HOW TO FIGHT INSOMNIA NATURALLY: 10 REMEDIES - ECONOMÍA - 2025

Fighting insomnia naturally is necessary when there is too much difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or getting enough hours of sleep.

Psychotropic drugs can create dependency and produce other side effects, and they also have an economic cost. Therefore it is better to look for natural solutions and avoid chemical ones.

In addition to treating the condition that is causing your insomnia, if any, there are certain lifestyle changes, certain therapies, and some medications that can help fight insomnia.

Many times this sleep disorder is a symptom caused by other conditions, such as:

• Depression
• Stress
• Anxiety or restless leg syndrome.
• Other times, it may be primary insomnia.

Natural remedies to share insomnia

Relaxation techniques

To try to fall asleep you can practice a simple exercise:

1-Breathe in for 4 seconds.

2-Hold your breath for 7 seconds.

3-Exhale for 4 seconds.

The numbers can change. The idea is that you repeat this sequence, concentrating on counting until you fall asleep.

For more relaxation techniques you can visit this article.

Do sports 3-4 hours before bed

If you're having trouble sleeping well for no apparent reason, making a few lifestyle changes can go a long way toward improving the quantity and quality of your sleep.

One of them is to do sports to burn energy and feel tired before going to sleep. It is advisable that you exercise up to two hours before going to bed. If you go to sleep shortly after doing sports, I may still be physiologically activated and it will be more difficult for you to sleep.

Drink milk with honey

It is a natural and traditional remedy that works. Milk has the amino acid tryptophan, which increases the neurotransmitter serotonin, which acts as a natural sedative in the brain.

As for honey, it will allow serotonin to reach the brain earlier. If you are hungry you can have carbohydrate foods like a turkey or banana sandwich.

Take a hot bath

Taking a hot bath before going to bed can help you fall asleep earlier.

Do a routine

Having a routine every time you go to sleep will help you fall asleep. It is important that you do not have surprises that prevent you from worrying or being stressed when sleeping.

A routine can be:

• Do sports 3-4 hours before sleeping.
• Take a hot bath two hours before bed.
• A heavy dinner can also hinder sleep, better choose light meals for that time of day.
• Two hours before going to bed, do not perform stressful tasks and avoid spending a lot of time in front of the computer screen or the TV. Don't look at the email. Instead, try reading a book or doing some other gentle chore.
• Make sure that the environment in your bedroom is conducive to a good rest: no bright lights, no annoying noise, cool room temperature.
• Try to always go to sleep at the same time.
• Don't check your smartphone in the middle of the night.
• Get up at the same time every day, if possible, even on weekends.

Other habits

• Don't use coffee, tobacco, alcohol, or other stimulant drugs, especially at night.
• Exercising 5 to 6 hours before bed can make it easier to sleep.
• Some medications for migraines or colds contain caffeine, try to avoid their consumption.
• Try to avoid sudden changes in work hours and night shifts.

Many drink a little alcohol before going to sleep, as this initially helps them fall asleep. However, when there is alcohol in the blood, sleep tends to be much lighter and less restful. For this reason, it is not recommended to consume alcohol to counteract insomnia.

Visit this article to learn more about the consequences of alcoholism.

If anxiety is what keeps you from sleeping, a good method to put problems out of your head before going to bed is the following: write everything that worries you in a journal or a simple piece of paper.

If you are worried about everything you have to do the next day and that prevents you from falling asleep, write it down as well. In this way, these thoughts "pass" to paper and leave your mind calmer and more relaxed, facilitating sleep.

However, it should be noted that lifestyle changes aimed at better sleep hygiene are ineffective by themselves in chronic and some acute insomnia. Therefore, the ideal is to combine these measures with other therapies, psychological or pharmacological.

Over-the-counter medications and supplements

Valerian

There are also many natural-based nutritional supplements and over-the-counter medications that can help fight insomnia problems. Some of the available options are as follows:

Melatonin

Melatonin is a natural hormone produced by the pineal gland, and is responsible for regulating the cycles of wakefulness and sleep. It is secreted only at night, being inhibited during the day by the effect of sunlight.

Some studies suggest that the contribution of exogenous melatonin could be useful for the treatment of insomnia, although in reality its effectiveness has not yet been reliably proven in young and healthy adults with sleep problems.

Anyway, nothing is lost by trying. If you have insomnia problems, go to the pharmacy and ask for melatonin. They say it works best in people over 55 years of age.

Valerian

Valerian is one of the medicinal herbs most used by people with sleep problems. It can be used in the form of a dried herb, extract or tincture.

Some studies have shown some degree of effectiveness of valerian treatments in people with insomnia. In addition, it is an herb that can be used safely, as it has practically no side effects.

A treatment of two valerian pills combined with hops showed good results compared to placebo, in terms of improving the quality of sleep.

Lavender, linden, poppy or passionflower extracts are also often used in combination with other herbs to treat insomnia, although their effectiveness has not been proven in scientific studies either.

In summary, if you have insomnia problems, first try to take measures related to your lifestyle: go to bed at the same time always, avoid coffee or other stimulating drinks, etc.

