Herbal Sleeping Aids

Even though the use of herbal medicine has increased in recent years and may be viewed as a new trend, herbal remedies for insomnia have been in use by Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for well over a thousand years. While single herbs can be used to provide sedation, combinations of herbs often work better and have fewer side-effects because herbs with different properties can be used to aid in different aspects of sleep and to balance each other. This is especially true if the remedy has been constructed specifically for insomnia, as some products are.

For instance, although many herbal sleep aids have a sedative effect, sedation in and of itself is not always the most effective way to enhance 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.

Pain is another common cause of sleep disturbance, and can cause restlessness even in people using sedative herbs or drugs. 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, and often provide better results than herbal or pharmaceutical sedatives alone.

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.