5 Natural Remedies for Acute Insomnia

I’ve been battling with acute insomnia, on and off, since I was a teenager. Anxiety usually wakes me up around 2 or 3AM with a red hot poker and will keep me up until past sunrise worrying about whether or not I am dying, if the end of the world is imminent, if I’m going to end up homeless and living on the streets and other fun stuff. But, jokes aside, anxiety-induced insomnia, if left unchecked, can roll on for days or even weeks and can have a devastating effect on my physical and mental health.

So today I want to share a few go-to tips and tricks that I use daily for preventing and managing my insomnia that I hope may help you too. Let’s all sleep together, shall we :D

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How do you know if you have ACUTE insomnia?

According to the NHS, you have insomnia if you…

• find it hard to go to sleep

• wake up several times during the night

• lie awake at night

• wake up early and cannot go back to sleep

• still feel tired after waking up

• find it hard to nap during the day even though you're tired

• feel tired and irritable during the day

• find it difficult to concentrate during the day because you're tired

Acute insomnia means that you often or on occasion struggle with insomnia for more than 3 days.

Acute insomnia is usually triggered by stress and anxiety. So the first thing’s I’d like to say to you lot sitting there nodding your heads vigorously is that the remedies I’m sharing with you are pointless if you don’t first take the time to understand the source of your stress.

Sometimes you might not even think you are stressed, or might not feel like you “have the right to be stressed” because you have it pretty good compared to some. But you are, and if you take a moment to sit with your thoughts and emotions or journal them you’ll likely find the route of the problem. Make your main job addressing this, whilst you also manage the side effects.

So, without further ado, here are my go-to natural remedies for managing acute insomnia…

1. Eat Earlier. I try to eat around 6.30 or 7PM at the latest so that by the time I go to bed my digestive system is settled and can rest. Brain activity is fuelled by gut activity, so the more chill your gut is the more chill your brain is. And visa-versa.

2. Drink a soothing hot drink. I’ve recently crafted my all-time favourite hot chocolate drink which I drink most nights. It’s coconut milk powder with cocoa powder and honey. It gets the Z’s rolling in thick and fast. Other options are chamomile or valerian root tea.

3. Take a warm bath with bath salts, oils, candles and soft music. All the things (I’ve linked some of my favourites at the bottom of this post). If I’m in the thick of extremely high stress and anxiety and haven’t been sleeping for days, I have to pretty much seduce myself to sleep at night. Sounds weird, but it works wonders.

4. Turn off blue light devices. Devices like cellphones and televisions produce blue light that suppresses the production of melatonin. Melatonin makes you sleepy. Not to mention social media is high-key stressful by nature, which is NOT conducive to relaxation. So stay off. If you need to work late in the evening use a pair of blue light glasses to try manage your blue light intake.

5. Journal before bed. I took up journaling again very recently, after steering clear since my early twenties. Before I go to bed I now word-vomit all the things that are on my mind, no matter how trivial, onto paper. This has been a very powerful tool for me recently.

I’m doing everything right and I still have insomnia

I feel you. In the peak of a high-stress period I can do all the things and still spend my nights staring at the ceiling and crying. The most important thing during times like this is to give space to your emotions - cry and/or scream into a pillow if and when you need to. Learn to love on yourself, eat well, rest (even if that’s not sleep), exercise and spend time in nature. Remember, this too shall pass.

MY FAVOURITE SELF-CARE PRODUCTS FOR BETTER SLEEP

BLUE LIGHT GLASSES FROM AMAZON - £16.88

ESSENTIAL OILS DIFFUSER FROM AMAZON - £16.99

LAVENDER BATH SALTS FROM NEALS YARD - £14.50

PILLOW MIST FROM NEALS YARD - £15