To many, the thought of heading off to bed for well-deserved pillow time becomes one of life’s perennial struggles. Delaying tactics such as watching another episode of your current favourite TV saga or deciding that the lounge area could do with a quick vacuum is possibly something that may offer the immediate distraction from the inherent fear of bed without sleep.
Sleeplessness or insomnia represents one of the most common reasons why people visit their healthcare provider. Added to this problem is the ever-increasing anxiety associated with an inability to have a sound nights slumber.
The first port of call is to search the web for reasons why sleep escapes you and what may be the cause of this pesky problem. Try it, type in “I can’t sleep” and in 0.45 seconds you will have 2.5 million search results. You could of course read each result and for sure, by the time you get to result 10 or 20, your head would hit the keyboard and most likely a tattoo of the keys will be embedded on your forehead.
It’s that never-ending continuous circle of events that bothers the living daylights out of you. No sleep, anxiety and then there’s the anger and envy of others who have deep restful sleep and development of short temper and bah humbug you know, the regular stuff.
Some options, your healthcare guru may suggest a short course of medication that will drop you into the zzzz zone however; there’s that issue of dependency which does raise some concerns and frankly speaking prescription meds should only be used very sparingly.
Other things such as mediation and elimination of stimulants such caffeinated beverages and alcohol will help. Put your phone in the bedside drawer and turn it to silent, the world will continue to exist while you are asleep and who said answering an email at 3.00 am will create world peace.
Natural medicines such as herbal remedies typically include an exotic vine flower called Passionflower. This flower is quite amazing to look at, having blue tentacle like petals and almost alien in appearance; the flower possesses some unique qualities that when extracted may help with anxiety and sleep.
Studies of this botanical beauty go back to the 16th century. Researchers believe that use of the flower extract are responsible for increasing a chemical produced by the brain called GABA. This compound has an inhibitory affect whereby it reduces “excitement” and provides a calming influence on the body. In general, there is further evidence that Passionflower helps relieve anxiety which may also be due to the production of GABA.
There are a few products available as herbal remedies and medicines containing passionflower. We like to think that liquid products offer the best and quickest solution given that there is ample evidence to show liquids have a faster uptake in the body.
Consider trying Herbanica® Snoozeze, a certified organic remedy, grown and made in Australia. Also, there is an effective sleep aid called Sleep Plex® a combination of other herbal ingredients including passionflower which can be taken prior to bed.
Each of the above products are manufactured in Australia in a fully registered TGA facility which has been in operation for over 30 years.
Always speak to your healthcare provider when symptoms persist or worsen.
Pleasant dreams….