Nutritional Approach to Insomnia / Insomnia Has Many Causes & an Equal Number of Cures

Dear Dr. Meinig: Do you have anything in your extensive library relating to insomnia? My son, under the stress of running his own business, is plagued by it. Sometimes until 4:00 a.m. he has tried the usual counting, relaxing, even self-hypnosis, but nothing seems to work. I am hoping you might have a suggestion relating to nutrition or chemical balance which might help him. – L.W.

 

Dear L.W.: There are about as many causes for people having insomnia as there are to induce falling to sleep.

First, let me list a number of things that can keep us awake, that can prevent our falling asleep: alcohol; caffeine found in coffee, tea, soft drinks, some pain and other pills, chocolate; smoking; too warm a bedroom; closed windows; dust mite accumulation; worry; depression; vitamins B complex and E; the amino acid tyramine present in vanilla, pork products, sauerkraut, spinach, tomatoes, dried fish, yeast; cheeses; and the foods asparagus, potatoes and eggplant.

Before mentioning ways to aid dropping off to sleep, be aware that the amount of sleep needed by different individuals varies considerably. Everyone has heard so much about getting a good eight hours of sleep, that anything less than that, makes them talk themselves into next day miseries.

If one isn’t sleepy when they go to bed, why not read until drowsiness overtakes you? Lying in bed, relaxed over reading matter is Known to provide almost as much rest as sleep itself. It isn’t as good, but it isn’t bad as long as you don’t race your motor over not getting that eight hours of sleep everyone thinks they must have.

The oldest remedy used to induce sleepiness is the glass of milk before going to bed. Taking calcium has also proved helpful as has magnesium or both of them taken together.

Carl Pfeiffer of the Brain Bio Center and Robert Atkins, M.D., author of several nutrition books, both recommend one to three grams of inositol (one of the B vitamins) taken one to two hours before bedtime. If that doesn’t help, try adding 500 mg. of pantothenic acid, another of the B vitamins.

One woman swears by the use of lettuce…any kind. She keeps some at her bedside and if sleep doesn’t come reasonably soon or if she awakens and can’t get back to sleep, she munches on her lettuce.

Although many sleep therapists feel exercise stimulates wakefulness, strangely enough numbers of others find it helps them to relax and fall asleep.

Telling people not to worry, not to go over the past day’s problems or the new ones facing them the next day, is ridiculous. Who can turn off thinking of such aggravation? However, after a reasonable enough time reviewing the difficult problems that confront us, it pays to practice putting these troublesome matters to rest in our subconscious mind. When one learns to trust their subconscious they find the answers to problems are easy to come by in the morning.

Far too many people resort to sleeping pills and claim they get a good night’s sleep when using them. Electronic testing during sleep has shown that normal sleep patterns fail to take place when people are on these drugs, meaning normal reset is not achieved.

When coming to bed, if sleep eludes you, turn on the light and read for a while. Most people feel their spouses will be awakened but after two or three times your mate won’t even know you were awake. If they do, they too should take up a book or other interesting reading materials and follow your example. My wife and I have followed this procedure for years and it is rare for us to awaken each other by turning on the light, and we do find this better than tossing around trying to force oneself to sleep.

Although I mentioned above that the vitamins B complex and E will keep people awake if taken in the afternoon or evening, there are a few people who find these supplements relaxing.

You can see from the large variety of factors involved that it pays to keep the mind open to a solution as there has to be one. If everything seems to fail, there are some 500 professionals, called somnologists, in the country who make their living reversing this condition of insomnia.

You may hear about the use of magnets to induce sleep and to treat other conditions. They even make a mattress pad containing magnets. Magnets are quite effective but there are some on the market that are so arranged as to be harmful when used over a period of time. Should you be inclined to try them, drop me a line beforehand, as I have been studying the various uses of magnets and the best places to obtain them.

One last suggestion: I have discovered that instead of closing one’s eyes, as usually happens when trying to go to sleep, force yourself to keep your eyes open. This becomes easier if you stare at something in your darkened room. You will find it difficult to keep your eyes open, but keep on opening them and try not to think about wanting to fall asleep; before long, sleep overtakes you.