IC and Insomnia: 7 Simple Energy Science Remedies

There is nothing like a good night’s rest and when that doesn’t happen it’s a source of deteriorating health  Chronic disease such as the IC bladder pain syndrome(interstitial cystititis, vulvodynia, chronic prostatitis, IBS, GERD, and fibromyalgia) is often associated with sleep problems  More than 25% of the US population have sleep disturbances and 10% have chronic insomnia  Although not specifically studied with the IC syndrome, sleep disturbances occur in people with diabetes, depression, obesity, and those with cardiovascular disease

It’s not too difficult to understand why sleep disturbances would occur with the syndrome of IC  Getting up at night in order to pacify a bladder that wants to urinate is understandable but other situations such as rectal spasm or vaginal symptoms may also play a role in altering the sleep pattern  And of course the ramifications of chronic fatigue from sleep deprivation begin to show when continued problems of interrupted sleep occur

So what can be done to help with sleep disturbance that can support pharmaceuticals that are prescribed?

Sleep Aids

There are many effective sleep pharmaceuticals to use but they have the potential of sleep hangover so there are some natural sleep aids that can help  As ususal with energy science work it’s not just one thing that is done to help with a problem so use many of the below suggestions to help solve the problem

Moderate exercise  This helps tax the body so that it wants rest at night  Nothing like making the body tired  Pranayama can be a very effective way to exercise if you have difficulty with walking, running, or accessing equipment

Eating cherries or drinking cherry juice  This fruit is a natural source of melatonin and tryptophan so drinking cherry juice around bedtime makes complete sense  Researchers at LSU used tart cherry juice and found an increase of 90minutes of sleep a night

Prepare for sleep  If a sleep disturbance occurs one of the first things is to look at what time you’re going to bed and what time you’re waking up  In general bedtime should be around 10pm and wakeup around 7am  So if your planned bedtime is 10p begin getting ready for bed around 930p taking a warm calming tub bath and massaging the head and feet with bhringaraj oil that relaxes the nervous system Listening to calming music, pleasant reading and NOT watching TV are good things to do for sleep preparation

Interrupted sleep  Some recommend that if you’re having trouble waking up in the middle of the night and cannot get back to sleep that you stay up if you have given yourself an adequate chance to go back to sleep  When you stay up and begin the day at 3am and do that for three days in a row, it will be impossible for you not to have a good night’s sleep  This is especially if you avoid naps during the day  The body requires sleep and deprivation for 17 days leads to death so forcing sleep deprivation can become a solution

Nutmeg and milk  The herb nutmeg is an excellent sleep aid and coupled with a soothing cup of warm milk will help take the edge off and allow you to go into slumberlands  Other herbal therapies  There are a number of herbs that can act synergistically with one another in order to cumulatively give you better rest along with dealing with other physiologic problems  Rasayans as well as tagar, valerian, brahmi, shankapushpi, jatamamsi, and vidari are excellent at calming the nervous system and promoting better sleep

Chamomile tea  This herb also has a sedating effect to the nervous system and can be effective as a sleep aid

So Hum  There may be times when you want to fall asleep but the mind is just too agitated for one reason or another to let the body relax  Instead of counting sheep or listening to the mind’s endless chatter you can use So Hum breathing  So Hum is a mantra that mimics the sound of the breath  So on inhalation and Hum on exhalation  When you use this mantra you can calm the nervous system and bring on sleep much more easily