An overview of how homeopathy can be used to treat insomnia.

1. Homeopathy – a Gentle
Way to Treat Insomnia
Dr. Ruth Lever Kidson

2. Advantages of Homeopathy
• It has no side effects.
• It is holistic - it treats the whole patient.
• Whereas orthodox drugs act on the nervous
system to induce sleepiness, a homeopathic
remedy will work to raise the patient’s level of
health so that the body finds it easier to
restore itself to normal functioning.

3. The Theory of Homeopathy
• “Like cures like” - a substance which will produce
certain symptoms if it is taken by a healthy
person will cure those same symptoms if they
occur as the result of a disease.
• “Potentization” - when substances are diluted in
a certain way the resultant remedy becomes
more effective the more dilute it becomes.
• A wide range of potencies is available but high
potencies should only be used by qualified
homeopaths.

4. Does Homeopathy Work?
• Yes! Many more patients respond to
homeopathy than can be accounted for by the
placebo effect (improvement because the patient
believes it will help him - generally said to be
around 30 per cent of those treated).
• A large number of double blind trials have shown
that homeopathy can produce significant
benefits.
• Homeopathy works well on animals, small
children and people in comas, for whom the
placebo effect cannot possibly be an influence.

5. Choosing a Remedy
• Homeopathy works treats the whole person,
so the closer the match between the remedy
and the patient’s symptoms, the more likely is
the prospect of a cure.
• There are many different types of insomnia
and many symptoms associated with it. So it
is very important to choose the remedy that
most closely matches the symptoms.

6. Taking the Remedy
• A single tablet should be allowed to dissolve
under your tongue at bedtime every night for
about a week (unless the homeopath advises
otherwise).
• If after that a week it hasn’t helped, it should
be discontinued because otherwise there is
the risk of eventually developing the
symptoms associated with that substance
(this is known as ‘proving’).

7. A Few of the Remedies Used
• Calc. phos. (symptoms include aching joints, tense muscles
and difficulty waking up in the morning)
• Chamomilla (being kept awake by anger or pain or as a side
effect of medication)
• Ars. alb. (feeling restless even though exhausted)
• Lycopodium (feeling that you haven’t slept at all)
• Aconitum apellus (insomnia associated with anxiety or
panic attacks or with vivid and frightening dreams)
• Lachesis (insomnia occurring around the menopause)
• Gelsemium (useful for pregnant women)
• Ignatia (insomnia resulting from distress or depression).

8. Therapy vs. Self-Help
• Every remedy is associated with a large number of
symptoms so, although it is possible to self-treat
(particularly as a first aid measure), good results are
more likely if a qualified homeopath is consulted.
• A qualified homeopath will be able to achieve a much
closer match with the remedy(based not just on the
current problem but also on past medical history, likes
and dislikes, habits and personality).
• A qualified homeopath will be able to prescribe higher
potencies which may be needed to treat chronic
problems.

9. Outcome
• It may take a while for the therapy to work
but the patient should notice some degree of
improvement fairly soon and then just needs
to keep taking it until the sleep pattern
returns to normal.

10. For more information on complementary,
orthodox and self-help methods of treating
insomnia read
Dr. Ruth Lever Kidson’s book:
Say Goodbye to Sleepless Nights
- available on Amazon as a Kindle
download or to download to your
computer:
http://tiny.cc/GoodbyeToSleeplessNights