Natural cures for insomnia

Sleeping pills have been around for a long time but, in recent years, people have become aware of the side effects and disadvantages that they entail. Many now prefer natural treatments for insomnia which have the advantage of no side effects and no risk of habituation or addiction.

In her book How to Sleep Soundly, Dr. Ruth Kidson looks at many natural ways of treating insomnia. Many of these are self-help methods and are more to do with making small changes in your routine and lifestyle than with taking medications. Others involve complementary therapies, and include acupuncture, hypnosis, homoeopathy and taking nutritional supplements.

The advantage of many complementary therapies is that they will treat the cause of the insomnia rather than just the symptoms.