I found that St John's Wort got me sleeping the night during a stressful time in my life. You are right, PD, about it ususally being traceable to something though, at least in my case it was. I hadn't cut the apron strings with the Fam.

I've been on a couple of wilderness fishing trips recently and was going to do the cleansing thing, but, as usual, the wife and kids bring the fridge, and who am I to resist the early morning bacon and eggs, the steaming hot coffee, and the toast and jam, over a gentle smokey campfire? But thanks for thinking of me.

> First off, why aren't you sleeping well? Can
> you trace it to something? Do you drink a
> lot of caffeine, are you stressed or
> worried, is it too noisy or hot?

> Secondly, off the bat two sedative herbs I
> would recommend are passion flower and
> valerian. If you can find them in a herbal
> shop, brew yourself a cup of tea before bed
> and drink it, or take in capsule form, esp.
> valerian which doesn't taste great. My next
> herbology lesson is in sedative herbs and I
> can post the recipe for a relaxing tea made
> with catnip, valerian, peppermint and one
> other herb.

> Cedarwood essential oil increases the
> brain's secretion of melatonin, which is
> required by the body to enter deep sleep. I
> have tried this and recommended it:
> Put a few drops of cedarwood oil in your
> palm, rub clockwise a few times, form a cup
> with your hands and inhale deeply about 8 or
> more. This should help trigger the response
> in your brain to secrete melatonin into your
> system.

> You can also get valerian oil, I haven't
> tried it yet, but is on my "to
> experiment" with list. I would try
> rubbing it on my feet, inhaling it, or
> taking a drop or two in a capsule. From what
> I hear, it is a rather foul-smelling herb,
> so I don't know if I'd like it on my feet.

> If those things don't work, you would need
> to dig deeper and find the source of your
> restlessness. It would mean the inability to
> sleep is a result of something bigger, a
> sympton, and not the problem itself. Once
> the problem is cured, then the sympton would
> go away as well.

> for herbs I can recommend
> http://www.herbalhealer.com for essential
> oils
> http://lamattery.younglivingworld.com Let
> me know the results!