Having Trouble Sleeping? Try Out These Natural Remedies Before Hitting the Medicine Cabinet!
Everyone knows what its like to have trouble sleeping. We have all experienced it at some point in our lives, if only for a short amount of time or as a regular issue, and it can make life that bit harder. There are many reasons why we might struggle to get enough sleep at night, if any at all, be it stress, diet, or distractions around the home.
It is recommended that an individual should get at least six hours of sleep every night, with around eight or nine regarded as the best amount of time to spend in bed. Those that don’t can expect to have very low energy levels throughout the day, as well struggling with concentration and retaining information, not to mention possibly feeling drowsy too.
These are terrible symptoms for most occasions, but those going to work or school could greatly suffer from a lack of sleep, as many do on a daily basis. While it may seem easy to hit the pharmacy for some over the counter sleep medication or even get something a little stronger prescribed, there are countless natural remedies out there that are much more beneficial to our health.
Here’s a selection of some of the most widely used natural sleep remedies:
Have Warm Glass of Milk Before Bed
Calcium is our brains produce a vital hormone for sleeping known as melatonin, which helps regulate our natural sleep cycles and helps us to fall asleep by making us drowsy and lowing the body’s temperature.
Almond milk can be a good source of this, and while the effects may be minimal, the actual routine of enjoining a warm glass of milk before bed can be much more helpful. This is down to the relaxing nature of drinking the warm beverage, which can calm us both mentally and physically, serving as a great little remedy to send us off to sleep.
More Magnesium
Magnesium can help in a similar manner to calcium by helping to relax the muscles in the body. A relaxed body is going to fall asleep much easier, so either taking some magnesium supplements nightly before bed can work wonders, especially when combined with calcium.
Plus magnesium has many natural health benefits besides helping us to sleep, so upping your intake is never a bad thing. Lettuce and bananas are good sources of the mineral too, so adding more foods such as these into your diet should be a good help.
Avoid That Afternoon Coffee
Most of us struggle to function in the morning with a nice cup of coffee to set us up for the day. Its perfectly fine too and should affect our sleeping in any way – unless we continue to drink it throughout the day.
This is due to the lasting effects of caffeine found in coffee, which can continue to work at less effective rates several hours after drinking it. That means that come late evening, there could very well be traces of it in your system, making sleeping that bit more difficult.
Exercise
Exercising is great for your mental and physical health before even taking sleep into account, so there is no need to convince people to take up more exercise! Should sleep be alluding you, then an early workout each day could certainly help to put things right.
Make sure this is long before going to sleep, as we need time for our bodies temperatures to cool down to get a good sleep (cooler body temperatures leads to better sleep), otherwise your struggles may continue.
Regular exercise also provides us with more energy throughout the day, so next time you wake up, you will have better energy levels and well much better in the process!
