This is How You Cure Insomnia Once and For All

We spend over a third of our time sleeping. But unfortunately for many of us, sleep isn't a simple ON/OFF switch we can just activate at a moment's notice. Do you struggle to sleep even though you feel tired and sleepy? Do you wake up in the middle of the night anxiously watching the clock, calculating how much time you've got left to sleep? If you've answered yes to any of these questions, you're not alone. About 2 out of 5 people share your problem.

Insomnia is a common, devastating problem that can cost us our energy, our good mood, our ability to function and ultimately our health. If the situation becomes chronic, it can lead to more serious health problems and even a shortening of our life span, according to experts. 

 

Insomnia in itself is not the problem but is usually a symptom of a variety of other potential problems. The trick is identifying the underlying cause of our insomnia and finding the right treatment for that problem. Sometimes insomnia hides more serious medical or psychological issues, and sometimes there is no easy cure for it, and one must take special supplements or pills to sleep.

Common Symptoms of Insomnia: 

Difficulty falling asleep despite being tired 

Waking up frequently during the night 

Trouble getting back to sleep when awakened 

Exhausting sleep 

Relying on alcohol to fall asleep 

Waking up too early in the morning 

 Daytime drowsiness, fatigue, or irritability 

Difficulty concentrating during the day 

 

Causes of Insomnia: Figuring out why you can’t sleep  

Let's put on our detective hat and try to find the reasons for our insomnia. Sleep detectives like ourselves take note of factors such as stress, anxiety, and depression, which are responsible for about half of all insomnia cases. In addition, they note the daytime habits, the sleep routine and the actual physical health of the person to understand their impact on the quality of their sleep.

Psychological issues that may cause insomnia: 

Depression, anxiety, chronic stress, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder. 

 

People who suffer from these mental stresses have a hard time sleeping, not only because of their inner turmoil but because the body is physically preventing sleep because of these issues. Unfortunately, the lack of sleep tends to make these problems worse, and thus a vicious cycle is made, where we are constantly tired, cranky, anxious and depressed, and can't sleep to boot. 

 

Medications that may cause insomnia:  

Antidepressants; cold and flu medications that contain alcohol; pain relievers that contain caffeine (Midol, Excedrin); diuretics, corticosteroids, thyroid hormone, high blood pressure medications. Make sure to always check with your doctor, and research the medication you're taking to make sure that one of the side effects is not insomnia.

Medical problems that can cause insomnia: Asthma, allergies, Parkinson’s disease, hyperthyroidism, acid reflux, kidney disease, cancer, chronic pain. 

 

Sleep disorders that can cause insomnia: Sleep apnea (trouble breathing during the night that results in the person not breathing, then waking up many times in the night without knowing why), narcolepsy, restless legs syndrome. 

 

How to cure your insomnia: 

Some of the things we do to cope with our lack of sleep may actually do us harm, such as drinking a lot of coffee during the day to wake up or alcohol (red wine for example) at night to fall asleep. Often, changing the habits that are reinforcing sleeplessness is enough to overcome insomnia altogether. It may take a few days for your body to get used to the change, but once you do, you will sleep better. 

 

That is the easy solution half the time. If a change of habits and relaxation really don't do the trick, there are remedies on the market that can help. 

 

Adopting new habits to help you sleep 

 

 Make sure your bedroom is quiet, dark, and cool. Noise, light, and heat can interfere with sleep. Try using a sound machine or earplugs to block outside noise, an open window or fan to keep the room cool, and blackout curtains or a sleep mask to block out light. 

 

Stick to a regular sleep schedule. Support your biological clock by going to bed and getting up at the same time every day, including weekends, even if you’re tired. This will help you get back in a regular sleep rhythm. 

 

Avoid naps. Napping during the day can make it more difficult to sleep at night. If you feel like you have to take a nap, limit it to 30 minutes before 3 p.m. 

 

Limit caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine. Stop drinking caffeinated beverages at least eight hours before bed. Avoid drinking alcohol in the evening; while alcohol can make you feel sleepy, it interferes with the quality of your sleep. Quit smoking or avoid it at night, as nicotine is a stimulant.

