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At American School of Natural Health (ASNH), we not only care about our students, we care about humanity in general. We’ve taken on this special case and posted it in case this may help others.

Question: I’m 75 and suffer with insomnia. I don’t like taking insomnia drugs for risk of falls – how can alternative medicine help?

Answer: Initiate a sleep routine that gets you ready to relax – lavender essential oil on the pillow, a cup of chamomile or lemon balm tea and no screens (including e-readers or cell phones) for 90 minutes before bed. Additionally, make sure you take no stimulants after 11am – so no tea, coffee, cola or chocolate and no more than one glass of wine or beer.

If you’re prone to worry, keeping your mind active, list your concerns so that you know you can pick them up in the morning and can have some ‘time off’ in the evening. Make sure your bedroom is dark, quiet and a comfortable temperature. Try to stick to a bedtime before midnight so that your body gets into a regular rhythm. Watching the sunrise and sunset can also help reset your sleep-wake cycle.

If you have tried some of the herbal alternatives such as valerian to no effect, cherry juice could be just the thing you’re after. Research (albeit funded by the Cherry Marketing Institute) found that Montmorency (tart / sour) cherry juice taken twice daily can improve sleep time in insomniacs by close to an hour and a half! Cherry juice also has a positive effect on memory and cognition – it shows promise in reducing symptoms of dementia as well as being a great antioxidant and nutrient support to the immune and cardiovascular systems.

Make sure you are getting organic, no added sugar juice or concentrate for maximum nutrients and minimal pollutants – you’ll find it in glass bottles in your health food store. Take 8 ounces morning and night.
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We hope this information will help you combat insomnia, the safe and natural way. For more information regarding this topic as well as other topics relating to natural health, consider taking one of our natural health courses or programs. Learn how you can achieve optimal health and show others how they can achieve this as well.