How To Treat Insomnia, Naturally

Suffering From Insomnia? Try These Tips To Help Relieve Your Insomnia, Naturally!

Suffering from insomnia? It’s common to experience the occasional sleepless night, but chronic insomnia can affect many aspects of your life, leaving you irritable, exhausted and moody. Here are some natural ways to relieve insomnia fast!

“Sleep is the best meditation.” – Dalai Lama.

We spend about 25 years of our life, asleep. A good night’s rest is important for overall health, allowing your body and brain to recharge. But, for something so natural, it’s hard to understand why so many people have difficulty mastering the art of healthy sleep. Suffering from chronic or even occasional insomnia can have a real impact on your life. So what is insomnia?

If you’ve ever been told to ‘sleep on it’ or that ‘everything will seem better in the morning’, you can understand how sleep impacts your mood and your decision-making abilities.

Turns out, how well you sleep affects nearly every aspect of your life. You’ve likely experienced the occasional sleepless night, but imagine going 11 nights without ANY sleep? That’s the longest amount of time someone has gone without sleep! An exhausting 264 hours. Source

Sleepiness can lead to poor eating habits, irritability, and higher levels of depression and anxiety. Imagine how cranky you would be after 11 sleepless nights?

Any insomniac will tell you after a few sleepless nights, you feel pretty crabby. Sleep medication can often leave you feeling groggy the next day, so you want to try some natural ways to relieve you insomnia!

Being An Insomniac, Ruined Much Of My 20s.

As long as I can remember, I’ve been OBSESSED with sleep. Probably because I’ve never been very good at it. Sleep has a major impact on your mood and mental health.

Studies have shown repeatedly that insomniacs are more likely to experience depression and anxiety, compared to those who sleep regularly. In fact, insomniacs are 10 times more likely to have clinical depression and 17 times as likely to have clinical anxiety. Source

Sleep Tips For Insomniacs

1: Establish a bedtime routine and try your best to stick to it. This has helped me a lot, and if my nightly routine is thrown off my quality of sleep is affected. Your routine can include a relaxing bath, followed with a cup of tea and some reading (No, you’re Facebook updates and emails do not count). Then, brushing your teeth, putting on your PJs, turning off lights, setting your alarm, probably a lot of the things you do already.

Create a dreamy bedroom atmosphere that promotes relaxation and a deep sleep. Check out my post – How To Create A Dreamy Bedroom!

2: Turn off all devices. Seriously, they are affecting the quality of your sleep! Cellphones, video games, and laptops interfere with our sleep quality, not only making it harder to doze off, but also interrupting our slumber with text messages, emails, and phone calls. For good night’s sleep, take the technology out of the bedroom.

Charles Czeisler, of Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, said exposure to artificial light before going to bed can increase alertness and suppress the release of melatonin, a sleep-promoting hormone. Source

Electronics Before Bed Ruin Sleep Quality

Nearly 95 percent of people questioned in an NSF (National Sleep Foundation) study said they used some type of electronics in the hour before going to bed, and about two-thirds admitted they do not get enough sleep during the week. Source

3: Write down whatever is weighing heavy on your mind. Keeping a little notebook beside your bed so you can jot down ideas and thoughts before going to sleep is a great way to unload your mind. I find this helps separate me from whatever is going on in my mind.

4: This is a staple for me- melatonin. I’ve linked my fave below. It’s under $10 and is by far the best sleep remedy I’ve ever used. Way better than prescription sleeping pills, which left me feeling awful the next day! I am an amazon affiliate and if you purchase through my link, I will make a commission and I’m so thankful:)

Melatonin is a hormone that’s made by the pineal gland in the brain. It helps control your body’s sleep-wake cycle. After I take it, I usually get that good sleepy feeling within 20-30 minutes:)

5: Spray a little lavender on your pillow and take 10 deep breaths. Fill your lungs right up and hold for a few seconds before you exhale. Studies show that lavender induces a deeper sleep and may even have the super power to turn you into a morning person. Hey, it’s worth a shot! Source

6: Practice gratitude. Studies show that expressing gratitude helps you fall asleep quicker and stay asleep longer. Source

So, even if tomorrow is Monday, I’m thankful that I’m able to sleep well at night. Positive thoughts before bed can push aside the negative feelings and create a sense of inner peace- the perfect environment for quality sleep.

7: Put on a good sleep mask.  Exposure to light can diminish your body’s natural melatonin levels.

As you lay down and prepare for a great night’s sleep, picture a peaceful, happy environment. It can be a sleepy town with a quiet beach, or scenic drive through gentle, rolling meadows. Imagine you have all the time in the world to discover your surroundings. Allow yourself to experience everything with all of your senses as you drift off into the perfect slumber.

If you’ve ever suffered from insomnia, share your sleep tips below. What helped you get through it? 

Sweet dreams,

Steph