Preparing your brain for sleep  

Your brain produces the hormone melatonin to help regulate your sleep-wake cycle. As melatonin is controlled by light exposure, not enough natural light during the day can make your brain feel sleepy, while too much artificial light at night can suppress the production of melatonin and make it harder to sleep. 

 

To boost melatonin production, use low-wattage bulbs, cover windows and electrical displays in your bedroom, avoid bright light and turn off the television, smartphone, and computer screens at least one hour before bed.

Learn to associate your bed with sleeping, not sleeplessness 

Use the bedroom only for sleeping. Don’t work, watch TV, or use your computer or smartphone. The goal is to associate the bedroom with sleep so that when you get into bed your brain and body get a strong signal that it’s time to nod off. 

 

Get out of bed when you can’t sleep. Don’t try to force yourself to sleep. Tossing and turning only increases anxiety. Get up, leave the bedroom, and do something relaxing, such as reading or listening to soothing music. When you’re sleepy, go back to bed. 

 

Breathing from your belly. Most of us don’t breathe as deeply as we should. When we breathe deeply and fully, involving not only the chest, but also the belly, lower back, and ribcage, it can help relaxation. Close your eyes and take deep, slow breaths, making each breath even deeper than the last. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. 

 

Progressive muscle relaxation. Lie down or make yourself comfortable. Starting with your feet, tense the muscles as tightly as you can. Hold for a count of 10, and then relax. Continue to do this for every muscle group in your body, working your way up from your feet to the top of your head.

The New Tech Solution of Insomnia  

This device combines the powerful effects of relaxation techniques with the ability to distract you from stressful thoughts and outside noises. It's called a Hoom Band, and it might become the easy solution for you if you experience trouble sleeping. 

 

This device is a lightweight, comfortable, and washable headband with a special light, the flickering of which is suggested to help with the normalization of circadian rhythms, and a set of sleek headphones that won't disrupt your sleep. It comes with a free app downloadable on your smartphone, which contains stories, guided meditations, and calming sounds, all carefully curated by sleep experts. 

 

When you're in bed and ready to fall asleep, put the band on, select one of the stories, and let the sound distract you from the noisy world and busy mind while the stress-disrupting light slowly lulls you to sleep. The calming effect is almost instant, you will feel your body relax and mind focus on the journey you're listening to instead of stressed out inner voice that doesn't let you fall asleep at night. To put it simply, the Hoom Band is an effortless choice for those of you who just want a have a good night's sleep every night, effort and fuss free.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.   

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https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes    
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https://GSiyers home remedies.blogspot.com   is the latest addition to my blogs

Transcendental meditation correlated with specific changes in the brain

A new study conducted at IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca shows that the subjective feeling of well-being experienced by many people with the practice of meditation is correlated with specific changes in the brain.

The research, which appeared in Brain and Cognition, examined the effects of the technique known as Transcendental Meditation (TM), which consists in the silent repetition of a meaningless sound, a "mantra".

For the study, conducted at the Molecular Mind Laboratory (MoMiLab) of IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, the researchers enrolled 34 healthy young volunteers and divided them in two groups. The first one practiced Transcendental Meditation 40 minutes per day in two sessions of 20 minutes each, one in the morning and the other in the evening; the second group did not change its daily routine.

At the beginning of the study, the researchers also measured through psychometric questionnaires the anxiety and stress level of all the participants, as well as their ability to manage stressful situations. Each individual was also subjected to a functional magnetic resonance imaging test (fMRI), in order to measure brain activity at rest and changes in the functional connectivity among different cerebral areas. After three months, at the end of the study, the same tests were repeated.

The analysis of the data clearly showed that levels of anxiety and stress perceived by the subjects who followed the meditation program were significantly reduced in comparison with those of the volunteers who did not practice TM.

Magnetic resonance imaging also shows that the reduction of anxiety levels is associated with specific changes in the connectivity between different cerebral areas, such as precuneus, left parietal lobe and insula, which all have an important role in the modulation of emotions and inner states. In the control group, instead, none of these changes was observed".    Giulia Avvenuti, Ph.D. fellow at IMT School and first author of the study.

