Folk remedies for insomnia: how to deal with sleep loss at home

Folk recipes

There are many ways to get rid of problems with disturbed sleep without antidepressants and medicinal sleeping pills. Medicines do not always help and, moreover, they are characterized by a large number of contraindications and side effects. Psychotherapy is an expensive treatment that also requires a significant amount of time. It is much cheaper and easier to treat insomnia using available folk remedies, while spending a minimum of effort, time and money.

Herbal baths, decoctions and tinctures have a beneficial effect on the body. But before choosing one or another folk remedy for yourself, it is necessary to determine the cause of insomnia, since each recipe is designed to eliminate specific sleep disorders.

Organization of a sleeping place

Doctors recommend that people who need remedies for insomnia , before getting used to them, properly arrange their bedroom. First of all, it is important to assume that the bedroom should be a separate room with an appropriately decorated atmosphere. If possible (even if the apartment is one-room), minimize the negative effects on healthy sleep in one room. For this:

remove household appliances and equipment from the bedroom, which today abound in modern living quarters; the sleeping area should be equipped with sockets, wires, and electronic devices at a minimum; these create magnetic fields that are unfavorable for the body in general and for sleep in particular;
the bedroom should be decorated in neutral or soothing colors, avoid irritating colors and gloomy colors - pastel colors, blue and green, white are considered favorable;
it is easier and healthier to fall asleep in a dark or at least a darkened room - this way melatonin, a special substance that is a natural sleeping pill and ensures healthy sleep, is more actively produced; try to adjust your work schedule so that you fall asleep and wake up at sunset and sunrise, but this is not always possible, so be sure to have blackout curtains or blinds in the bedroom;
The temperature of the room for sleeping and the freshness of the air here are not least important in a favorable fall asleep - be sure to ventilate the room before going to bed, the air temperature should not exceed 21-22 ° C, and the need to use a warm blanket is not excluded;
The place to sleep should also be comfortable - a medium-hard mattress, a pillow that promotes the natural position of the spine and back during sleep, a warm but not hot blanket; choose a bed made from natural fabrics.

Nervous insomnia

Often an over-nervous person cannot fall asleep, and even if he does fall asleep, he has nightmares. In such situations, the following recipes for insomnia will be effective:

Traditional medicine against insomnia

Products made from components with a sedative effect help fight neuroses and depression, which provoke disruptions in the sleep-wake rhythm. You can collect herbs and plants yourself or buy them at the pharmacy. It all depends on your knowledge of botany and the availability of time. Features of processing raw materials for medicine must be prescribed in the recipe. A folk remedy for insomnia is prepared at home using one of the proposed algorithms:

Cooking option	Description
Tea	1 tbsp. l. pour the collection into a cup and pour boiling water over it. After 10 minutes, remove the raw materials.
Decoction	Pour components that require long-term processing (roots, bark, stems) into one container at a ratio of 10 portions of water per 1 raw material and bring to a boil. Then leave to cook for 5-10 minutes. After cooling, strain.
Infusion	Throw easily brewed ingredients (leaves, flowers) into boiling water. The ratio is identical to the previous recipe. After 20 minutes, remove the raw materials.
Tincture	Pour all the components into one container and add alcohol, maintaining the ratio of 1:5. The medicine should be infused away from sunlight for 10-14 days.

Attention! Traditional medicines are suitable for most patients. Caution should be exercised when treating insomnia in children, women during pregnancy and the elderly. The effectiveness of therapy will decrease if you binge drink or fail to comply with recommended dosages.

