Approximately 90 million Americans now suffer from some type of sleep disturbance. Rejuvenating sleep is an extremely important and fundamental part of feeling great and healthy. Unfortunately, too many of us are plagued with insomnia and miss out on sleep's wonderful healing properties. You'll become more inflamed and more insulin resistant simply by getting 6 hours of sleep or less. Your immune system will also suffer significantly if you don't get enough sleep making you more prone to colds and the flu. This article will explain what you can do (and what you should avoid) to naturally cure insomnia at home.
Get Into the Rhythm
Getting good sleep is all about balancing your circadian rhythm. The best thing to do to kickstart a healthy circadian rhythm is to expose yourself to sunlight before 8:30 am. When you get up in the morning it is time to tell your brain that the sun is out and it is time to get your body and your hormones going. Step outside and soak up some early morning sunrays or do a brisk walk first thing to get you going.
If your work schedule doesn't allow this, just try to set up your workspace near a window or get outside as much as you can during the day when you're on break or during lunch.
What About Exercise?
Exercise can significantly improve your sleep quality. The earlier in the day the better if you are going to exercise, but some exercise is better than none so do it late if you have to. Moderate and intense exercise raises cortisol so if you are going to exercise late in the day be sure it is something light and gentle such as Tai Chi, light stretching, gentle flow yoga, or a walk around the neighborhood.
Stay Away From Drama
Avoid watching television before you go to bed as this can disrupt your sleep. Watching the news can trigger negative emotions such as fear, anger, and frustration which will raise cortisol and adrenaline. Avoid intense movies or reading material as this can stimulate your adrenals which will keep you awake. Read some light fiction or learn something that is easy to understand and pleasurable.
Social media is the perfect way to upset your mind and your rhythm. Social media increases the sleep-disrupting brain chemical dopamine with all the notifications, flashes, arrows, videos, ads, links, and inflammatory posts by your "friends." Even if you don't have sleep issues I recommend avoiding social media outlets such as Facebook as I mention in this article on how Facebook could be making you sick.
Stay Consistent
Try and follow a regular sleep schedule. Go to bed and wake up at the same times every day. Make going to sleep a ritual and stick with your plan even on the weekends. Don't stay up late on the weekend and then try to sleep in. This disrupts your consistency and throws off your rhythm. If you really want to change your life and feel better then commit to a consistent schedule.
The hours you sleep from 10 pm to 2 am are the most restorative so get to sleep early enough so you're out by 10. I go to bed at 9 pm and read very light material such as fiction and then turn out the lights around 9:30-9:45. You'll notice a big difference in how you feel if you've become a night owl by training your body to go to bed earlier. Don't try and make a big shift right away. Start with 15-minute increments each night until you are falling asleep before 10.
Also wake up consistently at the same time every morning and shoot for about 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Sleeping longer than that may make you feel groggy for the early part of the day so be consistent when you go to bed and when you wake up.
Can Meditation Help?
Begin a regular meditation practice. Meditation can calm the mind, reduce stress, anxiety and help you get clear on what is important so your mind is not racing. I highly recommend www.calm.com to teach you how to meditate. Just 5 minutes a day to start will begin to work and you can meditate up to 20-25 minutes a day if you can. I like to do a "body scan" meditation before bed which relaxes all the muscles of the body.
I get into more detail on meditation and some great resources to help you meditate in this article.
Practice deep belly breathing like a baby breathes for 5 minutes every day. Try doing it in the evening before bed to reduce tension in your body which will help you sleep. You can tap into your parasympathetic nervous system simply by relaxing and doing deep belly breathing. Your parasympathetic nervous system is your "rest and digest" part of your nervous system which is what you need to be activated for great sleep.
Sleep Caveman Style
Your bedroom should be completely pitch-black. No clock radio, lights or outside light of any kind should be in your sleep space. Even though your eyes are closed, your brain is still receiving light stimuli through your eyelids and your skin which can reduce melatonin levels. To illustrate this, try looking directly into the sun or a bright light with your eyes closed and you'll see a small amount of light coming through. Even if you wear a sleep mask, your skin still responds to light of all types.
