Natural Management of Insomnia by Ayurveda

Abstract

The main focus of this article is on the insomnia. The article includes the information which includes types, causes, symptoms, risk factors, herbal remedies, dietary tips, and preventions. Insomnia could be a symptom of problem experiencing non-refreshing sleep and is related to daytime consequences. It also can be a primary disorder. Primary sleep disorder is calculable to occur in twenty-five percentage of all chronic sleep disorder patients. (1)Chronic sleep disorder is prevailing in 10% of the adult population. Age, sex, medical and mental sickness, etc. all represent an inflated risk of chronic sleep disorder. The foremost consistent impact of sleep disorder could be a high risk of depression. Planet Ayurveda offers various herbal remedies that are able to treat insomnia.

Introduction

Insomnia is a type of sleep disorder among individuals that they find difficulties in sleep. Insomnia decreases the quality as well as quantity of sleep. People with sleep disorders typically feel unrefreshed once they awaken from sleeping, either. This could result in fatigue and different symptoms. Sleep disorder is characterized by discontent quality and quantity, related to problem falling asleep, frequent nighttime awakenings with problem returning to sleep, and wakening earlier within the morning than desired. The disorder is additionally characterized by important impairment in functioning, and daytime symptoms as well as fatigue, daytime tiredness, sleepiness, impairment in psychological feature performance, and mood disturbances. Sleep disorder is differentiated from sleep deprivation by problem sleeping despite having an adequate chance to sleep. Prevalence estimates of sleep disorder vary, with a half-hour to 43% of people reportage a minimum of one nighttime sleep disorder symptom. (2)Most reports recommend prevalence rates of sleep disorder at 5% to 15%. Sleep disorder may be a chronic drawback in 31% to 75% of patients with a quite common fraction of patient’s reportage symptoms for a minimum of one year.

Types of Insomnia

There are various types of insomnia that are discussed below:

1. Acute insomnia: It is caused due to stress from life events such as stress from the job, receiving bad news, workload, travel, etc. It resolves without any kind of treatment.
2. Chronic insomnia: In this type of Insomnia, a person has trouble staying asleep or falling asleep for three nights per week for three months. It causes long term difficulty in sleep.
3. Comorbid insomnia: It occurs due to anxiety and depression. It is associated with the psychiatric conditions that are responsible for changes in sleep. In major cases, a person is suffering from back pain and arthritis, this type of Insomnia makes a person uncomfortable to sleep at night.
4. Maintenance insomnia: This type of insomnia creates an inability to stay asleep. People with this type of insomnia wake up during nights and this causes difficulty returning to sleep.

Symptoms of Insomnia

People who are suffering from insomnia usually experience symptoms that are mentioned below:

1. Mood changes
2. Unrefreshing sleep
3. Tiredness
4. Waking too early in the morning
5. Irritability
6. Difficulty concentrating
7. Sleepiness
8. Trouble falling or staying asleep

Causes of Insomnia

There are many causes:

1. Stress: People always concern about their work, school homework, relationship, finances, health, family, etc. and these concerns can keep their mind active at night and creates difficulty during sleep. Stressful life events like illness or death of a beloved one, job loss, divorce, etc. may also lead to insomnia.
2. Poor sleep habits: It includes an irregulars schedule during bedtime, activities before bed, naps, uncomfortable sleep environment, using the bed for work like eating, watching TV, etc. all are responsible for insomnia. Using your phone, computers, and watching TV before bed can disrupt your sleep.
3. Eating too much in the evening: Always eat light food before sleep because if a person eating too much before bed, this may cause him to feel physically uncomfortable while lying down. Some people feel heartburn, stomach ache, headache due to gastric, etc. also disturbs your sleep and keep you awake all night.

Risk Factors of Insomnia

There are many factors that increase the risk of insomnia and these are mentioned below:

1. If you are women: During menopause and menstrual cycle, there are hormonal shifts in women. This causes night sweats and creates disturbances in sleep. Sleep disorder is also very common in pregnancy.
2. Irregular schedule: Late night traveling, changing shifts at work, etc. disrupt the sleep which is also responsible for insomnia.
3. Taking a lot of stress: If a person take lots of stress it may lead to chronic insomnia. Sometimes, people overthink so much before sleep that makes them unable to sleep.
4. Age: If you are over age 60 then it is obvious factors that sleep patterns and a person’s health disturbance leads to insomnia.

Ayurvedic Treatment of Insomnia

Planet Ayurveda offers various herbal medicines that are made under the guidance of various Ayurvedic experts. All the products are made with natural herbs and all are pure. It has no side effects. Following are the herbal remedies used to treat sleep disorder:

1. Brahmi capsules
2. Gotu kola
3. Ashwagandha capsules
4. Jyotishmati
5. Shankhpushpi Powder
6. Sarpagandha
7. Curcumin
8. Vacha

1. Brahmi Capsules 

These capsules help to manage the stress and depression that occurs because of inflammation in the brain. This herbal medicine helps to increases the functions of the brain. It also relaxes the human body and helps in attaining quality sleep.

