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June 11, 2019

Dealing with Insomnia? 7 Steps to Better Sleep

Sleeping in incredibly important, for everything. For weight loss, for mental health, for concentration. Simply for overall proper brain and body functioning. And God knows no one gets enough sleep nowadays. Between increased stress, overworking people and technology messing up our sleep functions, sleep quality and quantity has decreased significantly.

There have been countless times in my life when I’ve rolled from one side of the bed to the other just wondering and asking myself how to fall asleep for good.

Some people have no trouble falling asleep, they’ll get dreaming as soon as their head hits the pillow. And believe me, I envy them deeply. Others, many others, have severe difficulty falling and staying asleep to get their necessary 8 hours.

In 1910, it was reported that on average we slept for 9 hours per night. Recent reports suggest this figure is now 6.8 hours. With approximately 60 million Americans suffering from mild or serious insomnia every year, it’s no wonder why our sleep is such an important topic. Impacting our daily lives, relationships, work and routines; sleep is linked to everyone and everything.

Sleep is essential, and poor sleep will definitely have secondary effects. Negative ones. Not only on your body, making you feel tired and maybe even sore, but also on your brain because it leads to lack of concentration and learning, poor memory, and mood changes, among others.

So, for all of you with deep circles under their eyes who are just craving a good night’s sleep, here are some ways in which you can fall asleep faster and increase the quality of your sleep.

1.Lower the temperature of your room

The bodies core temperature decreases when you sleep. Your hands and feet temperature increases, though. When you’re trying to sleep in a rather warm room, you’re much more likely to have trouble falling asleep. Take a warm bath or shower and then let your body cool afterwards as you nicely fall asleep. This happens because cooling down sends a signal to the brain as if it was getting cold because it was falling asleep.

  1. The 4-7-8 breathing method

Lifesaver. This method promotes calmness and relaxation and can help you unwind. This breathing pattern relaxes the nervous system and it is not only good for falling asleep but also to dealing with anxiety or stress.

First, you have to place your tongue behind your upper front teeth, then exhale completely while making a “whoosh” sound. Close your mouth and inhale, counting to four. Then, hold your breath for seven seconds (count them). Finally, open your mouth and exhale completely for eight seconds (count them mentally). Repeat this at least three times or until you feel relaxed enough. This might not be as helpful for you to straight up fall asleep, but it will ensure you are relaxed and are able to sleep deeply.

  1. Don’t look at the clock

We all have woke up in the middle of the night more than once in our life. However, being unable to fall asleep after that can really hit you and ruin the good nice rest you were having. When woken up in the middle of the night is pretty normal for people to check what time it is, that’s probably a bad idea, it is likely to just make you obsess over the fact that you won’t be able to fall asleep again. This is just a vicious cycle cause while obsessing, you won’t fall asleep, which will make you worry more, etc, etc, etc. And you’ll keep seeing the clock and worrying and then it is daylight and you slept for three hours.

4.Exercise during the day

Physical activity can be very beneficial to healthy, profound, 8-hour sleep. Whether it works better for you in the morning, afternoon or night, it is undeniable that you’ll fall asleep easier and have better sleep quality if you work-out during the day.

This happens because exercise boosts the body’s production of serotonin and decreases the levels of cortisol (which causes stress). It’s reported that a recent study saw a 65% increase in sleep improvement for subjects exercising during the day.

You have to get yourself tired, but not too tired, though. Don’t over-do it. Excessive training has been linked to poor sleep. Supposedly, working out in the early morning will increase your sleep quality, however, many people have a more effective response to working out right before bed, then a shower, and then sleep like a baby. Try it out and see what works best for you.

  1. Turn off all electronics

This is so important. Using electronics at late night is incredibly damaging to sleep. Whether you watch TV, or play a video game, or scroll through Instagram, you’ll probably have a significant reduction in your sleep quality, causing trouble staying asleep, also, it will take you much longer to fall asleep.

It is recommended to disconnect from all electronics at least two hours before going to sleep. Put away your computer and mobile phone, turn off your TV. Try to be completely free of distractions. Reading is encouraged as a replacement of your Netflix TV show.

Remember your environment is what you think about, relax with mood lights or dimmed lighting and try out some Essential Oils to ease the stress from the day.

  1. Try CBD oil

This is great. And no, it isn’t the same as smoking marijuana, if you are not into that. CBD is a cannabinoid, it interacts with your endocannabinoid system, but won’t depress your nervous system, so you don’t get “high”. CBD oil induces sleepiness and tranquillity, facilitating getting rid of insomnia and other sleep disorders. In particular, certain CBD oils (depending on the other components and the extraction process) can help with sleepers that have light to moderate insomnia symptoms. It can also help with nighttime anxiety and sporadic sleep (waking up). As a matter of fact, many CBD oils are sold with the sole purpose of combating sleep disorders.

  1. Try Melatonin

If you’re not into medicinal cannabis, for whatever reason, this is an alternative you can consume to induce sleep that is also 100% natural. Your body already produces melatonin, by taking melatonin pills what you do is help your brain stabilize and put under a schedule the melatonin production, soon you won’t need them anymore because your brain begins to do it alone.

All in all, you should never underestimate the importance of having a good nights sleep. Follow our simple process above, and we hope to see some drastic changes in your sleeping patterns.

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