by Anne Stone

Created on: March 11, 2009   Last Updated: June 29, 2009

An insomiac is someone who suffers bouts of sleeplessness that result in them finding it hard to function the following day. The lack of sleep can have many detrimental effects, but there are ways in which you can ensure you get a decent nights sleep. First lets look at the reasons why you may suffer, what causes sleeplessness?

overactive thought processes jetlag grief shiftwork changes in the environment excitement noise change of temperature certain foods Can also be biological, some people suffer from a lack of the brain chemicals which help us to sleep.

other things that steal our sleep: Children, too much socialising, late-night television, work.

Next we need to look at the effects that a lack of sleep can have on our life.

mood swings depression frequent illness, receptive to bugs ability to learn memory

Help for sufferers.

There are routes to take to improve the amount of sleep you get each night. For factors outside of our own doing, such as children, socialising, work and late-night tv, we can solve the problem simply by eliminating it. For example, get someone else to mind the children overnight, stay home, don't work late and switch off the tv.

For the others, you can choose to take medication, which will mean a trip to your gp. if you take drugs, you may find you suffer side effects, including anxiety, headaches, nausea and diarrhoea. In some cases, the psychological addiction to the pills can be worse than the insomnia they are trying to cure. Or you can try alternative methods. It's always advisable to discuss these with your gp too.

Oil blends such as lavender,patchouli,camomile,mandarin and begramot are believed to induce sleep. You can incorporate them in herbal sachets, bath oils, oil burners, candles etc. (just be sure to extinguish candles and such before you go to bed).

Or you might like to try relaxing activites such as yoga, breathing excercises and meditation. There may be certain food and drinks you need to avoid, such as coffee, alchohol and cheese. Or there are foods and drinks you can add to your diet which may help you sleep better, for example; milk, bananas, wheatgerm.

Cognative behaviour therapy (CBT) can have long term benefits for insomniacs. You are trained to do your worrying during the daytime rather than the night and to block circular unconstructive thoughts that prevent you from sleeping. CBT works on a behavioural level, breaking down misconceptions about sleep and training your mind to accept sleep more readily. The first step

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