"The fact that Transcendental Meditation has measurable effects on the 'dialogue' between brain structures involved in the modulation of affective states opens new perspectives for the understanding of brain-mind relationships" says Pietro Pietrini, IMT School's Director and coordinator of the study. "It also extends the results of recent research suggesting that drugs therapies and psychotherapy leverage on the same biological mechanism".

Transcendental Meditation has recently gained an increasing success worldwide as a relaxation practice also thanks to the David Lynch Foundation, which co-financed the study along with the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca. Founded in 2005 by the movie director David Lynch, who is himself a longtime practitioner and supporter of the social value of Transcendental Meditation, the David Lynch Foundation promotes TM practice as an approach to reduce stress in schools (as for the 'Quiet Time-Meditate Lucca' project at the Pertini High School) and workplaces, and to build resilience in victims of trauma.

"I am very happy of the results of this study that used the latest technology to show the beautiful benefits for the human beings of TM. Now I'm working to form my foundation also in Italy, with teachers who teach transcendental meditation in schools, work places and other groups, reaching as many people as possible" says David Lynch.

This new study, coherently with previous ones, shows that even a few months of practice of Transcendental Meditation have positive effects on psychological well-being and that these effects are correlated with measurable changes in the brain.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     

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https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes    
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5 Neuroscience Based Ways to Clear Your Mind

As an ultra-endurance athlete, I’ve competed in the Badwater Ultramarathon a few times. Some call Badwater the “world’s toughest footrace” because it's a 135-mile non-stop run from the bottom of Death Valley to Mt. Whitney—in the middle of July, when temperatures can reach 130 degrees.

The physical discomfort of running five marathons back-to-back through Death Valley in the middle of July requires more psychological finesse than it does aerobic endurance. Succeeding in sports is always going to rely on mastering your mindset and explanatory styles. As Yogi Berra said, “Baseball is 90 percent mental; the other half is physical.”

One of the most important skills I've learned as an ultra-endurance athlete is how to clear my mind of unwanted thoughts. When your feet are covered in blisters, the pavement is hot enough to fry an egg, and you still have three marathons to run, you learn quickly how to pull any tricks from your psychological toolbox that will help you reach the finish line.

When every alarm in your body and brain is sounding a red alert telling you to stop, how does someone push through and keep on going? When it comes to clearing your mind of unwanted thoughts, taking a multi-pronged approach that gives the situation what it needs has always worked for me in sports, and I think it will work for you, too, in sport and in life.

For this post, I’ve compiled a top-five list of mental tricks I learned as an athlete to clear my mind of pain, negative thinking, anxiety, rumination, and self-sabotage. I’ve paired the lessons I learned through life experience with the latest neuroscientific evidence. I also included some images that capture the essence of each point, as a picture really is worth a thousand words.

1. Distraction

American editor and publisher Elbert Hubbard,once said, “Life without absorbing occupation is hell—joy consists in forgetting life.” Neuroscientists at Brown University recently confirmed that the key to “optimal inattention” lies in occupying your mind with something else through distraction.

The mind can only really think of one thing at a time. When you concentrate your attention on one thing, you inevitably engage the parallel act of purposefully ignoring other things. In a 2015 study, “Attention Drives Synchronization of Alpha and Beta Rhythms between Right Inferior Frontal and Primary Sensory Neocortex,” published in the Journal of Neuroscience, the researchers at Brown were able to identify how the brain achieves "optimal inattention" by changing the synchronization of brainwaves between different brain regions. The researchers hope that by harnessing the “power to ignore," people with chronic pain will have new cognitive tools for reducing their pain.

For this study, participants were told that they would feel a brief tap on the left middle finger or the left big toe. In some cases, they were then told to report only stimuli felt on the foot and to disregard what they might feel on their hand. In other cases, they were told to attend to or report sensations only in the hand and to ignore those in the foot.

The researchers found significant patterns of synchrony between various regions which showed that the mind could direct attention to either the hand or the foot, but not both at the same time.

If you ever find yourself obsessing or ruminating about a thought, remember that distraction is a highly effective way to shift the synchronization of your brainwaves and gives you the "power to ignore" on demand. 

