Ways to Get Sleep

Do you have difficulty sleeping? Fortunately, there are a variety of natural ways to get sleep and overcome insomnia. Insomnia is a frustrating experience that can leave you feeling tired and irritable with decreased concentration, memory, physical and mental functioning.  Our bodies do not work properly when sleep deprived.

If you are having trouble sleeping, make sure to see your doctor for a thorough medical evaluation. Your doctor can determine if you have a sleep disorder and can provide appropriate medical treatment.

Sleep Quiz

Take this short sleep quiz to get some valuable information to bring with you when you talk to your doctor:

1. Most nights, do you fall asleep in 30 minutes or less?
2. Do you usually sleep through the night?
3. Do you feel rested when you wake up in the morning?
4. Do you have energy during waking hours?
5. Are you able to concentrate?
   

If you answered no to any of these questions, you might have a problem with insomnia.

Ways to Get Sleep When You Are Having Trouble Sleeping

Improving your sleep involves more than just using some sleep strategies once or twice. For lasting improvement in sleep patterns and to overcome sleep disorders, it is necessary to have an effective sleep routine.

Have you ever wondered how sleep cycles work? This Sleep, Circadian Rhythms, and Relaxation article explains what circadian rhythms are, how they impact sleep, and how relaxation can help.

"Sleep hygiene" refers to the regular habits and routines that are necessary for healthy sleep. Those who do shift work or who have irregular schedules face particular challenges when it comes to healthy sleep, but it is still possible to use sleep hygiene strategies to sleep better. Find out how to improve your sleep hygiene with these strategies.

If you are trying to fall asleep now, these relaxation scripts and audio may help. You can read relaxation scripts and follow the suggestions, or relaxation downloads are even more effective for helping you fall asleep.

Sleep Relaxation Scripts are specifically aimed to help you quickly and easily fall asleep. Overcome insomnia and get to sleep naturally with these relaxation exercises.

Sleep relaxation audio can help you drift off to sleep if you are experiencing insomnia, stress, difficulty staying asleep, waking up too early, or if you are just having trouble falling asleep. These soft, gentle guided relaxation audios talk you through the process of falling asleep quickly, easily, and deeply.

If you find relaxation audio helpful, try this Relaxation to Cure Insomnia CD. The CD includes:

• Track 1: Get Back to Sleep (15:07)
• Track 2: Get Rid of Nightmares (15:27)
• Track 3: Relaxation for Taking a Nap (40:37)

These past issues of Inner Health Studio Relaxation Tips Newsletter discuss ways to get sleep and overcome insomnia:

• Why Your Sleep Routines Don't Work
  
• Fall Asleep Quickly

Read the articles below, entitled "Get Better Sleep" and "Easy Ways to Fall Asleep Quickly." The sleep strategies discussed can help you sleep better tonight!

Strategies to Get Better Sleep

Can't get to sleep? Looking for ways to get sleep tonight? Try these sleep remedies:

• Take a warm bath and then go to bed within 60 minutes. The slight drop in body temperature as your body cools off from the bath mimics the body's drop in temperature that occurs with sleep and will serve as a cue for the body to go to sleep.
• During the day, make sure to get as much natural light as you can. Later in the day, make the room as dark as possible (especially at bed time) and limit exposure to screens (TV, computer, phone, etc.). Light and dark are the main cues for your body to adjust the levels of melatonin, a hormone that causes you to feel sleepy. Without sufficient light during the day and darkness at night, melatonin levels and the timing of the release of melatonin may not be optimal, which severely interferes with sleep.
• Keep a routine as much as possible. The body readily settles into a routine and your brain can automatically become sleepy at bed time when you have a consistent bed time routine.
  
• Use relaxation techniques to occupy the mind (and prevent excessive thinking and worry which cause sleeplessness) and to relax the mind and body. Relaxation can help your brain and muscles settle down in preparation for sleep. Specific sleep relaxation techniques can help you go to sleep. I think relaxation is one of the best ways to get sleep, and I highly recommend using relaxation techniques every day.
  
• If you still aren't able to sleep, try not to worry about it. A missed night of sleep is not going to hurt you in the long run, so remind yourself that it is okay if you don't sleep right now. Do something that is very low stimulus (such as reading a boring book) and then go back to bed and just rest without necessarily trying to sleep. Worrying about sleeping is one of the causes of insomnia and may be keeping you awake. Paradoxically, telling yourself that it is okay not to sleep may actually help you drift off. Not trying to sleep is one of the ways to get sleep that seems like the opposite of what most people naturally try to do.
  

For more details about ways to get sleep, how to improve sleep tonight, and sleep better every night, check out the documents below.

Additional Resources

• Canadian Sleep Society Education and Information Brochures
• Sleep Foundation Tips

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