I Do Not Want To Take Pills for my Insomnia

Many people suffer from insomnia.  Whether it is a child or an adult, a stressful time or an ongoing problem, or you can’t fall asleep or stay asleep.  Insomnia affects everyone at some time or another.  The issue is that although there are medications that might help many people do not want to start with medication to solve this problem.  So what care some solutions to help?

• Look at your sleep environment.  Clutter can creep up on you or your child and can cause you to feel uneasy.  Clean up the bedroom.  Make it a relaxing place.  If there is a work desk in there make sure it is cleared and should not remind you of work that needs to be done.  This is especially true of children during the school year.  Make sure the curtains block out light and reduce noise. You want a comfortable dark quiet environment.
• Is your per sleeping with you?  Pets can be very disruptive during the night.  They may be loving and affectionate but this does not help you to sleep.  If you have a dog that is prone to dreaming and nightmares they can disturb your sleep as well. 
• Add relaxation techniques to your bedtime routine.  There are many ways of adding relaxation techniques to your evening routine.  Progressive relaxation is one of the easiest to teach yourself of your child.  You basically go through your body one part at a time and systematically tighten and relax your muscles.  You can use a CD of guided imagery to help you to relax your mind.  You can even do a simple yoga routine to help stretch your body and center your mind.
• If you have been in bed for 30 minutes and are wide awake get up.  Take time to do a quiet activity like reading.  Do not watch television or get on the computer as they will stimulate the region of your brain that tells you it is time to be awake. 
• Get some exercise in the morning.  If you go out and take a walk in the morning it will not only stimulate your body to be awake but the light will stimulate your brain to be awake.  This will help you to be more awake and less fatigued during the day so you are able to sleep better at night.
• Do not take a nap.  This does not apply to young children who need more sleep because they are growing and learning.  This applies to adults especially on the weekends.  Sleep during the day will decrease your drive to sleep during the night when you want to sleep. 

These are just some ideas on how to help improve your sleep and reduce your night time insomnia.  If you continue to have issues with insomnia then visit your doctor and discuss your symptoms with him.  Your insomnia may be caused from something that your doctor can help you with.  The most important part is to not allow yourself to be too tired during the day because that will cause other problems you do not want.