11 Scientific Suggestions for Managing Insomnia

When difficulties falling asleep continue chronically and start to detrimentally affect your day-to-day existence, you could be suffering from insomnia. It's a persistent issue that can influence a person’s daily activities, interpersonal connections, employment, mental wellness, physical fitness, and total quality of life. It may stem from a range of distinct triggers, which is why experimenting with various approaches to combat it could be beneficial. Continue reading to learn more about insomnia and strategies for coping with it based on up-to-date studies.

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What Does Insomnia Mean?

Insomnia is identified as a sleep disturbance, with its key symptom being trouble initiating and/or maintaining sleep. The different forms of insomnia are typically classified by their duration, such as:

• Transient insomnia, when sleep problems persist for less than a month
• Intermediate insomnia, when sleep problems endure between one and six months
• Persistent insomnia, when sleep problems continue for more than six months

There's also idiopathic insomnia, which exists independently of other diseases or disorders, and comorbid insomnia, which transpires concurrently with other diseases or disorders. An example of comorbid insomnia is one that appears in conjunction with depression. Researchers believe that nearly 40% of individuals with insomnia also have a coinciding mental health issue like depression.

Signs of Insomnia

• Difficulty getting to sleep
• Struggle to remain asleep
• Awakening earlier than needed or in the middle of the night
• Concerns about sleep
• Substandard sleep quality
• Tiredness or drowsiness throughout the day
• Issues with concentration or memory
• Decline in work, academic, or social productivity
• Mood swings, irritation, restlessness, or hostility
• Lowered motivation
• Increase in errors or mishaps

What Triggers Insomnia?

Insomnia can stem from a broad array of disparate causes, which contributes to why it might require time and various attempts to discover the remedy or approach that effectively manages it. Potential circumstances that may influence sleep involve:

• Psychiatric conditions or mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, stress, bipolar disorder, and excessive mental stimulation
• Additional sleep wake disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea, periodic limb movement disorder, and restless leg syndrome
• Medical conditions encompassing acid reflux, heartburn, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, congestive heart failure, hot flashes, arthritis, chronic pain, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), and hyperactive thyroid
• Neurological conditions like Parkinson's disease, stroke episodes, and dementia
• Stimulants and substances like caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol

Medications such as decongestants, bronchodilators, antidepressants, steroids, beta-blockers, diuretics, central nervous system stimulants, and previous consumption of sleep medications

Behaviors and environmental factors, including daytime napping, inconsistent sleep and wake times, viewing TV in bed, a sleep environment that is overstimulating, sleeping in a warm space, and lack of a pre-sleep unwinding routine.

Depending on your severity level, you may need to reach out to your primary healthcare provider for treatment alternatives. They may start by asking you to maintain a sleep journal to monitor your sleep times and duration. This could aid in deciding what treatment options for insomnia are most suitable for your circumstances, including over the counter medications, prescription sleep aids, a sleep clinic, or a natural remedy from our list below.

This guide includes scientifically-supported suggestions, from sleep schedules to virtual therapy, that may assist you in defeating your insomnia. Explore the natural therapy for insomnia outlined below.

One study points to a correlation between an irregular sleep schedule and poor sleep quality, supporting the idea that adjusting your sleep routine to create consistency with bedtimes and wake-up times may be beneficial.

11 Suggestions for Handling Insomnia Naturally

The optimal approach to tackle insomnia hinges on the cause(s), symptoms, and intensity. Typically, it's advised that you consult with your doctor or another competent healthcare professional if you're suffering from a medical condition like this, as they might propose sleep medications or similar alternatives. However, there are some tactics you could employ that may assist you in achieving better sleep.

Establish A Regular Sleep Routine

Establishing a regular sleep routine implies retiring to bed and waking up at approximately the same hours each day and night while refraining from daytime naps. A regular schedule can prompt your body to be naturally prepared for sleep and wake times.

One research highlights a link between an irregular sleep routine and poor sleep quality, backing the concept that modifying your sleep routine to ensure consistency in sleep and wake times could be advantageous.

Minimize Or Restrict Caffeine

While many individuals depend on a morning coffee to kick-start their day after a restless night, this habit might actually be unproductive. Studies indicate that regular caffeine consumption—even when it's over six hours prior to sleep—can increase the occurrence of sleep disturbances like insomnia. High caffeine intake can also induce physical side effects that could hinder good sleep, such as stress, nausea, increased heart rate, and muscle shakes.

Limit Or Avoid Alcohol

Research also reveals a relationship between alcohol use disorders and insomnia. Some individuals with insomnia utilize alcohol to deal with their sleep deficit, but studies suggest that this method is generally counterproductive and can lead to a worsening of insomnia symptoms over time. Others may develop insomnia due to regular alcohol consumption.

