WHAT IS SLEEPLESSNESS?
In today's fast-paced world, a good night's sleep has become a kind of luxury. Sleep lagged behind kids, work, chores, social time, and fun on our list of priorities. However, sleep should not be a luxury. It is as important to your physical and mental health as food and water.
Sleep is essential for maintaining critical bodily functions, restoring energy, repairing muscle tissue, and allowing the brain to process new information.
Sleep is one of the important factors that determine the general health and quality of life of a person. Although the amount of sleep a healthy adult needs varies from person to person, experts are of the opinion that 7-8 hours is enough. Insomnia is a common sleep disorder that can cause a person to be unable to fall asleep, stay asleep, wake up too early, or have interrupted sleep.
The person suffering from insomnia may feel tired when he/she wakes up. Insomnia can significantly affect not only the energy level and mood, but also the health, work performance and quality of life of the person. Because in case of insomnia, the person may not be able to think clearly, focus, have difficulty reacting and controlling emotions.
Whether caused by a health problem or by too much stress, insomnia is an increasingly common condition in all countries.
About 50% of adults may experience short-term (acute) sleep disturbances at some point in their lives due to stress or a traumatic event. It is observed in women approximately twice as often as in men and more frequently in the elderly than in the young.
In 10% of adults, chronic insomnia lasting for a month or more may occur due to a different medical condition, in which case it is recommended to see a doctor to understand the underlying cause. Because chronic sleep deprivation has been observed to increase the risk of serious health problems such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity and depression. It can also affect your immune system, reducing your body's ability to fight infections and diseases.
WHY DOES SLEEPLESSNESS OCCUR?
One of the biggest causes of insomnia is anxiety and stress. Anxiety symptoms, such as a rapid heart rate and faster breathing, send warning signals to your nervous system and keep you in a chronic fight-or-flight stress mode. Unmanaged stress can make it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep. Being in stress mode reduces the quality of sleep, which creates a vicious cycle of feeling tired, exhausted, depleted and more anxious and stressed.
Other conditions that can lead to insomnia:
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF SLEEPLESSNESS?
PREVENTING SLEEPLESSNESS
Good sleep habits promote healthy sleep and help prevent insomnia:
HOW TO HEAL SLEEPLESSNESS?
Different treatment methods can be applied for insomnia, depending on the underlying cause. It's usually a combination of medical treatments and lifestyle changes.
Medical treatments may include:
Lifestyle changes can include:
A Natural Supplement: Medicinal and Aromatic Plants’ Oils
Herbal oils are Mother Nature's most concentrated form. Every day, more academic research shows that these powerful plant extracts support many health benefits. The use of essential oils is increasing all over the world due to the unwanted side effects of drugs such as constipation, diarrhea, dizziness, appetite changes, tingling in the limbs, drowsiness and daytime drowsiness. Now more than ever, people are turning to natural remedies for chronic sleep problems and to help them sleep better.
In recent years, there has been a surge in scientific studies and research data suggesting that essential oils can help soothe anxiety, relieve tension, improve mood, boost health, and even balance the nervous system. When used carefully and correctly, undiluted essential oils are a safe and cost-effective natural option that can be used every night.
The "limbic system" of the brain, also known as the "emotional brain", triggers people's survival instincts and is responsible for the management of emotional and physical reactions such as nutrition, protection, defense, memory storage, learning, sexual desire, sleep patterns, stress and desire to reproduce. In addition, olfaction and long- and short-term memory management take place in this area of the brain. This system also controls emotional responses such as fear and anxiety. When we inhale essential oils, the active aromatic chemicals in them enter through the nose and reach the olfactory bulb located at the top of the nose, which is connected to the limbic brain. It also reaches the nervous system from the olfactory bulb. This is a mechanism by which essential oils can exert different effects on mood and mind.
Different essential oils have different effects, so it's important to use oils that are known to have a calming and soothing effect for sleep purposes. Essential oils that can help with this, according to research:
Lavender Oil: Inhaling lavender oil helps to improve sleep duration, improve sleep quality, and provide relaxation [1]. Anxiety is one of the emerging psychiatric disorders of the last decades [2]. Lavender oil aromatherapy helps in the management of anxiety and depression [3].
