Quiting Smoking Causing Insomnia
Issues with sleep are a significant side effect of the process of nicotine withdrawal that occurs when someone is quitting smoking. Generally people will tend to sleep longer than when they were smoking during the time period that the quitting is occurring. Generally the insomnia issues should be temporary and once the withdrawal symptoms of smoke have gone away so should the insomnia. There a few natural remedies which can be tried to help with the insomnia problems.
Reduce caffeine
Caffeine is a stimulant and will tend to keep you awake, so cut back where possible and only drink it in the morning and early afternoon to give the caffeine time to stop having its effect on your body. This is especially important for ex smokers as caffeine in the body of a smoker is digested at double the rate of a non smoker. This means that as an ex smoker you will have had a high tolerance to caffeine but once you stop with the smoking this tolerance will go and you will be much more heavily affected by caffeine
Get more relaxed
Taking a bath is a great way to relax, get the environment right with dim lights and mood music to provide a calm and relaxing environment. Getting a massage is another great way to de-stress. Drink a cup of herbal tea. There are many types of teas which are specifically made for this purpose to promote sleep, they can be found in many herbal shops. Put on some soothing music. Choose Soft, mellow music to get the best relaxing atmosphere. For example you can listen to the sound of waves. Have a glass of warm milk as it may help sleep due to the fact that it is a food rich in the amino acid L-tryptophan. L-tryptophan helps to produce neurotransmitters such as seratonin. Other foods which have the amino acid L-tryptophan include: chicken, eggs, turkey, cheese, watermelon cashews. Avoid alcohol as this generally does not help with sleeping
Get some exercise
Get some exercise, even a short walk will help, but if you can't sleep, try a long walk a few hours before bed, this should set you up for a great nights sleep.