Today's economy has caused many a sleepness night or two or three for many people.  Foreclosure, job loss, healthcare and war are I believe the top assasins of Mr. Sandman.

Worry, uncertainty and frankly stress are all caused by lack of sleep and the reasons why we can't sleep.  I do not want to sound as if these are the only causes, some types of insomnia are caused by disease, medications and other illnesses.

After doing quite a bit of research I found that the best way to go to sleep, is to turn off our minds, put our brain to rest.  Well, that is much more easily said than done, especially when our futures our uncertain.

It seems that as soon as I close my eyes, my brain goes into overtime.  Is it caused because the rest of my body has come to rest and the things that I was able to put in the back feel it is time to rear their heads?  Yes.

Insomnia does have several different degrees however there are 3 types of insomnia that have been clearly defined: transient, acute and chronic as listed in Wikipedia.

Transient Insomnia lasts from a few days to weeks.  This type is usually caused by medications, illness, hormones and stress.

Acute Insomnia is the inability to consistantly sleep well for a period of 3 - 6 months

Chronic Insomnia lasts for years at a time. Uuuggghhhh!

The decision to seek help and solutions for being an Insomniac leads you down a road to different options and the treatments can range from a little pill to hypnotic to natural cures and the best treatment for you...well depends on you.

Weighing the pros and cons of pharmaceutical vs. non-pharmaceutical options and of course living in the non-sleep moment, my research time is more on methods that does not include a hammer over the head but a more natural approach. I chose a natural method for a number of reasons the main being my need to handle the stress in my life.

Pharmaceutical options can include dependency, the feeling of grogginess in the morning, amnesia and the having to ween yourself off sooner or later and the pain associated with that is sometimes so bad it can cause insomnia.

Tolerance and dependency also occurs in Hypnotic methods and only advised for short term use.

So now we come to option #3, Natural, meditation, diet and exercise. The 1st step is to have "sleep hygiene", I have always had this trait, however if taking a warm bath will relax me then I need to partake in the act more. Stimulas and behavioral education is also key. Learning what put you in the situation and taking charge of your enviroment. And last but never least, relaxation therapy which can include meditation, flotation therapy or The Buddah are some examples.

"The hormone and supplement http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melatonin is effective in several types of insomnia. Natural substances such as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5-HTP and L-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tryptophan and have been said to fortify the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serotonin-meletonin pathway and aid people with various sleep disorders including insomnia." Wikipedia: Insomnia

These are all Natural OTC hormones and supplements and do not cause dependency.