To achieve optimal wellness, getting a good night’s sleep is essential. Deep, quality sleep activates the rest and digestive response in the body, and it also plays a primary role in cell repair. Without getting enough rest, it is impossible to be at one’s best, and these limitations can quickly downgrade the quality of life. With the understanding that sleep is vital, here are three things to know if you have trouble sleeping.
1. Make Your Room A Sanctuary
With so many people working from home now, the distinction between the office and home blurs. Many people work from their couch, bed, or other areas, not meant for work. The more frequently you work in your bedroom, the more difficult it is for your body to associate your room with sleep.
Likewise, if you have work materials resting by your bedside, your brain continues to see your bedroom as a place to work. As a result, you are more alert and have difficulty falling asleep. Start turning your bedroom into a sanctuary for sleep and completing your work in a different room to fix this.
Researchers looking into light therapy and the inquiry: does red light help you sleep? have begun to theorize why red light may cause sleepiness. They suggest too much exposure to blue and white light can disrupt the natural sleep cycle. Red light is closer to the firelight that our ancestors would have been witnessing during nighttime. We can tune into this ancient DNA and get sleepy by switching our lightbulbs with red light alternatives or finding red light mode options for our electronics.
2. Try Natural Sleep Supplements
Sometimes people need extra support falling and staying asleep, and in these cases, they rely on addictive sleep aids. Others use alcohol as a sedative, which can cause wakefulness during the night and prevent you from getting the deep sleep you need. There are, however, natural ways to get sleep by using gentle, natural sleep aids.
Melatonin supplements are one option. Melatonin is the sleep hormone that we already produce. However, if we are experiencing excess stress or drink too much caffeine too close to bedtime, the natural production of this hormone is disrupted, making it more challenging to fall and stay asleep.
Melatonin supplements can curb these sleep disturbances, and though, they work best alongside healthy lifestyle habits like abstaining from caffeine consumption too late into the day.
Magnesium is another supplement that may help with sleep issues, as it works by relaxing the muscles, inducing total body relaxation.
Many people are deficient in magnesium, so it’s possible that a deficiency of this critical “sleep mineral” could be the root of your sleep issues.
3. Practice Yoga Nidra
Yoga Nidra, or “yogic sleep,” is a relaxation practice that is accomplished by focusing on body sensations. Although there are many interpretations of its purpose, yoga Nidra can induce sleep, as it is similar to body scan meditations.
Focusing on the weight of your body and the sensations that emerges gives your mind something to pay attention to while remaining relaxed. Soft attentiveness can help quiet the mind and calm the body. As you begin paying attention to the feelings of your body, you may also notice a sinking feeling that helps your body relax into sleep.
Work With Natural Tools
If you have trouble sleeping, start taking up habits that induce relaxation. By switching up your routine to make it more accommodating to sleep, you’ll find ways to work in natural sleeping tools that may help you get the rest you need.
