How to get a better night's sleep

Sleep is essential for good physical and mental health. Our body and our mind repair themselves while we sleep. Children also grow while they are asleep!  We all know that poor sleep not only makes us feel fatigued but also agitated, irritable and less able to concentrate.

So why can you not get a good night's sleep? Pain, stress and anxiety are the obvious culprits. If pain is the issue then whatever is causing it is the first thing to be sorted out.  And naturally that is also the case with stress - it is important to get to the bottom of it. But sometimes, insomnia is the first sign that we are under any stress - we may believe we are fine during the day and able to cope with our daily lives.

Herbal medicine can hugely help relieve stress, anxiety, pain and illness that can lead to poor sleep. Added to that there are many herbs which can relax and bring on sleepiness. The most commonly used are Valerian (Valeriana officinalis), Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) and Hops (Humulus lupus).  You can buy many over-the-counter preparations that contain these herbs. Unfortunately the tablets often contain very small amounts of these herbs so may not prove too helpful.

Another very important point, Valerian does not suit everyone - in fact it can have the opposite effect and act as a stimulant in some people!  A trained medical herbalist will only prescribe this herb if it is suitable for you.

A better way to take some herbs in order to encourage sleep is as a tea. A hot drink half an hour before bedtime, containing soporific herbs, can really help. Dried passionflower leaves and also dried lime blossom flowers will make a very pleasant and soothing hot drink.

Some other reasons for poor sleep:-

Coffee - caffeine can take up to 15 hours to get out of your system, so even coffee drunk in the morning can be keeping you awake.

Alcohol - although a small amount is a relaxant more than 1 unit quickly becomes a stimulant. Added to this various organs, such as your liver, are stimulated into action to metabolise alcohol. This can make you very hot and restless at night.

Big meals late at night - a big meal, especially with a high fat content, will take a long time to digest. This means  your body is working hard when you should be resting.

Sometimes we can't fall asleep because we can't relax. Try these two relaxation methods:-

1. Try to clear your mind and simply concentrate on either your breathing or your heartbeat. Breathe in slowly and deeply - see if it makes a difference to your heartbeat. Put your hand on your abdomen and be aware of how your breathing will make it slightly rise and fall.  It can help to imagine that each in-breath is pulling in soft, cool blue air and each out-breath is sending out soft warm, pink air (change the colours to what feels right for you).

2. Your body may be very tense without you realising it. So, starting with just your toes - clench them really tightly and hold for five seconds. Then relax and stretch them out completely. Move onto the whole of both feet - push them downwards, hold for five seconds then relax them. Move to the calf muscles and do the same, clenching as tight as possible, hold for five seconds then completely relax them.  Move up your body via knees, thighs, abdomen, hands, arms, shoulders and even face. Screw up every muscle in the face - you may even want to grimace as widely as you can.  If you feel the need, start the whole process again, although you may fall asleep before you reach the end!