Make sure your drapes completely block out all light from your windows. Turn off all electronic devices with lights or cover them. Even those small red and green LED lights on electronics can disrupt your sleep.
Try Journaling
Journaling is a great way to empty your mind and reduce anxiety. Write down three things that you are grateful for every night. Also, write down anything good that happened to you that day so the last thing on your mind before bed is all the good things in your life.
Try writing down what you need to do the next day in the evening. This helps to clear your mind because now you know exactly what you need to do the next day and you can put it to rest.
Eat Right for Better Sleep
Covering a healthy diet is beyond the scope of this guide but I can give you a few pointers that relate to healthy sleep.
1. Try eating only protein and fat for breakfast without much or any carbohydrates. This sets the tone for healthy blood sugar for the next 24 hours. An egg and vegetable omelet or a protein shake with greens and nuts are two examples of this type of breakfast.
2. Only eat low glycemic carbohydrates for lunch and dinner so your blood sugar remains stable.
3. Some carbohydrates are required for glucose to get into the brain which carries tryptophan across the blood-brain barrier. This will ensure healthy serotonin and melatonin production at night. If you just eat a lot of protein at night with no carbohydrates then it may be difficult to fall asleep.
If you are extremely tired in the morning and are a “slow-starter” then this can mean a couple of things. The first is that you are insulin resistant and your blood sugar needs work. A fasting blood glucose and hemoglobin A1c are good markers for insulin resistance. This also ties in with adrenal function so be sure to get your adrenal hormones checked.
In order to get good sleep you should avoid the following stimulants:
Caffeine
Coffee
Chocolate
Teas that contain caffeine
Yerba Mate
Guarana
Alcohol
If you're going to consume caffeine in any form, just be sure to have it before 2 pm. Also, be consistent with it every day. So if you're going to consume coffee every morning, for example, be sure to drink it at the same time every day. This will help establish consistency in your circadian rhythm.
It is very important to stabilize your blood sugar from the time you eat dinner until you go to bed. Make sure you eat a balanced meal of protein, low-glycemic carbohydrates, and fat. Bed-time snacks may be OK for you but they must be very small, balanced and not contain sugar or processed carbohydrates.
One example of something good to eat before bed is 1-2 tablespoons of almond butter. This is a slowly digesting food that will keep your blood sugar stable while you sleep.
It Could be Your Mattress
It may be time for a new mattress. Did you know that approximately 1/3 of your entire life will be spent sleeping? That means that one of your single most important investments should be in a quality mattress.
I've heard a lot of great things about Helix Sleep which custom builds your mattress so you've got just the right firmness.
I won't get into all the details of mattress buying but the above are three of the best choices out there.
Turn Off the Wi-Fi
Get all of your Wi-Fi devices out of your room when you go to bed. A lot of people sleep with their cell phones right next to their beds which have a consistent Wi-Fi signal running into them. This signal may possibly be going directly through your body depending on where your wireless router is positioned. Give your body a break from Wi-Fi signals and you should notice an improvement in your sleep.
What Can You Drink at Night to Sleep Better?
One old school remedy is to drink warm milk. Casein peptides in milk have been shown to reduce anxiety and help people sleep.
Chamomile tea also helps to reduce anxiety but sometimes it has a paradoxical effect and causes insomnia. You'll know the first time you try it if it's not for you. Try 1-2 bags of chamomile tea about one hour before bed. You can combine chamomile with reishi tea which works extremely well for some individuals. Reishi is a mushroom traditionally used for immune system health and infections but it also helps to regulate cortisol production which you need in a healthy range in order to sleep. Steep 1-2 bags of chamomile combined with 1-2 bags of reishi in the evening or before bed to help knock you out.
I have gotten great feedback on Yogi brand “Soothing Caramel Bedtime” tea (Amazon.com) which contains chamomile, skullcap, poppy, and L-theanine. It can be found on Amazon.com or at your local health food store.
What About Your Hormones?
