Sleep seems to elude a lot of people in the world today, but before turning to medication for help to sleep, why not give natural sleep remedies a try? We all know how important good sleep is for our health and our ability to function, so why not use these
natural sleep remedies and see how your day will be after a restful night?
Supplement Your Body With Melatonin
As the time of day lowers, the sun goes down, and the body starts to prepare for sleep, we start to produce melatonin. This hormone basically tells the body that it is time to calm down and drift off to dreamland, and most of the time it works naturally because our body produces enough of it.
However, exposure to blue light from screens, jet lag, and other events that can disrupt this melatonin cycle can cause our bodies to produce too little melatonin. When that happens, we can have some serious trouble sleeping, and that can reduce the time we spend asleep as well as our sleep quality.
In order to get past the lack of melatonin we are making naturally, we can use melatonin supplements to increase the amount of the hormone inside of your systems, and that can improve our sleep quality.
Use Magnesium
Magnesium is another natural supplement that is used inside the entire body, and it can support everything from brain function to our heart health. Magnesium has also been shown to relax the body as well, and it also has a connection to melatonin as well. It can relax muscles as well, and also cause sleep.
Like melatonin, if you have too little magnesium it can be linked to a lack of sleep as well as insomnia, and you can supplement the amount of magnesium in your body with supplements as well.
Breathe in the Sweet Smell of Lavender
The smell of lavender is soothing, but did you know that it can help you sleep as well? Taking lavender oil can help get you to sleep, as well as improving sleep quality from conditions like insomnia and anxiety. Just make sure you use your lavender as an essential oil and not as an oral supplement.
Taking lavender orally can be connected to stomach pain and nausea, and it certainly won’t help you sleep at all. However, getting into aromatherapy might help relax you, and relaxation is pretty close to sleep!
Drink Warm Tea
While warm milk has always been an option for people who want to get to sleep, warm tea might be better because you get the taste of the herbs as well as the aromatherapy. Drinking warm tea or some other warm drink will often make you drowsy, and most of them will affect your brain and produce chemicals that will cause your brain to start to feel sleepy.
For example chamomile tea can interact with the benzodiazepine receptors in the brain which can ease the transition from sleeping and waking. It also has no caffeine as well, which is an extra plus!
Keep Your Room Cool and Dark
While this is often sleep advice for babies, it can work for adults as well. Keeping your thermostat between 65 and 72 degrees, and having a very dark room with the use of blackout curtains and other tools to reduce as much light as possible will ensure you are ready to go to bed.
Mimicking whenever the sun goes down will help you go to sleep faster and better, and if you need to step out of the bedroom to use the bathroom or go to the kitchen, then you don’t need to flick on the lights. Instead, use a flashlight if you need to see light, which isn’t going to disrupt your brain.
It might take a while to walk around the house without banging yourself into every piece of furniture with your legs, but at least you will still be sleepy.
Do Deep Breathing
Counting your breaths, breathing in and out, or doing one of the many breathing techniques you can find on the internet can also help slow down your body and get you ready to go to sleep. Just lie down and be comfortable, and then start breathing in and out with your eyes closed. Deep breathing will start to slow your body down and relax your heart beat, and you will find yourself falling asleep.
Don’t Be Afraid To Try Natural Sleep Remedies
Natural sleep remedies might not be as fast acting as the medical ones, but they will help you fall asleep and you will feel more well rested throughout the day. Pick a remedy and see what will work for you, and be persistent with it over the next few days. Then, see how well your sleep has improved!