After a busy day at work, we all look forward to getting home and eating a home cooked meal for dinner. This will be ideally followed by a period of time relaxing and unwinding with our loved one, ready for a good night's sleep.

This, however, is often when the problems start, as most people suffer from sleep disturbance at some time throughout their life. As an alternative to counting sheep, there are a number of natural remedies available to aid a good night's sleep. This would include turning to a range of herbs , many of which can be grown in your own garden.

Lavender is perhaps the most commonly used herb to aid sleep. Lavender is best used as a remedy by first drying the flowers, then placing them into a muslin bag. This can then be popped into your pillowcase, where the aroma will have a calming effect, so aiding relaxation, followed by slumber. (more...)

Most people suffer from lack of sleep sometime throughout their lives. For most this means one or two nights of restlessness, where they just cannot drop off to sleep.

There are a large number of people, however, who suffer from insomnia for long periods of time. There are a number of identifiable causes for insomnia, including depression, pain disorders and anxiety.

Severe depression is perhaps the most common cause of long term insomnia. For the medical treatment of severe depression there are a number of anti-depressants available which can be prescribed by your GP. (more...)

There are few people who can boast that they always get a good night's sleep. We will all, at some time of our lives, suffer from sleep disturbance or insomnia .

For most people this is a temporary infliction, just lasting for a few nights at a time. Many people do, however, suffer from not sleeping properly for weeks or even months at a time.

As with any medical condition, there are various identifiable degrees of insomnia to be found in sufferers of this often debilitating condition. (more...)

The ability to sleep is an extremely underrated advantage and luxury; especially for those who are unable to do so for whatever reason, for long periods of time.

The side effects of long term insomnia cannot be underestimated. Sufferers will suffer from severe impairment to their basic functions when they are awake, such as lack of co-ordination, concentration and the ability to undertake the most basic of everyday tasks.

There are various identifiable patterns and degrees of insomnia, often unique to the sufferer. Transient insomnia is perhaps the least debilitating, as it is usually a temporary condition, lasting no more than a week at a time. (more...)

For many people, a good night out will comprise of a meal, washed down with the drink of your choice. This will often be followed by consuming even more copious amounts of alcohol at a bar or club, before eventually returning home in the early hours to sleep it all off.

This is where many people are mistaken, as despite thoughts to the contrary, alcohol does not induce quality sleep. Although consuming a large amount of alcohol will often make you pass out the minute your head hits the pillow, it does not allow you to enjoy an adequate and deep sleep.

This is due to the alcohol producing more glutamine within the body, which in turn will stimulate the brain, preventing deep sleep. The dehydration caused by alcohol will also result in the drinker suffering from headaches, which will in turn keep them awake. (more...)

We have all been brought up to believe that the traditional eight hours sleep a night is vital if we want to wake up feeling refreshed and alert. Many of us even go to bed earlier than we would naturally want to, as we feel brainwashed by this point of view.

The truth is, however, that many people just do not need eight hours every night, and some people can still be at their optimal performance level with five or six hours.

Other factors to take into consideration are the amount of television that you watch, or computer games that you play. What you eat and drink are also very important, as too much rich food eaten too late or too much alcohol can have a considerable effect on your sleep pattern. (more...)

There is nothing worse than insomnia. Trying to find the time in today's hectic lifestyle to ensure that you get enough sleep is difficult at the best of times, but to be unable to sleep is an absolute nightmare.

There are several insomnia cures on the market which you can pick up without prescription from your local high street chemist, and these can be a help to many people. If the insomnia is very bad, then you may need to visit your G.P. for something stronger.

However, before you resort to medication, there are many things that you can do to try to alleviate the insomnia. Some people firmly believe that bad digestion and diet is the root cause of many symptoms, and insomnia could at least partly be attributable to diet. (more...)

Do you ever wake up and know that you have dreamed something completely wild but not been able to remember it? Last night you know that you had a whole novel going on in your head, but now it is a blank piece of paper. Why do we forget so easily?

Most of our dreams occur during REM sleep , or Rapid Eye Movement. It is characterised by just that, a pattern of shifting eye movements under our eye-lids while we are asleep. It is during this time that some of our most bizarre dreams can happen, many of which JK Rowling would be proud of.

However mundane our ordinary life is, it is while we are asleep that we can do crazy and impossible things, things that seem perfectly reasonable when we dream. The sequence of time and events can be mixed up, the logical becomes confused with the illogical or impossible. It is when we dream that that our wildest dreams or worst nightmares can become real. (more...)

As doctors dutifully inform us, the human body needs rest to function effectively. The standard eight hours of sleep per night has remained unquestioned for decades now. But how many of us actually get our eight hours? The result of a recent study may surprise you.

According to said study, between 20 and 40 percent of all adults suffer from insomnia. What is it? The term insomnia is a rather broad one. Generally speaking, it relates to periods in our lives where our sleep (or lack thereof) disrupts our lives. This may include problems getting to sleep, problems staying asleep, or overall poor quality of sleep.

As we mentioned, insomnia often only becomes an issue when it has a negative effective on our lives. So, when you are cramming for exams and only getting four hours of sleep per night, that is not insomnia. That is intentional sleep deprivation. Insomnia is when you actually want to sleep, but cannot. Are there natural treatments ? (more...)

In order to fall asleep, a person must be relaxed. That seems a rather obvious statement, no? But what is not so obvious is the link between anxiety and insomnia. Well, at least not until recently.

