How to Get Better Sleep at Night? ( 7 Expert Tips)

Experiencing insomnia from time to time is common. This disorder makes falling asleep or staying asleep difficult. The amount of sleep needed varies from person to person, but on average seven hours of rest is adequate. When bad sleep patterns affect your quality of life, try some home remedies to improve the situation. Learn how to get better sleep at night by doing exercise and meditation among other things.

1. Take Some Steps to Manage Stress

When you lie down with your mind racing and stress weighing on you, it is difficult to wake up feeling rested. The more stress you feel during the day, the more irritability and anxiety you feel. The stresses must be managed to enjoy a deeper, more restful sleep. There are several effective methods to minimize stress and relax like the following:

• Journaling: writing down things takes your mind away from the cares of the day.  Focusing on things you appreciate improves sleep as you worry less during bedtime.

• Progressive relaxation of the muscles: this involves repeatedly releasing and tensing up the toes for up to 10 counts. This simple process helps to relieve the excess energy so that you start feeling relaxed.
• Guided imagery: this mind game makes you fall asleep faster so just picture yourself at a peaceful place relaxing. In time the image becomes a signal to the brain that it is sleep time.
• Early to bed: this is not counterintuitive as it may seem but turn in earlier often makes the worry disappear automatically. Studies show that people who stay awake late at night often have negative thoughts.

2. Lack of Melatonin

This supplement is ideal for different sleep issues especially those related to jet lag or shift work. The Melatonin hormone occurs naturally and it regulates the brain’s sleep-wake cycle. The source of this hormone is serotonin produced with the decrease in light exposure at night. The supplements work for disordered sleep resulting from low melatonin levels at night. 

Affective disorders like depression, which affect the way people think and feel, affect melatonin production. Other factors may include sleep-phase delayed disorder and aging. Melatonin improves alertness in the morning and the quality of sleep in older adults suffering from insomnia.

Treatment of primary insomnia for people over the age of 55 may include timed-release melatonin. Timing is critical for its use so when taken in the morning, this delays the circadian rhythm. When you take this in the early evening or afternoon it advances them.

3. Mindful Meditation

This involves steady and slow breathing when sitting quietly as you observe the body, breath, feelings, thoughts, and sensations arising and passing. It offers different health benefits and a good lifestyle that promotes adequate sleep and reduces stress, boosts immunity, and improves concentration.

Studies show that meditation improves insomnia significantly along with the complete sleep pattern. The frequency of the meditation depends on the individual so when there is not enough time for longer sessions, you can do this for 15 minutes during mornings or evenings. You can join a group once weekly for motivation and online guidance is available too for those interested.

4. Practice the Power-Down 

Sleep does not work like a switch that you can turn off or on because the body requires time for unwinding and preparing for shut-eye. The Power-Down Hour method involves completing critical tasks before bedtime in the first twenty minutes.

After this, take another twenty minutes for face washing, brushing, and dressing for bed. Now, lie in the bed to meditate quietly focusing on the breathing rhythm and making sure to remove any negative thoughts at the time.

5. Mantra Repetition

Repetition of positive affirmations or mantras calms and focuses the mind, producing a relaxed feeling with reduced insomnia levels. You can choose a mantra in English or Sanskrit.

6. Practice Yoga

This affects sleep positively, alleviates stress, boosts mental focus, and improves physical functioning. The focus of the style should be more on breathwork or moving meditation instead of hard physical movements.

7. Eat Sleep-Friendly Food

What you drink and eat has an effect on whether you spend most of the night turning and tossing or sleeping soundly. Some foods have chemical properties to keep you drowsy and relaxed. Fight off insomnia by adding the following to the dinner or nighttime snacks menu.

• Cheese: This has rich tryptophan content and this amino acid stimulates the serotonin neurotransmitter. The body needs this to feel sleepy and relaxed.
• Salmon: adequate omega-3 fatty acid level in the body facilitates sleep so consume fishes rich in this acid like mackerel, sardines, or tuna.
• Almonds: This has tryptophan in high quantity along with high amounts of magnesium and calcium required for enjoying quality sleep.
• Whole-grain crackers: carb-heavy meals make you sleepy immediately because it spikes the sugar level in the blood. This regulates the sleep-wake clock of the body as per recent Japanese research. You can pick some light options like whole-grain crackers.
• Low-fat milk: heartburn makes you uncomfortable and makes sleeping harder. Try one glass of moo juice as a remedy. The combination of low carbs and high protein prevents acid reflux. This is a good calcium source that maintains melatonin production in the body.
• Cherries: the only source of melatonin, the hormone for inducing sleep, cherries are great options for desserts so you can consume a bowlful. Frozen cherries are available throughout the year so shift to this or cherry tart juice when it is out of season. Drink two glasses nightly to sleep better.
• Bananas: these has a high content of sleep-promoting tryptophan and carbohydrates. It also contains magnesium and potassium for muscle relaxation.

While eating right is critical when you want to improve the quality of sleep, make sure that you are staying away from food and drink having the opposite effect. This includes caffeine-rich, fatty, and spicy food.

Final Words

Health issues and certain medications related to hyperthyroidism and depression may lead to insomnia. The age of the person, stress, anxiety, and diet are other reasons for the problem.

People often take common measures like cutting back on alcohol and caffeine or using white-noise machines, luxury pillows and mattresses, and taking medications. It is necessary to exercise caution when using sleep medication so turn to natural remedies when you want to get better sleep at night.

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