Most popular recipes

Traditional medicine is represented by a wide range of different recipes. The mass of options for products based on bee honey, valerian and hawthorn stands out noticeably. No less in demand are infusions and decoctions made from herbs. The following table will help you figure out how to get rid of insomnia using folk remedies:

Components	Preparation	Features of application
Dill seed 60 g, 500 ml “Kagora”.	• Cook for half an hour. • Infuse for the same amount of time.	Drink 60 ml in the evening. It is not recommended to use the medicine during pregnancy
Valerian root 60 g, 500 ml water.	• Pour boiling water and place on the stove. • Cook for 30 minutes. • Leave for 3-5 hours.	Drink 30-50 ml before going to bed.
Nettle seed 30 g, 250 ml water, 5 ml honey.	• Mix the ingredients. • Simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes. • Leave for 1-2 hours before use.	Take 1 glass before bedtime.
Goat or cow's milk 250 ml, 5 ml honey.	• Add honey to the heated milk.	Drink the drink in the evening.
Honey 30 ml, mint decoction 250 ml.	• Pour 60 g of mint leaves into a glass of boiling water. • After 10-15 min. add a spoonful of honey to the infusion.	Drink 1 glass before bedtime. The temperature of the drink should not be higher than 60°. Otherwise, the therapeutic effect will not be as strong, which is associated with the loss of the beneficial properties of honey.
Hop cones 60 g, 500 ml boiling water.	• Pour boiling water into a thermos. • Leave for 1-1.5 hours.	Drink 1 cup of infusion in the evening.
5 g raisins, 30 g orange peels, 250 ml boiling water.	• Grind the orange peels. • Mix the ingredients and pour boiling water. • After 15 minutes, strain.	Take 1 glass before bedtime.
A cup of rose hips, 1 liter of boiling water, 1 tbsp. l. honey	• Pour boiling water over the rose hips. • Leave for 2 hours. • Add honey.	Drink half a glass 3 times a day. The last dose is best taken before bed. It is allowed to use the infusion even during pregnancy.
60 g clover buds, 250 ml boiling water.	• Pour boiling water over the flowers. • Wait half an hour.	Drink 120 ml during the day and before bedtime.
A cup of oat grains, 500 ml water, 1 tsp. honey	• Pour water over the grains and cook. • After an hour, remove from the stove, remove the raw materials and add honey.	Take 1 glass in the evenings.

By following the recipes exactly, you can prepare a high-quality medicine to get rid of insomnia. The course of treatment, judging by the reviews of specialists, should not be less than 1 month.

Advice! If allergic reactions occur, treatment should be stopped and consult a doctor. The specialist will study the composition of the chosen folk remedy for insomnia and tell you what to do next.

Typically, the visit ends with the prescription of a mild sedative and a conversation about the benefits of following a healthy lifestyle and sleep hygiene rules.

Other alternative treatments

A treatment regimen for insomnia may consist not only of folk remedies, but also other non-traditional methods of relaxation. As an alternative, various breathing exercises, unusual recipes and expert advice are used. A complete list of techniques for combating disruptions in the sleep-wake rhythm is as follows:

A way to overcome insomnia	Description
Breathing exercises	• Lying on the bed, place your hands on your abdomen. • Exhaling air, draw in your stomach as far as possible. The palms only control the process, but do not put pressure. • Hold your breath for 5-10 seconds. • Take a slow breath into your belly. • Pause again. Repeat the exercise 30-40 times before going to bed.
Relaxation in the bath	• Fill the bathtub with warm water (up to 55°). • Spend half an hour on the procedure. Insomnia is more effectively overcome by adding sea salt and essential oils to water.
Massage	• Massage the points one by one: — between the eyebrows; - in the middle of the chest. • Spend 2-3 minutes on each point. Movement should be smooth and easy.
Meditation	• Lie down on the bed. • Imagine a happy picture or remember a positive moment in life. • Focus on the image. After some time, the patient will be freed from painful thoughts and fall asleep.
Light therapy	• Create a source of gentle flickering light in the bedroom. Garlands or images on your TV, phone or computer will do. • Look at the light while lying on the bed. With the right color scheme, you can relax and fall asleep in 10-15 minutes.
Applying leeches	• Make applications to the temples and the area behind the ears to drain excess blood. Leeches need to be removed after 10-15 minutes. • Carry out 10 procedures. This method is relevant for adults who understand hirudotherapy or who have contacted a specialist.
Relaxing effects of animals	• Call your pet. • While remaining in a lying position, try to relax by hugging the animal. Insomnia can also be overcome by simply observing aquarium fish. It is only important to concentrate on the process.
Effect of metals	• Apply pieces of copper to the temple area for 20 minutes.
“Sleeping pills” according to Vanga’s recipe	• Mix pre-dried herbs (laurel, mint, hops, fern) in a ratio of 2:1:2:2. • Fill the pillowcase with the prepared mixture. For a better effect, the pillow can be placed on the radiator so that the room is saturated with a pleasant aroma.
Tibetan way of fighting insomnia	• Twist the cotton wool into a cone shape and soak it in sunflower oil. • Repeat the announced actions. • Insert the treated cotton wool into the ear canals and do not touch it until the morning.

