Natural Ways to Help With Sleep

Transform Your Day – Natural Ways To Help With Sleep

I don’t know about you, but I try to do everything possible to get to sleep as fast as possible and stay asleep. I bring you my tried and true natural ways to help with sleep.

You may have read my article here on how sleep deprivation affects the body. Lack of sleep can have some serious consequences so I wanted to give you some tips to make the most of your sleep time.

Everything here is easy and natural. There are a few supplement suggestions and some lifestyle tips to ease you into sleep when you finally roll into bed.

Let’s get started.

Lifestyle Tips

Here are some lifestyle tips and routines that will help you get into relaxation and sleep mode.

Get Light In the Morning

Getting natural light in the morning helps set your circadian rhythm which regulates your sleep and wake cycle. Light tells your body it’s time to wake up and stay awake so that you’ll be on track later in the day for sleeping.

It is suggested to get at least 30 minutes of bright light before noon to help reduce your natural melatonin levels and set your body clock. This will also help prevent SAD (seasonal affective disorder) a type of depression that occurs in winter when we have less sunlight.

A good option if you can’t get outside in the morning or in the winter is to use a natural light lamp. I love this lamp:

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Yoga and Meditation

Yoga is proven to help you sleep better. According to a Harvard study from 2004, people who did Yoga for eight weeks daily were able to get to sleep faster and had longer uninterrupted sleep.

YOGA-Ashley Turner-Introduction to Breath Meditation

Meditation is a great way to clear your mind and create calm. I highly recommend it. I’ve been using the meditation videos on Gaia.com. You can check it out through the link above. Gaiam also has some great equipment for yoga and meditation and other exercises. Here is a link to their site:

Stop the Caffeine Early

It seems like common sense but caffeine can stay in your body up to six hours after you consume it. If you need some energy, try some yoga or a quick burst of exercise. Ten minutes of exercise is equal to one cup of coffee, without keeping you from sleeping. Just don’t do this right before you want to go to bed.

Create Your Own Rituals Before Bed

Some great little rituals before bed are:

  • Reading a book
  • Take a bath
  • Dim the lights in your bedroom
  • Prepare for tomorrow
  • Work your hobby or crafts
  • Yoga and meditation

Your Screens

Switch your monitors and other screens to nighttime mode or nightlight setting in the evening. It’s in the Display settings when you right-click on your desktop screen. That lowers the amount of blue light they emit. This helps your brain switch to sleeping mode from daytime mode.

Phones Off Limits

You definitely don’t want to sleep with your phone or have it under your pillow. Any notifications might disrupt your beauty sleep. Plus it emits EMFs and is not healthy to keep it near your brain for 7-8 hours at night. Keep it on your nightstand at a minimum. Turn on Do Not Disturb so you don’t have needless noises while you’re catching your zzzs.

Be Consistent With Your Schedule

If you can go to bed and get up at the same times every day, it really sets your circadian clock. You’ll notice your brain is ready to sleep once you approach a normal bedtime. It works!

Noise Cancellation

Noise is a big factor for me getting to sleep. I must be sensitive to noise. But my solution for that is earplugs. I found these silicone earplugs on Amazon and have been using them for a while. They work great and last a long time!


Supplements That Help With Sleep

I’m sure you’ve heard of melatonin. How about magnesium as a sleep aid?

Magnesium

Magnesium is a critical mineral we need for many bodily functions. It is especially good for the heart, brain, and bones. Taking magnesium regularly can help prevent insomnia, migraines, headaches, mood and memory problems, constipation, heart arrhythmias, and more.

It is involved in more than 300 biochemical reactions in the body

Taking magnesium at night will help make you drowsy and calm so you can fall asleep faster and help you stay asleep. It’s great for anxiety!

It also helps regulate our nervous system, which helps regulate heartbeat. Dr. Sherry Rogers is a big proponent of taking magnesium to help prevent heart attacks.

In fact, low magnesium is blamed for most heart attacks by some medical doctors.

Magnesium is also a liver detoxer and helps keep you ‘regular’. If you have constipation regularly, you are probably low on magnesium.

Some good food sources of magnesium are:

  • Spinach
  • Broccoli
  • Artichokes
  • Almonds
  • Pumpkin Seeds
  • Avocado
  • Bananas
  • Cabbage
  • Asparagus
  • Dark chocolate
  • Spirulina
  • Salmon 

I like taking it in supplement form at night so I know I’m getting enough to prevent the problems above and help me fall asleep. Here’s a great option:

Melatonin

I’m sure you’ve heard of melatonin and may have even tried it. Melatonin is our sleep hormone. Our bodies make it but if you need a boost or your sleep schedule is off, it’s a great supplement to get you to sleep a lot faster.

And melatonin also helps support the immune system and its antioxidant properties help protect DNA from oxidative stress.

I like this version since it’s a liquid so very quickly absorbed. The citrus-vanilla flavor is very pleasing.


Final Thoughts

I hope you found a few things you can add to your routine and get a great night’s sleep.

Sleep is so critical to health so doing what we can to get our 7-9 hours per night is so important. Most of these tips are so simple and easy to put into practice. It starts in the morning with light and if we plan our day right, we can set ourselves up for restful sleep at night.

Thank you for reading. If you have any tips that help you or questions or comments, please leave them in the Comments section below. Thank you!

8 thoughts on “Transform Your Day – Natural Ways To Help With Sleep”

  1. During the pandemic, I was left without a job. I started working as a content producer online. I have been doing well. But it has affected my sleep. I work way more than I did in my job and I am starting to worry it may affect my health. So, you suggestions have come very handy. I will start by switching all my screens to night mode.

    1. Glad to hear you found some ways to help with your sleep. It’s so important. Thank you for reading and sharing. 

  2. Shalisha Alston

    This is a timely article. I currently take sleeping pills to help me sleep.  But I’d like to learn how to sleep without them. So your post is timely. I like your first suggestion to get at least 30 minutes of bright light before noon. I didn’t know that doing so will prevent seasonal affective disorder, which I suffer from.  Your next tip about caffeine is spot on. I only drink coffee in the morning and my cutoff time is noon.  Otherwise, I’m a basket case. Lastly, I will stop sleeping with my phone under my pillow. As a matter of fact, I will turn my phone off at night.

    1. I’m really glad this was helpful for you, Shalisha. Thank you for reading and sharing your experience. 

  3. I enjoyed your article on Natural Ways to Help with Sleep. I have trouble sleeping a lot, and I am going to give some of your suggestions a try. They are easy and some I hadn’t thought of. Especially magnesium and meditation. I enjoyed reading this your article very much. Thank you.

  4. Hi Paula, thank you for this great article on natural ways to help with sleep. I think all your suggestions are excellent for those having difficulty getting to sleep and staying that way. I had no idea that Magnesium was a sleep aid. I have been taking it for years to help avoid muscle cramps, and I agree that it certainly relieves constipation as well. There are nights when I just can’t settle, so I will look into Yoga and Meditation to assist with this. Thanks for sharing this great article. Jenni.

    1. Thanks for reading, Jenni. I think meditation can take your mind off of other things and help your mind relax. Thank you for joining the conversation.

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