleep disorders

Psychological and physical causes can cause sleep disorders. It is advisable to see a doctor if you have sleep problems. They can rule out serious causes such as organic diseases if necessary. If an illness underlies the sleep disorder, it should of course be treated. Additionally, you can have a medical examination to check, for example, if you have too short deep sleep phases or which sleep phases are most affected.

Stress and psychological burdens are often causes of sleep disorders. Those who cannot properly relax naturally find it difficult to fall asleep. Besides the physiological effects of stress, it is especially negative thought patterns and brooding that keep you awake. You probably know the feeling of tossing and turning in restless sleep.

A irregular lifestyle can contribute to this. Irregular sleep times should be addressed first and foremost. Even on weekends, sleep times should not vary too much. In this context, it is important to emphasize that irregular meals are often a problem. Above all, meals shortly before going to bed should be avoided so that your body does not have to use energy for digestion but can reserve it for regeneration.

Your own sleep hygiene is another factor. Do you use electronic devices like your phone or TV shortly before going to bed? These not only stimulate your brain, but can also negatively affect the production of the sleep hormone melatonin. Sleep hygiene is also influenced by the following factors:

Noise
Light
Temperature
Ventilation
Bed
Bedding
Blanket
etc.

Try to optimize as many of these points as possible if you have sleep problems.

Other aspects that could cause sleep disorders are:

Medication use
Caffeine and alcohol consumption
Physical health problems such as restless legs syndrome
Mental illnesses such as anxiety disorders or a disturbed neurotransmitter balance
Hormonal changes, e.g., during pregnancy or menopause

The best-known approaches of naturopathy

Unfortunately, it often happens that no cause can be diagnosed for sleep disorders. Then you are advised to find ways to treat the sleep disorder symptomatically. Instead of the cause, you are to treat the symptom, the sleep disorder. While doctors like to prescribe sleeping pills for this, many people do not want to rely on chemical pharmaceuticals every night. Therefore, naturopathy knows some traditional methods. However, these lack medical-clinical evidence, so their effectiveness is not considered proven.

Herbal Medicine: Plant Healing Powers

The herbal medicine knows herbal sedatives, which may possibly have a positive effect on sleep disorders. The mechanisms of these herbs are not researched, so an explanation for these possible effects is still lacking. Additionally, there are contradictory results on whether these herbal sedatives actually help or not. The most famous representative of herbal medicine against restlessness and sleep disorders is Valerian. Passionflower and Lemon balm are also often found in calming teas and similar preparations.

Aromatherapy: The Power of Scents

Aromatherapy harnesses the power of scents. These may possibly influence our well-being and mood through our sense of smell. The sense of smell is the first sense that living beings ever developed, which is why its influence on our nervous system can be fundamentally significant.

Lavender is considered a sleep-inducing scent in aromatherapy. A room spray for scenting the room or a aroma lamp is recommended. The more often lavender is used for falling asleep, the better it might work, as conditioning could have a reinforcing effect. Chamomile is also a popular calming scent in aromatherapy.

Acupuncture: Method from TCM

Acupuncture is a method from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). By stimulating the right points with fine needles, relaxation could be achieved. In TCM, this is based on the idea that energy flows through the body can be influenced.

Homeopathy

Homeopathy works on the principle: "like cures like". Therefore, highly diluted substances are used in homeopathy. The substances are supposed to cause the symptoms undiluted that they treat when diluted. Homeopathic remedies like the following are recommended by homeopaths:

Coffea
Nux vomica
Pulsatilla

Relaxation techniques for more calmness

Because stress and restlessness often cause sleep disorders, targeted relaxation techniques in daily life can help reduce overall stress levels. Recommended are mindfulness exercises like yoga and meditation. Progressive muscle relaxation and autogenic training are other helpful approaches.

Improve sleep hygiene

To round off treatment approaches, you can optimize sleep hygiene. Here are the most important points briefly:

Regular sleep-wake rhythm with consistent bedtimes
Optimize sleep environment (darkness, noise, ventilation, temperature, etc.)
Reduce use of electronics
No meals 3 hours before bedtime (also no psyllium husks before sleeping)
Regular physical activity

What helps with sleep disorders? Frequently asked questions

Restless sleep: What to do?

First and foremost, you should see a doctor. They will examine you for possible diseases as causes and exclude them if necessary. Afterwards, a visit to a Naturopaths or psychotherapists are worthwhile. They can recommend treatment methods outside of conventional medicine.

Does magnesium help with falling asleep?

If there is a magnesium deficiency, improving magnesium intake can be helpful. You can discuss this with your doctor, who can check you for a magnesium deficiency.

Which magnesium is best for sleep?

A well bioavailable and tolerable form of magnesium is recommended. The following forms fit this profile:

Magnesium citrate
Magnesium glycinate
Magnesium malate
Magnesium threonate
Magnesium oxide