Natural Sleep Remedies

Natural sleep remedies are quickly becoming the most sought after fix for insomnia. After reading this, you'll understand why people are seeking natural sleep aids!

If you've ever suffered from the "I can't sleep" sickness, you understand how stressful it can make life.

I don't think there's too much out there that can make you as miserable as not being able to sleep. When I started going through menopause (which is one of the major insomnia causes), I thought I was going to lose my mind. I would stay up all night, trying to make myself go to sleep.

The most annoying thing about this? My husband would be right beside me...delightfully snoring. This didn't make me feel very loving towards him...

I started seeking sleep remedies. I rarely go to the doctor, but out of desperation for help, I went. He confirmed the fact that I was going through menopause and put me on Ambien to help me sleep.

Now, I've never been much of a medicine taker... I hate the stuff. But I would have done anything to get some sleep! Ambien became my best buddy.

Little did I know I was causing my family to stay up while I slept like a dream...or so I thought...

Could it have been sleep walking?

My doctor must have forgotten to tell me that Ambien caused hallucinations.

The first complaint came from my daughter. "I can't sleep, because you act weird when I come home at night."

I found this odd, because I usually never went to sleep until all my babies were home and safe. According to my daughter, she would come home at night and find me sitting on the couch, scared to death. I wouldn't go to bed, because the deer on the wall were after me. (My husband was an avid hunter.)

My daughter would somehow get me into the bed without waking
everybody up. Not even me.

Smokey the Bear? What?

Finally, my husband told me he'd had enough! He said he didn't know what medicine I was taking, but to get rid of it. Immediately!

He claimed that I had kicked him out of the bed during the night and yelled at him to "go find Smokey the Bear's wife a cave to live in!".

He wasn't amused, and I didn't believe him.

So I hid my sweet Ambien, thinking, "I'll just save them for certain nights that I can't sleep"...

Then it happened

After nights of not sleeping, I took an Ambien out of desperation. Although, I had zero recollection of the claims my family made about
my weirdo behavior, I remember this night vividly.

I woke up during the night, and was nauseated. I had trouble getting into my bathroom, because instead of going through a door, I was fighting to get through straw and bamboo leaves to get in.

Once I got in the bathroom, there wasn't a toilet to be sick in. Instead, there was a wooden basin in the floor. After I'd vomited for a while, I finally pulled myself up to look in the mirror.

YIKES!

The reflection staring back at me was a cross between a gorilla and one of those natives with a ring in their nose and white face paint!

I remember sinking to the floor and thinking that this was the way I was going to die. All because I can't sleep.

Well, I didn't die

The next morning, my good buddy, Mr. Ambien was flushed to sea. If I needed help sleeping, I was going to find some natural sleep aids to try.

If I had done the things my family accused me of, what had I done that nobody knew about? This haunted me.

Thus began my quest for natural sleep remedies

Melatonin was my first experience. It worked for a while, but being the researcher that I am, I found some information on it that I didn't care for.

Evidently, the melatonin supplement that I was using came from the pineal gland of a sheep. A sheep that could have had any number of diseases. Eewwww... Flush!

Back to the natural sleep remedies aisle

Valarian root. A natural herb that's been used as a natural sleep remedy throughout the ages. This is what valium is based on. It sounded good to me. Okay, I'll try it. This worked for a few nights, then I would be wide awake on the third night.

I would give it a rest, then try again. Same results.

Hello again, natural sleep remedies aisle

MidNite PM: "A blend of herbs and natural ingredients" was in this natural sleep remedy. Okay, I'll give it a try. Anyway, I took it a for a few nights, before I noticed the "melatonin" listed in the ingredients. How did I miss this?

Even though it seemed to be working fine, I couldn't get past my melatonin hangup. Besides melatonin, it had Lemon Balm, Chamomile and Lavender herbs.

Finally!

Essential oils. I've used them for years, but not really had very impressive therapeutic results. Not until I was introduced to Doterra Essential Oils. These oils are of a superior grade and work wonders. At least for me!

First, I tried Lavender. Mmmmm...such a pleasant aroma. Such
a restful night. My life was getting better...

Then I read where somebody was using Clary Sage, not only for
menopause symptoms, but for a natural sleep aid. I love my lavender, but the hot flashes were misery.

The effects rated a 10. The taste rated a 0.

It was recommended to put 2 drops of Clary Sage under the tongue before bed. I did this, but the taste was a little too strong for me. Once I got past the taste, I slept very well. However, I didn't like waking up with that strong sage taste in my mouth.

Okay...let's see what else is out there. Marjoram. Good for muscle spasms and sleep. Since I have leg cramps during the night, sometimes, I thought I'd give Marjoram a shot. I also had been looking for a Restless Leg Syndrome treatment, so I figured this might actually help that, too.

I also ordered a bottle of Vetiver, since it's a natural sedative. At this point, I was going to stock up my medicine cabinet, so I didn't have to keep ordering things and waiting for them to come in. I needed some sleep!

I made a couple of good choices. Both gave me a good, restful sleep and my restless legs didn't bother me. But if I had to pick one of these oils to be my favorite natural sleep aid, it would have to be Vetiver.

Happy, happy, happy!

This is now my routine on "normal" nights. It's simple: Rub 2 drops of Vetiver to the bottom of my feet and crawl in bed. (PS. I use the Clary Sage for my menopause issues, too.)
For nights when I've had a super active day and may have leg cramps: 2 drops of Vetiver and 2 drops of Marjoram to the bottom of my feet before bed. This takes care of my cramps.
When there's a weather front or a full moon. I don't play around with these situations. My history has been to never sleep during a full moon. This drove me crazy! Now, I rub 2 drops each of the following on my feet before bed and BAM! I've found the best natural sleep remedies on earth!