A series of studies have determined that anxiety disorders can lead to the release of hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. And while these hormones are essential in certain situations, especially in athletic events, they are not conducive to relaxation or sleep.

What exactly is an anxiety disorder? The term is an extremely broad one that is often characterized by feelings of discomfort, nervousness or even fear in certain, specific situations. For instance, one of the most common anxiety disorders is social anxiety, which obviously manifests itself in social situations. (more...)

sleep apnea is one of the most common and potentially dangerous sleeping disorders on the planet. Doctors estimate that around three percent of the adult population of the UK suffers from it. We also know that men are nearly twice as likely to be diagnosed with the disorder as women. What exactly is it? The word apnea comes from a Greek word that means without breath. Basically, a person with chronic sleep apnea will actually stop breathing as they sleep, sometimes hundreds of times a night. As you might expect, when they stop breathing for long enough, they will often wake up, sometimes dozens of times a night.

Not surprisingly, people who suffer from this disorder do not get much sleep. What causes it? The most common type of apnea is called obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and it is a simple breathing disorder. What happens is that the breath gets caught in the upper airway and cannot reach the lungs. Occasionally, when a sufferer is in deep REM sleep, he will not wake up even if he stops breathing, but his sleep will still be affected.

Why does it happen? Not every case of chronic sleep apnea can be explained. But we do know that overweight and obese people are far more likely to suffer from the disorder than individuals who are at an ideal or average weight. (more...)

One of the most common sleeping disorders in the UK is one that you have probably never heard of. It is called nocturia, or nighttime urination , and it affects older people disproportionately. One survey found that more than half of all men and women over the age of sixty complained of nocturia.

What causes it? For years, it was believed that an enlarged prostate was the only explanation for nighttime urination. That was until it was revealed that elderly women suffer from nocturia at pretty much the same rate as elderly men.

That means that doctors have no easy answers. Instead, they believe there are numerous contributing factors that include changes in the kidneys, the bladder, and changes in general sleeping patterns. All of these changes may have an effect on either urine production or the ability of the patient to determine when he needs to use the bathroom. (more...)

It is estimated that over 25 percent of the UK population suffers from some type of sleep disorder. This includes everything from simple snoring, to insomnia, to truly dangerous disorders like sleep apnea. And while the reason for sleep disturbances is occasionally physical or even psychological, more often than not the explanation is behavioural.

In short: You are doing something you shouldn't be doing and that's why you are not sleeping. What are you doing? Hey, don't look at us! Okay, if we had to guess, we would say you're probably consuming too many Stimulants before bed.

What is a stimulant? Any drug that temporarily accelerates physiological activity is a stimulant. This includes increased heart rate, arousal and blood pressure. Essentially, stimulants make you more alert, both mentally and physically. Now, how do you expect to get to sleep when you are all pumped up on stimulants? Sleep requires extreme relaxation and as a general rule all stimulants should be avoided for at least two hours before you slip under the covers. (more...)

Insomnia is one of the most common sleep disorders in the UK. It is estimated that more than seven million people suffer from it. And that is just the inveterate insomniacs. Millions more suffer from bouts of insomnia throughout their lives.

What causes insomnia? There are dozens of explanations. And most of them can be placed into one of three categories: behavioural, physical or psychological. But whatever the cause, doctors typically have a single solution — sleeping aids. Each year, insomniacs in the UK spend hundreds of millions of pounds on them.

The two most common classes of sleeping pills are benzodiazepines and barbiturates. As you might expect, both classes of drug are quite effective at inducing sleep. But they do have side effects , sometimes even serious ones. (more...)

Sleep aids are some of the most popular medications in the UK. Whether in over-the-counter or prescription forms, millions of people rely on them to whisk them away to dreamland. But just how safe are these pills?

Yes, we have all read those tiny words on the bottle: May be habit forming. But what exactly does that mean? To answer this question, let us take a quick look back at the history of sleeping aids.

The very first sleeping pills were barbiturates, and they were not only extremely effective, but also highly addictive . But because doctors had deemed them safe, tens of thousands of people became addicted to them. Some of them even died after overdoses. (more...)

Why do we work and play during the day and sleep at night? It seems like an easy question to answer. But the truth is that it has little to do with social patterns or habits. In fact, scientists are just beginning to understand sleep cycles and how they are affected by daylight and darkness.

Of particular concern to scientists is the role of naturally produced hormones in the body and how they can either wake us up or put us to sleep. One hormone that has been studied extensively is called melatonin .

Melatonin is produced by the pineal gland and it is not released until the sun goes down. Once it enters the blood, melatonin works as a natural soporific that lowers the heart rate and makes people feel more relaxed. This process often begins about an hour after sundown. (more...)

Insomnia is the world's most common sleep disorder. In the UK alone, an estimated seven million people suffer from it. The disorder is often separated into three different types: transient, acute and chronic. Both acute and chronic insomnia can and often do have a profound effect on a person's quality of life.

At one time or another, almost everyone suffers bouts of insomnia. Often, it is the result of stress at home or work or general worry or concern about a friend or family member. Yes, transient insomnia is disruptive, but it is also quite normal. However, acute and chronic insomnia means that you haven't had a good night's sleep in weeks, months, even years.

What is the cause? Well, that's the problem. Since there are literally dozens of legitimate causes of insomnia, it can be extremely hard to treat. As you might expect, doctors often start with the most common culprits and then move on down the list to things like low magnesium . (more...)