Things You Do to Sleep Better

Hi Nirmala,

Try a cup of hot camomile, catnip, anise or fennel tea. All contain natural ingredients which will help you sleep. Most health food stores will also have special blends of herb tea designed to soothe you and help you get to sleep.

http://ourhealthwisdom.com/tip/sleep/insomnia/drink-herb-tea

Like all good things which are provided by the nature – absolutely free to us, is sound sleep. It is the cheapest beauty treatment you can very well give yourself. No beauty cream or facials, no amount of makeup can give you the glow, fresh and relaxed look that a sound sleep provides.

Without the sleep you need, you’ll look older and your skin will look drier. Your skin renews itself as you sleep which is why too little sleep can make your skin look tired and dull. Sleep renews and refreshes us and is vital for good health and beauty. The average need for an individual is eight hours; it varies from person to person. Identify your need by the way you feel when you wake up.Self discipline is required to get required amount of sleep. Even than it is not always possible to get that but do be sure that you’re not regularly losing out on sleep. Never reach the awful stage where you feel incredibly tired and your body cries out for sleep.There may be various reasons for not getting into bed in natural bedtime, see if you are addicted to anyone of them.

**Late night TV that keeps you stuck in your chair.

**Major change in your life.

**You are rushing around hectically, or eating erratically or eating late?

**Too much intake of coffee or tea!

**Your mattress is too soft or too hard, old and lumpy.

**Use of synthetic bed sheet!

**Your pillows are plump or old and saggy!

The following simple tips are helpful for sound sleep:

Create a bedtime routine. Make an effort to rearrange the pattern of your evenings.

Limit your tea and coffee intake to five or six cups a day, and don’t drink any within an hour of your bedtime.

You spend a sizeable time of your life sleeping, so don’t economize on the mattress and bed you choose. Buy the best. Always use cotton bed sheet while sleeping and your pillows should give enough support to your weary head. Wear loose cotton dress while going to bed.

Allow yourself a clear half hour to unwind, bath, have a warm milk, cleanse your face, brush your hair and teeth – that way, you’ll prepare yourself mentally for sleep. Cleanse your face every night no matter how tired you are with a gentle cleanser.

Close your eyes and breathe in very deeply, concentrate on the days pleasant happenings.

Relax all your muscles, simple meditation techniques helps in inducing sleep.

If your mind seems to be obsessed with any particular problem and keeps reverting to it, try remembering the happy memories. Listen to music.

Try taking a gentle walk after dinner. Vigorous exercise late at night is not good, but a quiet stroll can get you in the mood for sleep.

Try having at least one early night every week when you’re in bed by 10 at the latest.

If you still feel tired after this and your diet is good, have a check-up with your doctor.

Do lots of exercise, but not too close to bed time. Cut out all caffeine after 2:00 pm. That includes chocolate!

We just heard on the news show a doctor say a handful of cherries will help you sleep. Don't know about you but I love cherries and they're in season now, when they're not just eat some dried cherries. Happy sleeping :)

Vigorous exercise during the day.

Melatonin helps my mom sleep. For me, if I can't fall asleep soon, I get out of bed and watch TV in another room. If I stay in the bedroom and toss in bed, it takes me longer to get comfortable.

Wow, all of these responses are awesome! Thanks for all the great feedback!

Duh, it's been a while since I've been here and I posted a comment only to realize I had already posted a while back. At least I'm consistent, I still mentioned the Natural Calm magnesium.

Just a tad more on it....magnesium deficiency prevents smooth muscle relaxation and proper functioning. It's easier to become magnesium-deficient than some might think and that restless feeling (even if it's not what you'd identify as restless leg syndrome or is not that severe) could be your smooth muscle system asking for a little magnesium.

An hour ago I was telling my sister about how I've been having trouble sleeping. At 11:20 I got an email inviting me to join Wellsphere.com. I found this particular topic after two clicks and am now ready to go to bed! ;) (Yes, I'll give myself some downtime between the computer time and sleep.)

