How to sleep better

Sleep can be disturbed by a variety of common health problems. This article examines what you can do if your sleep is disturbed by these problems and how you can cope better. The one exception is that excitement is not a health problem – we start with ‘How to sleep better if you are excited’.

• I couldn’t sleep last night because I was so excited about leaving for holiday
• I was so happy that I had passed my exams – I couldn’t sleep all night

Well, these are not situations you should worry too much about and it is easy to forget that a happy event can lead to a few nights of low quality sleep. Generally, these sleep disturbances resolve quickly as the excitement wears off.

However, there are times when you are anxious to get to sleep so that your body is prepared for the exciting things to come. For instance, one does not want to see a tired, sleepy bride on her wedding day.

Also, you may be anxious about catching your early morning flight for a long awaited holiday. In these situations, taking a herbal sleep remedy such as Dormeasan Valerian-Hops drops may be an answer to the question – How can I sleep better if I am excited?

• I wake up frequently at night because of my menopausal night sweats
• How can I sleep better when my neck is stiff and painful?
• I have to go to the toilet several times a night to urinate because of my enlarged prostate and this wakes up my wife too
• I have trouble falling asleep because of tinnitus giving me a constant ringing in my ears

These are just a few examples of how minor health problems may lead to disturbed sleep. So, what can you do to sleep better?

The first step is to treat the underlying condition. The links above will give you an idea of what these solutions could be if you would prefer to approach them using herbal remedies. On these pages, you will also find useful lifestyle tips on how to manage and cope better with these minor ailments.

Don’t forget that it could be your partner’s health problem that is disturbing your sleep. For instance, menopausal night sweats can affect the sleep of a man if his partner is tossing and turning around the bed in the middle of the night.

Getting to the bottom of the problem can take a bit of time – so learn how to be patient. Colds and flu, for instance, can take a few days to settle and recovery is not helped if you can’t get to sleep because of the symptoms.

Meanwhile, if you are anxious about not sleeping well, you may wish to try a herbal sleep remedy such as Dormeasan.

• How can I sleep better during exam time?
• I had a lousy day at work yesterday and woke up 3 times in the night with panic attacks
• My mother is in hospital and I’m worried about how my father will cope.

A forthcoming exciting event is positive stress for the body. However, sadly, negative stresses and worries seem to be more common.

Most of us can readily relate to the examples above and it is easy to say ‘stop worrying’. However, this is not so easily achieved. The truth is that some people worry more than others and for most, steps can be taken to reduce the worries and anxieties we have in our lives.

Of course, there are certain situations such as family illness or bereavement where the levels of stress and worry are not so easy to manage. If giving you a good ‘talking to’ does not sort the problem out, you may wish to seek the advice of someone experienced in one of the ‘talking therapies’.

• I can’t seem to sleep as well this past week. I don’t know the reason for this as I don’t think I am under any more stress then usual
• Recently, I’ve found that I wake frequently at night without any obvious reason. I have heard that as we get older, we need less sleep. Can this be the reason?

Whilst causes for disturbed sleep can be identified for many people, often, nothing specific can be found to explain why one can’t sleep well.

It could be that there are a number of small changes in your life. Individually, they may not appear to be much, but taken together, your mind may have become more active during the night than it is used to. Also, we know that our sleep pattern has a tendency to change with age.

A significant number of people find that there is no apparent cause for their disturbed sleep and that their sleep problem comes and goes. Many have found that a few simple lifestyle and dietary changes can help them achieve better sleep – see our Tips for a Good Night’s Sleep on how you can help yourself sleep better.

In addition, you may wish to consider using a herbal sleep remedy such as Dormeasan to improve the quality of your sleep.