06/01/2024
INSOMNIA— (Sleeplessness; Sleep Apnea)
SYMPTOMS—Inability to get to sleep, night after night.
CAUSES—If it only happens once in a while, it is sleeplessness; if it happens for weeks or months, it is insomnia. (Sleep apnea will be discussed later in this article.) It is said that 100 million Americans have insomnia, to one degree or another, and take 600 tons of sleeping pills each year to avoid it. About seven times as many women as men experience the problem. Sleeping pills are second only to aspirin sales in the U.S.
Side effects from sleeping pills includes anxiety, depression, skin rashes, irritability, loss of appetite, poor coordination, digestive disturbances, difficulty with vision, confusion, dizziness, high blood pressure, circulatory and respiration disorders, breakdown of parts of the blood (such as the white blood cells which fight infection), damage to the central nervous system, memory problems, and liver and kidney damage.
The experts tell us that, if you go to bed on time, have a current of fresh air in the room, and lay there quietly—you will get enough rest even though you do not seem to fall asleep as quickly as you might wish. Many people who report not getting to sleep at night actually slept quite a bit without realizing it.
Many people have a hard time getting to sleep at night because of restless leg syndrome (which see). These people are awakened by legs which twitch or kick.
There are others who experience sleep apnea. This occurs when the person, while asleep, stops breathing for as long as two minutes at a time. He then gasps for breath and may awaken. This can happen as many as 200 times at night. Those with sleep apnea tend to have higher than normal blood pressure, are more likely to have strokes, and are at greater risk of heart disease. These people also have a higher incidence of emotional and psychotic problems.
Overeating, eating too close to bedtime, and eating bad food can produce sleeplessness or insomnia. Systemic disorders in the heart, liver, kidneys, pancreas, lungs, digestive organs, endocrines, and brain can all affect sleep.
TREATMENT— Natural Remedies 🌿
• A lack of calcium and magnesium can cause you to wake up after a few hours and be unable to return to sleep.
• Eat nutritious food, and let breakfast and lunch be your main meals. Only eat lightly in the evening, and several hours before bedtime.
• Foods with the amino acid, tryptophane, promotes sleep. These include figs, dates, and whole grain crackers.
• Avoid cheese, bacon, chocolate, ham, sausage, and wine before bedtime. Better yet, keep those junk foods entirely out of your diet. Do not eat eggplant, sauerkraut, potatoes, sugar, spinach, or tomatoes before retiring. All the foods in this paragraph contain tyramine, which increases the release of norepinephrine, a brain stimulant.
• Other foods which keep people awake include fatty foods, sugar, white flour, salt, monosodium glutamate (MSG), chemical preservatives, additives, and allergenic foods.
• Obtain enough exercise during the day, with some of it being out-of-doors. Exercise regularly in the late afternoon or early evening, but not right before bedtime.
• Before bedtime go outside and walk around quietly in the fresh air for 30 to 45 minutes. • Take a hot bath (not a shower) an hour or two before bedtime.
• Some people need to have the bedroom quiet. Others need some sound to mask background noise. In such cases, have a fan turned on.
• Trust in God. He promises to give His beloved rest.
• Regularity in your habits is important. This is vital to good sleep. Always go to bed at the same time, and get up at a definite time. The body has normal rhythmic cycles. People with regular habits have faster reaction time and are happier than those with irregular sleeping times. Getting up each morning at the right time will help you go to sleep at the right time each night. Sleeping in, on weekends, disrupts the biological clock. If you want sleep problems, stay up late every so often.
• For some people, daytime naps make it more difficult to sleep at night. But, for some older people, a little rest before mealtime during the day helps them, so that any sleeplessness at night never fatigues them.
• If you cannot sleep, you can just lay there, relax, and rest. This is nearly as good as sleep.
• Or you can get up and do something quietly and calmly for a short time—and then go back to bed and to sleep. One excellent method is to go outside and breath the fresh air, look up at the stars, breath some more fresh air—and then go back to bed and to sleep.
• If you are wakeful one night, do not nap the next day, and you will be more likely to go right to sleep that night.
• Go to bed early when you are sleepy.
• Some take melatonin or calcium to help them go to sleep. These are both natural and safe aids in promoting sleep.
• The room temperature should be 60o-65o F. If the room is too warm, you are more likely to move about more and awaken more frequently. The problem is a lack of air.
