Insomnia and Homeopathy

Homeopathic treatment is different for each individual based on their body conditions, current medications, and more. Every individual is analysed completely before being given a homeopathic treatment since there is no specific medicine as such. So it is advised not to try any of the following without doing a thorough check up with a homeopathic doctor as the following is only information based on general symptoms of insomnia and should not be used for self-medications.

Coffee Cruda:

This remedy prepared from coffee beans is suitable for patients who are hypersensitive. These patients are found to be very restless and have nervous sleeplessness. They lie in bed with their eyes wide open and if they happen to fall asleep, they wake up to every sound or are disturbed by dreams. For patients who face sleeplessness due to emotions like fear, depression, surprise, etc., this may help.

Nux Vomica:

For patients who suffer from insomnia caused by stress, Nux Vomica, a drug prepared by potentizing seeds from a plant called “poison nut”, would be suitable. It has an effect on various organs & systems in the body like the nervous system, digestive system, respiratory organs, reproductive organs, etc.

Pulsatilla:

Pulsatilla is a homeopathic drug derived from the wind flower or weather-cock, a plant, given to the fact that it can be used as a remedy for various acute or chronic conditions. This drug benefits patients who are sleepless because of their mind filled with thoughts and who sleep in the early hours of morning which causes them to feel drowsy through the day. These patients are generally in a state of confusion and they talk, whine and scream in their sleep.

Sulphur:

This is commonly prescribed homeopathic remedy for insomnia which has an influence on the skin, digestive, nervous & urinary systems, respiratory and reproductive organs. People, who wake up during the early hours of the morning or sleep for a few hours, wake up and then sleep again and sometimes even wake up and eat at night may gain from this remedy.

These kinds of patients sleep on their left and are affected with nightmares when they lie on their back. They may have happy dreams, laugh in their sleep and wake up singing merrily in the morning.

Phosphorus:

Phosphorus is a homeopathic remedy used for various diseases. Phosphorus has an impact on the blood, bones, kidney, lungs, gastrointestinal tract, etc. Patients who cannot sleep continuously and are able to only take short naps, waking up every now and then are the ones who may use phosphorus for homeopathic treatment. These patients are often known to talk in their sleep and find difficulty sleeping on their left.

Passiflora Incarnata:

For insomnia caused in children and the old and for sleeplessness in individuals with mental stress and worries, Passiflora Incarnata, a homeopathic drug extracted from passion flower leaves can be used as a remedy. This drug calms down the nervous system resulting in good sleep.

Kali Phosphoricum:

Kali Phosphoricum is a homeopathic drug is made from potassium phosphate which is a remedy that may be used by those patients who are affected with insomnia due to business worries, overwork and stress. The patient may yawn but not be able to sleep.

How To Safely Take Sleeping Pills

Your doctor has probably prescribed a few aids to enhance your sleep, to reduce waking up frequently, to remain asleep for longer and to enhance your sleep quality. However, there are some important things you need to consider before you take sleep aids with respect to concern of your health.

• After you have tried behavioural changes in your normal routine and various other treatments apart from medicines for insomnia and still find that the results are still not satisfying and if your day-to-day activities are still being affected due to lack of sleep, then you may try sleeping aids.
• In case you are confronting insomnia due to change in work timings or other short-term insomnia caused by a jet lag or sudden anxiety, then it is alright to take sleep aids.
• If the source for your insomnia has been detected through thorough analysis by your doctor, then the cause can be treated with specific aids.
• Find out from your doctor if any psychological or other health effects have been caused due to your sleeplessness.
• Insomnia treatment requires good sleep habits rather than medication, especially if it is persistent for a long period of time. For some people, combining both medical as well as behavioural treatments could be done to attain the best results while, for others medicines are used in the beginning and then treatment is continued with behavioural changes for a long term cure.
• Over-the-counter sleep aids are not recommended since it may not be safe for all body conditions. It is best to consult your doctor and take prescribed medicines only in order to benefit your health.

Safe use of sleep aids

The following factors need to be considered to ensure that you are using sleeping aids safely.

• Consult your doctor for issues regarding sleeplessness. Based on your age, body sensitivity, condition and several other health issues, your doctor will prescribe the most suitable sleeping aids for you.
• It is not sufficient to take the sleeping aids alone as a remedy for your sleeplessness. It is essential to use other non-medical remedies in combination with the sleep aids like light exercising, meditation, yoga and other behavioural treatments to bestow best results.
• Though sleeping aids may be helpful, it is recommended not to take them as a long-term use. Your doctor should advise you on the duration that it needs to be continued for so you may benefit out of it. Do not continue taking the sleep aids further than what has been recommended by your doctor.
• Over-the-counter medicines for insomnia may give you good results temporarily but they should not always be used for chronic insomnia in long-term patients or as long-term sleeping aids.
• It is highly essential to follow the safety guidelines as instructed on the packages and as recommended by your doctor to ensure that you are on the safer side.
• In conclusion, healthy sleep habits cannot be replaced with sleep aids at any cost since the base for treatment of insomnia are good sleep practices and proper sleep hygiene.

