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triggers it too).

When stuck in this mental game I found it helpful to ask myself, "How can I fix this, how can I solve this?" If my mind didn't immediately change I'd say, "I'm too tired to worry about this now." I put a piece of paper and pencil next to my bed and I'd briefly write down the problem. Then I'd relax back down and say, "Okay - that's tomorrows worry, I'll solve it then. I really am too tired to think about it right now." It's really important to validate that list the next day. Even if you don't solve the problems, you are programming in your mind that you really ARE going to look at the list and work on the situations. As time passes your mind will learn that, once you write the problem down on that paper, you really can let the situation go (and get some sleep).

Remember that a Doctor's care is still advised if you choose to go a natural route to help relieve the symptom of sleeplessness. With that said here are a few things that a person can do.

1. If you live in a safe area, and weather permitting, get up get dressed and go for a 15 minute walk. This walk can be around your house; you don't have to actually go someplace. Exercise often helps the body relax down so you can sleep. If stress is the problem - exercise and fresh air are good cures (aside of removing the stress from your life).

2. While you are walking ask yourself the question, "What am I thinking about that is keeping me awake?" Perhaps thinking the situation through will help to ease the mind. Be careful with this one. You want to put your mind into problem solving mode - not bitching and rehashing. The later will only agitate you more - adding to the problem. Remember to ask yourself, "How can I fix this, how can I solve this?"

3. Warm milk with a touch of honey is wonderful for a simple restless night. This combination releases the signal in the brain to sleep from when you were an infant. The touch of honey changes the flavor of the milk just enough to fool the brain. And, if it is a mild hunger pang that is keeping you awake, the warm milk and honey will fill the little hole.

4. The tryptophan in turkey (the reason you get so tired after thanksgiving dinner) and whole wheat are also good remedies for sleeplessness. Ever wonder why your grandparents ate milk toast when they couldn't sleep? It must be good whole wheat bread. A half a turkey sandwich with that warm milk and honey (above) can really help. You can look up tryptophan on wikipedia.org for more information.

5. There are a lot of natural sleep aids that contain fresh cherries with the claim of having a chemical called natural melatonin in them. Looking up melatonin on wikipedia.org will tell you why it's important, but I was unable to find actual reliable documentation on cherries containing melatonin. I will say that I've tried the concentrated natural cherry juice sleep aid and it did seem to have a relaxing effect. Perhaps in combination with other natural remedies it could be very useful to you.

Sweet dreams :-)

Learn more about this author, Sandy aka Mom.
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