Sage Oil: It helps to reduce stress and mental fatigue. [4]
Lemon Peel Oil: Shows antidepressant characteristic, helps reduce mental fatigue, stress and anxiety, calms and improves mood [5] [6] [7].
Cedarwood Oil: It is beneficial for relieving insomnia with its calming, stress-reducing characteristics [8] [9].
Camomile Oil: Inhaling camomile oil helps to achieve a calmer state, a balanced mood, and deep sleep [10].
Myrtle Leaf Oil: Studies have shown that myrtle leaf oil helps to calm the mind, reduce fatigue and anxiety, and prolong sleep times [11] [12].
If you are suffering from acute insomnia, you can use these essential oils as a support.
Usage Recommendation
Inhalation: As a relaxing nighttime routine before sleep, you can drip 6-10 drops of these essential oils individually or in a mixture into the water in your censer or electric diffuser to spread the scent, or you can drip 1-2 drops on your pillow.
Massage: You can use these essential oils individually or as a mixture to relieve insomnia symptoms by diluting them with carrier oils at the appropriate rate. You can drip 2 - 3 drops of essential oil into 15 ml (1 tablespoon) of carrier oil, mix them, and apply by massaging to your body. As a carrier oil, you can use Nioli Oil, which supports a quality sleep, or carrier oils such as borage, coconut and jojoba.
We recommended that you consult your doctor before using these herbal oils.
Consulting Your Doctor
If you have chronic insomnia, be sure to consult your doctor.
ACADEMIC STUDIES
[1] L. Sharma, M. Chandra, P. Ajmera (2018). Health benefits of lavender (Lavandula angustifolia). International Journal of Physiology, Nutrition and Physical Education 2019; 4(1): 1274-1277
[2] Bandelow and Michaelis, 2015 Epidemiology of anxiety disorders in the 21st century Dialogues Clin. Neurosci., 17 (2015), pp. 327-335.
[3] J. Appleton (2012). Lavender Oil for Anxiety and Depression Review of the literature on the safety and efficacy of lavender. Natural Medicine Journal, Feb.2012, Vol.4, Issue 2.
[4] Erin Pemberton and Patricia G. Turpin. The Effect of Essential Oils on Work-Related Stress in Intensive Care Unit Nurses. Holist Nurs Pract. 2008; 22(2): 97–102
[5] M. Komiya, T. Takeuchi, E. Harada (2006). Lemon oil vapor causes an anti-stress effect via modulating the 5-HT and DA activities in mice. Behav Brain Res., 2006 Sep 25;172(2):240-9
[6] K. Farhad, N. Mahboubeh, S. Mohammad, A. Gholamreza, F. Mohammad (2016). Effect of aromatheraphy with lemon essential oil on anxiety after orthopedic surgery. Iranian Journal of Rehailitation Research in Nursing, Summer 2016 , Volume 2 , Number 4 ; Page(s) 26 to 31.
[7] A.J. Vieira, F.P. Beserra, M.C. Souza, B.M. Totti, A.L. Rozza (2018). Limonene: Aroma of innovation in health and disease. Chemico-Biological Interactions, Volume 283, 1 March 2018, Pages 97-106
[8] Lawless J., The Encyclopedia of Essential Oils (Updated Edition) (London: Harper Thorsons, 2014), 66-67.
[9] Zhang K., Yao L. (2018). The anxiolytic effect of Juniperus virginiana L. essential oil and determination of its active constituents. Physiol Behav. 2018 May 15; 189:50-58.
[10] M.-Y. Cho, E. S. Min, M.-H. Hur, M. S. Lee (2013). Effects of Aromatherapy on the Anxiety, Vital Signs, and Sleep Quality of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Patients in Intensive Care Units. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2013; 2013: 381381.
[11] E. Hailu, E. Engidawork, K. Asres (2011). The Essential Oil of Myrtus communis L. Produces a Non-Sedating Anxiolytic Effect in Mice Models of Anxiety. Ethiop. Pharm. J. 29, 1-12 (2011).
[12] Hajiaghaee R, Faizi M, Shahmohammadi Z, et al. Hydroalcoholic extract of Myrtus communis can alter anxiety and sleep parameters: a behavioural and EEG sleep pattern study in mice and rats. Pharm Biol. 2016;54:2141-2148. doi:10.3109/13880209. 2016.1148175.
