Natural Health Help

If you have trouble sleeping, nutritional supplements, herbs, aromatherapy, exercise, psychotherapy or prescription medication are some of the ways you can help yourself. Quite often, changes in habits are all that is needed to improve sleep.

Some habits that can interfere with good sleep include:
∑ Spending too much time in bed
∑ Not getting into bed, and getting out of it at pretty much the same time every day.
∑ Not getting enough bright-light exposure by getting outside during the day
∑ Not maintaining your physical fitness and aerobic activity level
∑ Sleeping in a room that is too bright, too noisy, or too hot or cold
∑ Drinking alcohol or caffeinated beverages too close to bedtime

Get Warm! You need to feel warm in order to relax into sleep. Exercise can increase your body temperature. When vigorous enough, exercise can help the body release endorphins, which are chemicals that relieve pain and help you have a sense of well being. A hot bath or shower can help, and a hot drink will also warm you. It’s best if you can warm up by about two hours before bedtime.

Your bedroom should be a comfortable temperature, quiet, and dark. If there are things that go on that are out of your control like a noisy neighbor or animal, try using earplugs. Eye bags, made of a soft material and filled with rice or something similar can help. They keep out the light and many people find the gentle weight of them on your eyelids to be soothing.

Bedtime rituals such as a bath or listening to soothing music will calm your body’s alertness. Reading for pleasure can be a good choice as long as the story isn’t too exciting.

A regular sleep schedule is important. Wake and get up at the same time each morning, including weekends, even after a lousy night’s sleep. This will help you re-set your internal rhythm. Daytime naps longer than 20 minutes should be avoided. If you’re having trouble falling asleep at night, get out of bed. If you are awake in bed for more than 20 minutes, get up and go to another room for a little while. Do not watch TV in bed. The bed should be used only for sleep and sex. Too much time in bed causes interrupted and shallow sleep.

How you eat matters. A warm drink or small snack may be beneficial before bedtime; heavy meals late in the evening will not help you sleep.

You need the right light to sleep. Getting outside and exposed to the sun, even on gray or rainy days, will also help your sleep rhythm. Light therapy can help too. Bright light therapy where you expose yourself to a bright lamp for 20 to 45 minutes daily can reset your internal clock. You can also find special lights that imitate dawn in your bedroom.

Tobacco prevents good sleep. Quit smoking, and work hard to avoid second hand smoke. Withdrawal from nicotine begins two or three hours after smoking. This can interrupt sleep.

Avoid alcohol before bed. Although it may help you fall asleep, you are likely to wake up a few hours later as your body process the alcohol.

Also, avoid caffeine in coffee, tea and cola drinks. Chocolate also has caffeine. If you can’t quit altogether, don’t have any caffeine after bout 2 pm. You may have to taper off of caffeine. Most people will have symptoms of withdrawal. These could include headache and fatigue. Going slow and drinking at least 2 quarts of water in a day will help with caffeine withdrawal.

Your moods and emotional state will have a lot to do with your sleep as well. We all need regular ways to deal with stress. Psychotherapy may be helpful in decreasing stress and anxiety. Treatment of depression is also important to consider.

Stress reduction and relaxation improve sleep.
∑ Set aside a time when you pay attention to what is worrying you that is a few hours away from bedtime. Do your worrying for the day, then set it aside. As you well know, the worries will be there for you to come back to at any time! Just don’t visit them at bedtime.
∑ Relaxation can include breathing exercises. A simple and effective method is to pay attention to your breath- count to 4 for your inhale and to 5 on your exhale. Breathing out a little more than you breathe in will change your internal chemistry in ways that help you relax.
∑ Progressive muscle relaxation involves slowly tensing and releasing your muscles. You usually start with muscles of the face, then neck. You gradually work your way down through your whole body, tensing then relaxing the large muscle groups until you’ve reached your toes and you feel fully relaxed.
∑ Meditation, prayer, imagery, and listening to soothing music are other methods to help reduce stress.

Avoid medications that interfere with either falling asleep or staying asleep. Narcotics for pain may slow down your breathing during sleep. This can cause a kind of alarm to go off in your brain that wakes you up. If you need pain medication at night you may have to experiment with types and doses to find the best mix for you. Work closely with your doctor to be safe while you find what works for you.

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