5 Sleep Remedies That Can Change Your Life
It’s 3 am. You’re wide awake and you have to be somewhere in five hours. Do you ever wonder why this happens? Studies show that the quality and quantity of sleep you get play a big role in your waking life. But how so?
For starters, we function best on seven to nine hours of sleep each night. Everyone is different, but that range proves to work best for healthy adults.
Here are the five main areas affected by your sleep quality:
- Brain. Without proper rest, the brain isn’t as sharp as it could be. This can negatively affect your ability to process information, make decisions, concentrate and memorize. Studies show that a sleep-deprived person can be just as dangerous behind the wheel as a drunken individual. Sleep also influences your attitude. Folks who don’t get proper sleep are more prone to be moody or depressed.
- Heart. The chance of developing heart disease, or even a stroke, increases the less sleep you have. Too much sleep can have the same effect. Again, stay in the seven to nine hours range. If you get less than five hours or more than nine, you’re putting the health of your heart at risk.
- Immune System. A good night’s rest helps your body fight off foreign invaders that can cause infection. So when you try to survive the day on a couple of hours of sleep, you’re more likely to get sick. The proper amount of sleep is essential for strengthening your immune system. A weakened immune system can give way not only to the common cold, but to more serious conditions including various types of cancer. Sleep also helps remove the toxins associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
- Appearance. When you are tired, other people can tell. A well-rested person appears more vibrant. Even worse, a lack of sleep can cause you to put on the pounds because sleep deprivation slows down your metabolism. So unless you want to walk around looking like an obese corpse, make sure you get your rest.
- Sex Drive. Science shows that when you are sleep-deprived, your libido goes down and you have less interest in sex. Studies even show that it can cause men’s testosterone levels to hit abnormally low levels at night.
Top 5 Sleep Remedies
Here are five short tips on how to get a good night’s sleep. Read closely, as we tell you what you should (and should not) do to catch the best zzz’s.
Sleep Remedy No. 1: Drink Chamomile Tea. Chamomile tea is known to relax the mind and body. If you’re trying to prepare for bed, have a cup of chamomile tea before hitting the sack. It has no caffeine and the herb is proven to help people fall asleep.
Sleep Remedy No. 2: Take a Hot Shower Right Before Bed. Science proves that if you take a hot shower or bath before going to bed, you will fall asleep quicker. After your shower, your body drops back down to its normal temperature. During this drop, your breathing and heart rate slow down. This makes the transition to sleeping much easier and quicker.
Sleep Remedy No. 3: Test-Drive Your Mattress. Some experts suggest that you take a “test nap” on your mattress before you buy it. Everyone needs something different in a mattress, depending on their health conditions. But one bit of advice for everyone is to give it a try before keeping it.
Sleep Remedy No. 4: Easy on the Coffee. Having coffee before you go to bed is a terrible idea. In fact, ditch the caffeine before bed, period. Cortisol levels peak between 8-9 a.m., noon-1p.m. and 5:30-6:30 p.m. So the best times to consume caffeine are between 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. and between 1:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. That means after 5 p.m., there’s no need for it.
Sleep Remedy No. 5: Be Consistent. Maintain the same sleeping schedule every day. That means go to bed and wake up at the same time whenever possible. It will keep your body in the rhythm of things. Consider it a form of self-programming.
Several things have helped me sleep better at night: 1) turn off the computer or TV and read for a while. 2)Learn to meditate and do so before bed.
3)Essential oils applied either topically or diffused.*
4) Salt lamp, large but preferably not a bright one.
*DoTerra: lavender, Serenity Blend, or Breathe Blend (if the issue is respiratory)
I find that my sleep machine is great to go to sleep. I put it on ocean waves. There are different settings. A fan can give white noise. No tv one hour before bedtime.
Well, how about this, I have one of these, I got in on it when it was an IPO, then forgot about it.
I love it, I can cook something, stir fry in my kitchen and then clear past my dining room into the living room where this machine is running, it will turn the pretty blue circle to orange and even red….. meaning I just made toxic chemicals in the air, you can hear the motor rev up and very soon the air is clean again, and the circle is blue again signaling clean air. I LOVE THIS and so do my kitties, they will sleep by it.
My lifelong insomnia stems from the illegal & prescrip. drug abuse my biol. mother enjoyed while pregnant with me. I’ve tried all your sleep remedies and then some. Even participated in a useless sleep center study. The problem was that such studies are only useful at measuring brain activity WHILE asleep. My problem is falling asleep in the first place. Many doctors smarter than me have tried but failed to solve my insomnia. One specialist soeculates that the amigdala (section of brain that regulates sleep) was damaged while I was in my mother’s womb. No kidding, doc! Sheesh
You have done a fair job of stating the how you can improve your sleep but never address the most important question of the m all. “WHY”! This is a 24/7 problem that is at it worse during sleep. Sleep is what is interrupted and metabolic issues take off. But you never get to the why. I have been involved in sleep medicine for a number of years now. If you want to hear more then contact me if you want to get to why. Infants, athletes, and old people share in this issue. They just do it differently
I would love to hear the “why”. I have dealt with insomnia for 10+ years. Please share.
