Insomnia/Disturbed Sleep

1. Diet Change: Eat the right food for your constitution. For example, one with yang constitution needs more intake of yin constitution food to balance your excess yang. Let us say that someone with so much internal heat does not need more heat by eating yang constitution food such as chicken, turkey, and duck.

1. It is not wise to go to bed when you are too hungry or too full on your stomach.

1. Do you drink plenty of water right before you fall asleep? Water consumption during the night also influences the quality of your sleep if you happened to visit your bathroom several times at night. Imagine you eat the delicious watermelon during the evening. Watermelon is cool herb especially good during the hot summer. It flushes heat from your heart channel through urination.

1. Less strong coffee/caffeine intake: Coffee is “cool” in herbal sense. You may be thinking that it boost your energy up in the morning. Cut the caffeine intake much less or diluting will be the option for you. Sodas, green tea, chocolate, and some herbs can cause sleep disturbance.

1. Place an onion by your side. Aroma from an onion does affect sleep. You might be surprised to find out that after eating certain food group such as red leaf lettuce make you feel drowsy. Play with food group first since it is none-toxic to your system and be consistent in terms of controlling your environment.

1. If you want the continuous energy flow, try to eat the breakfast with whole grains and less caffeine intake throughout the day. Balancing act is important here also.

1. Be aware of western medicine or counter top medicine causing sleep disturbance.

Please do some research on your medication. You do read labels of your cereal box. Why not read the side effects of your medication you are currently taking? If you look hard enough, it is researchable on or off line basis.

• Can you go without taking a nap? It might affect the quality of your night sleep.

• Seniors usually do not have consistent energy flow and easily fatigued in the afternoon. If taking a nap does not affect the quality of sleep at night and helps you to carry on your duties in such constructive way, it is a thing to do. Make a keen observation for yourself first after taking a nap.

• Try to take a warm shower or bath right before you go to bed.

1. Heat does make you relax more and sometimes it does wonders.

1. Warm foot bath will also help you to relax at night.

• Walking: Stimulating your soles does affect your brain somehow and helps to settle your busy mind at night. Yoga and stretching will be beneficial also.

• Control your room temperature. Cover yourself with warm blanket during winter.

• If you feel too cold or too hot during the night, you are likely stay awake due to discomforts caused by excess heat or cold. You can shop for a good heated bed or heating pad if your limbs are too cold due to yang deficiency. This is a good advice if you happened to be a senior with icy cold hands and feet. Keep that in mind this proverb from Eastern medicine: 두한족열(頭寒足熱) means “Keep your head cold and your feet warm”.

• Stress Control: Analyzing everything and anything? If so, stop doing it especially at night. If you jump into a cycle of negative thoughts, you acknowledge the pattern first and then stop doing whatever you are doing it to make things worse.

• Eliminate your television or computer from your bedroom. We all are habitual beings. Thus, it is necessary for you to designate your bedroom for sound sleep only.

• Noisy condition will affect your sleep. Find a way to eliminate or adjust such condition. Ear plugs or white noise machine will be an option for you. Listening to relaxing and calming music will soften such condition.

• Lighting: Light affects us a great deal day and night. Find the right light setting for you. This will be difficult for those working at nights instead of days.

• Good bedding and pillow: Too soft or hard bedding make you feel uncomfortable.

1. Acupuncture & Moxibustion

1. Herbal Tea/Tonic