Insomnia occurs when you have trouble falling or staying asleep. More than one third of adults experience insomnia. It is more of a problem than a disease; as prolonged insomnia affects areas of life, such as work, school or home. These areas should not be negatively impacted unnecessarily. There are steps you can take to help with insomnia. However, a combination of behavioral changes and medications have been found to be the most effective.
Step 1
Learn relaxation techniques, such a breathing exercises or yoga. Anxiety or stress can cause insomnia. Utilizing these techniques before bed can reduce stress or anxiety and induce relaxation, allowing you to fall asleep more peacefully and sleep throughout the night.
Step 2
Avoid or limit your intake of caffeine, alcohol or nicotine. Each of these items is a stimulant and if used too close to bedtime can prevent you from being able to relax and fall asleep.
Step 3
Isolate your bedroom to be used only for sleeping or intimate purposes. When you introduce other activities, such as eating or watching television into your bedroom, you subconsciously send a message to yourself that the bedroom is for activity instead of rest.
Step 4
Hide the clocks or at least your view of them. It is okay to use whatever mechanism you prefer to wake up in the morning, such as an alarm clock, but you should position it in a way so that you cannot see it during the night. Although minimal, watching the clock creates other mental activity that causes you to remain awake. Set your alarm and turn the face of the clock away so you can still reach it when it is time to wake up.
Step 5
Avoid "trying" to fall asleep. If you get into bed and are not able to fall asleep within a few minutes, get back up and try an activity, such as reading, to quiet down your mind. Getting into bed before you are sleepy forces you to try and sleep before it is time.
Step 6
Take an over-the-counter sleeping aid, such as Unisom. Sleeping aids are helpful in inducing sleep but you should also make behavioral changes to avoid a dependency on a sleeping aid to help you fall asleep.
Step 7
Take a prescription medication, such as Ambien. Ambien, also known as zolpidem, is a sedative used to treat insomnia. The components of Ambien work by creating a balance in the chemicals that allow you to fall asleep.
Things You'll Need
- Sleep aid