My girlfriend uses melatonin, but she still wakes during the night and claims to have not gotten a good night’s rest. I’m skeptical of melatonin’s benefits anyway. So I’m not sold on that supplement. Anyone have better experiences with melatonin, or can offer some insight on the supplement’s effectiveness?
As one gets older the harder it is to stay asleep. There are so many distractions that occur before, during, and after we fall asleep that it is like a dog pile at a football game. Just one of these distractions isn’t really the cause of waking you up in the middle of the night; but, just add three or four then you are awake.
Here is what I had found that keeps me up or wakes me up in the middle of the night:
1.) Having the TV on while sleeping. Most people will fall asleep with the TV on. But if they turned it off before sleeping these people will find that they will get a deeper sleep. Why? Because the TV affects your body in three ways. First, the light from the set is like a strobe light. It flashes on and off and changes colours. Even though you are asleep your eyes do open and the light does signal the brain. Second, the sound of the TV is heard by your ears. Again the sound goes to the brain and you never truly reach that deep sleep because your brain is on and processing what it hears. Have you ever awaken by something that you are very familiar with like music from a favorite show or cops and robbers, or in my wife’s case horror flicks. (She just hates them.) Third, with your brain on trying to process what it hears and sees even though you are still asleep; your brain doesn’t get to reset itself. The brain is blocked from processing the days events. This is where you get to dream. With the brain still on and processing the nights sights and sounds you will never get into that Ram sleep that your body needs to heal itself or turn off. When you wake the next morning you may feel tired and sluggish and it is because your biorhythms didn’t to restart.
2.) As I have mentioned in number one above the TV set affects you while you sleep through lights and sounds. People often sleep with their cell phone on. The light from the screen often prevents you from getting that deep sleep because your brain is still on. Also, with the TV on the cable box has a light, in my house it is a blue light, and it keeps me awake. Remove and outside light sources such as the TV, cable box, cell phone and whatever else that may be on as you sleep.
3.) Temperature. Room temperature has a lot to do with you getting a good nigh sleep. A cool room allows you to sleep better because you are all snug and tucked in your bed. You are less likely to toss and turn when you are cold. A warm room is nice but you will toss and turn which will keep you from getting that deep sleep your and your body needs.
Another factor that will keep you up or prevent your from getting a good nights sleep is food and drink. In the old days people use to eat supper at 6:00 p.m. The last 40 years people have been eating later and later. In fact, I just had my supper at 9:00 p.m.
When you eat late your stomach doesn’t have much time to digest your meal. Gravity allows the food to start the digestion process with ease. However, if you lay on your stomach or back your stomach has to work harder to push your meal through your intestines. This will cause you to have indigestion and tells your body to create fat from the food you had just eaten because you are trying to sleep. In short you are shutting down the digestion system and going into sleep mode. This is why you will gain weight. I know because I am over weight.
Then there is the time you go to bed and when you wake up. If you go to bed late at night then you need seven to eight hours of sleep. Anything less you are not getting the correct amount sleep needed and you will feel it. Most people will short change themselves only to make it up on the weekend. Like a battery that is slowly drained, your body needs to recharge and you will sleep longer on the weekends to recharge. The pit fall is that over time you end up hurting your body over the long run.
Finally, due to the lack of getting a good sleep, you will age faster than you should look like. That is right you will be biologically older than you really are and you will look like it too.
These are only a few things that contribute to you not getting a good night’s sleep. As a concern prepper you must look at keeping yourself healthy and strong. Ben Franklin said, “Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” There is a lot of good common sense to this saying. I’m changing my ways, how about you?
I can get to sleep, but won’t stay that way. Every night like clock work I have to go to the restroom, I have IBS, so it’s usually more than once, but it’s the getting back to sleep that’s the problem. Like last night, up at 3, never feel back to sleep. Tossed and turned all night, was extremely tired, but never fell back to sleep. I have a dark room, no phone, no T. V. On. So what do I do about that?
My story is like everyone else’s; I have trouble going to sleep, staying asleep and feel as though I am living on Adrenalin instead of natural energy. I have tried everything mentioned: Chamomile tea, no TV, no computer, no cell phone, a cool room, etc. I sleep four hours on a good night. Last night I slept five. I have even tried Benzos.
I have no suggestions; nothing works for me. I look much older than I am, have a bad heart and am in a seriously compromised state, health wise. It is too late for me; I guess “borrowed time” is what I am now living on.
keep on keeping on