• If you want a restful night's sleep, make sure a little current of air is passing through your room, even in the winter. But you cannot sleep well when it is stuffy.
• Do not take sleeping pills. They have pain relievers, bromides, antihistamines, and/or scopolamine. These are ineffective and produce unpleasant side effects.
• Alcohol, barbiturates, and hypnotics do not solve the sleep problem, but worsen it. Alcohol disrupts sleep later in the night. Ni****ne appears to be calming, but it is actually a neuro-stimulant.
• Do not take caffeine substances after lunch.
• Do not take nasal decongestants and other cold medications. They stimulate many people and keep them from getting to sleep.
• Restless leg syndrome (which see) can be a problem. Calcium, potassium, magnesium,
and zinc supplements help eliminate that problem. In addition, make sure you are not anemic. (See anemia).
• Studies reveal that, in countries where people regularly nap during the day, there are less accidents, and productivity is higher. The important factor here is consistency. Be regular in your hours for sleep at night. If you nap during the day, be regular in that. If you nap, generally keep your naps short—less than an hour at a time.
• 🍃Herbal teas which help increase sleepiness include: 🍵
Hop tea, catnip, and chamomile.
Valerian tea , Passionflower tea,
An outstanding herb tea 🍵 .
Mix equals parts Valerian , Hops, Skullcap, Passionflower.
But do not rely on herb tea, to help get you to sleep every night.
• Make sure you have a good mattress to sleep on.
• Keep your thoughts heavenward, and you will find it much easier to go to sleep at night.
ENCOURAGEMENT—Every faculty with which the Creator has endowed us should be cultivated to the highest degree of perfection, that we may be able to do the greatest amount of good of which we are capable.
The Natural Remedies Encyclopedia 🍃
INSOMNIA—2 (J.H. Kellogg, M.D., Formulas)
TO RELIEVE BRAIN CONGESTION—Neutral Do**he, 3-5 minutes at bedtime; Cold Do**he;
Hot Leg Bath;
Footbath under running water;
heating Wet Sheet Pack, followed by Wet Sheet Rub;
Hot Abdominal Pack, warmly covered and protected with plastic; heating Leg Pack; dry heat to the legs and feet;
Hot Leg Pack followed by Cold Mitten Friction to the legs; Heating Compress to legs or Leg Pack at bedtime, to be prolonged during the night; Hot Abdominal Pack and Leg Pack through the night; Revulsive Do**he to the legs at 102o F. for 2 minutes, then 60o F. for 15 seconds; Neutral Do**he, 3-5 minutes; downward stroking of head and neck [to eliminate phlegm and aid lymph flow].
RELIEVE IRRITABILITY OF THE BRAIN CELLS—
Prolonged Neutral Bath at bedtime; neutral Wet Sheet Pack; E***a, if constipation or flatulence are present.
IRRITABILITY OF SOLAR PLEXUS OR LOWER BACK NERVES—Abdominal Fomentation followed by abdominal Heating Compress, changing every 6 hours. Avoid eating anything but fruits after 4 p.m. Copious water drinking.
Colonic, especially if the bowels are inactive, as constipation is a frequent cause of insomnia by producing irritation of the abdominal sympathetic nerves.
EXCESSIVE CARDIAC ACTIVITY—Ice Bag over heart.
FIDGETINESS OR RESTLESSNESS—Warm Pail Pour to spine, at 95o-98o F. Tepid Sponging;
rubbing of limbs; rubbing of spine; massage of head.
GENERAL IRRITABILITY—Neutral Wet Sheet Pack; Neutral Full Bath; Neutral fan Do**he or Shower, for 2-4 minutes.
GENERAL METHOD—There may be said to be three forms of insomnia: Sleeplessness may be due to (1) congestion of the brain, (2) irritability of the brain cells, or (3) a combination of these two conditions. Here is how to go to sleep: (1) Come to God, and in peace of heart, trust in Him. (2) Relax and let your mind rest; do not try to problem-solve, you just gave them all to Jesus. (3) Check the temperature and air; it is more difficult to go to sleep in a room that is too hot, too cold, too drafty, or one lacking fresh air. (4) With your nerves and muscles relaxed and cheerful in the thought of Jesus' love, concentrate on breathing slightly deeper, and go to sleep.
Natural Remedies Encyclopedia 🍃
