Experiment with These Easy Home Remedies for a More Peaceful Night's Sleep
Are you struggling to catch some quality shut-eye at night? Maybe it's time to explore alternative methods to help you get back to dreamsville.
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Complementary medicine encompasses non-invasive therapies that patients can use alongside conventional Western medicine. Approximately 40% of Americans employ this approach for specific conditions or overall well-being, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Melissa C. Young, MD, an integrative medicine specialist, states that many complementary therapies have been scientifically proven to be safe and effective for better sleep.
Complementary therapies for insomnia fall into four categories:
- Mind-body therapies: Control the mind to facilitate easier sleep. With techniques like meditation, hypnosis, guided imagery, tai chi, yoga, and others, the mind is calmed, allowing relaxation. Best for older adults.
- Body-based therapies: Help to relax the body for sleep. Massage, acupuncture, and energy techniques for stress reduction, such as Reiki, healing touch, and therapeutic touch, fall into this category. Beneficial for infants to older adults and cancer patients, with acupuncture boosting sleep quality, especially in those experiencing pain.
- Biologically based therapies: Supplements balance your body's chemistry and rhythm naturally, making sleep more accessible. Effective treatments include magnesium, a mineral supplement; melatonin, a hormone that plays a role in sleep; chamomile tea; and I-theanine, a naturally occurring amino acid.
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy: Changing thoughts and behaviors that disrupt sleep. This short-term, long-lasting therapy, with minimal side effects, enables you to sleep faster, stay asleep, and improve sleep quality. Sleep specialist Michelle Drerup, PsyD, DBSM, recommends creating a sleep schedule, good sleep hygiene, learning relaxation and meditation strategies, considering cognitive therapy, and studying up on sleep.
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While the information available doesn't classify complementary therapies for insomnia into four groups, we can categorize various therapies for clarity. Behavioral therapies, relaxation techniques, physical activity and exercise, and mind-body and sensory therapies are the categories most commonly discussed.
- Mind-body therapies, such as meditation and yoga, are used to control the mind and facilitate easier sleep, making them beneficial for older adults.
- Body-based therapies, like acupuncture and massage, help to relax the body for sleep and can be beneficial for infants to older adults, and cancer patients, as acupuncture boosts sleep quality, especially in those experiencing pain.
- Biologically based therapies, which include supplements like magnesium, melatonin, chamomile tea, and I-theanine, balance your body's chemistry and rhythm, making sleep more accessible.
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy, which enables you to change thoughts and behaviors that disrupt sleep, is a short-term, long-lasting therapy with minimal side effects that helps you sleep faster, stay asleep, and improve sleep quality.
