How to Tips for Restful Sleep

The stress in our lives and not having enough hours in the day to do what you need to do can take away from restful sleep, either by simply stealing time from you or causing you to toss and turn or to suffer insomnia. There are many safe and effective ways to deal with sleep problems at home.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• quiet, dark and cool room
• alarm clock
• chamomile tea
• valerian
• melatonin
• kava

1. One of the best ways to treat sleep problems is to develop a sleep schedule and stick to it. This means getting up at the same time every day and going to bed at the same time every night. Eventually this will train your mind and body that only certain times, preferably nighttime, are for sleep.

2. Keeping your room dark, quiet and cool can aid in good sleep. Your body temperature lowers a little bit while you sleep, so keeping your room comfortably cool whenever possible can help your body fall asleep. Try to keep any non-sleep and/or non-relaxing activities out of the room; dedicate it to relaxation and sleep.

3. Do not stare at the clock if you cannot sleep. It is hard not to worry over lost sleep, but lying down and spending the night relaxed is better than not sleeping and wasting precious energy on stress.

4. Adding some natural sleep supplements to your regimen can improve both the ease of falling asleep and staying asleep; you should always talk to your doctor before taking anything to check for safety and drug interactions.

Tips & Warnings

• Chamomile tea has been used for thousands of years for relaxation and sleep and you can easily find it at your local grocery or superstore center.
• Valerian, or valerian root, is often in special nighttime tea formulations and can be taken as a supplement pill as well. It works best if you take it regularly every night for a few short weeks.
• Melatonin is a supplement of a naturally occurring hormone in our bodies and can be a powerful aid against insomnia.
• Kava supplements can help you sleep by relieving mild to moderate anxiety. It does not put you to sleep so much as it helps you deal with stress that may be keeping you awake.
• Always consult your doctor before taking supplements, follow your doctor's advice.
• Kava can occasionally cause severe liver damage, use caution.
• Do not use any sleep aid, over-the-counter, prescription, or natural, for more than a few weeks or you may become dependent upon it to sleep.

Resources

• National Sleep Foundation
• WebMD Sleep Disorders Center