Sleep problems present frequently in clinical practice.  People do not always seek help specifically for sleep problems. Often other presenting conditions may be more acute and poor sleep is just one of the things bothering them.

Over the years I have found that it is not very effective to merely seek to treat the ‘sleep problem’ but look at what else is going on in the persons’ life.  If you are having some problems with quality or quantity of sleep, some questions which you may like to consider could be :

• How long has the sleep been problematic?
• Did sleep problems occur during or after stressful incidents?
• How much solid sleep do you generally attain (e.g. uninterrupted by waking, restlessness, rising in the night)?
• What time do you try to go to sleep and wake up each day.  – some people are having adequate sleep but not realizing it, expecting to sleep 10 hours each night when it may no longer be appropriate.
• How many hours of good quality sleep do you need a night in order to feel great the next day?
• Do you sleep in a room which is quite bright/light at night – if so this may be affecting body’s melatonin levels.  This hormone is important for sleep maintenance.
• Do you consume alcohol and/or caffeine beverages or food (such as high cocoa chocolate)?  For some people, even one cup of caffeinated tea or coffee a day is enough to keep them restless at night.
• Do you have a stressful lifestyle – emotionally, workwise, lifestyle, environmentally (e.g. noise)?
• Are you sleeping in a bed which is comfortable to you? 
• Do you suffer from pain or discomfort when you are trying to sleep (most commonly back pain).
• Do you obtain daily exercise of 30 minutes or more?
• Do you eat nutritional dense foods such as complex carbohydrates (such as different colored vegetables/salads/fruits and wholegrains) with each meal as well as some protein (such as meats, eggs, pulses, dairy, fish, nuts and seeds).  Some people suffer from swings in their blood sugar levels especially at night (even though they may fall within normal range) which can make sleep restless and un-refreshing.  With some people I find that even just optimizing the diet and exercise can help greatly.
• Do you suffer from depression?  Anxiety?

 All of the above and more needs to be addressed if a concern.  

 If any of the above are bothering you it is advisable to seek appropriate health care assistance especially if severe and disabling.  The suggestions below are not designed to take the place of appropriate health care and there are sometime contraindications to herbal remedies so seek qualified care if necessary if you have a health condition, are pregnant or on medication.

There is an Hormone balancing and energy promoting diet suitable for women AND men in my book Radiant Women to be found on http://www.rad-pads.com 

 If you are looking for a herbal or nutritional remedy which will take the place of ‘sleeping tablets’, you may not find this a very effective answer to your sleep problems.  If you are stressed for example, especially over a longer period of time it can greatly affect the levels of some of your adrenal hormones such as coritsol and DHEA.  It is not uncommon for me to see these levels higher at evenings (when they should be lower) and lower in mornings (when they should be higher) which can then make it difficult for the body to relax when it is sleep time.  People will also tend to be very fatigued with this profile.

 So in these cases it is important to address the adrenal problems in order to start to improve the sleep and energy. 

 You can ask your practitioner for some Salivary Hormone tests such as Cortisol, DHEA and Melatonin to check if your levels are satisfactory.  It is important that your practitioner knows how to interpret the test results and to then be able to prescribe natural therapies to assist longer term in optimizing hormone levels.

 Some of my favorite herbs for addressing adrenal exhaustion are:

During the Day – (e.g. morning and lunch time) :

 Withania somnifera, Rhodiola rosea, Siberian Ginseng,Licorice root (not the sweets) ,  Asparagus racemosa,  Avena Sativa (Oats), Rehmannia glutinosa, Urtica dio (Nettle).  Generally your pracitioner will have access to these.

 Other herbs may be added for individual indications. This will usually take the form of a herbal liquid extract mixture or a tablet.  Your practitioner – if they are a qualified herbalist or naturopath – can help you determine the best remedies as well as nutrient supplements which can also be helpful.

 If you do not have access to a practitioner but can obtain dried herbal teas you  might like to make yourself a mixture of equal parts of the following herbs, or at least some of them and have these after work and before bed.

 Oats (Avena Sativa), Skullcap(Sculletaria laterifolia), Passion Flower (Passiflora incarnate), and Zizyphus (Zizyphus spinosa).

Some other herbs you may have access to in dried tea form which are also relaxing are Chammomile, Lemon Balm, Hops, Lime Flower.  

 Most teabags you can purchase are not strong enough so you may benefit from 2-3 teabags instead of one.

 Some people may also like to add Valerian root herb as a tablet (it tastes vile as a tea) but the quality needs to be excellent.  Most people do well with Valerian but be aware some of us can become MORE wide awake with use of Valerian.

 Make up equal parts of the three herbs in a airtight jar and store in a dark place.  Have 4 teaspoons of the herbs in a cup of just boiled water.  Allow to infuse for at least 10 minutes. This is a gentle mixture and can be helpful over time in relaxing your system if you put in place other strategies such as a dark room, no alcohol and caffeine, stress reduction techniques, suitable exercise, dietary improvements, noise reduction regular sleep routine such as times to go to bed and wake up each day.

 There are many more strategies for assisting with sleep which are not able to be covered in this article and depend a lot upon what the presenting symptoms are. 

 Sleep well,  Wendy Dumaresq. Dip Med Herb, Ad C. NFM, Bowen Cert, B.Bus.

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