Sleep problems and insomnia are quite common among adults. Traumatic events, jet lag, a new baby in the family, and stress at work can all cause restlessness and an inability to relax. Symptoms of sleep disorders are often caused by a level of mental anxiety and an overactive mind that can’t be put to rest. As a result of the lack of sleep, individuals can feel fatigue, an in ability to concentrate, have poor decision making skills, and experience uncontrollable moodiness.
If it takes longer than 15 minutes to fall asleep at night, there are some simple guidelines you can follow to allow yourself to rest more easily at night. If, however, you find yourself repeatedly waking up in the middle of the night and can’t allow your mind to rest, you may want to consider using additional sleep aids in order to control your mind and allow your body to get back in the habit of getting a full nights rest.
Starting with the basics:
- Reduce Caffeine Levels: If you find yourself needing multiple cups of coffee throughout the morning in order to “wake up,” you may be sleep deprived. Avoid using caffeine as an aid to help you rise earlier and stay up later.
- Go to Bed When You Are Tired: Don’t lay down until you are ready to go to bed. If you have a lot on your mind that you know will keep you up all night, you need to unwind and get your mind off things before going to bed. Trying to will yourself to sleep can have the reverse effect and increase anxiety levels.
- Don’t Stay Awake in Bed: If you are awake in bed for more than 20 minutes, get up and move. Don’t use your computer or turn on a light, just relax and return to your bed when you are falling asleep. What this does is allows your body to prepare for rest, but avoids making the association that your bed is a place where you cannot fall asleep. Instead, you condition your body to sleep soundly when your head hits the pillow.
- Turn Off Work: Anxiety and a mind that replays a to-do list over and over is one of the most common causes of sleep disorders. Avoid work at least 30 minutes before going to bed. Do something to relax, such as taking a hot bath or drinking caffeine-free tea. Whatever you do, don’t stare at a computer, TV or sit in a bright room. It will stimulate too much activity in the brain and keep you alert.
If there is something on your mind keeping you up at night, it is important to get out of bed until you can allow your mind and body to relax. Keep the lights off and avoid stimulating activities.
Often times the reason why you may not be able to sleep is because of the lack of melatonin in your system. Melatonin is a natural chemical that is released in your brain and regulates the sleep-wake pattern of your body. Dark settings produces and releases melatonin in our systems, while light decreases it’s presence. Studies indicate that melatonin production slows as we grow older, which is why it can be more difficult for older people to fall asleep.
Synthetic melatonin has been used to treat many sleep related disorders successfully, and can help someone having trouble resting at night get back into a regular sleep routine. Supplements that contain melatonin can allow people to fall asleep quickly and get a full nights rest without disruption.
What makes melatonin effective is that it is the same natural chemical your body produces to help you rest at night. By taking a melatonin supplement 15 – 20 minutes before going to bed, it can help you get the peaceful and complete rest you need. Natural sleep aids that contain melatonin are commonly and successfully used to treat jet lag and other symptoms of sleep disorders.
While these supplements are available over-the-counter, it is important not to confuse melatonin sleep remedies with sleeping pills. Sleeping pills tend to contain drugs that knock you out, but don’t actually allow your body to enter a deep level of sleep. That’s why people who try taking sleeping pills to cure their insomnia will still wake up feeling groggy.
Natural sleep supplements that contain Melatonin, on the other hand, will help you get a full nights rest that will allow you to wake up feeling refreshed, alert, and full of energy.
About Sarah Zener