Herbal Chamomile, The Best Functional Herb for the Prevention and Treatment of Insomnia

By Kyle J. Norton

Scientists may have found a herbal medicine to treat insomnia with no side effects, according to the result some studies.

Insomnia is a sign and symptom of sleep disorder in which a person has a difficulty falling asleep and/or staying asleep or sleep of poor quality.

According to the statistic provided by the Sleep Education, insomnia affects millions of people in the US, 30 to 35% have brief symptoms of insomnia, 15 to 20% have a short-term insomnia disorder, which lasts less than three months and 10% have a chronic insomnia disorder, which occurs at least three times per week for at least three months.

And,  one in three people suffers from some form of insomnia during their lifetime and women suffer from insomnia more often than men.

There is no single cause of insomnia. Researchers suggested that psychiatric and medical conditions, such as stress and anxiety and chronic illness such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal disorders, kidney disease, unhealthy sleep habits and long-term use of substances, are associated to some prevalent risk factors of the onset of insomnia.

In other words, anything that causes the disruption of the brain sleep-awake cycle or the brain function to turn on and off the sleep-wake cycle is the risk factor to the syndrome onset.

Long-term use of certain medication can also induce insomnia. The National Jewish Health suggested
antidepressants such as Prozac® and Zoloft, Dopamine agonists and anticonvulsants are some medications which can cause insomnia.

If you are taking one of these medicines and have a sleep problem, please make sure you discuss the problem with your doctors.

Long-term and untreated insomnia may increase the risk of the complication of anxiety, depression and heart failure and daytime trouble concentrating, and mood disturbances

Chamomile is also known as camomile, the common name of many species daisy-like plants in the family Asteraceae.

The herb has been used in traditional medicine as antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory constituents and to treat menstrual cramps and sleep disorders, reduce cramping and spastic pain in the bowels, relieve excessive gas and bloating in the intestine, etc.

Chamomile is one of the most popular herbs used for sleep disorders in herbal medicine. According to the Dr. Srivastava JK and research team at the Case Western Reserve University, many different preparations of the herb have been developed, the most popular of which is in the form of herbal tea consumed more than one million cups per day.

In the reaffirming the effect of chamomile used in traditional medicine for the treatment of insomnia, researchers at the University of Michigan launched an investigation to examine the preliminary efficacy and safety of chamomile for improving subjective sleep and daytime symptoms in patients with chronic insomnia.

The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot trial included 34 patients aged 18-65 years with DSM-IV primary insomnia for ≥ 6-months.

Patients were randomized to 270 mg of chamomile twice daily or placebo for 28-days. 

There were no significant differences between groups in changes in sleep diary measures, including total sleep time (TST), sleep efficiency, sleep latency, wake after sleep onset (WASO), sleep quality, and a number of awakenings.

Participants received the 270 mg chamomile show modest advantage on daytime functioning compared to placebo.

Intake of chamomile also exerted a moderate effect in sleep latency, nighttime awakenings, and Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS).

There were no differences in adverse events reported by the chamomile group compared to placebo.

Dr. Zick SM after taking the final assessment said, "Chamomile could provide modest benefits of daytime functioning and mixed benefits on sleep diary measures relative to placebo in adults with chronic primary insomnia".

DR. Wheatley D, in the classification of the medicinal plants for insomnia, once again suggested that chamomile improves the sleep quality of patients with insomnia may be attributed to the herbal medicine anxiolytic or sedative properties.

Taken altogether, chamomile may be considered a functional herb for the prevention and treatment of insomnia.


Natural Medicine for Fatty Liver And Obesity Reversal - The Revolutionary Findings To Achieve Optimal Health And Lose Weight

How To Get Rid Of Eye Floaters
Contrary To Professionals Prediction, Floaters Can Be Cured Naturally

Ovarian Cysts And PCOS Elimination
Holistic System In Existence That Will Show You How To
Permanently Eliminate All Types of Ovarian Cysts Within 2 Months

Back to Kyle J. Norton Homepage http://kylejnorton.blogspot.ca


Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.

References
(1) Chamomile: A herbal medicine of the past with bright future by Srivastava JK1, Shankar E, Gupta S.(PubMed)
(2) Preliminary examination of the efficacy and safety of a standardized chamomile extract for chronic primary insomnia: a randomized placebo-controlled pilot study by Zick SM1, Wright BD, Sen A, Arnedt JT.(PubMed)
(3) Medicinal plants for insomnia: a review of their pharmacology, efficacy and tolerability. by Wheatley D.(PubMed)