-- 40 million Americans suffer from insomia
-- Recommends 15 natural supplements to promote sleep and tells readers the five foods that may cause insomia
Sleeping pills may help insomniacs in the short term but often cause greater health problems over time. Author and lecturer Dian Dincin Buchman shows how implementing non-drug supplements, healthy eating habits, homeopathic treatments, and a variety of exercises can assure a good night's rest without the risks and side effects that accompany sedatives
Buchman begins by exploring what scientists know about the nature and purpose of sleep. She describes various problems that prevent restful slumber and presents a comprehensive program to promote sound sleep. Buchman maintains that insomnia is the result of a number of problems, which vary according to the age of the sufferer. She addresses the remedies for each age group, including infants, children, young adults, mature adults, and senior citizens.
Buchman discusses "constructive dreaming", soothing herbs to aid sleep, and how specific foods either foster or hinder the sleeping cycle. Her exercises and therapies include the use of darkness and intense light to induce slumber, as well as a novel approach that rotates the sleeping schedule of insomniacs. One exercise, an effective replacement to counting sheep, has the insomniac visualizing that he or she is writing the number 3 on a blackboard, erasing it, and then rewriting it, over and over. The book also covers the latest information on melatonin, a sleep-inducing substance produced by the body's pineal glandthat is being touted as a miracle cure for sufferers of insomnia and jet lag.