By using relaxation techniques, a person gets rid of anxious thoughts. In response to a decrease in tension from the nervous system, a gradual immersion in sleep occurs. Low effectiveness of treatment may be due to insufficient concentration or exposure to other external and internal stimuli.

Sleeping pills for insomnia with natural composition

For connoisseurs of drug treatment, tablets with a natural composition are suitable. When used regularly, sedatives quickly overcome even the chronic form of insomnia and normalize circadian biorhythms. Several popular failure treatment options are presented in the table:

Name	Compound	Features of application
"Persen"	Melissa, mint, valerian.	2 tablets in the evening. Course duration is 1-2 months. The drug is contraindicated under 18 years of age, during pregnancy and lactation.
"Ortho-Taurine"	Taurine, butanedioic acid, B vitamins.	2 capsules at lunch and evening
"Novo-Passit"	Valerian, hawthorn, elderberry, St. John's wort, hops.	3 times a day, 1 tablet. Suitable for use from 12 years of age.

It is important to know! Medicines are sold without a prescription form. Judging by the manufacturers' comments, the listed tablets are not capable of causing withdrawal symptoms and rarely provoke adverse reactions.

Problems sleeping due to overexertion

For people who suffer from sleep disturbances due to physical or mental fatigue, the following infusions will help get rid of the problems:

Mix equal parts black currant and rose hips (you can use both fresh and dry). Pour boiling water per 1 tbsp. l. mixture 400 ml. liquids. Leave in a thermos for about 6-7 hours. Strain the infusion and drink half a glass 3-4 times a day. The composition provides a greater effect if you drink it warm. If you wish, you can add a little honey for sweetness, but under no circumstances add sugar. This drink is highly fortified and well restores strength and relieves fatigue;
Infuse 100 grams of horseradish roots into 1 liter of white wine for 10 days, shaking the mixture every day. After insisting, strain. Take 1 tbsp of medicine three times a day. spoon. To avoid stomach irritation, you should drink it with milk;
propolis has a positive effect on the general condition of a person. Mix 90 ml of alcohol with 10 g. Propolis and leave for 14 days. If you need to quickly prepare the composition, you need to heat the dishes with alcohol in a water bath to 40-50°C, then add propolis. When cool, strain and the tincture is ready for use.

Methods for treating insomnia

Many people often wonder: how to fall asleep if you can’t sleep? The best way, if insomnia is not caused by illness, is sedentary, monotonous activities. For example, reading books, praying or knitting, but not working on the computer. Strain causes eye fatigue and disrupts sleep. You can also use other remedies for insomnia: a hot bath before bed; warm drink with honey; to combat the disease, you need to move a lot, for example, go to a cafe or store during lunch, and after work it is advisable to take a short walk; swimming in the pool and doing basic exercises; visiting a psychologist; hypnosis; use of homeopathy methods. I threw Malakhov out because of his stupidity! It was not worth telling how people with sore joints are killed.

