Health Articles > Conditions-and-diseases > General Approaches to Overcoming Insomnia

Insomnia is a sleeping disorder characterized by an inability to sleep or to stay asleep for a reasonable period of time. Insomniacs cannot fall asleep and if they do, thy wake up a few minutes or an hour after they have fallen asleep. Some insomniacs manage to get some sleep but they do not feel relaxed in the morning. Insomnia can last for days, months or years. If a person is not able to sleep well for three weeks and more than this is a chronic insomnia. It is the most dangerous type as it cam lead to health problems. The reasons for insomnia may be various - stress, anxiety, fear, depression, physical pain, caffeine, medications, or simply overactive mind. Overcoming insomnia may be a hard task especially if it is caused by a psychological problem. In any case the first thing to do is to determine the reason. A clear reason is a half solved the problem. Obviously this is the hardest task since in most of the cases finding the real reason for insomnia is quite difficult. Many people who are in perfect health and are not taking any medicines that may cause insomnia still suffer from it. The reason being is that insomnia is mostly connected with our minds and even the simplest thing that makes us nervous or anxious may cause it, even if it is subconscious. In general there are medical and alternative methods for overcoming insomnia. Sleeping drugs and other sedatives are the most common treatment for many insomniacs. The problem however is that some drugs create an addiction and are potentially harmful to the overall human health. Another approach to overcoming insomnia is by cognitive behavior treatment. In this case insomniacs are taught how to rest better and how to improve their sleeping habits. Some research even show that this kind of treatment has better results than the traditional medical treatments. The alternative methods for overcoming insomnia include acupuncture, meditation, herbal aids, dietary changes. Most of these methods are based on Traditional Chinese medicine and often a combination of methods is used to fight insomnia. A treatment cycle may include full revision of the eating habits, acupuncture and taking special herbs for example. While the results vary according to each specific condition, in general the good side of the alternative healing practices is that no chemical drugs are being used which is much better. There are also some non medical insomnia "cures". Drinking hot milk with honey before sleep, taking a hot bath, aromatherapy, listening to slow paced music, avoiding mentally stimulating activities in the evenings. Some people suffering from insomnia even walk up as early as possible in the morning hoping to get tired by bedtime.