Drink this 2 hours before bed to sleep better(plus 5 tips for
insomnia)by Mike Geary - Certified Nutrition Specialist
Author of the best seller:The Top 101 Foods that FIGHT Aging
I've noticed in my travels and with working with clients that a
large majority of people in today's fast-paced stressful world are
struggling at least part of the time with falling asleep at
night.Over the years, I've also struggled on occasion with insomnia
because of the stress placed on me by running a large publishing
business. And I've researched and learned quite a few tips and
tricks over the years to help fight insomnia and fall asleep
faster.Without diving into every single technique I've learned over
the years, I'll just touch on a few really simple, but powerful
tips, foods, drinks, etc that I think can help you to fall asleep
easier and faster too!Here goes:1. The most important sleep tip to
start with:This one isn't a specific food or drink, but rather
probably THE most important tip I can give you... if you don't
follow this one, your chances of being able to wind down at night
and fall asleep fast are unlikely...You NEED to eliminate use of
devices, computers, emails, and any other work related to your job
(or other stressful things) at least 3 hours before you plan to go
to sleep. Using devices or computers for casual reading at night is
fine, but don't do any work that gets your mind overly activated,
such as anything dealing with work or other stressful things in
life. Also, even for casual reading, it's best to turn off devices
at least 1 hour before bed as keeping your eyes focused on the
light from devices is one thing that some researchers are saying
could interfere with getting quality sleep.An overly active mind
late at night is one of the BIGGEST things keeping many people from
falling asleep. As a success-driven entrepreneur myself, I used to
work really late at night and then I'd find that my mind was always
too active to actually be able to fall asleep, so I'd lay there for
hours sometimes until I could get my mind to slow down so I could
fall asleep.This may sound weird, but one trick that's worked for
me is to grab a book while I lay in bed on something that I find
sort of boring and try to read the book in bed. Because the topic
is "boring" to me personally, it keeps my mind away from things
that I find more interesting, and it allows me to fall right to
sleep. So for example, if you find health and fitness interesting
(I hope you do!), but you find economics boring, try reading an
economics book as you lay in bed. I bet you'll get sleepy and fall
asleep much faster than if you laid in bed letting all your
thoughts about daily life race through your mind.
2. No caffeine after mid-day:You've probably heard this tip many
times, so I'll keep this one short... It takes about 6 hours for
caffeine to be fully processed and eliminated by your body, so make
sure your last caffeinated drink of the day (coffee, black tea,
mate, etc) is at LEAST 6 hours or more before your planned bedtime.
And if you've been showing any adrenal fatigue from lab hormone
tests, you should also consider reducing your daily caffeine intake
if you currently use it.
3. Tart cherries or tart cherry juice:Tart cherries (Montmorency)
actually contain a natural form of melatonin that can help you to
naturally get sleepy and more easily fall asleep. I've found frozen
tart cherries a few times in specialty grocery stores and I use
them for a late night smoothie occasionally.I've also found a tart
cherry concentrate in Whole Foods and other health food stores that
you can add to a drink or caffeine-free tea at night to help get
you that low dose natural melatonin. I use 1 spoonful of this tart
cherry concentrate in a cup of chamomile or mint tea late at night.
This helps immensely for calming down and falling asleep at night.A
side benefit is that tart cherry also contains powerful
antioxidants that fight joint pain, gout, and other inflammation
related problems.
4. DON'T overdose on melatonin supplements (most contain TOO
MUCH)Did you know that MOST people overdose on melatonin
supplements. Most melatonin supplements come in either 3 mg or even
5 mg doses. However, according to some researchers, anything more
than 1 mg might be too high of a dose, which can disrupt your sleep
cycle the following day, making it hard to wake up in the morning,
and harder to fall asleep the following night, disrupting your
overall sleep cycle.The proper dose seems to be something less than
1 mg from most experts on this topic (this was even discussed on
the Dr Oz show too), which is why I choose to NEVER use melatonin
supplements, and only get the small natural quantities found in
tart cherries or tart cherry juice.
5. Night time teas:Try "night time teas" that have relaxing
qualities such as chamomile tea, mint tea, lemongrass tea, or all
of them mixed. A side benefit of chamomile tea, and another reason
that I try to include it in my weekly night tea repertoire is that
chamomile tea contains unique phytonutrients that can help fight
estrogenic overload from all of the xenoestrogens that we are
exposed to from chemicals, pesticides, etc in today's chemical
laden world.Also remember that you can add a spoonful of the tart
cherry concentrate and you'll get a double-whammy of sleep aid!
This works well about 1-2 hours before bedtime to help your body
and mind relax.One more tip...If you still have troubles falling
asleep even after implementing all of these tips, make sure to pay
attention to fixing any hormonal issues you might have, including
any possible adrenal fatigue, since being overly stressed out
during the day can cause imbalances in your natural cortisol cycle
which can make you more awake at night and more tired in the
morning (obviously the opposite of what you want). Eliminate any
stressors from your life that you can, and also trying other
relaxation techniques including meditation as a way to deal with
stress if you still feel that you're too stressed out each day.I
hope today's topic gave you some immediately useful tips that you
can use to start falling asleep easier and faster and feeling more
rested and energetic when you wake up in the morning!Make sure to
pay attention to ALL of the tips above (especially #1) as they can
all combine into a powerful regimen that relaxes you to sleep each
night without any more insomnia, leaving you more energetic and
ready to be productive when you wake up each day!If you want
tosleep better,balance your hormones, andfight against the aging
process, don't miss the 'next page' below...