Sleeplessness can strike anytime—and these tricks will help whenever insomnia pounces—but we’ve been hearing from a lot of folks that anxiety has been keeping them up at night lately. The 24/7 news cycle and a seemingly endless stream of headlines and alerts have us all feeling a bit on edge these days.
In a desperate attempt to finally get some zzz’s many folks end up turning to prescription sleep aids. But taking those drugs can be a real recipe for disaster.
Studies have revealed these billion-dollar money makers can send your heart attack and cancer risks skyrocketing. Sleep drugs can also have damaging effects on your brain and have been known to cause people to sleep walk, eat and even drive!
3 proven tricks for beating insomnia
Don’t’ risk your health, or life, by popping prescription sleeping pills. Try one of these natural shut-eye tricks instead. They can help you finally get your 40 winks without the risk.
1. Seek MORE sunlight:
Your body has an internal clock that helps keep your sleep and wake cycles in working order. Known as your circadian rhythm, it’s what triggers the hormones that make you feel awake and ready to tackle the day or sleepy and ready to slumber.
But in order to stay on track your circadian rhythm needs your body to be regularly exposed to bright natural sunlight during the day. And for folks who spend a lot of time indoors, or shift workers, that can be tough.
In one study a group of insomnia sufferers were exposed more bright light during the day. The extra daylight significantly improved both their sleep quality and how long they were able to sleep. And, incredibly, it helped them fall asleep an average of 83 percent faster.1
If you’ve found yourself tossing and turning a lot lately try adding some more outside time to your daily routine. Slip in a 20 minute walk at lunch, or go over some paperwork in the park, and you’ll likely find it far easier to slip into sleep at night.
2. Create a “sleep cave”:
Many of us make the mistake of allowing our bedrooms to serve dual or even triple purposes. They double as a home office, entertainment zone and sometimes even a family staging area.
It’s time to change that. Your bedroom should be reserved for two activities, sleeping and sex. When we fill our bedroom full of blinking and backlit electronic devices and engage in other activities like surfing the internet, catching up on work, or even watching TV it can confuse our brains and knock our circadian rhythm out of whack. When your body doesn’t know whether it’s time to sleep or work it doesn’t release the melatonin you need to prep yourself for sleep.2,3
Instead, turn your bedroom into a sleep cave.
Start by kicking out the electronic devices. Exposure to light too late in the evening can keep you tossing and turning all night long.4,5 Move the TV to another room and, most importantly, ban any devices that give off blue light such as smartphones and computers. Blue light is THE worst offender when it comes to insomnia.
If light coming in from a window is an issue invest in some black out shades. And adjust the temperature to make it optimal for sleeping (experts say on the cooler side is better).
And finally, consider trying out some lavender. People have been using the sweet smell of this herb to help them sleep for centuries. Studies suggest lavender can help drive down anxiety and improve the quality of your sleep.6,7,8,9,10 Try putting a sachet with the dried herb under your pillow or sniffing lavender essential oils before bed.
3. Chill out with a supplement:
Still having trouble relaxing and getting to sleep? It may be time to give a natural sleep-enhancing supplement a shot.
Following are four great ones to try. Just don’t use them all at the same time.
- Magnesium: Studies show magnesium can help you relax and improve sleep quality.11,12
- Ginkgo biloba: Experts say ginkgo slashes stress and enhances relaxation so you can slip off to sleep.13,14
- Valerian: Proven in studies to help you fall asleep and boost the quality of your sleep.15,16
- Chamomile: Apigenin-rich chamomile is a proven anxiety reducer.17 Sip on a cup of chamomile tea before bed.
Don’t let anxiety rob you of sleep. Try these natural shut-eye tricks and sleep like a baby starting tonight.
References:
1. “Alleviation of sleep maintenance insomnia with timed exposure to bright light,” J Am Geriatr Soc. 1993 Aug;41(8):829-36
2. “Exposure to Room Light before Bedtime Suppresses Melatonin Onset and Shortens Melatonin Duration in Humans,” J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2011 Mar; 96(3): E463–E472
3. “The impact of light from computer monitors on melatonin levels in college students,”
Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2011;32(2):158-63
4. “Effects of playing a computer game using a bright display on presleep physiological variables, sleep latency, slow wave sleep and REM sleep,” J Sleep Res. 2005 Sep;14(3):267-73
5.”Light at night increases body mass by shifting the time of food intake,” Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Oct 26;107(43):18664-9
6. “The effects of lavender oil inhalation on emotional states, autonomic nervous system, and brain electrical activity,” J Med Assoc Thai. 2012 Apr;95(4):598-606
7. “Ambient odors of orange and lavender reduce anxiety and improve mood in a dental office,” Physiol Behav. 2005 Sep 15;86(1-2):92-5
8. “The effect of lavender aromatherapy on autonomic nervous system in midlife women with insomnia,” Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2012;2012:740813
9. “Phase II trial on the effects of Silexan in patients with neurasthenia, post-traumatic stress disorder or somatization disorder,” Phytomedicine. 2012 Jun 15;19(8-9):665-71
10. “Effects of lavender aromatherapy on insomnia and depression in women college students,” Taehan Kanho Hakhoe Chi. 2006 Feb;36(1):136-43
11. “Magnesium supplementation improves indicators of low magnesium status and inflammatory stress in adults older than 51 years with poor quality sleep,” Magnes Res. 2010 Dec;23(4):158-68
12. “Oral Mg(2+) supplementation reverses age-related neuroendocrine and sleep EEG changes in humans,” Pharmacopsychiatry. 2002 Jul;35(4):135-43
13. “The effect of Li 1370, extract of Ginkgo biloba, on REM sleep in humans,” Pharmacopsychiatry. 2001 Jul;34(4):155-7
14. “Polysomnographic effects of adjuvant ginkgo biloba therapy in patients with major depression medicated with trimipramine,” Pharmacopsychiatry. 2001 Mar;34(2):50-9
15. “Effectiveness of Valerian on insomnia: a meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled trials,” Sleep Med. 2010 Jun;11(6):505-11
16. “The use of Valeriana officinalis (Valerian) in improving sleep in patients who are undergoing treatment for cancer: a phase III randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study (NCCTG Trial, N01C5),” J Support Oncol. 2011 Jan-Feb;9(1):24-31
17. “A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Oral Matricaria recutita (Chamomile) Extract Therapy for Generalized Anxiety Disorder,” J of Clinical Psychopharma.: August 2009 – Volume 29 – Issue 4 – pp 378-382
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