You don’t need to pop pills to fall sleep. There are specific methods to catch those ZZZs, and natural ones are still the best for your body.
Get Comfortable
The right bedding can take you to whole new realms of relaxation. Exquisite mattresses, pillows, and sheets — similar to the ones good hotels use — can lure you to sleep faster and ensure you sleep through the night. Memory foam can provide adequate support, but they tend to get hot. Latex foam is a lot firmer and cooler than memory foam, but it doesn’t offer the same amount of support and comfort. Your sleeping position also determines what kind of mattress will suit you better. If you sleep on your back, you’ll need a firm bed that keeps your back aligned. If you sleep on your stomach, you need a mattress that provides firm support but not so firm as to restrict your breathing. Side-sleepers typically need softer mattresses that offer lots of relief as they continuously change positions. You can try to emulate hotel beddings with combinations of firm mattresses and soft pillow-tops, or you can buy hotel beddings from the establishments themselves.
Lay Off the Caffeine
No sodas, coffee, or tea after dinner. It takes your body more than 5 hours to eliminate half the amount of caffeine you consume. Some people are more affected by caffeine. However, passing up on caffeine six hours before going to sleep should do the trick. A single glass of wine during dinner or a glass of milk before bedtime can do wonders. Wine is a natural sedative. However, too much of it can lull you into sleepiness, only to wake up in the middle of the night. Milk is quite effective in inducing sleep as it contains tryptophan, which converts to melatonin and serotonin — hormones that regulate the sleep cycle and reduce stress.
Tone Down Stimuli
Tone down on the action an hour or two before bedtime. Instead of adrenaline-pumping action movies, switch to more mellow movies, informative documentaries, or one of Bob Ross’ painting tutorials (ASMR). No head-banging music or catchy pop tunes. Instead, go for smooth jazz or mellow 80s-90s music. Getting pumped before bedtime extends your body’s wakefulness. Switch off the videogames and your phone apps. Artificial light can trick your brain into believing the sun is still up, so dim the lights or turn them off. Lights from your computer or your phone are particularly bright, so stop your browsing when you’re ready to sleep.
Calm Down
While the physical stimulus is easy to deal with, toning down your thought processes is a lot harder to achieve. Stress from the office or various social interactions can keep you lying awake at night. Do a bit of yoga or practice meditation techniques. Better yet, get a hobby. Having something exciting to look forward to can shield you from the stress of the daily grind of life.
Sleeping is easy. Just limit the factors that are keeping you up, and you won’t need to take another sleeping pill.
