Top Natural Remedies for Sleeplessness

Has this ever happened to you: you spend all day looking forward to getting home and relaxing. You’ve been daydreaming about crawling into bed and shutting your eyes on the day. You put on your most comfortable pajamas and sip hot tea, read a book, and turn the light out. Four hours later, you are still awake! You ask yourself, “what is going on here?” You are frustrated by your lack of sleep, upset that you can’t turn your brain off, and have solved none of the world’s problems despite having wasted hours of your life just lying in bed. It happens to the best of us, but what can you do about it. Sipping tea and reading a book seem like logical things to help your brain relax into your nighttime routine, but everyone is different. It might be that tea excites you instead of helping you unwind. It might be that the book you read was actually a zombie apocalypse book that you are not enjoying as much as you thought. It could be that you had something greasy for dinner and your digestive system is upset. Whatever the reason for your sleeplessness, there are some natural things you can do about it so you can get back to your slumber and wake up feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day.

Top Natural Remedies for Sleeplessness

• Begin Your Bedtime Routine in the Early Afternoon

Yes, you read that right. Some people don’t start to wind down until well after their evening meal, but from an evolutionary perspective, by the time supper rolls around, we’ve done our hunting and gathering for the day and need to start re-energizing ourselves for the work that needs to be done tomorrow. If you were to quit the coffee after lunch, avoid greasy foods that weigh you down (and make you gain weight!), and start to remove yourself from bright lights, cell phone screens, and other taxing activities that keep your brain way more active than it needs to be in the late afternoon, you’ll have an easier time falling asleep at night. This is especially true of morning people, who claim to be most productive as soon as they get up. This makes sense if you think about it because they have renewed energy at their disposal. People who wait until the evening to start laundry, do the dishes, or work on a task, have expelled all of their energy reserves for the day and have to find new energy to refocus. It’s why we love to come home from work and crash on the couch. We are tired of thinking. Allow your brain the time it needs to recoup and turn off the stimuli that are causing your brain to keep working overtime. 

• Max Relax on Your Own Time

If you work a particularly stressful job, or if you are stressed out at work on a regular basis, be sure to make time to check out when the mood strikes you. Of course, you can’t leave work in the middle of the day, but you can always carve out time at the end of your day to focus on yourself. Some people return home from work with the intention of resting and relaxing. But it’s hard to relax, isn’t it? There are some things you can do to help you relax into your evening routine as well. For instance, natural products made from cannabis often help people unwind and let go of pent up stress in their bodies. Depending on how you enjoy natural products such as cannabis, you may choose to bake edibles or use a glass bong - the choice is yours and the truth is that as long as it doesn’t stimulate you, but helps you relax, you can’t go wrong. As mentioned earlier, everyone is different and what might relax me may send you on a whirlwind adventure for the rest of the night, so be sure to try a number of different natural products and cannabis levels to find one that doesn’t excite your senses.

• Warm Water Helps to Prep the Body for Sleep

Whatever you do, don’t take a shower before bed. Showers are often associated with invigorating the mind and body and if you are suffering from a sleep problem, a shower is not going to help you relax. Having a solid morning routine and evening routine will help your body associated certain activities at certain times of the day. For example, if you take a shower in the morning, get dressed, eat breakfast, and head off to work, you’ll body will associate the activity of showering with starting your day. If you end your day with a hot bath, let’s say, then your body will begin to associate the hot bath with the time of day where you begin to unwind. Plus, hot baths help to warm your muscles and prime you for sleep. You are likely going to feel sleepy in the bathtub, so if this happens, plan to get into bed right away following your bath so you can quickly and easily fall asleep.