• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Natural Fertility and Wellness

Trying to get pregnant? Learn how to prepare your body and overcome infertility.

  • Start Here
  • Fertility Help
  • Recipes
  • Books
  • Start Here
  • Fertility Help
  • Recipes
  • Books
  • Contact Donielle
  • About Donielle
  • Privacy Policy
Home » Three natural tips to overcome insomnia

Three natural tips to overcome insomnia

June 16, 2014 //  by Donielle Baker

FacebookTweetPinYummlyEmail

dealing with insomnia

There’s no sugar-coating it, insomnia stinks.

Through my life I’ve had plenty of nights here and there where I didn’t sleep well. Usually it had to do with something I ate or drank, sometimes due a stressful situation, and other times due to taking a nap during the day. So when I dealt with chronic insomnia I didn’t really know what to do.

Of course the worst part was that I was completely fatigued and had major brain fog during the day so I had a hard time following through on any treatment protocol I thought of.

It began with my miscarriage almost three years ago. At first I couldn’t fall asleep (which is very common due to emotional and physical stress as well as the hormonal changes) and within a month or so I was also waking up each night only a couple of hours after I had fallen asleep. This went on for a year and a half, five hours of sleep was a good night. I was a walking zombie during the day and it was affecting just about every part of my life! I was grumpy to those I loved, scatterbrained and forgetful, and so consumed and overwhelmed with my own life I was a horrible friend.

Over the course of about two months, following the tips below, I was finally able to sleep again, getting 8-9 hours of sleep each night.

This is a Type-A Parent paid post to discuss sleep issues, and to share a new insomnia resource from the National Sleep Foundation.

Three natural tips to overcome insomnia

1. Get tested

I always knew that some nutrients are associated with a good nights sleep, but I figured that wasn’t my problem as I ate quite a healthy diet. But in my quest to figure out why I always felt so horrible my doctor ran a myriad of tests. Come to find out, I was deficient in both Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D and began supplementing right away.

It wasn’t a quick fix, but within the first week I began to remember my dreams again, something I hadn’t done since my miscarriage. I also felt like the sleep I was getting was a better quality, deeper sleep. So if you’re dealing with insomnia, make sure to check with your doctor and get tested for common nutrient deficiencies.

We also found through testing that my thyroid was running on the slow side and my adrenals weren’t functioning very well at all.

If you have chronic stress in your life, it’s probable that you might be dealing with adrenal fatigue, with insomnia being one of the major symptoms.

2. Go to sleep earlier

Going to bed early has been a difficult thing to do in many seasons of my life, whether it’s dealing with a baby/young child or staying up late to work and write. I was really good at trying to squeeze in a few extra hours to my day and after bedtime seemed like a great way to do it. Especially when I was most likely dealing with minor adrenal fatigue in the beginning and my second wind (boost of cortisol) hit me around 11pm. All of a sudden I had plenty of energy, a clear mind, and a quiet house.

I knew that going to bed earlier was probably going to be helpful, but I began to experience that 11pm wakeup, even when I went to bed 30-60 minutes earlier. What I found was that I needed to be in a deep sleep by that time for my adrenals to chill out and rest as well. So we began going to bed by 9:30pm most nights and that seemed to take care of my inability to fall asleep as well as waking up soon after I fell asleep.

3. Cutting back on night snacks

I don’t know if this is the same for everyone, but I began to sleep so much better after giving up my nighttime snacks! Granted, I still snack at night sometimes, but when I was still dealing with middle of the night waking (I woke around 2am and couldn’t sleep again until 4am) it was immensely helpful to not snack at all, especially anything heavy or in mass quantities.

I do know that the body works to repair and detoxify at night and when it’s busy digesting it may not function as well as it needs to in other areas. My body may have needed that time of rest so that it could fully heal. So for a couple of months I made sure I ate dinner before 5:30 to make sure digestion was well on its way before I fell asleep.

