Tossing and turning in bed as the hours tick past is an insomniac's nightmare.
Fortunately, a lot of herbal sleeping pills, homeopathic sleep aids and even relaxation exercises are available in the market today for those with sleeping problems.
With a wide variety of insomnia solutions to choose from, people with trouble sleeping can choose these alternatives over over-the-counter sleep medication that may cause side effects like dependency.
Why does one need a good night's sleep anyway and why would one need to turn to herbal sleeping pills and others for relief? Well, lack of sleep has been blamed for irritability, drowsiness during the day, and headaches, among other things so it's imperative for one to get restful sleep at night.
There are several causes why people have trouble sleeping, these include stress, a disturbance in one's regular sleeping habits, and jetlag.
Prescription sleeping pills have gotten a bad rap over the years since it may be quite a chore to wean one off sleeping pill dependency.
So what other insomnia solutions can you try? Among the popular homeopathic sleep aids today are surprisingly not pills at all but exercises.
Since sleep deprivation can be largely related to stress, you can try meditation, yoga, and other mind and muscle relaxation techniques to help you get a good night's sleep.
These exercises might take some getting used to, but since they can provide you with a healthy solution to insomnia, they are worth the try.
In choosing your herbal sleeping aid, you may go for herbal sleeping pills or even relaxing chamomile teas.
Sleeping capsules may contain different main ingredients like melatonin, valerian, SAMe, and Tryptophan.
Melatonin, or the "sleep hormone" as it is sometimes called, is a hormone the body naturally produces and it is one of the more popular short-term insomnia solutions.
Valerian, on the other hand, comes from the valerian plant and is used as herbal sleeping aid.
When taken in safe small doses, you can get a good night's sleep, though you should be careful with the dosages of valerian you take since it does have some side effects.
SAMe, or S-Adenosyl methionine, is another sleep aid that naturally occurs in the body.
In addition to working as an antidepressant, it also serves to provide normal sleep cycles by increasing serotonin levels in the body.
Another serotonin-related herbal sleeping aid is tryptophan.
It is an amino acid that is found in food like turkey and peanuts and like SAMe, healthy amounts of tryptophan can promote healthy sleep habits.
At any rate, you can try out the relaxation exercises, homeopathic sleep aids, and herbal sleeping pills as insomnia solutions.
Something that works for most might not be the best solution for you so it's best to try out the alternatives.