Sleeping Tips

3 TIPS TO FALL ASLEEP FASTER

1.) According to Harvard Medical School, your body temperature drops slightly when you’re falling asleep. So, the optimal room temperature for aiding sleep is between 60 to 67 degrees. The opposite is also (frustratingly) true if you’ve ever tried to sleep in a stifling room without air conditioning.

2.) A dark room also helps bring on sleep by cueing the brain to produce melatonin, which also helps cool your internal body temperature.

3.) Once you have a cool dark room, try this “progressive muscle relaxation technique” to relax your body: Tense the muscles in your toes for five seconds (counting to five) then relax for 30 seconds (counting to 30), then move on to your calves, then your thighs, and continue on till you reach your head and neck.


3 Snacks to Fall Asleep Faster - Naturally

Did you know that more than 50 million Americans don’t get enough sleep?

Which is a shame because the health benefits of a good night’s rest are kind of amazing:

  • Your immune system is stronger
  • Your brain is more sharp
  • Your skin looks more youthful
  • Your waistline is more trim
  • You have a lower risk of high blood pressure and heart disease

If you're part of that 50 million, there are natural ways to easily help you sleep more often. In addition to your super soft black blanket, which can help you feel comfy and cozy, here is a list of foods to eat about two hours before bedtime that can help usher in sleep:

1) Cheese & Nuts. Cheddar cheese can have up to 60% more tryptophan than turkey, and the calcium in dairy helps your brain use the tryptophan to manufacture sleep-triggering melatonin. Walnuts also have tryptophan and melatonin. However, Black Walnuts contain more tryptophan than regular English Walnuts. Another good option are almonds, which are rich in magnesium, a mineral that helps relax muscles and nerves and promotes healthy circulation and digestion. One more benefit to this mix is that both cheese and nuts also provide protein, which can help you maintain a stable blood sugar level while you’re sleeping.

2) Plain Oatmeal w/ Banana and Glass of Milk. A nice bowl of warm oatmeal has a good amount calcium, magnesium, and potassium, which may calm restless legs and help prevent nighttime leg cramps. Bananas can be a good addition, because they're also high in potassium, and the carbohydrates can help make tryptophan more available to the brain. A glass of milk will help provide slow burning protein to help you feel full throughout the night.

3) Chamomile Tea and Honey. Steeping a cup of chamomile tea will help increase your glycine, a chemical that relaxes nerves and muscles and acts like a mild sedative. Researchers found that chamomile tea decreased the time needed to fall asleep and increased total sleep duration, minutes of deep sleep and total sleep quality. In addition to the sleep-inducing components of the tea, the warmth of the hot cup is sure to get you feeling drowsy. The natural sugar found in honey slightly raises insulin and allows tryptophan to enter the brain more easily. So, a spoonful before bed or mixed with your chamomile tea could give you a more restful sleep.