Do you ever have those nights where you just can not fall asleep because you cannot get yourself to stop thinking, planning or stressing about anything and everything?
Then you get up the next morning exhausted, but with a million things to do?
What I hate most about having insomnia is feeling like I am dragging myself from one task to the next without any joy or energy because I am just so tired.
Over-the-counter sleep aids make me really nervous, so I needed to find out how to fight my insomnia naturally. So I started looking for ideas and easy things I could do to help me fall asleep faster at night, and stay asleep.
The things I have tried so far seem to be working, and I am feeling better, sleeping better and definitely have more energy most days. Not to say I never have trouble sleeping anymore, I still do from time to time. It is often still hard to get my brain to turn off, LOL and stop thinking about....well, just about everything!
But these little things I have listed below help. In all honesty, the first tip is the hardest for me to do. And some days I don't do it. But the days I do, I absolutely sleep better!
1. Drink your last cup of coffee by 11 AM.
I know, that sounds so early, and hard to do. But there is a good explanation for this tip. The liver takes up to 12 hours to fully break down the caffeine from coffee. So the earlier you stop drinking coffee or drinks with high caffeine in them, the more time the liver has to get that caffeine out of your system.
2. Eat more nuts, especially almonds.
Almonds have lots of calcium and magnesium, which relax muscles, soothe nerves and increase the time spent in restorative sleep, according to James F. Balch, M.D., coauthor of Prescription for Natural Cures. Eat the nuts at least six hours before bedtime for best results. And try to eat about 1 oz. of almonds daily.
3. Avoid going to bed dehydrated.
Stress hormones are triggered by dehydration, so it is important to go to bed hydrated in order to increase your chances of getting a good night's sleep. Make sure to drink plenty of fluids throughout the day, but be sure to limit drinks to a minimum after 4 pm to avoid late night bathroom trips.
4. Eat a healthy snack that promotes sleep just before going to bed.
Some foods that can help you fall asleep faster at bedtime are oatmeal cookies, milk, whole-grain buttered toast, or a bowl of whole-grain cereal.
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests eating buttered jasmine rice before bed to help you fall asleep faster if you suffer from insomnia. The rice increases your body's production of serotonin and cytokinins, hormones that calm nerves and bring on sleep.