It’s night time, you are drowsy, ready for sleep with your head on your favourite pillow. Just as you are about to fall asleep your brain decides to get active.  Try as you may, you just can’t shut it off, what do you do now?  You may even fall asleep but wake up a couple of hours later ready to take on the world, only the world isn’t ready for you yet, now what?  Your brain may be ready for sleep but your leg starts to twitch and jump waking you and your spouse, what helps you in this situation?

These are different problems and need to be treated differently.  Prayer and meditation at bedtime has been shown to promote healthy sleep.  Twenty minutes of quite contemplation helps us evaluate our day, pat ourselves on the back for the good deeds and identify the areas where we need to improve and make resolutions for a better day tomorrow.  This done, the brain is more likely to shut down peacefully for the night.  Below are some other suggestions to improve sleep. You can get products and tailor-made help when you visit Super Natural Health Products on Young St. in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

5-HTP is an amino acid that promotes sleep by converting to serotonin in the brain.  5-HTP helps you fall asleep faster and wake up less often.

Melatonin is a hormone that induces and maintains sleep in both children and adults. Melatonin works best for people who are low in melatonin or fighting jet lag.

Suntheanine is a pure form of L-Theanine designed to calm the mind and promote restful sleep without being a sedative at ordinary doses.  Suntheanine works even better in combination with melatonin and 5-HTP.

A homeopathic approach is great especially for those who want to avoid drug interactions.  Dr. Reckeweg’s R 14 formula is especially suited for those suffereing from superficial sleep, mental and physical restlessness and over-activity when trying to sleep.

Restless legs are often a sign of mineral deficiency.  Blood pressure medication can cause this problem. Magnesium calms the nerves and promotes restful sleep.  Trace mineral drops work almost immediately by supplying your body with minerals that most of us are deficient in.  Simply add 20 drops of the concentrated mineral drops into a cup of water, add a few drops lemon or lime juice, stir and drink an hour before bed.  Many people have had their first restful sleep in years after trying this.  Doing yoga-like stretches are really helpful too.

If you fall asleep and wake up in a few hours bright-eyed and bushy-tailed only to find that it’s still night time, you’re only behaving the way that our ancestors where programmed for millennia. Artificial light has changed the way we sleep and work over the past century, but before electricity we used to sleep twice in a night – an early sleep after supper lasting about 4 hours, followed by a period of wakefulness and then another 3 – 4 hours of sleep.  People often planned an activity for this ‘first waking’ such as house chores, socializing, writing or making babies etc.  If the above nutritional supplements don’t help, then you may be better off planning an activity for this time of night rather than fighting it.

Steer clear of sleeping pills.  People take them to commit suicide, because they are effective in killing people.  Sleeping pills have been directly linked with cancer, suppressed immune system, depression and death. You can read about it on the website of Dr. Daniel Kripke ‘www.DarksideOfSleepingPills.com”

If you have any questions about this or any other natural health options contact me at Super Natural Health Products on the corner of Young and Agricola.

Sweet dreams.