A Quick Fix for Insomnia

Insomnia is usually caused by a psychological or physiological imbalance/disorder. Sometimes, the original cause is resolved on its own or by conscious effort. However, even when the cause of the original insomnia is removed, a sort of "ghost" of the former insomnia remains; we still can't fall asleep at a normal bedtime.  This happens because are bodies have gotten used to not being able to sleep at a regular time period, and the sleepless momentum is maintained. Formally, this is known as a delayed sleep cycle.

I have developed a "quick fix" that serves as a solution to a delayed sleep cycle and as a temporary solution to chronic insomnia. What I mean by temporary solution is that it will give you the sleep you need until you can resolve the true cause of your your insomnia. You will need two things:

1. Melatonin
   
2. A relaxing tea

Melatonin is a supplement that contains a hormone your body produces to make you sleepy. It is much safer than sleep medications and your body does not develop tolerance to it. It is available in the supplement area of any pharmacy or health food store. You should take somewhere between 0.3 and 1 mg, 1 hour before you want to fall asleep. Start by taking 0.3 the first night. If that doesn't work, then you can keep increasing the dose every night until you get a satisfactory result. I do not recommend going above 5 mg. If you reach that high and you're still not falling asleep, then you definitely have an underlying medical condition you need to get checked out.
Melatonin alone is pretty effective, but to make sure you fall asleep, you should take it with a relaxing tea such as chamomile or linden. You should keep experimenting with tea until you find one that works for you. Personally, my favorite is chamomile. You may take any tea except green, black, or any other caffeinated tea for this to work.

Before trying any of this, however, you should go get your condition checked out with a doctor to see if any underlying medical conditions may be causing your insomnia. Also, if you're insomnia is caused by vivid nightmares, then I do not recommend this for you.

Potential Problems That May Come Up

Now this combination works wonders, but it may leave you a little bit groggy throughout the day. To address this, you can do two things. The first is to lessen your dose of melatonin: you could simply be taking too much. The second thing you can do is take green tea when you wake up. Green tea is probably one of the healthiest drinks you will ever find, and the reason I recommend it is because it has a little bit of caffeine to get you up and running. If green tea is not strong enough, then you can go for black tea (or maybe even coffee).

Another problem you may come up with is supplement sizes. For some reason, many melatonin supplements are sold in dosages of 1 mg or greater. This is inconvenient because higher doses of melatonin may cause grogginess and other side effects. Ideally, you should find melatonin supplements that come in dosages of 0.3 mg. If you can't, then find the lowest dosage in tablet form, and bite off as much as you need from the tablet ;)

Update 1/27/10       Do not take melatonin on a full stomach. Empty stomach is best, but taken with a small meal is OK.