Tips for Better Sleep

Sleeping problems are all too common in our fast paced and stressful society. One approach to this is to get used to getting by on only a few hours sleep. Some people, meanwhile, fight ineffectively against insomnia, lying awake hour after hour. Just getting by on insufficient sleep is hardly an ideal solution, and not one you should be satisfied with. If you want more sleep, you may require you to examine your habits and change a few of them, but wouldn't it be worth it? The approaches we'll be covering in this article have helped many people overcome insomnia, and they may work for you as well.

Get in the habit of shutting off the TV an hour or so before bedtime. This includes TV programs, movies and videos on any of your screens or devices. Turn off the glowing box at least an hour before you go to bed. If you feel the need for some stimulation, stick to something with sound only. When your brain watches a movie or images from a computer game, it stays in "action" mode, which doesn't help you sleep. That's why it can be hard to go from a movie or computer game directly to sleep mode. Giving yourself this down time to relax and not overstimulate your senses can make a real difference. Eat a small snack before you go to bed. You may have noticed that eating certain kinds of foods makes you sleepy, and this is what you're looking for now. Nuts -preferably unsalted, as you don't want to get thirsty- warm milk and turkey are all effective in this way. A small half turkey sandwich (without any sort of spicy condiments or additions) and a half a glass of warm milk, for example, is a perfect before bed snack because it sends tryptophan into your system which tells your brain that it is tired and helps you fall asleep. Aside from the large portions, people tend to get tired after holiday meals because of the turkey they've eaten.

Go ahead and give yourself permission to get back up. There is nothing more distressing and enervating than staring wide-eyed at the ceiling and not being able to drift off to sleep. Tossing and turning for hours will only stress you out and make you even less likely to be able to fall asleep. After the first 30 minutes, if you are still restless, get up and find something relaxing to do. Here is a solution that works for a lot of people: they have discovered that simply reading a good book - in a different room - can put them in the right frame of mind to go quickly to sleep when they return to bed. There are an awful lot of things you can do to ensure that you get a good night's sleep. You can often conquer insomnia without any great expenses or complex procedures. It's mainly a matter of finding effective ways to calm down your mind and body. When such measures as we've talked about here don't work, though, then you should seek medical advice. Everyone can eventually find a way to sleep better!