Alternative
Therapies for Sleep Disorders
Over
50 million Americans suffer from sleep disorders, including
insomnia, excessive drowsiness, sleep apnea, and restless
movement during sleep. If you happen to share the same room
with such a person, you're more than aware of how their
problem is also disturbing the continuity of your sleep.
Many people resort to using sedative hypnotics (sleeping
pills), however, medication often hides the root cause of
a sleep disorder and leads to even more dangerous health
risks and/or dependencies.
Snoring
Before you resort to drastic measures, such as surgery,
you may want to explore some of the alternatives. According
to many practitioners of alternative medicine, these disorders
often are related to nutritional or behavioral factors,
and may be remedied by addressing the various causes and
symptoms underlying the condition.
Does
your spouse complain about your snoring, or wake you up
just to tell you that you're snoring... or does s/he simply
head off to the guest room or sofa to sleep? If so, you're
not alone. It's estimated that some 45 percent of normal
adults snore at least occasionally, and 25 percent are habitual
snorers. Problem snoring is more frequent in males and overweight
persons and is caused when the soft palate of the mouth
vibrates and makes a noise while the person is asleep. However,
snoring is sometimes a result of "sleep apnea," which is
a more serious condition resulting in intermittent cessation
of breathing during sleep forcing you to repeatedly wake
up to take breaths of air.
While there are no alternative therapies
for snoring, there are a few self-help tips:
- Sleep
on your side. Prop an extra pillow behind your back so
you won't roll over.
- If
you must sleep on your back, raise the head of the bed
by putting bricks or blocks either under the head board
or between the mattress and box springs. You can also
buy a wedge especially made to be placed between the mattress
and box spring to elevate the head section. Elevating
the head prevents the tongue from falling against the
back of the throat.
- If
you are heavy, lose weight. Excess fatty tissue in the
throat can cause snoring.
- Don't
drink alcohol or eat a heavy meal within 3 hours before
bedtime.
- Try
over-the-counter nasal strips. These keep the nostrils
open and lift them up, keeping nasal passages unobstructed.
Insomnia
Insomnia,
the most common sleep disorder, is characterized by an inability
either to fall asleep or to remain asleep during the course
of the night, and can be the result of a number of
factors.
Diet
is especially important when treating sleep disorders, and
it is essential to rule out food intolerances as a cause.
Leon Chaitow, N.D., D.O., of London, England, recommends
a combination of nutritional adjustments to aid sleep, including:
- A
marked reduction in alcohol consumption
- Avoiding
caffeine in all forms (tea, coffee, cola, chocolate)
- Taking
a protein-rich snack at bedtime (yogurt is one example)
- Taking
one gram of niacinamide (vitamin B3) at bedtime (for the
type that sleeps easily but wakes and cannot get back
to sleep)