Long-term alcohol use may also deteriorate overall sleep quality. These issues can persist for months following cessation of alcohol use, though they may ameliorate over time with continued abstinence. While alcohol can potentially disrupt all facets of sleep, it may particularly interfere with the REM stage of your sleep cycle—which plays a crucial role in memory, emotional processing, and overall healthy brain function.

Engage In Regular And Timely Exercise

Engaging in regular, consistent physical activity has been associated with a range of health benefits, and possibly reducing a person's symptoms of insomnia is one. A study in the National Library of Medicine suggests that four weeks of regular physical activity can act as a sleep aid, assisting individuals suffering from insomnia to fall asleep quicker and stay asleep longer. However, it's advised that you avoid exercising an hour before bed, as this can make it harder to fall asleep.

Refrain From Working Or Watching TV In Bed

Another useful tactic for enhancing sleep ease and quality can be to establish a clear link in your mind regarding the purpose of your bed. Try to abstain from working, watching TV, or engaging in other activities in your bedroom, whether day or night. Instead, strive to use your bed solely for sleep and intimacy so that your brain doesn’t correlate it with the mental excitement of daytime activities.

Avoid Eating Too Close To Sleep Time

Eating too close to sleep time may cause difficulties in falling asleep because food equals energy, and your body will be actively working to digest what you consumed rather than relaxing for sleep. It can be particularly helpful to avoid high-fat foods (bad fats), as they can diminish the body’s sensitivity to a natural sleep hormone named orexin. Moreover, high-protein foods should be consumed earlier in the day, as they take longer to digest. Avoiding all other foods a few hours before sleep, if possible, can also aid in treating insomnia.

Establish A Calm Sleep Environment

The appropriate sleep environment can assist you in falling and staying asleep more comfortably too. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), you can enhance your sleep hygiene and establish more restful sleeping conditions with the following suggestions:

Diminish light: Some methods to achieve this include employing room-darkening curtains, switching off devices that emit light or obscuring the light source, and wearing an eye mask.

Decrease noise: You could set your phone on "do not disturb mode", wear earplugs, or consider a white noise device or app to block out uncontrollable noises.

Maintain cool temperatures: The Sleep Foundation suggests a bedroom temperature of 65 degrees Fahrenheit to foster deep and restful sleep.

Document Your Concerns

A prevalent reason many individuals struggle to fall asleep is that they’re grappling with racing or anxious thoughts, which they can’t turn off long enough for their brain to transition to a more restful state. One way to tackle this issue is to keep a journal before bed. Penning down worries or tasks for the next day and releasing them from your mind can help you relax for sleep more effortlessly. Research backs this strategy, implying that journaling before bed can extend sleep duration and enhance sleep quality—especially if it’s a to-do list related to the next day rather than a list of what you accomplished today.

Practice Meditation

Research indicates that 10–30 minutes of daily mindfulness meditation might help enhance sleep quality and decrease insomnia symptoms. To start, you could try a meditation app or free meditation videos online. However, try to minimize screen exposure while setting them up. You might find it beneficial to switch your phone to night mode or install a blue-light blocker app because blue light might suppress the secretion of melatonin, a crucial sleep hormone. Alternatively, you could focus on deep breathing for 10-30 minutes without the use.

Need Some Guidance For Getting Better Sleep? Tackle Your Insomnia With Online Therapy

Enhance Your Social Bonds

This might be one of the more unexpected suggestions on this list, but studies indicate that our sleep might improve if we maintain robust social support in our wakeful life. One research posits this might be due to the primeval evolutionary drive to have others nearby while sleeping to shield us from threats. It notes that “supportive relationships were positively correlated with sleep quality” in the study they conducted, implying that prioritizing a healthy social network may aid with insomnia and in fostering good sleep practices.

Consult A Counselor

Lastly, participating in talk therapy techniques may also assist in alleviating insomnia and other persistent sleep disorders. Numerous sleep specialists advocate for cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or other mental health therapies, suggesting it may be particularly advantageous if you also endure other mental health symptoms or conditions like stress, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, or intrusive thoughts. In most instances, you can opt between face-to-face or virtual therapy sessions for this kind of treatment, depending on your comfort. Those who have a hectic schedule or struggle to find a provider in their locality may find online therapy more fitting.

With an online therapy platform like ReachLink, you can be paired with a licensed counselor who you can converse with through a video call and support app to tackle the challenges you might be dealing with. You can access your sessions from the coziness of home or any location with an internet connection. One study proposes that internet-based CBT enhanced sleep quality for adults with insomnia, rendering it a feasible alternative for those facing this type of sleep disorder.

Final Thoughts

Insomnia is marked by continual struggles with initiating or maintaining sleep. If you're suffering from insomnia, lack of sleep, or a comparable issue, it's generally advised that you consult with a healthcare expert. The advice provided above might also prove beneficial in easing the impacts of insomnia over the duration.