Anyone who has faced the frustration of trying to get a good nights rest knows how difficult it can be be. The harder you try to fall asleep the less success you have. Each minute that passes brings you closer to the hour when you have to get up and began a new day. Your tension increases as you try to will yourself to go to sleep which only adds to the problem. While knowing that it is estimated that one in fifteen people have trouble falling a sleep won't help you with your insomnia at least you will realize that your not alone. So what can you do rid yourself of insomnia? Some people have success with over the counter medications such as Nytol, Sominex or Sleep Eze. If that does not work prescription drugs such as Halcion and Ambien help some.

A pulled or strained calf muscle occurs when you overstretch or overuse your calf muscle to the point that tiny tears occur within the muscle. Pulled calf muscles can be mild, causing only a bit of discomfort when you land on it the wrong way or stand or use it for too long, but they can also be quite serious, causing severe pain that comes with muscle spasm, swelling and, in some cases, bruising. Don't worry! This type of injury is quite common, especially among athletes, but it's important that you take care of them and don't try to just "push through" the pain or it will get worse.

Here are five treatments for you to employ at home to mitigate these symptoms naturally.

Natural Treatment for Pulled Calf Muscle #1: Herbal Supplements

So, you want to begin your practice of herbalism. Where do you start?

The best way to begin working with herbs is to read and learn about the ones that interest you most. Educate yourself so that you know which ones will be helpful for your own particular needs. It is better to know a few herbs and everything about them, than to know very little about many of them. You can always expand your studies and your herbal pantry as you grow more familiar with the practice.

Your First Experience Working with Herbs-

Depression is one of the most common illnesses, yet many people are reluctant to seek professional help. Because there is still a stigma attached to mental or emotional illnesses, many people prefer to try and deal with the symptoms of depression by themselves. There are several herbal or natural treatments that can help lessen the symptoms of mild to moderate depression. These herbal remedies can be found in the nutritional supplement section of drug stores or health food stores and come in tablet, capsule, or sometimes tea form.

If you've been studying herbalism for any length of time, you've probably come across recommendations to make your own herbal remedies. It's easy to do, saves you money and lets you be sure of the quality of the remedies.

This series of articles assumes that you have an in-depth knowledge of the herbs you want to work with, including which part(s) of the plants to use, possible side effects, contraindications (a symptom or health condition that makes the use of a specific herb inadvisable), possible interactions with drugs and the understanding that some herbs can be safely used on a long-term basis, while others should only be used short-term for a specific condition.

Having said that, let's look at different sources for herbs.

Many people get the common cold every year, and over-the-counter cough syrups and medicines often taste bad, cause grogginess, and may not help much at all. Fortunately, there are many herbal remedies for the common cold that will help fight infection, make you feel better, and are tasty as well.

Echinacea can help to reduce or even eliminate symptoms that come along with a cold, such as headache, lethargy, and cough. In fact, when you take Echinacea at the first sign of a cold, it can reduce the cold's intensity and duration. This is because Echinacea is an immune stimulant, so when you take it, it increases your body's natural ability to fight infection. Echinacea is available in many health stores in pill form, or in a variety of foods or drinks.

The methods that purport to cure disease and illness primarily by the use of herbs (leafy plants that have no woody stem) or extracts from other plants are known as herbal medicine. As practiced today, it is generally part of alternative medicine. Herbs have been used in medicine as extracts, tinctures or in other herbal forms throughout most of history.

Herbs have been used in medicine as extracts, tinctures or in other herbal forms throughout most of history. Many of the drugs used in medicine today originated in substances that occur naturally in plants. For example, digoxin was first extracted from the leaves of the purple foxglove, quinine and quinidine from cinchona trees, morphine and related drugs from opium plants, ipecac from the ipecacuanha and penicillin from the penicillium mould.

In general, the medical effects of any herbs are due directly to specific active ingredients within them.