day.
- Don’t eat heavy meals late in the evening.
- Get regular exercise, but not close to bedtime since it will stimulate you and make it difficult to fall asleep.
- Avoid using your bed for anything other than sleep or sex.
- If you can’t sleep, get up and do something that is not too stimulating, such as reading until you do feel sleepy.
- When you are worrying, try to make a to-do list before you go to bed. This just might help you to avoid thinking about those worries overnight.
- Consider taking a warm bath just before getting into bed.
Whatever you do before going to bed, research suggests that it should be a somewhat serene activity. A National Sleep Foundation survey indicated that the majority of Americans used some type of electronics, such a computer, cell phone, video game or television, within the last hour before going to bed. This is considered a bad idea because the light from these electronics stimulates the brain too much, making it harder to wind down.
Natural remedies to help you sleep
There are a number of over-the-counter sleep aids on the market, but many have side effects, including hangovers – that groggy feeling the next day. Much is unknown about the safety of over-the-counter sleep aids, and we have to keep in mind that medication interactions are possible as well. On the plus side, there are a lot of natural remedies for sleep.
Some people can prevent sleep disorders simply through exercise and diet. Having a regular exercise routine that balances your energy has proved positive for sleep, while eating foods that contain tryptophan, an amino acid that’s used to make serotonin can also help us sleep. Serotonin does occur naturally in the brain. Bananas, chicken and turkey contain tryptophan. This is the reason many people joke about taking a nap after consuming turkey. Carbohydrates help tryptophan enter the brain, so try a glass of warm milk at bedtime.
There are other natural remedies to help you sleep, including valerian, which binds to the same receptors in the brain that tranquilizers do, passionflower, which is used as a mild sedative, and lavender, which has an aroma enabling people to fall asleep.
Sleep surveys show that the sleep deprived have benefited from taking warm baths. Now sleep experts believe that putting a few drops of lavender oil or jasmine oil in a bath before bed is beneficial. Studies conducted at Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia demonstrated that people who spent the night in a jasmine-scented room slept better than people who stayed in unscented rooms.
Studies have also suggested that magnesium and calcium are both sleep boosters. Magnesium is very important to the human body, helping to regulate muscle and nerve function. Calcium is required for muscle function, nerve transmission and hormonal secretion.
When sleep disorders can be linked to stress, often times the best approach is yoga, which could end up relaxing your body and mind, or simple meditation, which can have the same impact.
We all need about seven to nine hours of sleep each night. For some people this is not a tall order, but for those who suffer from sleep disorders, sleep can be an elusive and all-consuming task. It can impact work, relationships, physical health and mental well-being.
While some people fall asleep in 10 seconds, others can take hours or suffer from insomnia, staying awake for days, weeks or months. The good news is that those who do suffer from sleep disorders have two options: they can either control the problem themselves, as in the case of stress, or they can seek help when they notice the first signs of a problem. Either way, the human body knows when it needs to rest sleep is essential.
Individuals experiencing sleep problems due to physical and/or mental health conditions such as stress are likely unable to get enough rest each night. Continue reading…
Lack of sleep impairs your energy levels, but it can also have serious health consequences; therefore, it’s important that you get to the bottom of your sleep predicament. Continue reading…