While a few sleepless nights can be an annoyance to our daily routine, habitual sleep deprivation can have much longer-lasting affects on our overall health. Sleep depravation can be caused by many factors but for many of us, extended periods of sleeplessness aren’t a matter of “if” but “when”.

When those seasons of tossing and turning dawn there are a plethora of remedies to help us fall asleep, although not many of them are particularly healthy in the long term. Pharmaceuticals have their place and over short periods of time can certainly help combat the affects of insomnia but over longer stretches of restlessness, the medicines can often create unhealthy dependencies that can have far worse effects on your body and mind than the problem they’re trying to correct.

But, there’s hope! Whether your struggling with a lengthy stress-filled season of life or chronic bouts of insomnia, there are healthy, natural alternative measures available that can help you get the rest you desperately need without leaving you with nasty side effects or chemical dependency issues. Keep in mind the following list of natural sleep aids are suggestions for you to research and explore, preferably with the assistance of your physician. This list is not intended to be a replacement for your doctor’s diagnosis or treatment.

That said, Mattresses For Less offers the following suggestions for natural sleep aids:

Valerian

This is an ancient herbal remedy that has been used for centuries to help with insomnia, anxiety, and nervousness. Many people have had successful results with this all natural sleep aid but it should be noted that this product has not been conclusively studied by the medical community at large. One of the concerns most sleep specialists have with this (and all natural remedies) is the lack of consistency in the quality or quantity of the herbal remedies on the market today. So, while there are plenty of anecdotal evidence of Valerian’s effectiveness against sleep deprivation issues, anyone looking to this or any other natural sleep aid should do their due diligence in researching and asking questions before use.

Chamomile

Another ancient herbal remedy that has become quite popular among natural herbal remedy users, Chamomile is widely available in a variety of products from ointments to tea. As with Valerian, Chamomile’s effectiveness against insomnia has not been widely researched in humans although animal studies have proven it to be an effective sleep aid. Just do your research and if you have any questions, ask your doctor.

Melatonin

This product is actually a hormone produced by the pineal gland in the human brain. This hormone is widely believed to be critical to the body’s circadian rhythms which regulates our sleep patterns. There is evidence that synthetic melatonin helps with circadian rhythm disorders from jet lag to delayed sleep phase disorders but has not been fully tested or proven to help with insomnia.

While these natural remedies have not been fully tested by the medical community, the effectiveness of these products does have a rather large following. Keep in mind as you do your research that anecdotal evidence, while compelling, is not conclusive evidence of a product’s effectiveness. So if you’re considering using some of these natural sleep aids, Mattresses For Less strongly suggests you include your doctor in the conversation. If your research reveals nothing to concern either you or your doctor, these herbal remedies may be just what the doctor ordered to give you the full benefits of a good night’s sleep.