Tricks to Help You Fall Asleep Fast
By Sara Butler
Sleep is important, which is why it can be so frustrating when you’re lying in bed and just can’t seem to find it. Tossing and turning all night long will not help your mood the next day, and it’ll make you hate the people in your life that can fall asleep before their head even hits the pillow. Are there strategies you can use to help you fall asleep faster? Yes! Here’s how you can show sleep who’s boss and get the rest you need.
Don’t Try
If you don’t try so hard to fall asleep, you may find it comes easier. The more you want it, the more you look at the minutes on the bedside clock ticking by, the harder it will be to actually get to sleep. You need to remind yourself during those times that sleep is just like any other body function. You need to have a schedule for sleep that you stick to as closely as you can, get regular exercise, and avoid foods before bed that will make it more difficult to fall asleep. In the end, all you can do is try to prepare your body as well as you can for sleep and let the chips fall where they may.
Turn Off the Lights
Artificial light can mess with your body’s natural rhythms, making it more difficult to sleep at night. The natural cycles of the sun help your body to regulate melatonin, the hormone that brings on sleep. If you interject fake light sources such as a television, smartphone, or lamp into the mix, then you may have more trouble getting to sleep. Make sure you turn off artificial sources of light at least an hour before bed. Make your bedroom as dark as you can.
Take a Hot Shower
Your body releases a hormone to help you deal with stress called cortisol that naturally drops as your body prepares for sleep. That, in conjunction with a drop in your body temperature, helps you to fall asleep faster at night. If you’re having trouble nodding off, you may want to try a hot shower since the subsequent drop in body temperature after you get out mimics the cortisol drop and can help to bring on sleep. Plus, it’s relaxing.
If you've been having trouble sleeping, don't give up! Try some of these tricks and see if you can get your body back on the right schedule!
To learn more about your health and wellness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic.