The bothersome tempo of modern life, with its suicidal flight from nature, has generated a 21st century plague. One ailment, known only to few members of previous cultures, has become a common and persistent illness in the 21st century.
Rapid relief or permanent relief?
Even today, one of less complex civilizations, Eskimoes, Africans, Pacific Islanders, insomnia is almost unknown. But in Great Britain and other seemingly civilized countries many thousands of prescriptions for sleeping-pills are composed annually by physicians. Many other sorts of pills, also, are consumed by the patients who consult with them under the National Health Service. The end result is that the manufacture of these drugs has become a significant business catering for the public’s need of “something to take” to relieve its distress. Unfortunately in some instances this rapid relief is abused and within an overdose of tablets a few patients find a fast means of escape from the miseries of their presence.
No pill has cured insomnia. No powder, capsule or tablet has brought permanent relief. Yes, sleep could be triggered through medication. Have you ever slept the sleep of the drugged? It’s similar to having purchased a small share of departure. To awaken from it is often a ghastly enough expertise to turn you against using these drugs for ever. The dizzy, choking, tingling sensation that happens to the awakening drugged sleeper is unquestionably among the most horrifying of all human experiences. I can’t warn too badly against such devices. The simple fact remains that only a pure presence can bring permanent relief from this modern plague. Insomnia is one of the numerous obligations that contemporary man makes everyday for his rejection of a presence in harmony with the laws of nature. A return to that presence is the only completely successful way of eliminating insomnia I’ve ever seen practiced.
What is Insomania?
Insomnia isn’t a disease. It’s either a response or accompanying symptom of disorder, or it’s the culmination of repeated shocks and mistreatment of the nervous system. Sleep requires relaxation. Drugs are used to induce relaxation where the nervous system won’t react to the effects of prolonged fatigue. This unnatural way of instituting comfort is a crutch and not anything more. Even were it not for the damaging effect of medication, the simple fact of the worthlessness in generating permanent relief could be reason enough to reject their use. Only relaxation in response to exhaustion can create natural slumber. The significance of healthy sleep is known to all. Notice the usage of the expression “wholesome”.
There are various types of sleep and the value derived from them is in direct relation to the quality of the sleep, not the quantity. I’ve myself slept four hours of great and relaxing sleep and felt more refreshed upon increasing than on other mornings after eight hours of restless slumber. I am certain that you’ve had similar experiences. Insomnia can be divided into two classes, temporary and prolonged. Prolonged insomnia is almost always caused by unhappiness, restlessness, a feeling of being out of step or out of place on the planet. In prolonged insomnia, this restless and miserable state can be called the illness and insomnia only a symptom of the condition. The return of body and mind to a state of oneness with the world, recognizing the pattern of earth and understanding your place within that routine, this is the path to defeating the reason behind prolonged insomnia. The chronic insomniac generally recognizes their restlessness through signs besides prolonged lack of sleep. But recognizing this condition won’t defeat it. Knowledge itself changes nothing. Only the application of knowledge can bring change.
Temporary insomnia is a common and dangerous condition. The causes of a night or two of restlessness are many and the level of each cause required to generate a sleepless night varies with the person. Night sounds, the screech and howl of a cat, traffic sounds, the end, or even the dripping of a tap can produce insomnia in some, while others have the ability to sleep through continuous din and tumult. This is largely an issue of early conditioning. Children are organic sleepers and can condition themselves to sleep under any conditions. If as a child you learned to sleep through noisy nighttime atmospheres, you won’t be bothered by sounds that are common.
Those who haven’t been conditioned can overcome one night of disturbing sounds through the use of ear plugs, made of a waxy substance which won’t hurt the ears, which can be obtained at most chemists. Night masks, shields of black fabric, may also be bought and will prove useful in preventing annoying rays of light. If your insomnia originates from a change in surroundings, a temporary and new atmosphere like a holiday resort, a railway , etc., then mechanical apparatus for sleep like the mask and ear plugs are perfectly legitimate. But I strongly warn against using these devices night after may in your dwelling. These, such as the sleeping-pills, become crutches without which sleep is impossible. What must be realized is that if you are not able to hold out against the background noises and light of your natural sleeping environment, your house, then it’s neither the sound nor the light which really is the origin of your insomnia. Rather, a state of tension producing over-sensitivity to these ordinarily unnoticed things is the real cause.
Again the response to such insomnia isn’t sleeping apparatus, but what could be called a pact of friendship with the world. Insomnia can’t be treated apart from other states of mind and body. Total health rules out sleeplessness. Therefore, strive for organic health and you’ll be on the path to relaxation and restful sleep.
Prepare yourself for a Good Night’s Sleep
Begin today by prescribing the Fountain of Youth Cocktail for yourself daily. Temporary insomnia, originating from short term disturbances, is best treated ahead of bedtime. When you’re conscious that some upsetting happening, news or sight has unnerved one to the point where it might cost you a night’s sleep, that’s the time to start combating insomnia. Once you’ve gone to bed, it isn’t easy to stop the wheels of thought from turning; they have to be slowed down before bedtime. This is best performed with a programme of comfort. Your programme of comfort should start at least two hours before you retire for the evening. In that period of 2 hours, it’s very important to avoid over-stimulation. Exactly how you do this depends upon your own individual character.
If you discover reading, games such as cards, draughts or chess, or listening to great music relax you, then you’ll not have any difficulty filling the majority of your two-hour programme for comfort. But if you tend towards stimulating reading, or if music and games excite you even moderately, then prevent them prior to bedtime. First and foremost, avoid contact with work that matches your day. Don’t take your company to bed with you. Half an hour before retiring, take a last walk in the open air. This isn’t meant to be the sort of lively tour that best starts your day. Walk slowly, feel the cool kiss of breeze upon your cheek, do a small star-counting. To put it differently, end your day by more understanding your part in the fantastic universe. Modest individuals appear to suffer less from insomnia.
When you return, prepare a hot beverage for yourself. Hot milk was the insomniac’s favorite, but this was a mistake in judgement. The milk didn’t induce sleep, the heat did. Hot lemonade or vegetable broth will have the identical effect, and might be pleasanter for many. As important as the beverage is how you drink it. Sit down in a dimly lit corner of the home and relax on your nightcap. Gradually accustom yourself to the terrific rest that lies before you that day. Feel yourself relaxing as you sit there. This is a moment for remembering the pleasant experiences of your life. It’s a moment for warm smiles. If you’ve spent your pre-bedtime hours at comfort the rest is quite easy. Before retiring, prepare a hot stomach compress. A heating pad, together with the controller turned to its lowest point, will do as well. Place the mat or compress upon the middle of the body, from the lower half of the torso down to the hip bones. Since it’s the gentle heat that you would like here and not always the curative activity of water, the heating pad will do this work conveniently.
Now it’s time to set your body to sleep. Starting with the feet and working your way up through the body, focus on each section of your physique. Feel them deaden into complete relaxation one by one, heels, feet, ankles, calves, knees and so forth along the length of your framework. Don’t move from one place to another until you’re sure that you’ve felt the entire comfort of the previous area. The first time you try this it may take ten or fifteen minutes. The second or third time you’ll discover your whole body quickly falling into a country, of restful repose. With this your programme of relaxation is complete.