Dear Sleepless,
Sleep is a hot topic right now. People aren’t getting enough sleep, or even good enough sleep. Maybe you you struggle to get to sleep. Maybe you wake up multiple times in the night. Maybe you have racing thoughts that prevent you from a long night of sleep. There are some homeopathic solutions that could help you as soon as tonight. Watch a replay of my recent webinar on stress, anxiety and sleep here.
If sleep is a big issue for you, I suggest tracking your sleep. You can do this with a wearable device or an app on your smartphones. I’m a fan of tracking sleep, since our impression of our sleep is often different than how we actually slept. Sometimes we think we slept well, but in reality it was restless and full of wakeful moments. Alternately, we may have the impression we were “up all night”, but tracking reveals we slept consistently and deeply. You’ll never know until you track it.
Tracking is possible with devices like Whoop, Oura, FitBit, and apps like SleepSpace and many more. I use an Oura ring that tells me my temperature and how much deep, REM and light sleep I got, in addition to how many times I woke up and had a lot of movement. It’s allowed me to change my routine to get better sleep, target the specific sleep issues I have and know when I am not rested enough for a big day of exercise.
Acute homeopathic sleep solutions:
Coffea: A person needing Coffea can’t sleep due to racing excited thoughts at bedtime. They are light sleepers, easily disturbed by the slightest noise. Coffea, from the coffee bean, can also counteract the effects of too much coffee!
Nux Vomica: A person in a Nux state may be irritable, touchy and over-sensitive. The main sleep issue is waking up in the night with a rush of thoughts, unable to go back to sleep. Sleeplessness from abuse of alcohol or drugs is also a common complaint.
Cocculus: A person in a Cocculus state will feel extremely unwell from a loss of sleep. Even an hour of lost sleep can affect them deeply. Lost sleep can happen for any reason, but we often see it in situations with someone caring for a sick child or parent, who stays awake all or most of the night care-taking. The main symptoms of the lost sleep are vertigo, nausea and dullness of mind. Even severe cases of vertigo can be vastly helped with Cocculus. Think of it also for motion sickness.
Here are some articles I’ve found that have great information on sleep issues and natural solutions.
Circadian rhythms: The pattern of the Sun and you
This article on sleep rhythyms and our body’s circadian rhythyms is from Oura, a company that makes a wearable sleep tracker ring. It explains the science of sleep and the importance of respecting our body’s daily rhythms.
How to Sleep Better: Science-based sleep hacks to wake up ready to go
This article from Dave Asprey of Bulletproof is full of actionable, practical tips for better sleep, and a deeper understanding of why we have problems with sleep.
The Best Remedy for Insomnia Is the One You Haven’t Tried
Should we try to make up for lost sleep by sleeping in? This is a thoughtful article about how less may be more when it comes to your insomnia.
Sleep tight!
Warmly,
