Sleeping pills come with considerable risks and side effects, but nature provides a safe alternative. According to Dr. Oz, “bananas are a sleeping pill in a peel.” Next time you can’t sleep, drink a cup of soothing banana cinnamon tea.
Don’t Be Fooled: Both Prescription and Over-the-Counter Sleep Aids Have Risks
For years, sedatives like Halcion, Restoril and Valium were prescribed for sleep. These drugs led to tolerance and dependence, meaning patients were unable to sleep unless they took increasingly higher doses. The newer medications on the market, such as Ambien and Sonata, may produce less dependence, they still come with some scary side effects. Some common maladies associated with both old and new drugs include the following:
- Dizziness
- Headache
- Weakness
- Mental Slowing
- Heartburn
In addition, the drowsiness and mental sluggishness the drugs cause can impair everyday activities like driving and operating equipment. Balance is also adversely affected, which increases the risk of falling. Perhaps worst of all, people who take these medications regularly have a greater risk of developing cancer.
While over-the-counter (OTC) sleeping pills have fewer side effects than the prescription variety, they still tend to contain antihistamine, which causes dizziness, urinary retention, dry mouth, constipation, clumsiness and forgetfulness. OTC sleep aids can also interact negatively with certain medications and can result in an overdose if a person is taking allergy treatment.
Banana Cinnamon Tea: The Latest Natural Sleep Remedy You Have to Try
The field of alternative medicine offers an array of natural sleep remedies, one of which is banana cinnamon tea.
To make it, you’ll need:
1 organic banana
1/4 teaspooon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of raw honey
With the peel still on the banana, cut off both ends of an organic banana and place it in a small pot of boiling water. Boil ten minutes, and then pour through a colander to strain into a mug. Add raw honey and a sprinkle of cinnamon, and drink one hour before bedtime. Instead of drinking the tea, you could also eat the banana with the peel (which will be softened from the boiling water).
Whether you opt for the banana, the tea or both, make the sure the banana is organic, so you won’t be ingesting pesticides. (Banana peels tend to get sprayed with extra pesticides since farmers reason the peel protects the fruit and “people don’t eat the peel.”)
This tea is recommended for the kind of insomnia that involves waking up in the middle of the night. It works through the peel’s high magnesium and potassium content, which promotes blood vessel and muscle relaxation. Honey increases the brain’s level of serotonin, a compound that improves sleep quality.
To get a little more information and to see how this tea is made, just watch this video. Enjoy!
Sources:
http://blogs.naturalnews.com/say-no-sleeping-pills-banana-cinnamon-tea-helps/
http://www.everydayhealth.com/news/risks-taking-sleeping-pills/
http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/guide/understanding-the-side-effects-of-sleeping-pills
http://www.doctoroz.com/recipe/banana-tea
http://homestead-and-survival.com/natural-banana-tea-medicine-for-insomnia/
http://www.livestrong.com/article/556950-honey-vinegar-tonic-for-insomnia/
http://www.drugdangers.com/sleeping-pill/side-effects.htm
Mary West is a natural health enthusiast, as she believes this area can profoundly enhance wellness. She is the creator of a natural healing website where she focuses on solutions to health problems that work without side effects. You can visit her site and learn more at http://www.alternativemedicinetruth.com. Ms. West is also the author of Fight Cancer Through Powerful Natural Strategies.
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