2. MindfulnessThe Brown study's co-senior author, Catherine Kerr, is an assistant professor of family medicine in the Alpert Medical School. Her team has also found that people can learn how to manipulate their alpha rhythms in the somatosensory cortex as they switch their attentional focus though mindfulness training.

The results of their latest research expand our understanding of how mindfulness might possibly operate using the mechanism of redirecting attention via control of alpha rhythms in the brain, which can help people ignore depressive thoughts. In a press release, she said:

This is part of a really cool effort ... to see if you can take pretty high-level cognitive questions, find the relevant areas in the brain, and then figure out how to put that in a context with the underlying neurophysiology, at the level of computational models and animal models. We're linking different ways of looking at the brain that don't usually come into dialogue with one another.

In another recent study from Lund University in Sweden, researchers led by Jan Sundquist found that mindfulness treatment can be as effective as individual cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in patients with depression and anxiety.

3. Suppression
Nietzsche said, “The existence of forgetting has never been proved: We only know that some things do not come to our mind when we want them to.” It turns out that modern brain imaging technology has allowed neuroscientists at the University of Cambridge to identify two opposite ways in which the brain forgets unwanted memories.

In a 2012 study, “Opposing Mechanisms Support the Voluntary Forgetting of Unwanted Memories,” published in the journal Neuron, the researchers’ findings help explain how individuals can cope with negative or traumatic experiences, and could lead to the development of treatments to improve disorders of memory control.

In a press release, lead author Roland Benoit, then a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University, said, "This study is the first demonstration of two distinct mechanisms that cause such forgetting: one by shutting down the remembering system, and the other by facilitating the remembering system to occupy awareness with a substitute memory."  

During memory suppression, a brain structure called dorsolateral prefrontal cortex inhibited activity in the hippocampus, a region critical for recalling past events.

"A better understanding of these mechanisms and how they break down may ultimately help understanding disorders that are characterized by a deficient regulation of memories, such as post-traumatic stress disorder," Benoit said. "Knowing that distinct processes contribute to forgetting may be helpful, because people may naturally be better at one approach or the other."

4. Substitution

Although the strategies of using suppression and substitution were found to be equally effective at voluntarily forgetting unwanted memories, the researchers at Cambridge found that they activated very distinct neural circuits.

If suppression doesn't work, you might want to put on your "rose-tinted glasses" and try substitution, by using your imagination to pretend you're in a different place or experiencing something else.

The Cambridge researchers found that memory substitution was supported by caudal prefrontal cortex and midventrolateral prefrontal cortex. These are two regions typically involved in bringing specific memories into awareness in the presence of distracting memories.

The next time you need to clear your mind, remember that you can forget unwanted memories by either suppressing them or substituting them with more desirable ones, and that each of these tactics engages distinct neural pathways.

5. Meditation

Rebecca Erwin Wells, M.D.,and Fadel Zeidan, Ph.D. at Wake Forest Baptist Health are investigating the power of meditation as a therapy to reduce pain and everyday anxiety in healthy individuals with no previous meditation experience.

When Wells was a varsity rower at the University of North Carolina, her coach had all the members of the team take a yoga and meditation class. The experience had a huge impact. In a press release Wells recalled the experience:

My teammates and I noticed that yoga and meditation improved our flexibility and focus, but also made us feel better, not just when we were rowing but in our everyday lives. I wondered if yoga and meditation really have scientific benefits, especially if they have specific effects on the brain, and if so, how that works.

"We're coming to recognize that meditation changes people's brains," said Wells, now an assistant professor of neurology at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. "And we're just beginning to gain understanding of what those changes mean and how they might benefit the meditator."

In the first study, her team found that just eight weeks of meditation significantly improved functional connectivity in the brain's network that is active during introspective thought such as retrieving memories. They also observed trends of less atrophy in the hippocampus.

Zeiden is exploring the specific brain mechanisms that influence meditation's ability to reduce perceptions of pain and the experience of anxiety. In Zeidan's pain study, participants were asked to grade the pain caused by a device that heated a small area of their skin to 120 degrees. Participants who rated the pain they felt while they meditated reported the pain as 40 percent less intense and 57 percent less unpleasant than when they simply rested with their eyes closed.

