Herbal Sleep Aids and Relaxation Exercises As Insomnia Solutions?

For some people, getting quality sleep can be tricky and so they turn to prescription medication or herbal sleep aids for help to get some shut eye. There are a couple of things about sleep prescriptions that many people find troublesome; they can cause dependency and they sometimes only succeed in knocking you out, not giving you the restfulness real sleep provides. As a result, many look for insomnia solutions to find alternatives. Fortunately, a lot of herbal sleep aids and other alternatives are available that people can try out.

One alternative to prescriptions is relaxing exercises, like yoga and meditation. Another natural sleeping aid is undergoing acupuncture (or acupressure if you’re not comfortable with the needles). Of course, you can also try out a number of herbal sleep aids that have minimal or no side effects.

Chamomile has long been used as a natural sleeping aid; some attribute its sleep aid qualities to chamomile’s natural calming effects. It is usually taken as tea and used as an herbal sleep remedy as well as a natural cure for an upset stomach. Generally speaking, chamomile is one of the preferred herbal sleep aids since it has no known side effects and so one can use it as a long term solution.

Kava is another herbal sleep remedy some people might want to try. It’s a drink made from the roots of the kava plant, and reportedly, the drink helps with sleep. One thing to note though, it may have some side-effects and the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and FDA (Food and Drug Administration) have released reports cautioning people from kava’s possible side effects.

Melatonin’s natural sleeping aid quality is apparent from what it’s sometimes called, the “sleep hormone.” It’s a natural hormone that the body produces during the night hours and a lack of the said hormone may cause sleep troubles. Reduced melatonin levels can be caused by several things like jetlag, a disturbance in your natural sleeping habits (like working in the graveyard shift), and longer daylight hours, among other things. In which cases, you may find melatonin supplements one of the better short-term insomnia solutions.

Valerian, another long-used herbal sleep remedy, has calming and muscle-relaxing effects. It’s commonly seen as a food supplement and though many people attest to its effectiveness, taking high doses of valerian may cause some uncomfortable side effects like headaches and disorientation.

Insomnia solutions available to those who are weaning themselves off prescription meds or those who are simply looking for alternatives are numerable and people can try different herbal sleep aids or go into relaxation exercises and stick to a solution they are comfortable with. It’s always advisable to check with your doctor first before you try any herbal sleep remedy so you can avoid any side effects, if any.