Do natural and alternative sleep tips actually work?
After years of ignoring not sleeping, I turned to natural and alternative sleep aids. If you are tired of not sleeping as I was or want to fall asleep faster, you will love these tips!
Does sleeping through the night sound like a fairy-tale? It doesn’t have to!
Tweet
Once upon a time…
There was a time when I believed that chronic pain from fibromyalgia, psoriatic arthritis, degenerative disc disease, coccydynia, and abdominal adhesions would never allow me to sleep through the night.
I tried every sleeping pill out there…
Unfortunately, I am one of those freaks who either suffers from the worst possible side effects or experiences the complete opposite effect of pharmaceutical medications. With that said, you may have guessed that instead of inducing sleepiness, sleeping pills, both prescription and over-the-counter, kept me wide awake.
I am not a medical professional and am not issuing medical advice.*Disclosure: This post includes affiliate links. Meaning that at no additional cost to you, I receive a commission when you make a purchase through my links.
My only hope of sleeping was to take high dosages of opioids and valium. This was a dangerous cocktail as I risked overdosing, and those pills were also causing more health issues.
In 2012 I decided to stop addressing symptoms with pharmaceutical medications and start experimenting with natural and alternative methods. I am so glad that I did because the results have been phenomenal.
I went from someone who often couldn’t sleep for more than 20 minutes and felt lucky to get 2-4 hours of sleep per night, to sleeping 7-10 hours every night.
Tweet
And here is how I achieved it:
Cannabis
I began with cannabis, specifically edibles. I first chose edibles because the pain-relieving effect lasts longer than when I smoke or vape marijuana. Edibles provided the all-night relief my body desperately needed.
PEMF Therapy
There are reports of how PEMF therapy can help with sleep disorders. Click here to read some studies.
Whether it can or not, I don’t know… What I do know is this PEMF therapy significantly reduces the pain and inflammation I experience from my chronic illnesses.
Less pain makes it easier to fall and stay asleep.
Tweet
Click here to discover all the ways that PEMF therapy has improved my chronic life, and then visit Oska Wellness to find out why it was able to help me.
Learn more about my favorite PEMF device Oska Pulse here.
FYI: My link has a special discount code attached to it that will deduct $55 from the cost of one device.
If the discount does not show up at check out, you can request it here!
CBD
CBD is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid. It provides muscle relaxation, calms anxiety, helps with depression, and provides pain relief. And for those who don’t like the high that accompanies cannabis, CBD is the perfect alternative. It provides much of the same relief without the high.
What form I use varies from one night to the next.
Depending on how tightly wound my muscles are, I may vape it, or when I need a stronger dosage, I will place 25-30mgs of a CBD isolate under my tongue. Sometimes I unwind by putting the isolate into a cup of hot chocolate or tea.
Good Night Lotion
Each night as I am getting ready for bed (10-15 minutes before), I rub my legs, feet, belly, shoulders, and neck with Earthley’s Good Night Lotion.
With all the storms that southern California has been hit with recently, I began having nightly leg cramps. Eating a banana a day wasn’t cutting it, so I tried this lotion. A magnesium body lotion that promotes restful sleep helps with leg cramps, occasional headaches, and constipation.
I have been using it nightly for the past two weeks, and although the weather has yet to stabilize, I am no longer suffering from leg cramps.
Because of the turmoil that abdominal adhesions are causing within my belly, I have been experiencing horrendous muscle spasms throughout the area. That is until I began rubbing my belly with this lotion.
Follow the leader
If you are like me and do not work outside your home or don’t have to follow a rigid schedule, listen to your body. When a shift in seasons or a major weather upset, my sleep pattern gets thrown for a loop. This often results in my living like a vampire for a week or two.
In the past, I have tried fighting it, but that only induced a higher level of fatigue. By giving in and allowing my body to sleep when it wants, my body and mind get the 7-10 hours they need to function. Eventually, my body gets back on track, and I return to a normal schedule.
Journal
Having problems letting go of the day’s events? Try journaling. Release your thoughts by putting them down on paper. Journaling isn’t just therapeutic; it can also shed light on ways to improve your life when you reflect on your entries.
What helps you sleep?
One thought on “Natural and Alternative Sleep Tips”