Diagnosing Insomnia

Various remedies are available to treat insomnia which can either be done through consultation with a doctor or at home. Each individual has unique symptoms which need to be analysed for the right kind of treatment.

Here are tips on when and how you should seek help and the kind of questions that you need to be prepared for, in case you have difficulty sleeping. There are several psychological and behavioral steps to treat insomnia. Cognitive behavioral treatment for insomnia (CBTi), guidelines to sleep hygiene and relaxation techniques may help improving sleep.

Diagnoses of insomnia

There are no specific tests as such for insomnia. Instead doctors analyse your condition through filling forms and questionnaires, asking oral questions, studying your sleep pattern overnight and doing few blood tests. Based on these results, your doctor understands the cause for your sleeplessness and suggests a suitable treatment plan, since each patient has unique symptoms.

Sleep log: This is like a dairy in which you jot down your sleep details like the time you slept and woke up or if you experience drowsiness through the day, etc. A track of these details helps your doctor detect the cause for insomnia that you are experiencing.

Sleep inventory: this is a questionnaire in which you will have to fill out your personal details like your medical history, sleep patterns, your personal health, etc.

Blood test: few blood tests are taken for detection of thyroid and other similar health issues that generally disrupt sleep. 

Sleep study: Also known as polysomnography is an overnight study that is done to monitor your sleep patterns by making you sleep with an EEG connected. Additionally, it also measures your body movements, heartbeat and breathing patterns and the oxygen levels in your body while you are asleep.

Prepare yourself

On general annual visits to the doctor, they generally do not ask you about your sleep. So, should you be facing any sleep related issues, you need to talk it out with your doctor first. Sleep problems need to be taken seriously as they have other adverse effects on your body. You could ask your doctor if your sleep is being disrupted by your past medical history by any chance.

Following are questions to make you think before you visit your doctor.

• What is your difficulty in sleeping, precisely whether it is difficult to fall asleep or you frequently wake up and are unable to go back to sleep or if it is difficult staying asleep? How often does this happen in a week?
• The time at which you sleep and wake up? How often do you take short naps through the day, in case you do?
• Does your sleep time vary between week ends and week days? Do you have to change your sleep timings with respect to your work?
• How do you keep yourself occupied on sleepless nights? Do you work with your laptop or watch the television or read? Have you ever experienced doing something that helped you fall asleep?
• Do you keep yourself occupied with thoughts or do you worry about tasks before you sleep or while you are awake in bed?
• Explain the environment in which you sleep; do you share your bed with someone or sleep alone? How comfortable is your bed? Do you sleep in a dark or quiet room? Is your sleep disrupted by others in your house like children, pets, etc.?
• How long is it since you been experiencing this issue?
• Has any drastic change occurred in your life recently? For instance, job change, financial stress or a breakup in a relationship, etc.
• Are you facing any other medical conditions?

Insomnia in Children

Child insomnia is a condition that arises when children do not sleep on time until they are forced to do so. If children are put to sleep at the right time, they fall asleep normally but if they do not follow strict bedtimes, they may stay awake for much longer hours during the night.

Children with insomnia may face the following:

• When they are forced to bed, they have no problems falling asleep
• When they are not forced to bed, they stay awake for a long extent as much as they can
• They wander around the house or frequently drink water during bedtime

Children with this condition push their parents so that they follow this pattern while the parents hardly realize the problem within and later wonder how it started.

To start with, consider setting a strict bed time and do not encourage your child to drink water or tell tales beyond this time. Once they get into bed, they should stay there till morning. When a bed time is enforced, the disorder should automatically stop. So the need for a doctor at this point is not really necessary. You just have to ensure that you do not get carried away with the little tricks your child plays to postpone sleep.

In case you want to discuss this issue with your doctor, keep a diary with complete details of the child’s sleep pattern. You also need to note down the times at which your son/daughter wakes up at night. Maintain this diary for two weeks and list down the different ways he/she tries to keep awake. You also need to include your reaction to the child’s needs since the doctor should know whether you allow your child to wake up and drink water ten times during the night. Based on these details, the doctor will know how to treat the child’s disorder.

Tests are generally not required to identify child insomnia. It can be understood with the history of the child’s sleep pattern, i.e., the time the child sleeps or wakes up. Only for extreme cases, an actigraph may be used, a kind of wrist-watch which records when a person is sleeping or awake. This is barely required.

The best treatment for child treatment is to set very strict bed times which will provide an improved and quality sleep pattern for the child. If you have set 08:00pm, then you must ensure that your child is in bed at 08:00pm.

Do not allow your child to give excuses so that they can postpone their sleep. The firmer you are the more you and your child will benefit.

It is important not to rock children to sleep because once they get accustomed to sleeping on being rocked; they will always expect the same. Their sleep pattern will change in a way that they will only fall asleep if rocked. This will affect the child as well as the parent since the parent will also wake up each time the child wakes up and both end up with a much disrupted sleep.