Tips for falling asleep and staying asleep — the natural way.
For many of us, sleep is an elusive creature. Night after night, we toss and turn, trying desperately to wind down our brains and looking for that “perfect spot”. If you’re anything like me, falling asleep is a struggle and staying asleep is an all out battle.
You don’t have to drown yourself in prescription or over the counter sleep aids to get to sleep fast, though. There’s an array of all natural options that have been proven to help people suffering from conditions like insomnia get to sleep.
Check out these 4 natural techniques to enhance your sleep skills. Your body and your life will thank you.
The 4 Natural Techniques That Help You Get to Sleep Fast
1. Increase your melatonin intake.
Melatonin is a natural hormone that is produced by your endocrine gland. It gets produced when exposed to light and dark, respectively, and helps to maintain your circadian rhythm or biological clock. If you’re struggling with sleep, chances are your natural melatonin balance is off.
If you want to increase your melatonin you can do a few things. Try getting outside into the daylight, especially if you work a mostly indoor job. Take 15–20 minute walks each day and try to do it when the sun is brightest. You can also get melatonin from certain foods, especially ones containing tryptophan, magnesium, calcium and B6. Some of these foods include: leafy greens, almonds, goji berries, and kiwis. Also try drinking beverages like valerian tea, golden milk, moringa and tart cherry juice.
2. Take a deep breath.
It sounds so silly, but just taking some time for deep breathing can really help your sleep. “While it may sound intuitive, many people overlook the simple power that breathing properly has on quality of sleep,” says Poppie Jamie, founder of Happy not Perfect, who suggests trying some deep belly breaths as a way of winding down. “Breathing exercises help to take your mind off of the day’s stressors and relax before going to bed,” she adds. “Practice taking deep, full breaths through your nose on the inhale, letting your stomach expand, and on the exhale allowing your belly to move towards the spine. Relax your shoulders; and breathe slowly through your nose for five seconds, then exhale slowly for five seconds. Focus on breathing this way for at least 30 seconds or until you feel calm enough to fall asleep.”
If that doesn’t work, try nasal strips to help increase oxygen intake while you snooze. This will increase blood flow and help you get a fuller, deeper sleep.
3. Sync it up.
As mentioned before, our bodies product melatonin when exposed to light. Since that’s the case, try to sink up your schedule to the natural hours of light as much as possible.
When you wake up in the morning, your body needs sunlight in order to kick off key functions. By syncing our internal body clocks to the natural hours of daylight, we can optimize our exposure to key types of light that keep us ticking along.
What if your schedule just doesn’t allow for a bask in the sunshine? That’s okay too. Try natural light therapy devices such as the Circadian Optics Lumos 2.0 or the Verilux HappyLight Liberty.
4. Acupressure
Ingrid Y. Prueher, certified pediatric and adult sleep and nutrition coach says that massaging certain acupressure points can reduce anxiety before bed.
“Hold on to the tips of your big toes to help you become relaxed,” she suggests. Keep firm pressure on the point for about two minutes to feel decreased tension almost instantly. You can also take a few minutes to tense and relax the body systematically, beginning with your toes and working upward until the body is relaxed.
Putting it all together…
If you want to get to get better sleep fast, then try a natural remedy. Sync your body to natural light rhythms in order to improve your own biological cycles, or increase your melatonin. Still struggling? Why not give acupressure a try or take a few minutes to breathe deeply? There’s a million ways you can get your sleep under control. Which one are you going to try?
