home remedies insomnia

A common flowering plant, Chamomile (Matricaria camomilla) grows in various parts of central and southern Europe (Hungary, Germany, Slovakia, Italy, and Croatia), as well as in north western Asia. Chamomile is also now widely cultivated in North Africa, Australia, the United States, Egypt, and Argentina.

Frequently packaged as a tea, the dried leaves and flowers can be purchased over the counter in both loose and bagged form.

Over the centuries Chamomile has been a very good sleep aid and it can be employed in several ways including as a tea and used in a sachet placed under your pillow.

Unlike some other sleep remedies, you do not need to use Chamomile on a regular basis to enjoy its effects as a treatment for sleeplessness. It can be used as required to give fast relief for sleeplessness and anxiety.

Chamomile tea, which is made from the dried flowers and leaves of this common plant, often proves most effective when sipped a half an hour to forty-five minutes before getting into bed.

Chamomile can prove especially valuable in relieving the symptoms of mild (transient) insomnia.

Chamomile can also reduce the histamine-based swelling produced by some allergic reactions, and is a very good solution when food allergies or congested sinuses are a contributory factor to sleeplessness.

It should be noted that hay fever sufferers who display an allergic reaction to ragweed and its close botanical relatives (such as chrysanthemum and aster) typically show a similar reaction to Chamomile.

Valerian, a hardy perennial flowering plant with sweetly smelling pink or white flowers, grows in large parts of Asia and Europe and also now grows naturally in parts of the USA. Other common names for valerian include: garden valerian, and garden heliotrope (no relation to Heliotrope - Heliotropum).

Valerian is also known by various folk names: Red Valerian, Caopn's Trailer, All-Heal, Cat's Valerian, Phu, Sets Wale, Amantilla, English Valerian, St. George's Herb, Fragrant Valerian, Bloody Butcher, Vandal Root, and Set Well.

The main components used for medicinal purposes are the roots, rhizomes (underground stems) and stolons (horizontal stems). Ordinarily harvested in September, the dried roots can be used to prepare teas and tinctures, while the dried plant materials typically find their way into capsules or tablets.

There is reference to the use of valerian as a medicinal herb as far back as the time of rome and ancient Greece. Hippocrates wrote of its therapeutic uses and, in the 2nd century, Galen prescribed valerian for insomnia. In the 16th century saw it used to treat headaches, nervousness, heart palpitations, and trembling. In the mid-19th century, many considered valerian a stimulant that caused some of the same complaints it is thought to treat and held it in low esteem as a medicinal herb. During The Second World War the British used it for the relief of stress during air raids.

Unlike many other natural herbal sleep aids, to gain the benefits of valerian you need to use it on a regular basis, with the full effects coming slowly and steadily over time.

Results will appear after about a month and regular use helps to promote deep relaxation and sleep. A variety of studies suggest valerian as by far the best natural solution for insomnia and general sleeplessness.

Though frequently prescribed as a calming sleep aid, valerian also plays a useful role in treating anxiety-related sleep problems.

Unlike other commonly prescribed sleep medications, valerian is not toxic, doesn't impair your ability to drive or operate heavy machinery and doesn't exaggerate the effects of alcohol.

California poppy contains a compound called protopine, that is said to be similar in its effect to a light version of morphine.

Unlike the Opium poppy, this flower doesn't contain the narcotic morphine, though its structure is similar. Because of this, the California poppy does not exhibit any of the addictive properties of its narcotic relative.

At the moment dosage guidelines have not been established as the California poppy has been the subject of very few clinical studies.