The brain imaging performed during this experiment showed decreased neural activity in the area of the brain involved in feeling the location and intensity of pain and increased activity in brain regions associated with attention and the ability to regulate emotions.

In Zeiden's anxiety-related research, the subjects reported decreases in everyday anxiety by as much as 39 percent after practicing meditation. The scans of their brains while meditating showed increased activity in areas of the cortex associated with regulating thinking, emotions, and worrying. In a press release Zeiden said:

In these studies we've been able to get a better sense of the brain regions associated with reducing pain and anxiety during meditation. Basically, by having people meditate while their brains are being scanned we've been able to objectively verify what people like Buddhist monks have been reporting about meditation for thousands of years.

"Our research shows that meditation produces robust effects in behavior and in the brain and may provide an effective way for people to substantially reduce their pain," Zeidan concluded. "What we have to do now is continue to find out exactly how it works and what it involves."

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     
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https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes    
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Important Things to Know About Stress-Related Sleep Issues

The hustle and bustle of daily life isn’t particularly conducive to healthy sleep habits, with both acute and chronic insomnia becoming so common it’s been time and time referred to as ‘an epidemic’. For some, the inability to have a good night’s sleep is a long-standing issue that requires constant medications and serious life limitations. And while each case of insomnia is unique, scientists have been finding more and more proof about the tightly knit connection between stress and sleeplessness. Find out more about this link and effective ways to combat stress-related insomnia in this article. 

The Symptoms and Causes of Insomnia

It has been estimated that as much as a third to half of the world’s population has trouble falling asleep at night, with the vast majority of people having experienced symptoms of insomnia at least once throughout their life. The condition doesn’t discriminate in terms of age or gender, although seniors and women are more likely to suffer from insomnia than children and men.

Many people confuse insomnia with a bad night’s sleep, but the symptoms of insomnia, unlike a bad night's sleep, last for days and sometimes months, and include:

    Difficulty falling asleep
    Waking up early or in the middle of the night
    Not feeling rested in the morning
    Feeling tired or sleepy throughout the day
    Attention and memory problems
    Being irritable, anxious or depressed

The causes of insomnia vary from person to person, with physical and psychological conditions, such as chronic pain and medications, and even certain habits, such as eating too much in the evenings contributing to the issue.


How Do You Know if Your Insomnia is Caused by Stress?
One of the most widespread causes of insomnia is stress, with major studies from Japan, South Korea, Sweden and the United States confirming the relationship. Scientists believe that the reason why stress causes insomnia is due to the excitatory effect it has on the nervous system.

Stress activates the neural pathways we associate with the fight or flight response, thus keeping us in a state of perpetual worry and tension. You will know that your sleeping problems are stress-related if they started during a period of increased stress or seem to get worse when you’re experiencing difficulties at work, with your personal life, or any other area of your life.

As you might expect, stress-induced insomnia itself is bound to make the sufferer’s life even more stressful, creating a vicious cycle of stress and chronic sleep problems. In the following section, we’ll discuss the simple, yet effective ways one can combat stress-induced insomnia.

How to Get Rid of Stress-Related Insomnia

According to scientists and sleep experts, minor but mindful lifestyle changes can really make a difference in improving one’s stress-related sleep issues without having to resort to medications. These minor tweaks and aids will work to help reduce your stress levels and prevent further exacerbation of insomnia the natural way.

1. Relaxation techniques, such as meditation and mindful breathing have been proven to be useful to lower stress levels are a useful tool for managing stress and hyperarousal that hinder sleep by letting you focus on something else other than your own thoughts. On a physical level, meditation was shown to increase the levels of the sleep hormone melatonin, reduce the heart rate and blood pressure, and activate the brain areas that are responsible for controlling sleep.

The benefit of this technique is that you can use it throughout the day, and not only at bedtime. Meditation apps and online guides are abundant and widely available, but they do require a bit of a commitment.

2. Spending time outdoors, exercising and staying active can likewise both reduce stress and will relax your muscles, train your heart and lungs, making it easier to get quality sleep. The downside of this approach is that not everyone can exercise due to medical reasons, and some of us simply don’t have the time.

