Last week I wrote about herbs to help treat stress and anxiety. Unfortunately, insomnia and stress often go hand in hand, and we often find when treating stress and anxiety it is often helpful to suggest a sleep formula to help address both of these health issues.

Insomnia may be improved if we take a combination of herbs such as Passiflora, Hops and Zizyphus.

Passiflora also known as Passionflower has been found to increase the levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in our brain. GABA is a chemical which our brains are known to make naturally. Interestingly, when it comes to treating insomnia this GABA compound can be beneficial because it is known to lower our brain activity, help lessen anxiety, increase the feelings of relaxation and calm which in turn may help us sleep better.

It is also believed Passiflora may reduce the time it takes to fall asleep plus increase our duration of sleep. The bonus is Passiflora has been found may also help relieve anxiety symptoms because of its calming benefits.

When we think of Hops, most will think of beer. Many would not realise, however, that Hops have been used for centuries as an herbal medicine, treating a variety of ailments, in particular sleeplessness and anxiety. Hops once again help to increase GABA levels in our brains. It’s also interesting to note that it’s thought the calming effect of Hops may also arise from its ability to lower our body temperature. We know lowering our body temperature is an integral part of our body’s sleep process, and by lowering our body temperature has been found it assist in bringing on drowsiness.

Zizyphus is also believed to alleviate disturbed sleep and lessen the time it takes to get to sleep.

If we are under stress and not sleeping, it may be worthwhile taking the herbs I wrote about last week during the day, together with this other combination of herbs for sleeping at night. When we are living busy lives, often running on adrenalin, we seem to think when it’s time to go to sleep, we can just switch our brains off and settle in for a good night’s sleep. Unfortunately for many that just doesn’t happen. Either we can’t get to sleep, or in the early hours of the morning, our brains click back into action and there we are wide awake. That’s why it’s important to address what’s happening during the day and often supplementing with herbs for our stress can help with our sleeping.

For more information on insomnia or any other health issue call to see Bev and the team at Go Vita, Your Health Shop at 5 North St, Batemans Bay or phone at 44729737. Don’t forget to tune into Bev on 2EC every Wednesday at 12.45 pm.