In the event that despite this you continue to have problems sleeping, there is no doubt that it is best to consult your doctor, who will evaluate your particular case to indicate the treatment that best suits your situation.

Cognitive behavioral therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a psychological therapy that focuses on ideas and actions that can disturb sleep. Try to encourage good habits and use various methods to relieve the anxiety caused by insomnia problems.

For example, this type of therapy can be used to learn relaxation techniques that reduce anxiety by controlling breathing, heart rate, mood, and muscles.

CBT also focuses on replacing anxiety with more positive ideas, again linking being in bed with falling asleep. With these techniques you will also know what to do if you go to bed but do not fall asleep in a reasonable time.

If this happens to you, it is best to get up again and do some peaceful and relaxed task, until you feel sleepy again. Initially, CBT will limit the time you spend in bed to the short amount of time you can stay asleep, to avoid a negative association. Over time, this period will increase until you can sleep through the night.

CBT takes place in individual sessions with a therapist or in a group. In this way, you can analyze your ideas and feelings about the dream and correct any thoughts that need to be changed. This type of therapy is usually performed in weekly sessions, for two or three months and very good results are obtained in 70% or 80% of patients.

There are those who believe that CBT may be as effective as medications in chronic insomnia. It may even be the best long-term solution.

In people who have insomnia due to major depression, cognitive behavioral therapy combined with antidepressant medications has been shown to be very effective for both conditions.

Prescription drugs

There are many medications that your doctor can prescribe to combat insomnia. Some should be used for a short time, while others can be used for a longer time.

Some of these drugs can have side effects or cause dependency. You should always consult your doctor about these aspects before requesting or starting to take this type of medication.

Medications for insomnia can be basically divided into benzodiazepines, non-benzodiazepines and neuroleptics with sedative effect.

Benzodiazepines

Benzodiazepines act as depressants of the nervous system and facilitate physical and mental relaxation, reducing activity in the brain.

There is a wide variety of benzodiazepines (alprazolam, lorazepam, diazepam, flurazepam, among others) and one or the other is generally prescribed depending on the type of insomnia and the half-life of the drug. For example, rapid-elimination benzodiazepines are used for transient insomnia, and short-acting ones for short-term insomnia.

In cases of long-standing chronic insomnia, a benzodiazepine is often used in conjunction with cognitive behavioral therapy, frequently also in combination with an antidepressant with a sedative effect (amitriptyline, trazodone, mianserin, maprotiline, etc.), although some Experts recommend using benzodiazepines only for occasional or short-term insomnia.

It should also be noted that benzodiazepines can have negative side effects, such as daytime sleepiness, headache, nausea, and fatigue. After two weeks of treatment, there may also be tolerance, dependence, and withdrawal symptoms if treatment is abruptly abandoned.

For this reason and in general terms, experts recommend using benzodiazepines only for the treatment of acute insomnia, using the fastest elimination drugs in the lowest possible doses, extending the treatment no more than 2 or 4 weeks.

Non-Benzodiazepine Medications

In recent years, new drugs of various chemical groups have been developed to replace benzodiazepines in the treatment of insomnia, trying to avoid their side effects (daytime sleepiness, dependence, etc.).

Although insomnia is often a chronic condition, the only drug that has been approved by the United States FDA (Food and Drug Administration) for the treatment of insomnia, without a time limit, is eszopiclone, a drug that until recently it had not yet been approved in Spain.

Other drugs that are included in the group of Non-benzodiazepines for the treatment of insomnia are zolpidem, zopiclone and zaleplon, among others. These drugs have shown significant improvement in adult patients with chronic insomnia, although some adverse effects may also occur, such as daytime sleepiness, confusion, headaches, tremors, rapid heartbeat, anxiety or panic attacks.

Zaleplon is a drug that is absorbed and eliminated quickly, so it helps to fall asleep, although it does not usually increase the number of hours you spend sleeping. It can be a good option for people who have a hard time falling asleep.

On the other hand, if what you want to achieve is to increase the number of hours and the quality of sleep, it is possible that better results will be achieved with zolpidem.

In some of the most recent studies on the use of this type of medication for the treatment of insomnia, the results of an intermittent treatment have been evaluated, according to the needs of the patient, instead of a daily and continuous treatment.

In this way, it is intended that patients consider that they have control over the drug and not the other way around, reducing the possibility of drug dependence.

Although good results were obtained compared to the placebo group, intermittent treatment was not as effective as daily.

Neuroleptics with sedative effect

As mentioned above, benzodiazepines and non-benzodiazepine hypnotics are the most commonly used medications for the treatment of insomnia. However, the risk of dependence on long-term treatments often forces us to seek other therapeutic alternatives, such as the use of antidepressants or neuroleptics with a sedative effect.

Typical antipsychotics, such as haloperidol, often cause certain adverse effects and drug interactions. However, newer antipsychotics, such as quetiapine for example, may play an important role in the treatment of chronic insomnia, although their use for this purpose has not yet been approved.

However, despite everything, the new antipsychotics may be an option to consider in cases of insomnia resistant to other treatments.

And what do you do to combat insomnia?