I take 500 mg of magnesium every day for Migraine but have been taking it every morning. I think I'll switch to nighttime! I have the regular white pills, not fast-absorbing ones. Any tips on how many hours before bed I should take my magnesium?

Thanks for the tips!;)

3 mg of melatonin works well for me.

If you have noises outside your window, like barking dogs or cars, that disturb you when you're trying to fall asleep, try to block them out with some kind of white noise. We use a humidifier in the winter and a ceiling fan in the summer that blocks most of the street sounds.

I would also recommend, if this continues, that you get your doctor to set you up for a sleep study to make sure there isn't something deeper happening.

what i do sometimes is listen to very low music , then it makes me go to sleep . it doesnt make me think of the quietness and other stuff . so it helps .

In the yoga context sleep remedy takes the approach of settling the central nervous system.

Tracii's post below touches on many of the methods we use. Rubbing oil into the skin is one of the best as the skin is the termination of the nervous system.

Avoiding yang foods in favor of more calming Yin foods, reducing or eliminating activities which jar the nervous system (like television violence, computing, arguing), and preparing the body for sleep with a few minutes of relaxation (not reading or sipping tea but lying still) are also very helpful.

As for bedtime, I'm told there some research on sleep that indicates getting to be around 9pm tends to be most beneficial. Apparently an hours worth of sleep after 11pm is not worth as much to the body as an hour of sleep at 9.

Valerian root works wonders and can be found at any health store (and increasingly in places like Wal-Mart...people are catching on!)

Other natural sedatives/calming substances:

Lavender, sage, cinnamon, 5-HTP, calcium, magnesium, green tea, vanilla, yerba mate, korean ginseng, sandalwood

Relaxing activities:

Massage, hot bath, inhalation of essential oils w/ calming properties, deep breathing, nature sounds, reading, sitting in low light...

Use your bedroom only for sex and sleeping, go to bed around the same time nightly, and stop all stressful activities at least an hour before retiring.

I get very good results taking a product called Natural Calm. It's a highly absorbable form of magnesium. I usually dissolve anywhere between 1/2 and 1 teaspoonful of the Natural Calm into warm water and sip til it's gone about 15 minutes before going to bed. Many people are magnesium deficient, which can affect sleep as well as muscle health. This is very good for muscle cramps too.

Stay away from computer monitors (and other devices that shine light into your eyes) right before bedtime. The extra light fools your brain into thinking it's earlier in the day.

Also, don't eat two hours before bedtime. Food keeps you awake.

I have difficulty getting to sleep and staying asleep. I took a class on posture recently - the instructor, Diane Whitacre, is an anatomist. Along with postural exercizes she stressed that we should sleep without pillows, on our backs, on a relatively firm mattress in order to keep our back, head and neck aligned. I was a bit skeptical about giving up my pillow - but was pleasantly surprised to find out that I got to sleep quicker and slept much better (and far less tossing and turning) by following her technique. Give it a try!

Hi Nirmala,

I see you've been getting a lot of great advice here. I just have one thing to add. Calcium and Magnesium are supposed to help you sleep better. That may have something to do with why warm milk helps? Since I started taking a calcium supplement (especially with dinner) I have noticed that I sleep better. Of course it has other health benefits too! Good luck!

Create a routine. When you have small children you create a bedtime routine. It eases them into the change from day to night. we need to do the same thing. Create your own nightime ritual. One that will signal your mind and your body that it's time to slow down. You can stretch, meditate, shower, read, whatever calms you and puts you into a relaxation mode.

Electricity-free evening. Once a week, my boyfriend and I have an electricity-free night. We chose Tuesdays, just because of our schedules, and at 6PM we turn off the lights, the TV, the cell phones, the radio, and light a bunch of candles and lanterns. We read, silently, by candlelight and inevitably, we fall asleep much earlier...even as early as 8, and sleep much more soundly. There is something about slowing down the pace of your body and mind that can't be beat.

Stretch before bed. I find that taking 15 minutes to lie on the floor of my bedroom and stretch, doing all kinds of stretches for various muscle groups, really helps me unwind before bed.