For the last few days I have been troubled with a huge amount  of insomnia. I dont know if it is just one big holiday hangover or what. I was doing really good before the holidays but for the past few nights it has  been terrible and I have not been able to sleep , tossing and turning and waking up feeling really bad. Insomnia affects many of us at one time or another and there are many I guess so called causes such as stress, improper diet caffeine and other culprits we can blame, but ultimately it still can make you feel really hum drum and if you have to be in a productive thinking environment it can really cause some major issues.

So what can you do to help those sleepless nights without taking a sleeping pill ? I have to admit, over Christmas my diet did get out of hand, and I did gain a few pounds so what I decided to do was to cut back on a few basic things.

First I cut back on my caffeine , normally I would have a cup of coffee at home and then one at work with the guys , I decided just to have the one at home and skip the one at the office. Over the holidays I began eating later than normal and kept that pattern after the holidays.  I made it a point to have my dinner before 5:00 pm and made sure it was something light, like a salad and a piece of chicken breast, no bread or starches.

Now to my  pantry, there I had several herbs, the first night I had some chamomile tea which is very soothing, it can be taken by adults and children as well.  I had a cup of that the first night and it helped me get to sleep and I had a half decent restful night , I noticed that they also sell chamomile oil that can be used in bath water,  and that it can also be very soothing, but I have not tried it yet. One of these days when I have the time i guess i will break down and buy some to see how it works.

The next night I decided on passion flower or Pasiflora no this does not increase your sex drive, although by the name you would think so huh. Pasiflowera is very useful and soothing and is probably more appropriate for those people who do have nervousness, anxiety or stress in their life. Pasiflora can also be taken in tea form,  even in large doses Pasiflora has not been found to cause side effects, this herb can also be used by adults and children as well.

So after a couple of nights of the above it seems my sleep pattern has greatly improved. I generally do not try to take these herbs often only because I feel after time you body gets accustomed to them and might not work as well , like anything else the body has a tendency to adapt.

Other herbs that can be used for insomnia include california poppy, wild lettuce, valerian, and of course another popular herbal supplement is St. johns wort which is very popular and has been used for not only insomnia but mild cases of depression. So as you can see there are many alternatives to sleeping pills that are completely natural , they might take a couple of days to do the job but they will definately help relieve insomnia, and the best part of the whole thing is that they are natural.

If you are not in to boiling or preparing your own tea, below are some recommended natural herbal sleep tonics that contain some of the herbs above and can also be very helpful in aiding sleep disorders.

Serenite-LT for Long Term Solution to Chronic Insomnia

Serenite Jr. for Child Sleep Problems

Triple Complex Sleep Tonic Tissue Salts