Sleep disorder of various sorts are very common today. But sleep is as important as eating and loving. Without sleep we cannot survive for very long. Quality sleep is essential for sound health. Sound sleep ensures good hormonal balance, reduces inflammation, lowers stress, and improves mood.
Both quantity and quality of sleep is important. We should sleep at least 8 hours at night. Cutting your sleep by few hours may increase your productivity for time being but in long run it actually decreases productivity and affect health. So a better strategy is to commit to enough sleep and find ways to improve time management of your schedule.
A vast majority of people today have sleeping difficulties. Some people can’t fall asleep while others can’t stay asleep for required duration. Still there are others who have both difficulties in falling asleep and staying asleep.
Why people have sleeping issues?
There are various reasons why people can’t sleep or sleep less. The problem is mostly mental, particularly stress. People today are worried about too many things at once and do things. They also do things that can hinder sleep. For example, if you drink a strong coffee in afternoon you will have problem falling asleep.
Some people have night time job. There are other people who work all day and use night to indulge in activities like watching movies, doing side hustles, checking social media accounts etc. I don’t mean to say these activities as unnecessary or sound judgmental. I only mean to say that these activities should not disrupt normal sleep routine.
In this blog post, I’m going to show you some natural ways to enjoy sound sleep every night.
Falling asleep issue
If you are not particularly fond of taking much food before sleep, probably you could be low in glycogen. This could be the reason why you can’t fall asleep. I’m not advising you to eat carbohydrates. Instead you can take a spoonful of natural honey before going to bed. Many studies have shown honey before bed helps sleeping better.
Waking up early
There are some people who wake up in early morning for some reason but can’t fall asleep again. This could be due to depletion of adrenal function or bad state of health. Stress and bad metabolic health is reason behind this pattern of sleep. Adaptogens such as ashwagandha, eleuthero, rhodiola and reishi can help eliminate this issue over time.
Taking herbs and expecting immediate result won’t help. If you want a quick fix to this issue, besides taking these herbs, go for exercise daily, have a healthy diet and stay away from TV, Phone and other blue light emitting device at least two hours before sleep. You would see immediate result.
Nighttime urination
Many people suffer from Nocturia or frequent night time urination. This medical issue can affect quality of sleep. You can reverse this condition with aid of natural herbs.
Mix ashwagandha powder with a glass of warm milk and drink it before the bed. This solution is powerful. This is a very effective remedy. If you are regular user of ashwagandha but urination issue at night, you can increase dosage upto two times of your regular dosage.
Another effective herb is bacopa. Bacopa is a very powerful herb. It induces sleep and make you see very vivid dream. The best way to use this herb is to keep the dose at lower side. You will have kind of sleep you never imagined.
Excess use can either make you sleepy frequently or affect quality of sleep. Bacopa is usually taken before bed. People with thyroid issue should not use this herb as it’s thyroid suppressant.
There is another herb called skullcap. It’s not efficient as bacopa and ashwagandha but still works. To make it effective use the fresh herb or tincture made from the fresh herb only. Dried skullcap can be harmful. Skullcap can also people having problem falling asleep due racing thoughts or muscular tension.
Final solution to your sleep problem
Today people are magnesium deficient. Our diet, even you are cautious, will not have sufficient magnesium. It’s better to take magnesium as supplement. I personally like magnesium because it’s a mineral that is responsible for more than 300 chemical reactions in the body. Magnesium can solve every aspect of sleep issue in addition to numerous other health benefits.
In conclusion…
Solving your sleeping issue is in your hand. It’s not a big problem to solve. In addition to herb/supplement mentioned in this post you can choose an active lifestyle such as doing regular exercise or physical activity. Exercise or physical activity lowers cortisol level in body.
Stay away from blue lights of electronic device two hours before sleep. It will ensure clearer thoughts. You can listen to music or read some physical books before sleep. They will help you sleep faster and better.
Last but most importantly sleep in the night. Daytime sleep is not advisable. Go to sleep early in night and do your things in day time. It’s during night time, internal mechanism body does the repair work. Always sleep in dark. Turn off the light and use dark shade window curtains to ensure you sleep in pitch dark.
