Just because you are looking for ways to fall asleep doesn’t mean that your issue is falling asleep first thing. A lot of people have what is called Middle Insomnia. This is where you have no trouble falling asleep initially, but then you wake up in the middle of the night unable to get back to sleep. I have suffered from middle insomnia for much of my life. If I wake up in the middle of the night, chances are I am not getting back to sleep at all. I have always struggled dealing with the side effects of insomnia. This was especially troubling when my boys were babies. I would wake up to feed them at midnight and then be up for the rest of the night.
I guess falling asleep and then waking up is better than not falling asleep at all, but the truth is the middle insomnia can really wreck havoc on your life. It is such a problem that they now make Ambien that slowly releases over night to help people deal with middle insomnia. Middle insomnia treatment is especially difficult, because most sleep medications (Ambien included) require that you sleep for at least six hours or you will feel groggy the next day.
Now, I am not promotion that you go out and start taking Ambien. In fact, I am not a huge fan of prescription sleep drugs at all. I have taken them before and while they helped, I never really got good sleep until I started focusing on natural ways to fall asleep and stay asleep.
Potential Causes of Middle Insomnia
The causes of insomnia are different for each person. If you have middle insomnia, the first thing that you need to do is examine your environment. Is there something that is waking you up in the middle of the night?
If it is a noise (other than your kids of course) try drowning it out with some white noise. I slept with headphones and white noise when I lived in a city and sirens kept waking me up at night.
Light can also be the problem, either from a street light or early morning sun. Here in Arizona, the sun is bright so early I found that I couldn’t get a full night’s sleep without black-out shades.
If the temperature of your home is too hot or cold, this can also wake you up at night. Most people sleep better between 65 and 70 degrees, but it is important that you figure out what works best for you. While you may shy away from the expense of running the air conditioner at night, if that is the price of a good nights sleep, that is well worth it.
Of course, things like pain or numb limbs can also wake you up at night. I have a really hard time if I sleep on a mattress that is too hard because my arms will fall asleep. A pillow top always does the trick at helping me sleep better. (And, it is much cheaper than the expense of a new mattress!)
Very often, the cause of middle insomnia is emotional. Most of us wake up due to anxiety from time to time. Dealing with the anxiety in your life is critical if you want to get a good night sleep. In the short run, you may want to consider herbal insomnia remedies, like Valerian, that can help relax you so that you can get a good nights sleep.
Stay tuned for more on how to fall asleep fast and more easy ways to fall asleep.
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