3. Good sleep hygiene is likewise important, as it is capable of normalizing your circadian rhythms. In order to have a good night’s sleep, avoiding heavy meals and coffee in the evenings, have a consistent sleep schedule, dim the lights in your bedroom and limit the use of smartphones and laptops in the bedroom.

4. Listening to White Noise can help disrupt the surrounding noises and your racing thoughts to help you fall asleep. The noise can range from an indistinct noise to sounds of waves, water, and otsimplyher pleasant sounds, and can come in either specialized machines, or music you can play from apps and websites.

Research shows that white noise helps mask environmental sounds and makes falling (and staying) asleep easier. This is especially true about people who live or have to frequently sleep in noisy environments, such as big cities, or while traveling.

The New Tech Solution of Insomnia

This device combines the powerful effects of relaxation techniques with the ability to distract you from stressful thoughts and outside noises. It's called a Hoom Band, and it might become the easy solution for you if you experience trouble sleeping.

This device is a lightweight, comfortable, and washable headband with a special light, the flickering of which is suggested to help with the normalization of circadian rhythms, and a set of sleek headphones that won't disrupt your sleep (an image of the device can be seen above). It comes with a free app downloadable on your smartphone, which contains stories, guided meditations, and calming sounds, all carefully curated by sleep experts.

When you're in bed and ready to fall asleep, put the band on, select one of the stories, and let the sound distract you from the noisy world and busy mind while the stress-disrupting light slowly lulls you to sleep. The calming effect is almost instant, you will feel your body relax and mind focus on the journey you're listening to instead of stressed out inner voice that doesn't let you fall asleep at night. To put it simply, the Hoom Band is an effortless choice for those of you who just want a have a good night's sleep every night, effort and fuss free.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     
https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com. one can see my crochet creations  
https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes    
https://kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com. for info on knee replacement 

Causes and Treatments For Insomnia

We spend over a third of our time sleeping. But unfortunately for many of us, sleep isn't a simple ON/OFF switch we can just activate at a moment's notice. Do you struggle to sleep even though you feel tired and sleepy? Do you wake up in the middle of the night anxiously watching the clock, calculating how much time you've got left to sleep?

If you've answered yes to any of these questions, you're not alone. About 2 out of 5 people share your problem.

Insomnia is a common, devastating problem that can cost us our energy, our good mood, our ability to function and ultimately our health. If the situation becomes chronic, it can lead to more serious health problems and even a shortening of our life span, according to experts.

Insomnia in itself is not the problem but is usually a symptom of a variety of other potential problems. The trick is identifying the underlying cause of our insomnia and finding the right treatment for that problem. Sometimes insomnia hides more serious medical or psychological issues, and sometimes there is no easy cure for it, and one must take special supplements or pills to sleep.

Common Symptoms of Insomnia:

    Difficulty falling asleep despite being tired
    Waking up frequently during the night
    Trouble getting back to sleep when awakened
    Exhausting sleep
    Relying on alcohol to fall asleep
    Waking up too early in the morning
    Daytime drowsiness, fatigue, or irritability
    Difficulty concentrating during the day

Causes of Insomnia: Figuring out why you can’t sleep
Let's put on our detective hat and try to find the reasons for our insomnia. Sleep detectives like ourselves take note of factors such as stress, anxiety, and depression, which are responsible for about half of all insomnia cases. In addition, they note the daytime habits, the sleep routine and the actual physical health of the person to understand their impact on the quality of their sleep.

psychological issues insomnia
Psychological issues that may cause insomnia:
Depression, anxiety, chronic stress, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder.
People who suffer from these mental stresses have a hard time sleeping, not only because of their inner turmoil but because the body is physically preventing sleep because of these issues. Unfortunately, the lack of sleep tends to make these problems worse, and thus a vicious cycle is made, where we are constantly tired, cranky, anxious and depressed, and can't sleep to boot.

Medications that may cause insomnia:
Antidepressants; cold and flu medications that contain alcohol; pain relievers that contain caffeine (Midol, Excedrin); diuretics, corticosteroids, thyroid hormone, high blood pressure medications. Make sure to always check with your doctor, and research the medication you're taking to make sure that one of the side effects is not insomnia.