Medicines

The choice of medications against insomnia is limited by the fact that there is no universal drug for this disease. Treatment of asomnia is the restoration of the disturbed biological rhythm of sleep. A medicine for insomnia isolated from a complex of health procedures will not solve the main problem of agrypnia - painful insomnia. It is always better to start treatment with herbal preparations. In the fight against insomnia, several groups of medications are used: sedatives, antihistamines, tranquilizers. They are constantly being improved, reducing side effects and various contraindications. The pills are becoming available to all age groups of patients. As a rule, in order to overcome the signs of the disease, people buy over-the-counter drugs for insomnia containing a herbal base: Neurostabil; Ortho-Taurine; Novopasit; Persen; etc. Persen tablets for insomnia have a mild effect. They contain lemon balm and valerian extract. They will not make you feel drowsy during the day. The course of treatment is one week. The drug should be taken 3 times a day, 2 capsules. Ortho-Taurine prevents fatigue (physical and mental), improves sleep. Not addictive. You need to drink 2 capsules an hour before bedtime, treatment - from 10 days to a month.

Drops

Besides pills, what helps with insomnia? Drops! Anyone who suffers from asomnia (insomnia) should pay attention to the new domestic drug Valemidin. It contains only herbal soothing ones: motherwort, valerian, mint. Adults should take drops against insomnia before meals, having first dissolved them in water. Dose 30 drops 4 times a day. They should be taken for no more than 10 days. Lily of the valley drops can also help with insomnia - you need to take 30 drops diluted in water for a week at night.

Sleep disturbances caused by smoking and drinking coffee

Drinking large quantities of coffee and other energy drinks, and smoking negatively affect the quality of your night's rest. How to eliminate problems if a person does not want to get rid of such habits?

Chamomile infusion will help normalize sleep. The flowers of the plant should be crushed and poured with boiling water in a proportion of 1 tbsp. :1 tbsp. l., leave overnight and strain. Take chamomile infusion 4 times a day before meals.

Clover flowers remove toxins well, while saturating the body with vitamins. The composition is prepared simply and quickly: pour 2 tbsp of boiling water over a glass. l. flowers (you can use both fresh and dry) and leave for 30 minutes. Take half a glass 2-3 times throughout the day and immediately before bed.

Especially for women

The weaker sex suffers from sleep disorders much more often than men, due to a more emotional perception of the world around them, as well as due to monthly changes in hormonal levels and the menopause period.

Product for women and girls

Chamomile is a safe and effective sedative. The easiest way is to buy the crushed plant in filter bags. Brew it like this: put 2 bags in a glass of boiling water and leave for 15 minutes. It is allowed to add sugar or lemon to the finished drink, but even without them it tastes good. Should be taken half an hour to an hour before bedtime.

USEFUL INFORMATION: If you really want to sleep, what should you do?

During menopause

If during menopause a woman begins to suffer from insomnia, then the following remedies can be used:

Mint + sweet clover. Take 75 grams of peppermint and 100 grams of sweet clover. Place the mixture in a thermos and pour a glass of boiling water. Leave to infuse overnight. Every day you should take this drug on an empty stomach, 50 ml for female menopausal symptoms.
Onion tincture for menopause. Onion seeds (50 grams) are poured with a liter of dry white wine and infused for 10 days in a warm, dark place. Shake the mixture periodically. Then strain and take a tablespoon during menopause on an empty stomach up to five times a day.

Insomnia during menopause, accompanied by a rush of blood to the head, is treated by applying grated horseradish root or mustard plasters to the calves.

Common insomnia

Many people simply cannot sleep for a long time for no particular reason or wake up in the middle of the night. In such cases, honey helps against insomnia. This is a quickly digestible natural product that contains amino acids and enzymes that are beneficial to the body. A person who eats just 1 spoon of honey during dinner falls asleep much faster.

If you wake up at night and can’t fall asleep, then you need to eat 2 tsp. a mixture of honey and apple cider vinegar, this combination helps with insomnia. It’s easy to prepare: mix 3 tablespoons of vinegar with 300 gr. honey This composition can also be consumed about half an hour before bedtime.

No less effective is fresh goat milk for insomnia. You can also drink cow's milk, but it takes a little longer to digest. Sleep will be more peaceful and deeper if you add a couple of drops of valerian tincture or a teaspoon of honey to milk.