 

Of course, there were other things I did as well, like:

  • cut out caffeine
  • light exercise in the morning when possible
  • no napping after 11am
  • no sweets after lunch
  • limited my schedule to allow for extra rest for my adrenals

I still have nights of insomnia, but instead of every night, it’s only once or twice a month. I finally feel good and can think a lot more clearly!

How have you dealt with insomnia?

natural tips to overcome insomnia
Be sure to check out a new resource from the National Sleep Foundation at sleepfoundation.org/insomnia – a good place to start if you think you have insomnia or aren’t sleeping. The National Sleep Foundation is your trusted resource for everything sleep – understanding how sleep works & why it’s important, learning healthy habits, creating a relaxing bedroom & bedtime routine, & finding solutions to your sleep issues.

Some links (including Amazon.com links) in our posts might be affiliate links. This means that, at no additional cost to you, I may earn an affiliate marketing commission if you make a purchase.

Some links (including Amazon.com links) in our posts might be affiliate links. This means that, at no additional cost to you, I may earn an affiliate marketing commission if you make a purchase.

  • Bio
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • *Disclaimer
Donielle Baker

Donielle Baker

owner and editor of Natural Fertility and Wellness at Natural Fertility and Wellness
I believe women can learn how to heal their bodies & balance their hormones through natural methods. An advocate for natural health, I have a passion for nourishing/real food nutrition and natural living. My personal background includes both infertility and miscarriage and I started Natural Fertility and Wellness in 2008 in order to share all of the information I found helpful in my journey to heal from PCOS and overcome infertility.
Donielle Baker

@donielle

Follow @donielle
Donielle Baker
Donielle Baker
Many of the links on this site are affiliate links, which mean that the owner of the site may earn a small commission from your purchase through the company. We will not recommend a company that we do not purchase from ourselves and we thank you for your support. No contributor or author on this site is a medical doctor and the statements made here have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. These statements are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure or prevent any disease. This notice is required by the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Read our privacy policy and full disclosure here.
FacebookTweetPinYummlyEmail

Category: Natural HealthTag: Adrenal Health, Natural Health

You may also be interested in these posts from the same category.

Probiotics for fertility

woman touching neck - hashimoto's question pin

Questions about Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis

woman dry brushing

Five reasons why you should be dry brushing

Detox during the holidays and still have fun!

natural menstrual products

Choosing natural menstrual products; what you need to know about tampons and pads

pain during sex when you have endometriosis

How to alleviate pain during sex, when you have Endometriosis

Winter Wellness Strategies

Winter wellness strategies

Mindful eating - when can we eat chocolate cake?

Mindful and compassionate eating

Reduce inflammation naturally

Reduce inflammation naturally

sweetening the pill

Support “Sweetening the Pill” and help change the way we view hormonal birth control!

contributing factors in depression

The many petals of depression

food and mood, what we eat affects our emotions

Food and Mood: what we eat affects our emotions

Previous Post: «gluten-free pie crust Gluten free pie crust
Next Post: Summer Berry Harvest : How to use local U-Picks to your advantage! »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Christy

    June 17, 2014 at 8:45 pm

    Lavender essential oil was a big help to me when I had terrible insomnia during a pregnancy. I put 1-2 drops on a cotton ball and placed it on my nightstand. The results were AMAZING! If I have occasional insomnia or even just difficulty getting to sleep, that’s my fall-back. It works every time.

    • Donielle Baker

      June 24, 2014 at 1:54 pm

      I wish I liked lavender! So many people find great success with using it, but I get a headache every time and can’t stand the smell. Glad it works for you!

  2. sheila

    June 18, 2014 at 10:07 pm

    thanks for the info. tried to pin this but pinterest couldn’t find any images. not sure if it’s my computer or an issue with the images, but wanted to let you know.

    • Donielle Baker

      June 24, 2014 at 1:52 pm

      I think it’s my plugin. 😛 I had to update a few things and now when you use the Pin button under my posts it doesn’t want to work! But if you use a pin it button from your browser it should be fine.

Primary Sidebar

Can I help you find something?

  • Contact Donielle
  • About Donielle
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 · Mai Lifestyle Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!