Medical problems that can cause insomnia:
Asthma, allergies, Parkinson’s disease, hyperthyroidism, acid reflux, kidney disease, cancer, chronic pain.

Sleep disorders that can cause insomnia:
Sleep apnea (trouble breathing during the night that results in the person not breathing, then waking up many times in the night without knowing why), narcolepsy, restless legs syndrome.

How to cure your insomnia:
Some of the things we do to cope with our lack of sleep may actually do us harm, such as drinking a lot of coffee during the day to wake up or alcohol (red wine for example) at night to fall asleep. Often, changing the habits that are reinforcing sleeplessness is enough to overcome insomnia altogether. It may take a few days for your body to get used to the change, but once you do, you will sleep better.

That is the easy solution half the time. If a change of habits and relaxation really don't do the trick, there are remedies on the market that can help.

Adopting new habits to help you sleep

Make sure your bedroom is quiet, dark, and cool. Noise, light, and heat can interfere with sleep. Try using a sound machine or earplugs to block outside noise, an open window or fan to keep the room cool, and blackout curtains or a sleep mask to block out light.
   
Stick to a regular sleep schedule. Support your biological clock by going to bed and getting up at the same time every day, including weekends, even if you’re tired. This will help you get back in a regular sleep rhythm.

Avoid naps. Napping during the day can make it more difficult to sleep at night. If you feel like you have to take a nap, limit it to 30 minutes before 3 p.m.

Limit caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine. Stop drinking caffeinated beverages at least eight hours before bed. Avoid drinking alcohol in the evening; while alcohol can make you feel sleepy, it interferes with the quality of your sleep. Quit smoking or avoid it at night, as nicotine is a stimulant.


Preparing your brain for sleep
Your brain produces the hormone melatonin to help regulate your sleep-wake cycle. As melatonin is controlled by light exposure, not enough natural light during the day can make your brain feel sleepy, while too much artificial light at night can suppress the production of melatonin and make it harder to sleep.

To boost melatonin production, use low-wattage bulbs, cover windows and electrical displays in your bedroom, avoid bright light and turn off the television, smartphone, and computer screens at least one hour before bed.

Learn to associate your bed with sleeping, not sleeplessness
Use the bedroom only for sleeping. Don’t work, watch TV, or use your computer or smartphone. The goal is to associate the bedroom with sleep so that when you get into bed your brain and body get a strong signal that it’s time to nod off.

Get out of bed when you can’t sleep. Don’t try to force yourself to sleep. Tossing and turning only increases anxiety. Get up, leave the bedroom, and do something relaxing, such as reading or listening to soothing music. When you’re sleepy, go back to bed.

Breathing from your belly. Most of us don’t breathe as deeply as we should. When we breathe deeply and fully, involving not only the chest, but also the belly, lower back, and ribcage, it can help relaxation. Close your eyes and take deep, slow breaths, making each breath even deeper than the last. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.

Progressive muscle relaxation. Lie down or make yourself comfortable. Starting with your feet, tense the muscles as tightly as you can. Hold for a count of 10, and then relax. Continue to do this for every muscle group in your body, working your way up from your feet to the top of your head.
The New Tech Solution of Insomnia

This device combines the powerful effects of relaxation techniques with the ability to distract you from stressful thoughts and outside noises. It's called a Hoom Band, and it might become the easy solution for you if you experience trouble sleeping.

This device is a lightweight, comfortable, and washable headband with a special light, the flickering of which is suggested to help with the normalization of circadian rhythms, and a set of sleek headphones that won't disrupt your sleep (an image of the device can be seen above). It comes with a free app downloadable on your smartphone, which contains stories, guided meditations, and calming sounds, all carefully curated by sleep experts.

When you're in bed and ready to fall asleep, put the band on, select one of the stories, and let the sound distract you from the noisy world and busy mind while the stress-disrupting light slowly lulls you to sleep. The calming effect is almost instant, you will feel your body relax and mind focus on the journey you're listening to instead of stressed out inner voice that doesn't let you fall asleep at night. To put it simply, the Hoom Band is an effortless choice for those of you who just want a have a good night's sleep every night, effort and fuss free.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     
https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com. one can see my crochet creations  
https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes    
https://kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com. for info on knee replacement