Treatments for Insomnia

Sleep Disorders

Disclaimer: the information provided here is for educational purposes only. Should you have problems with getting off to sleep, you are advised to seek the help of a profesional and under no circumstances to attempt to self-cure yourself. Messing around with remedies, some of which may be toxic if not treated properly, is foolhardy.

Human Life years gone by

In the past the human day would have revolved around the rhythms of mother nature. Rising when the sun rose, spending the day foraging, tending to the young and old, meditating, talking and eating, people lived at a natual pace. These days, however, all this has changed.

I believe the roots of the downhill spiral lie in the Industrial Revolution which began in England around 1760; they may, however, be a little before or a little after this event. The point is we have landed in a situation under which we no longer operate at mother nature's rhythms: we have usurped them and supplanted our own ideas in the place of nature.

Human Life Today

Rather than awaken with the rise of the sun, we are snatched out of our sleepful reverie by an alarm clock. Rather than spending the day looking for food and fuel with loved ones, we work in artificially lit offices and factories, doing artificial work whose value, at best, can be considered doubtful. And rather than working at our body's natural pace, we work at the pace of the computer or machine: “Man has become a mere appendage to the machine”, in the words of Karl Marx. (I am not a communist, but that man does have some great turns of phrase).

These developments have not taken place without effects on our spiritual and physical health. A hugely common cluster of disorders one sees in healing practice today are sleep disorders. I firmly believe they arise from the dictates of modern society – it stands to reason (furthermore, you never hear about Biblical characters complaning about problems getting off to sleep).

Some of my favourite remedies

There are a multidude of homeopathic remedies out there for those with this kind of problem. As ever, the remedy is tailored to the person and her particularity; the choice of remedy, its method of delivery and the level of potentisation will vary with each different circumstance. Here are a few that I like and use most often:

Valeriana

Especially useful for those only able to drop off towards morning, after a night of tossing and turning. When finally sleep comes it is full of anxious dreams. Often comes in herbal form as an infusion.

Valeriana

Arsenicum

Helps those who suffer feelings of suffocation during sleep and thus use many pillows under their head. These patients often get very thirsty and must drink several times through the night. After midnight, sleep gets worse with tossing and turning going on until the early hours.

Arsenicum

Oak Bark

Some people feel tired after having gone to bed, but are completely unable to sleep. Their minds may be active and full of ideas or reflections about the day gone by and this may go on for 3-4 hours. Finally, when sleep does come it is deep but broken too soon by the alarm clock.

Oak bark

Pulsatilla

As she goes to bed, the patient does not feel in the least bit tired although in the afternoon she may have felt tired. It may take some considerable time or sleep to occur once she has 'hit the sack', causing distress and irritation for a life partner who has to endure the tossing and turning.

Pulsatilla

There are many more remedies out there but these are just a few of my personal favourites. Of course, as ever, the choice of remedy depends on a host of factors for which it is beyond the scope of this blog to explore.

Peace,Love,Respect. Darryl.xx