Note! You need to drink milk warm and while lying in bed, then you can soon forget about sleepless nights forever.

Causes of insomnia

It is extremely rare (which, however, does happen) that insomnia develops as an independent disease or an idiopathic (causeless) disorder. However, much more often it is based on very obvious problems in the organization of the working day, psycho-emotional stress or physiological diseases.

The most common causes of insomnia include:

unfavorable environment in which a person intends to sleep - noise level, temperature conditions, interior furnishings of the sleeping place;
circumstances of acclimatization - for example, during travel or change of residence;
high levels of stress - at home or at work;
anxiety or depression;
physiological disorders, the manifestations of which are difficulty breathing or a frequent urge to urinate, which forces a person to wake up quite often during the night.

Chronic lack of sleep causes oxidative stress, which negatively affects learning processes, short-term and long-term memory. In addition, the person becomes irritable, chronic fatigue syndrome develops, and performance decreases.

Therapeutic baths

One of the effective and proven ways to improve the quality of sleep is baths prepared with decoctions or infusions of medicinal herbs. The hot herbal bath itself relieves fatigue and relaxes, and if you add sea salt to it, you get an effective combination of components against insomnia. Sea salt contains many elements necessary for the body: calcium, iodine, sodium, bromine, manganese and others. A salt bath reduces irritability and strengthens the nervous system.

But if you have problems with sleep, you should not take only salt baths; the components need to be alternated. For example, a bath with apple cider vinegar will be effective for relieving stress. Add a glass of natural product to slightly cool water. Take a bath for no more than 10 minutes, after which you must rinse in the shower. Dry your body thoroughly with a towel and go to bed.

Valerian, linden, calendula, and chamomile are well suited for preparing herbal infusions for baths.

Peach flowers are used for bathing. You need to mix 100 gr. peach flowers and 400 gr. rose flowers, pour the resulting mixture with a liter of boiling water. Let it sit for half an hour, then pour it into the prepared bath along with the flowers. The procedure promotes sleep and is also soothing with its sweet fruity aroma.

You can also add essential oils of lemon balm, cinnamon, mint, lavender, orange and other medicinal plants to the water. To eliminate sleep disorders, you need to take medicinal baths 20-30 minutes before bedtime.

Honey

Traditional medicine in the fight against insomnia contains many recipes with honey. This unique product contains various microelements that have a beneficial effect on the nervous system. Melissa and fireweed honey help best against insomnia.

The most common recipes:

For one glass of warm milk you need to take 1 teaspoon of good honey. This way you can achieve a double relaxing and calming effect.
Honey, red wine and sage. This combination is also a great way to fall asleep. You need about 100 g of sage leaves and crush them. Next, they are filled with one liter of dry red wine. This mixture needs to steep for about 10 days. After this period, 2 to 3 tablespoons of meth are added to the infusion. You need to take 1 tablespoon of this mixture 20-30 minutes after eating. The calming effect is guaranteed.

Aromatherapy for insomnia

Plant aromas help improve sleep, calm you and relieve tension. For insomnia, aromatherapy can be performed in different ways, each of which is effective in its own way.

Pillows with herbal infusions

Pillows filled with medicinal herbs are used to combat various ailments, including poor sleep. The quality of sleep is favorably affected by hop cones, geranium, fern leaves, juniper, oregano, laurel, rose petals, and hazel.

The following combinations are considered the most effective for stuffing pillows for insomnia:

fern and laurel, proportion 1:1;
hops, fern and laurel, proportion 3:2:1;
mint, laurel, hops, fern, proportion 1:2:2:3.

In addition, you can use other herbs, herbs, and spices, which, in addition to filling pillows, can simply be placed at the head of the bed of a person suffering from insomnia.

Essential oils

Complex therapy with aromatic extracts from fruits and plants allows you to get rid of sleep disorders; essential oils of lavender, chamomile and neroli are especially effective for insomnia.

