Insomnia

Sleep gives our bodies the opportunity to repair themselves and our minds a chance to rest. Without enough sleep, we feel irritable and inefficient, and we are less able to concentrate on our daily tasks.

Each individual needs a different amount of sleep, ranging from a brisk five hours to an indolent 12, although seven hours is about the average. The amount of sleep we need to revitalize and function efficiently during the day also changes as we grow older. Young babies sleep for up to 18 hours each day, but by the time we are elderly, this total has been cut to somewhere in the region of five or six hours. We also tend to wake more during the night as we age and take longer to get to sleep in the first place.

These are normal sleep patterns that alter as we progress through life. Insomniacs, on the other hand, have regular difficulty in falling asleep, wake frequently and are restless throughout the night, and often wake early only to feel tired during the day. The effects of a few broken nights are not serious but, for insomniacs, sleeplessness can last years. They frequently find themselves in the relentless, vicious circle of overtiredness and worrying so much about the need for sleep that they cannot relax.

The Orthodox Approach

If the cause of sleeplessness is readily recognizable and treatable, then the appropriate treatment will be given – sufferers from some forms of depression will be given antidepressant drugs to relieve insomnia, painful diseases which interfere with sleep can be treated with pain-killers, and so on. In cases where the patient finds him/herself in the vicious circle of sleeplessness and overtiredness, sleeping pills or tranquilizers may be prescribed to break the pattern. However, these can very quickly become addictive, perhaps after as little as a month of regular use, so caution should be exercised. Sleeping pills may also aggravate the insomnia in the long term.

The Hale Approach

Sleeplessness, unless very prolonged or total (no sleep at all), can safely be assessed by complementary practitioners initially. Orthodox practitioners will generally have recourse to drugs, which do little to illuminate the cause of the problem and may in themselves worsen it.

The Hale Clinic’s approach to insomnia looks at the reasons behind a patient’s inability to sleep properly; we will advise an appropriate treatment that addresses the root causes of this problem, so that long-term improvement can be brought about.

As with many illnesses, a good place to start is with nutrition. Certain foods such as coffee can act as stimulants which keep us awake, while adequate intake of vitamins and minerals can be important in helping us get a good night’s sleep. Allergic reaction can affect sleep – a certain food eaten at 7.30pm can activate adrenaline which will wake you up at two in the morning.

Acupuncture is very effective at stopping insomnia very quickly. Like homeopathy and Ayurveda, the treatment will address the physiological, the nutritional and the emotional issues which might have initiated the problem. The volume of research on psychosomatic medicine testifies to the strong link between our minds and our physiological state.

Hypnosis is another very effective treatment. It looks to see if there are any underlying psychological causes, calms the mind and body and teaches the patient self-hypnosis techniques to use at home.

For those who wish to go into greater depth with the psychological issues behind the insomnia, we would advise a period of treatment with a psychologist.

There is a range of supportive treatments and self-care advice detailed in this section which will further enhance the quality of sleep.

Acupuncture

In traditional Chinese medicine, it is believed that the organs are governed by the five elements and that insomnia is caused by a deficiency of the heart (symbolized by fire) and the kidneys (symbolized by water) and the way they interact. In order to treat the condition, it is the acupuncturist’s job to make sure that the heart and kidneys communicate well with each other. By inserting needles at points along specific meridians in the body, they can restore the balance between the yang (positive, aggressive) energy of the fire and the yin (passive, gentle) energy of the water – and so the insomnia is cured. Depending on the severity of the condition, improvement may be experienced after as few as two sessions, though follow-up treatments may be necessary to prevent a recurrence.

Psychology

When the cause of insomnia is mental or emotional rather than physical, psychology can be a helpful support therapy to other treatments. Gathering information about any underlying causes for insomnia helps to identify specific anxieties, and then, through discussion and therapy, clients are helped to recognize these problems so that the insomnia can be handled.

Homeopathy

When the cause of insomnia is linked to depression or to physical or psychological factors such as tension, pain, emotional arousal or a change in environment, then Passiflora Lehning Drops (containing Avena sativa or oats, Passiflora, Belladonna, Secale and Valerian in low homeopathic dosages) are very effective. If you can’t find the drops, take 6x of each remedy together. Other specified remedies may include:

If the mind is very active at bedtime, sleep troubled by dreams, person wakes up about 4am – Lycopodium.

Troubled by a fear of not being able to sleep and by nightmares when sleep comes – Ignatia.

Waking between midnight and 2am, restless and worried- Arsenicum.

Ayurveda

According to the principles of Ayurveda, the causes of insomnia may be physical, mental or environmental. If the cause is physical, treatments to reduce Vata (the driving force which controls the nervous system and all energies in the body) are indicated. Ayurvedic oral preparations to maintain good bowel movements and special herbal preparations which have a hypnotic effect or are calming to the nerves are given. Shiro Dhara (herbal oil treatment to the scalp) is recommended, together with a special oil massage. Vireka (oral laxatives) are also given to detoxify.

Relaxation and yoga are prescribed for mental and emotional causes.

Nutrition and Naturopathy

Hypnotherapy

Practitioners can teach relaxation techniques that are known to be very effective in inducing sleep. Discussion while under hypnosis may also be used to reveal the causes of poor sleep when there are underlying emotional or psychological causes.

Supportive Treatments

Reflexology

This massage stimulation of reflex points on the foot can be very successful, particularly in association with other therapies, in relaxing a person who has difficulty in sleeping or for dealing with underlying problems. For example, if tension is an underlying cause, the solar plexus reflex (in between the first and second metatarsal) is massaged along with the adrenal reflexes (in the middle of the feet) and the pituitary reflexes (centre of the pads of the big toes).

Aromatherapy

Massage with essential oils can induce deep relaxation and calm the mind, encouraging sleep. The massage works over tense muscles, releasing them, improving blood supply and calming the nervous system. When under extreme stress people run on adrenaline and often use stimulants to keep themselves going. Aromatherapy breaks this cycle, allowing the patient a caring relaxing environment.

Essential oils may be used in vaporizers in the bedroom, in relaxing warm baths or in tissues in the pillow. Relaxing oils include lavender, Roman camomile and ylang ylang.