Herbal Remedies For Insomnia

Although their popularity has surged in recent years, herbal remedies for insomnia have been in use by Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioners for well over a thousand years. Although some herbal remedies for insomnia will use single herbs for sedation, TCM practitioners often use combinations of a variety of herbs in order to blend different healing properties that address different aspects of sleep disturbance.

For example, while herbs like valerian and its Asian cousin, patrinia provide sedative effects, sedation is not the only means of aiding restful sleep. As an example, sleep apnea, which is often due at least in part to obstruction of airways by congestion and phlegm production, is a very common cause of disrupted sleep. For this reason, a more complete Traditional Chinese herbal insomnia remedy will contain herbs such as poria to reduce phlegm production along with sedative herbs and herbs with other sleep-enhancing effects.

As with sleep apnea, pain can easily disturb sleep, and can make sleep restless even when sedatives are used. It is for this reason that herbs such as Szechuan lovage root are often added by TCM practitioners to an herbal sleep aid to ease pain and promote comfortable sleep.

As with pain, poor digestion can make for restless sleep. Gas, bloating, and heartburn can greatly disrupt sleep, so Traditional Chinese Medicine herbalists will often add herbs like licorice root to herbal remedies for insomnia in order to calm the digestive tract.

In recognizing the various sources of sleep disturbance, Traditional Chinese Medicine herbal sleep aids tend to go beyond simple sedation. Combinations of herbs with a variety of properties are used to address the various factors in poor sleep.

Although TCM is rapidly becoming more popular in the West, the recently reported incidents of contamination in products from China, ranging from pet food to toothpaste, have left many Westerners hesitant to use herbal remedies produced in China. This is too bad, because TCM herbal remedies often provide superior results with minimal side-effects due to the skillful balancing of a variety of herbs in each formula.

The good news is that a few companies are now producing sleep aids and other herbal products using Traditional Chinese formulas in the United States.S.. Now the benefits of these time-proven Traditional Chinese Medicine remedies can be achieved without consumers being exposed to the risks of toxins sometimes found in Chinese-made products.