In this busy world, sleep time can be precious. However, our biggest enemy, restless, sleepless nights, often gets in our way. As we toss and turn in bed, we just cannot get all the thoughts out of our mind. We start to get anxious about not getting enough sleep, which makes it even harder for us to fall asleep. Here are some natural and free or low-cost strategies to cure mild to severe insomnia.
This post recommends 10 habits that we can develop in order to have better sleep. It points out that if we want to have good sleep, the first thing is to value sleep more. “When you’re short on zzzs, you’re also more likely to overreact to minor incidents, feel stressed out, and blow your top.” With a higher priority, we will start to pay attention to our life style and change our habits for better quality sleep.
This slide show explains more about what insomnia is and why it might happen. “Sleep is not an on-and-off switch,” says an expert in clinical psychology. “Your body needs time to unwind and ready itself for shuteye.” This suggests that it is more helpful to develop good habits that allow us to fall asleep easily than to seek immediate but temporary treatment.
This article introduces a new clinical treatment for insomnia–Cognitive Behavioral Treatment (CBT). It gives more scientific explanation on sleep cycles and the cause and treatment of insomnia. It also talks about things we can do ourselves to have better sleep. Here is one suggestion on dealing with anxiety about insomnia: “One way to reduce anxious thoughts is by asking yourself ‘what’s the evidence for and against these thoughts I’m having.’ Not surprisingly, there’s usually ‘very little evidence for the irrational thought.’ Then, you can come up with an alternative thought or new explanation.”
If you are looking for something immediate and practical, this youtube video is a powerful guided sleep meditation talk-down. It is the best talk-down I have used–I fall asleep every time listening to it. Just give it a try; it really works!