Natural Remedies to Help You Fall Asleep and Get Better Rest!

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[ I sent out this email enough times that I thought it was time to make a web page out of it....  :-) ]

Sorry to hear you haven't been sleeping...and I know how distressing that can be....  :-(

In case you want to play around with this (and/or for future reference), here are some of my notes on the natural remedies I've collected/researched over the years for others with insomnia.  You can find most of the plants/herbs growing wild if you're out with someone who knows plants.  The rest you should be able to find at an herbal supply or health food store.  I'd suggest stocking this stuff beforehand, so that it's available whenever needed.  (On the other hand, a 2am trip to the 24 hour store nearby may actually help you sleep.)

Anyway, I hope this is useful to you...and that you send me your additions!  If something ends up working for you, please let me know so I can pass the word on to others via this page, etc.  :)

Disclaimer: What I'm sharing with you here are my notes for myself, just to trigger my own memory and knowledge.  So, you may want to use this list as a starting place to do a bit more research on your own (check the herbal glossary on the previous page, the web, etc) on any particular plant/herb/etc. before taking it.  If you have any special medical conditions, or are taking any special medications, you'll probably want to check with a doctor beforehand.  In short, use my notes here as a starting place, and at your own risk, rather than as a particular recommendation!  :-)

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Here's the natural sleep remedies that I'm personally aware of.  As with all such remedies, you'll have to see which ones work for you.

In addition to what you find below, you can also click here for => a page on insomnia from The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Healing Remedies, by C. Norman Shealy, M.D., Ph.D.  As you'll see, what's great about this book is that it includes remedies from many different disciplines.  You can buy it online here.

Note: These remedies are roughly prioritized by efficacy "for most people"...

LIGHT / CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS / SLEEP CYCLES:

• First, take the free Circadian Rhythm Test to assess your sleep cycles
• I read for a half-hour each morning using the bluewave, goLITE P2 light that I got on sale at Costco online.  This gets me reading more, and has amazing effects on my sleep at night, and on my mood, motivation and energy levels during the day (especially in the winter).

PLANTS:
* Fresh leaf tea of Lemon Balm, Melissa (Melissa officinalis) - 2-4 teaspoons of dried herb per cup of boiling water
* Root tea, tinture or extract of Valerian (Valeriana officinalis, Valeriana sitchensis) 30 min before going to bed - or, 150-300 milligrams of a standardized extract (.8% valeric acid)
TOGETHER= 160 milligrams of valerian + 80 milligrams of lemon balm extracts

* Fresh or dried whole plant tea of Passion Flower, Maypop (Passiflora incarnata)

* Dried flower tea of German, Hungarian, or Wild Chamomile (Chamomilla recutita, Matricaria chamomillla)
* Tea from California Poppy flower petals - add handful to cup of water after it stops boiling
* Tea of flowers of Lavander (Lavadula angustifolia) - 2 teaspoons to cup of boiling water (honey optional)
* Whole plant tea of oats (Avena sativa)
* Catnip (Nepeta cataria) tea 45 min before bedtime
* Smoke or make tea of fruits of Hops (Humulus lupulus)
* Rooibos (Aspalathus linearis)
* Strong tea of Mad-dog Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora)

* Weak leaf tea of Virgin's Bower (Clematis virginiana)
* Pink or Large Yellow Lady's-Slipper, Moccasin-Flower, American Valerian (Cypripedium acaule)
* Tea of whole plant of Feverfew (Chrysanthemum parthenium, Tanactum parthenium)
* Leaf tea of Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca)
* Leaf tea of Bee-Balm, Oswego Tea (Monada didyma)
* Leaf tea of Wild Bergamot, Purple Bee-balm (Monarda fistulosa)
* Leaf tea of Perilla (Perilla frutescens)
* (Root?) Tea of Figwort (Scrophularia marilandica)

Combinations:
For Insomnia: passionflower + valerian + California poppy
For Anxiety that may cause insomnia: California poppy + hawthorn + hops
Stressful situations that could contribute to insomnia: 2 parts each of chamomile, lemon balm and linden with 1 part orange peel

Sleep tea:
2 parts each passionflower and California poppy
1 part each St. John's wort, skull cap, and lavendar

