The Dangers Lurking In Insomnia
In the 1940’s, a notorious Russian experiment was conducted where they placed a few people in a room for means of experimentation with sleep deprivation. In order to keep them awake, a special gas was filtered through into their room. What ensued after the next few days was the stuff of nightmares. After 15 days of sleep deprivation most of the people involved in this experiment went completely crazy. Some even died. Some call this an urban legend but nobody really knows the complete truth of what happened.
All that people really know, through their own experience, is that insomnia is no joke. You toss and you turn and thoughts race through your mind. Every noise is amplified. The following day when you “wake” up, you may have the shivers where you feel cold all day. The mind cannot focus and you may become increasingly hungry craving sugary foods. It can take days to ward off the effect of what one day of no sleep can do to the mind and the body.
How To Treat Insomnia
There are different ways to treat insomnia. One of them is laying off caffeine and sugar at least until 2pm. Alcohol can also make one stay awake at night. On the other hand, beverages such as chamomile tea and passionfruit/passiflora tea can help you rest better. Supplements, not medication as that can become addictive, are also great. For example, look for a supplement with natural ingredients such as Chamomile, Passiflora, and Magnolia Bark. Its dual action solution helps towards insomnia relief as well as prevention.
How Many Hours Sleep One Needs
According to the National Institutes of Health, the average adult gets less than seven hours of sleep per night. The actual amount of sleep needed by people, by age, is:
- Newborn-3 months 14-17 hrs
- 4-11 months old 12-15 hrs
- 1-2 years old 11-14 hrs
- 3-5 years old 10-13 hrs
- 6-13 years old 9-11 hrs
- 14-17 years old 8-10 hrs
- 18-25 years old 7-9 hrs
- 26-64 years old 7-9 hrs
- 65+ years 7-8 hrs
It truly is hard to lead a balanced life where you get enough sleep. Most people are at the office 9 hours a day and are tired and drained by the time they get home. Often, they then go out for the night to spend time with their friends. By the time they get home they are left feeling exhausted and still have to wake up and get ready for work, often at very early hours in the morning.
Personally, I happen to be a “morning” person. I feel very lucky in the fact that I am able to wake up first thing in the morning, usually around 5 am and feel super-energized. Of course, the balance to this is the fact that I hit the pillow usually by 9 pm. What is best is to keep to a similar sleeping pattern every night allowing yourself to deviate mainly over weekends. So go ahead, lay off the caffeine and sugar (and that includes chocolates) after 2pm, drink your herbal teas, and take the right supplements and soon enough, you will find yourself having pleasant dreams!
