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A good night’s sleep is such a gift to the mind and body. It is revitalizing, rejuvenating, and refreshing. So when sleep is elusive, try to use these interesting hacks. They may soon have you sleeping like a baby!
If you find that some nights you toss and turn and still cannot fall asleep, you are not alone. According to the American Sleep Association, some 50 to 70 million adults have a sleep disorder; 30 percent of Americans experience short-term insomnia, while another 10 percent suffer from chronic insomnia.
You may already know when to stop drinking coffee or take melatonin as a natural sleeping remedy. On nights when sleep is still evasive and the sheep you have counted are innumerous, try one of these five sleep hacks.
Use a gravity blanket
These blankets are weighted, giving you that snug, “tucked in like a baby” feeling. Weighted by pellets or ball bearings, these blankets can weigh from 5 to 30 pounds. When choosing, the American Sleep Association recommends that your blanket weigh 10 percent of your body weight.
Aside from giving you a warm hug, weighted blankets are all-round therapeutic, according to WebMD. It is believed the pressure from the weight causes the brain to release serotonin and stabilize your mood. Apart from helping with insomnia, a gravity blanket is used to reduce anxiety, calm nerves, treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and ease pain.
Practice yoga nidra
Yoga nidra is an ancient practice from India. Like the savasana pose, yoga nidra is often used to cool the body and relax muscles after a yoga class, according to Art of Living. Lie down, take a few deep breaths, and pay attention to relaxing each body part.
This focuses the mind inward, creating what is known as a hypnagogic or pre-dream state (wiki). This half-asleep and half-awake time brings rich visions and sounds until you drift off into sleep.
There are many yoga nidra guided meditations online and on meditation apps. Lie in bed with your headphones and enjoy this magical routine. You may be pleasantly surprised to find that you do not even make it until the end of the meditation!
Wear an eye mask
An eye mask is more than a beauty product! Eye masks are economical, lightweight and they work! Street lights, flashing neon signs, car headlights, and digital alarm clocks are all part of modern urban living that produce nocturnal light pollution. Seeing these lights can offset your circadian rhythm, according to the American Sleep Association.
Wearing a sleep mask will shut out this light, elevate melatonin levels, and help you enjoy longer periods of REM sleep. In fact, a study in the Journal of Caring Sciences showed that reduced sleep quality can weaken the immune system and may lead to cardiovascular disease.In their study, coronary patients in the intensive care unit who wore eye masks slept better and did not need drug therapy to assist them in falling asleep.
In addition to helping you sleep, eye masks also protect the skin around your eyes and help reduce wrinkles, offering you a complete beauty rest!
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Use soothing lavender
Lavender is calming and relaxing to the body. Rubbing it onto your wrists and temples before you go to bed puts you in a soothing state. You can also add drops of lavender oil in a diffuser and put it in your bedroom.
Remedy Grove suggests using a few lavender oil drops in your laundry detergent so when you are falling asleep, you will be calmed by the scent of your sheets.
A study in the International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice showed that lavender oil reduces anxiety and remedies sleep disturbances.
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Unplug electronics
It is known that the blue light emitted by cell phone and computer screens disturbs the production of melatonin and a study in Radiation Protection Dosimetry shows just this. This is because the pineal gland, which is the source of melatonin, interprets this as a source of light and stimulates wakefulness.
Another factor that may impede sleep is the electromagnetic force (EMF) emitted by cell phones, WI-FI routers, computers, and Bluetooth devices. According to EMF Academy, 50 percent of Americans sleep with their cell phone next to their bed or under their pillow!
Before you go to sleep, unplug the router in your home and turn off your phone. Another option is to put your phone on airplane mode—yes, your alarm clock will still work—and enjoy a deeper, more restful, and healthful sleep.