BEHAVIORAL:
Breath-centered meditation
Relaxation exercises (tense [breathe in] and release [breathe out] each body part from feet to head)
Use reverse psychology on yourself: Give up trying to sleep (get up, turn on the light and read, for example, until you fall asleep)...or attempt to do an "all-nighter"...you'll run out of steam eventually and feel sleepy again.
Exercise
Reading
Relaxing music along with any/all of the above
(Worry about not sleeping keeps you up:  Remind yourself that it won't be the end of the world if you don't get all the sleep you think you need.  You will be fine tomorrow even if you get no sleep.  Sometimes, I actually function *better* on little or no sleep.  Too much sleep can leave you "groggy," down, or, ironically, sleepy.  Sleep deprivation, on the other hand, is a natural intervention for depression and can have positive effects to mood and energy level when used sporadically.)

SUPPLEMENTS:
L-Tryptophan (500mg along with vitamin B6, niacinamide, and magnesium and hour or so before bedtime)
Melatonin (5-20mg per night before going to sleep; also for reseting a jetlag-ed body)
Inositol (lethicin, liver, wheat germ, brown rice, citrus fruits, nuts, cereals) - if can't get in natural form (best), then take in the form of myo-inositol to a maximum of 1,000mg daily
Calcium

AROMATHERAPY:
* Add 1-3 drops each of lavender (Lavandula) oil and lemon balm (melissa) to bath or bed clothes before bed
  BEWARE: Spanish lavendar can be stimulating...ask and try to see which you have
* 1-2 drops of lavender or chamomile oil in bath; follow bath with tea of 1 teaspoon each of St. John's wort and chamomile, then bed
* Place dried leaves of Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) or Western Mugwort, White Sage, Cudweed (Artemisia ludoviciana) between pillow and pillow case or next to bed
* Fill pillow with oatstraw or hops
* Use Vetiver ("the oil of tranquility") in massage and baths
* Rose
* Sandalwood
* Orange, mandarin

* 2-3 drops of essential oil of camomile to bath water to soothe emotional problems

Small Children:
Add 1-3 cups of chamomile tea to bath water

ENERGY:
Jin Shin Jyutsu says to work energetically to resolve disharmony in the Heart and Liver energies.  I can't do those flows on you from here, but maybe you have access to something similar?  Here's a simple one you can do on yourself (that will also help the stiffness in your leg, joint pains, arthritis, rheumatism, neuralgia, as well as calming nervousness to bring on sleep):
1) Put opposite hand on the inside side of the inside ankle of the leg you're working on
2) Put same side hand in the indentation just behind the outside ankle of the leg you're working on
3) Touch lightly with just 3 fingers (1st, 2nd and 3rd of each hand)
4) Hold until the pulses in both hands synchronize (sense the pulse in the 3 fingers of your right hand, sense the pulse in the 3 fingers of your left hand, allow them to come into harmony = beating at the same rate at the same time)

FOODS (avoid heavy meals late at night):
Ginger
Basil, thyme, tangerines, tomatoes
Cinnamon, spearmint, red pepper, pennyroyal, oranges
Peppermint

Apricot jam
Oranges

Drink a glass of warm apple cider vinegar with honey 30 min before bed
Cow's milk (warm if you like)

CHINESE HERBS:
Yuan Zhi: Polygala tenuifolia, Chinese senega root, polygala = calms spirit and quiets heart, especially when too much thinking (in cases of anxiety, insomnia, palpitations or forgetfulness)
Ren Shen: Panax ginseng, ginseng root, "man root" = benefits the Heart Qi and calms the spirit (in cases of anxiety, insomnia, palpitations or forgetfulness)
Ye Jiao Teng: Polygonus multiflorum, fleeceflower vine
Shu Di Huang: Rehmannia glutinosa, Chinese foxglove root cooked in wine
Wu Wei Zi: Schisandra chinensis, schisandra fruit
Suan Zao Ren: Ziziphus spinosa, sour jujube seed

...dulce sueños,
r

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Thought for Today:  Worry is just needless suffering.  When you decide you've suffered enough, ask yourself: "Can I do anything about this now?"  If so, go do it.  If not, banish the worrying thoughts from your mind.  Anything else is just self torture, robbing you of the richness of life (or sleep & dreams!) and serving no one.

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