Can Meditation Help Cure Insomnia?

There are many things you can do to try and cure insomnia, from watching your diet and what you drink, exercising, maintaining good sleep patterns and sticking to a routine. As well as both natural and prescription medications that deal with the condition. However a new study suggests there may be another way to cure this, it has no side effects and doesn’t cost a penny – meditation.

What does meditation mean to you? Perhaps it conjures up images of a Buddha type person, sitting under a tree, or perhaps you view it as taking a break from your every day worries and clearing the mind. Meditation is actually a simple yet highly effective task that anyone can participate in once you get the hang of it.

Roughly 9% of all Americans (that’s over 20 million people) practice mediation and that figure is on the increase. If you think about it we all spend time exercising the body, so why not exercise the mind?

So what does this all have to do with helping insomnia sufferers? Well a recent study by Ramadevi Gourineni, the director of an insomnia study programme at Illinois Northwestern memorial hospital, conducted a study into the matter. She took 11 patients – all who suffered from chronic insomnia symptoms. the groups were divided into two and one group was taught the importance of health, diet, stress and environmental issues and how to apply them to deal with their insomnia. The others were taught a ‘Kriya Yoga’ meditation which involves focusing and calming the mind. After the results were compiled, she found that the group who practised meditation had a greater overall increase in their sleeping patterns, including total sleep time and better overall sleep quality.

This indicates that perhaps meditation is beneficial for the reduction of sleep related issues. By clearing out thoughts and worries we can feel more focused and refreshed throughout the day, and ready for sleep at night. And meditation has many other positive aspects including increasing oxygen flow throughout the body, reducing stress, helping the mind focus and boosting serotonin levels, so give it a try – after all you have nothing to lose and hopefully a lot to gain.

Natural remedies for Insomnia

Natural remedies for insomnia involve a number of different things, and if you are not a person who likes to rely on prescriptions or over the counter medications in order to get to sleep and stay asleep, you may want to try some natural remedies first to see if they can work. One of the most common natural remedies used to cure insomnia is relaxation. Relaxation techniques can include a variety of different methods that a lot of people find to bring them the relief that they need.

If you like the taste of hot tea, there are a lot of combinations of teas that are available that include ingredients that can help promote relaxation and stress. If you are having troubles falling asleep, you may want to try sipping on hot tea before you go to bed. You may also want to try listening to relaxation music. If you have a lot of difficulties quieting your mind when you are going to sleep, listening to soothing and relaxing music can help you drift off to sleep.

Yoga and meditation techniques are also a good option to try before you go to bed. While you do want to avoid physical exertion right before you go to bed, doing gentle yoga moves and meditation techniques can be what you need to fall asleep and get your mind and body relaxed. There are also things that you should avoid before you go to sleep, such as drinking certain beverages and eating certain foods. The ingredients in foods and drinks can stimulate your mind and body, and make it difficult to fall asleep.

You should also avoid exercise for a few hours before you go to sleep. Exercise can energize your body and mind, and make it difficult to unwind when you need to go to sleep. Some people also find that getting a set amount of sleep each night can help insomnia. It is a good idea to have a set sleep schedule and try to stay with it as close as you can.  If you do not get the same amount of sleep on a regular basis, it can be a cause of insomnia. If you try a lot of different natural remedies to help your insomnia, and find that they are not working, you may want to talk to your doctor and see what else you can try.

Get Help for Insomnia

When you are not able to get to sleep at night, or stay asleep at night, it can be a very difficult thing for a lot of people. When you are unable to get a good night’s sleep, your body and mind can start to wear down, and you can have a difficult time making it through a busy day. Even if you only suffer from insomnia on occasion, it can still be something that you need to remedy. The body needs sleep, and without enough of it, you can start to lose your energy, have problems focusing, and if you are experiencing stress, you may notice that it can get even worse.

What causes insomnia is different for everyone. Some people are more prone to having problems sleeping, and or some it is a matter of stress or having a lot going on that keeps them from being relaxed enough to fall asleep. Sleeping problems can be waking often during the night or trouble staying asleep as well. Even if you are able to fall asleep easily, you may still have problems sleeping through the night. This can cause as many troubles for you as not being able to fall asleep, because your body needs a certain amount of sleep each night, and if you are constantly tossing and turning and waking up, you are not able to get as much as you need to be refreshed and rest.

Some people are able to find relief from trying a number of different relaxation methods before they go to bed, and others have to take sleep aids or other medications to fall asleep and stay asleep. You may want to talk to your doctor about different remedies and prescriptions if nothing else has worked for you. There are a lot of options in sleep aids, and some you are able to get over the counter, while others you need to have a prescription for. Your doctor can help you decide what might work for you, and you may need to try different kinds before you are able to. You may need to be open to trying different kinds of remedies and it may take a while before you find relief for your insomnia, but it is possible and you can start feeling like yourself again and get the sleep that you need.