You can improve your sleep with other oils, which should be chosen taking into account the reasons that cause insomnia:

if the problem is caused by depressive disorders, then it is advisable to use bergamot as aromatherapy;
It is better to use sage essential oil for insomnia for those people who are very tired and, as a result, this negatively affects night rest;
an atmosphere of peace and peace of mind is provided by marjoram, juniper and sandalwood oil;
for severe and chronic sleep disorders, you should opt for oils of orange, rosemary, cypress, basil, fennel, lemon balm, rose, frankincense, juniper, and mint. They can be used either individually or in any combination with each other;
rose oil relieves nightmares;
anise, neroli, fir, wormwood, lavender oils perfectly calm and relieve irritability;
the presence of the smells of fennel, mint and laurel in the room eliminates the symptoms of insomnia and relieves feelings of loneliness.

Aromatherapy can be done in a variety of ways. Oils can be added to baths, used for massage, and aromatized air using aroma lamps.

You should not use the same oil for more than two weeks; they should be periodically replaced or used in different combinations.

Lavender oil can improve the effectiveness of others, you just need to know how to use it correctly to eliminate insomnia. For example, rubbing oil into the temporal lobes provides good results. Both lavender oil alone and in combination with chamomile extracts are suitable here.

Any of the oils can help you get rid of insomnia, but a positive result can only be obtained with a comprehensive solution to the problem, and in particular by observing proper bed rest.

Organizing your day to overcome insomnia

There is a simple and, at the same time, correct algorithm of actions for a person faced with insomnia. Initially, you need to adjust your daily routine, normalize your diet, and minimize your stress level. At the same stage, it is permissible to use folk remedies that have a relaxing effect on the body. If insomnia continues, a consultation with a psychologist or neurologist is indicated, who will professionally assess the origins of your problem and help eliminate them. The most extreme solution to the problem of insomnia is to take medication.

Organization of the working day in order to overcome insomnia involves spending time in the evening:

dinner should occur no later than three hours before bedtime;
taking any medications other than sedatives before bed is contraindicated;
if there is a lack of physical activity during the day, even with a certain feeling of fatigue, walking before bed is recommended;
in the evening, especially 1-1.5 hours before bedtime, it is not recommended to work with office equipment or watch TV;
in the evening, relaxing baths have a beneficial effect on the body, which is recommended to be taken 1-1.5 hours before bedtime, upon returning from a walk;
avoid daytime naps;
It is recommended to ensure a strict regime of falling asleep and waking up, which ensures the body’s biorhythms - it is recommended to fall asleep before midnight, and ideally at 9-10 pm.

Non-drug methods

To treat insomnia, not only herbal infusions, baths and aromatherapy are used, but also other equally effective methods. Treatment with leeches helps well in such situations. This method is called hirudotherapy. Leeches enrich the human body with oxygen, the deficiency of which is one of the primary causes of poor sleep.

For insomnia, hirudotherapy is considered a fairly effective method, only here you need to know how to choose biologically active points and where to place the leeches. You cannot carry out this treatment on your own. Such procedures can only be carried out by an experienced specialist.

Medications for insomnia

Medications for insomnia , which are essentially sleeping pills, must be taken with extreme caution and are recommended in accordance with the prescriptions of professional doctors. The peculiarity of this kind of drugs is that after a few weeks or months they become addictive, and cessation of their use is accompanied by withdrawal syndrome.

Any remedy for insomnia should be taken in accordance with the rules, preferably in short courses and in a minimal dose, then a decrease in sensitivity is least likely.

Among the popular, proven effective remedies for insomnia are the same soothing herbal remedies (Sedasen, Persen), however, doctors strongly recommend combining their use with proper sleep hygiene, otherwise the effect will be minimal. The group of drugs of non-herbal origin includes the so-called Z-hypnotics (Zolpidem), however, by inhibiting the brain centers, they not only provide quality sleep, but rather cause depression of consciousness during the period of activity. Today, among medical professionals, there is an established opinion that the treatment of insomnia should occur without the use of drug therapy, but only by eliminating the causes of insomnia, working with a psychologist, taking folk remedies, and, in extreme cases, herbal remedies.