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Lifestyle and home remedies
By Mayo Clinic staffThe following suggestions can sometimes help reduce or relieve tremors:
- Avoid caffeine. Caffeine can cause your body to produce more adrenaline, which may make your tremors worse. Avoid other stimulants as well.
- Use alcohol sparingly. Some people notice that their tremors improve slightly after they drink alcohol, but drinking isn't a good solution for people with essential tremor. That's because tremors tend to worsen once the effects of alcohol wear off. What's more, larger amounts of alcohol eventually are needed to relieve tremors, which can lead to chronic alcoholism. If you have essential tremor, it's best to drink sparingly or not at all.
- Learn to relax. Stress tends to make tremors worse, and a relaxed state often improves them. Although it's not possible to eliminate all stress from your life, you can change how you react to stressful situations using a range of relaxation techniques. Many people also find that physical exercise — walking, jogging, swimming or biking — is a great stress reliever.
- Rest well. Fatigue can exacerbate tremors. Try to get at least seven hours of sound sleep every night. If you have trouble falling asleep, wake up repeatedly, or awaken early and can't go back to sleep, talk to your doctor.
References
- Essential tremor. Genetics Home Reference. http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/essential-tremor/show/print. Accessed June 12, 2010.
- Tarsy D. Overview of tremor. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed June 14, 2010.
- Eidelberg D, et al. Tremor. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec16/ch221/ch221i.html?qt=essential%20tremor&alt=sh. Accessed Aug. 8, 2010.
- Tarsy D. Pharmacologic treatment of essential tremor. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed June 14, 2010.
- Tarsy D. Surgical treatment of essential tremor. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed June 14, 2010.
- Tremor fact sheet. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/tremor/detail_tremor.htm?css=print. Accessed June 12, 2010.
- Louis ED. Essential tremors: A family of neurodegenerative disorders? Archives of Neurology. 2009;66:1202.
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