Dosage: 2 capsules twice daily, after meals.

2. Gotu kola

This herbal medicine is a very effective medicine that boosts the power of the brain. It also helps to reduce anxiety and stress from our brain. Due to the presence of antidepressant properties in it, it helps to increase the concentration power and decreases depression and sleep disorder.

Dosage: 2 capsules twice daily, after meals.

3. Ashwagandha Capsules 

These capsules are useful in stabilizing your mood. These capsules are very helpful in treating the symptoms of insomnia. It provides strength to the brain muscles. It is used to reduces stress, anxiety, and deals with behavioral disturbances.

Dosage: 1-2 capsules twice daily, after meals.

4. Jyotishmati Oil 

This oil provides warmness to our body by applying gently on the skin. It balances the vata dosha and kapha dosha. It is very useful in insomnia. It reduces the gastric problem.

Dosage: Apply twice a day.

5. Shankhpushpi Powder

It reduces the stress and relaxes our brain. It is an anti-depressant that controls the neurological functions and reduces the harmful effect of toxins from our bodies. It maintains a good amount of sleep.

Dosage: ½ – 1 teaspoon twice daily with water after meals.

6. Sarpagandha Ghan Vati

It balances the Vata and Pitta dosha in our bodies. It maintains the blood level and useful in high blood sugar treatment. It provides relief to our brain in insomnia. It also resolves the gastric issues and treats constipation.

Dosage: Use 1-2 grams of powder twice daily with water or milk.

7. Curcumin Capsules

Due to its anti-inflammatory properties, these capsules are best to treat inflammation of the brain. If people suffering from brain edema, and want to reduce it is important to take the combination of Boswellia curcumin in their therapy.

Dosage: 1-2 capsules twice daily, after meals.

8. Vacha Powder

This herbal medicine is used in treating insomnia. It detoxifies the body and helps in improving It improves memory and inflammation. It also reduces the bones and joints pain.

Dosage: 125-500 mg powder daily with plain water.

Food and Drinks that Promotes Quality Sleep

Diet plays a very important role in balancing our sleep habits and keep us away from many harmful disorders. There are some foods that promote good sleep and help us to avoid insomnia are discussed below:

1. Complex carbs: Avoid White bread, pasta, baked food items, etc. As it may decrease the serotonin level and provides quality sleep. You can take snacks before bedtime such as popcorns, whole white crackers with peanut butter, oatmeal, etc. are all good choices.
2. Nuts: It is very useful for hearts and a good source for healthy fats. Walnuts and almond contain melatonin which helps to improve the sleep cycle. It also improves our blood levels and provides quality sleep.
3. Bedtime tea and milk: It is necessary to take a cup of tea or milk before bed. It provides calmness and reduces stress at the time of sleep. It also relaxes our bodies.
4. Fruits: Various fruits contain melatonin which makes our sleep better and falls us asleep faster. Fruits such as kiwi, banana, pineapple, berries, prunes, plums, oranges, etc. all contain melatonin that helps to increase the sleep duration. These fruits also help in reducing stress.
5. Cottage cheese: Cottage cheese contain amino acid tryptophan that increases the level of serotonin in our body and reduces the effect of insomnia. You may also take raspberries with cottage cheese which is rich in melatonin.

Preventions in Insomnia

We need to follow proper preventive measures in order to prevent insomnia. There are some measures that are discussed below to promote quality sleep.

• Avoid light naps.
• Take a warm bath before sleep.
• Listening to soft music.
• Avoid alcohol and smoking.
• Keep your bedtime and wake time fixed including weekends.
• Regular exercise.
• Avoid caffeine.

Conclusion

So, we conclude insomnia may be a serious medical condition that usually gets skim over by physicians. Many thousands of individuals suffer from sleep disorders daily with the quantity increasing every single day. There’s still abundant to be learned concerning sleep disorder, as their area unit still basic deficits within the researcher’s understanding of it. Once it involves the treatment of sleep disorder, the long run is one that doesn’t involve the utilization of sedatives. Several doctors learn new ways of addressing sleep disorder at its roots vs. simply covering it up with some sleep medication. Planet Ayurveda also offers many herbal remedies that are useful in treating insomnia. All the herbs used in these products are pure and natural with no side effects.

References

1. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 5th ed. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association; 2013.
2. Morin CM, LeBlanc M, Bélanger L, Ivers H, Mérette C, Savard J. Prevalence of insomnia and its treatment in Canada. Can J Psychiatry. 2011;56(9):540-548.