Non-Medical treatment of insomnia

Non-medical therapies are relaxation therapy, stimulus control, sleep hygiene, and sleep restriction. These also are referred to as cognitive behavioral therapies.

Relaxation Therapy

Relaxation therapy involves measures such as meditation and muscle relaxation or dimming the lights and playing sooting music prior to going to bed.

Stimulus Control

It  consists of a few simple steps that may help patients with chronic insomnia.

• Don't watch TV, eat, read or worry in bed. Your bed should be used only for sleep and sexual activity. 

• You have to go to bed when you feel sleepy.

• If you do not fall asleep 30 minutes after going to bed , get up and go to another room and resume your relaxation techniques. 

• You have to set your alarm clock to get up at a certain time each morning, even on weekends. Please, don't over sleep. 

• Avoid taking long naps in the day time. 

Sleep Hygiene 

Sleep hygiene is one of the components of behavioral therapy for insomnia. Some simple steps we can take to improve a patient's sleep quality and quantity. These steps include:

• Exercise regularly at least 30-40 minutes.

• Sleep as much as you need to feel rested.

• Avoid forcing yourself to sleep.

• Keep a regular sleep and awakening schedule.

• Do not smoke, especially in the evening. 

• Don't go to bed hungry. 

• Adjust the environment in the room.

• Don't go to bed with your worries. Try to resolve them before bedtime.

Sleep Restriction

Restricting your time in bed only to sleep may improve your quality of sleep. This therapy is called sleep restriction. This is achieved by averaging the time in bed that the patients spends only sleeping. Rigid bedtime and rise time are set, and the patients is forced to get up at the rising time even if they feel sleepy. This can help a patients sleep better the next night because of the sleep deprivation from the previous night. Sleep restriction has been helpful in some causes.

Other simple measures that can be helpful to treat insomnia include:

• Avoid large meals and excessive fluids before bedtime 

• Be conscious about light, noise, and undesirable room temperature that can disrupt sleep. Shift workers and night workers especially must address these factors. Dimming the lights in the bedroom, relaxation, limiting the noise, and avoiding stressful takes before going to bed can be beneficial.

• Avoid doing work in the bedroom that should be done somewhere else.

If we are conscious about insomnia or sleep disorders or sleep problem and take necessary steps and how to prevent or resolve then we will be free from this type of problem.