How to Fall Asleep Faster

Stress, anxiety, worries and work should be left outside the bedroom door. A bedroom is a scared pace preserved for sleep and sex. Any sources of entertainment in the bedroom can prevent the mind from falling asleep. Investing in good beddings and mattress helps in comforting one to sleep.

2. Exercising

When the body is more engaged physically, fatigue creeps in and makes it easier to fall asleep. Physical activities can be as simple as taking a walk. However, committing some hours to exercise every day is a great natural way for placing the body in the right mind set for sleep. Exercises should be done at least 3 hours before bedtime, to cool the body from the adrenaline rush.

3. Healthy Eating

A healthy meal causes less strain on the digestion process, which gives you humble time to sleep. However, food should be eaten in controlled measures, because going to bed on an overfull stomach, or an empty stomach causes difficulties in sleeping because of discomfort. Meals should be taken at least 2 hours before bedtime.

4. Create a Routine

Sleep routines not only help babies sleep, but also help adults. A routine specifies an exact time of going and getting out of bed. For a routine to be effective, you have to follow it religiously, to help the body naturally adapt to it

5. Embrace a Sleeping Hygiene

A sleep hygiene is a clean way of doing things before bed time. For instance, you can cut down on all caffeinated drinks at least 8 hours before bedtime, to keep the system caffeine free. Drinking too much water before bedtime interrupts sleep by the frequent visits to the bathroom.

Scientific Ways to Fall Asleep

Sleep is something that many people take for granted. Once some people hit the pillow, sleep takes them immediately. Some other people struggle to sleep, despite trying all the natural remedies at their disposal. Read on to find scientific ways to allure sleep:

1. Listening to Music

Music is soothing and has the ability to make people feel safe. It places the body in a safety mode, which is an important cue for the body to give in to relaxing and fall asleep. This explains why lullabies make children fall asleep easily.

2. Practice Mindful Breathing

Who ever knew that simple breaths could make you fall asleep? Mindful breathing is an art that requires breathing deeply for 2 seconds, and then holding the breath for 4 seconds, before exhaling slowly in 8 seconds. The breaths relax the body and enables falling asleep easily.

3. Sleeping in Darkness

A bedroom should be kept dark with dark curtains. Have you ever wondered why some people get irritated whenever light is switched on in the middle of the night? Light interrupts the production of melatonin; a hormone that makes the body fatigue. Melatonin reacts to the smallest exposure to light.

4. Keep a Journal

Unfortunately, all the day’s worries and stress pile up just when people get to bed. Keeping a journal ensures that before you sleep, you write out all the thoughts. This is a strategy to cleanse the mind and leave it stress free for sleep.

5. Reading a Book

Just when you get to bed, you can pull out a book to keep you company as you wait to pass out. The type of book should not be intriguing or a kind to engage your mind. The essence of reading in bed is to make your eyes tired, until you give in to sleep.

Best Sleep Positions

The way you coil up yourself in bed says a lot about personality and the quality of sleep. There are three types of sleeping positions, which are personalized to one’s comfort. There is the side, back and stomach position. Here are best sleeping positions that guarantee a good night’s sleep:

1. Back Position

Sleeping on the back is great because it enables easy reflexive movements of the head and neck. This position keeps wrinkles away and avoids sagging breasts since there is nothing pushing towards the face and breasts. However, sleeping on the back can trigger sleep apnea.

2. Side Position

It prevents acid reflux, neck and back pains. It is the best position for pregnant mothers. Sleeping on the side reduces the chances of snoring. However, this position causes wrinkles and sagging of breasts because of gravity.

3. Stomach Position

It makes digestion easy. Sleeping with the face down opens the airways, which reduces snoring and sleep apnea. However, it is best to use a thin pillow while sleeping on the tummy to avoid hyper-flexing the neck.

4. Yearner Position

This is a side position that has arms reaching out. It is a great position, since it gives the body full control of the spine and muscle movements. It prevents numbness because the stretched out arms ensure a smooth flowing of blood.

5. Fetus Position

It is a replication of how a baby coils up in the womb. Women mostly prefer this position. Unlike the yearner position whose arms reach out, the fetus is coiled up with arms resting on the cheeks. The right side is the best to coil up to because sleeping on the left side is harmful to the liver and lungs.

Tips to Fall Asleep

1. Create a Sleeping Schedule

Train your body to sleep at a specific time, and wake up at a specific time every day. Such a routine helps to regulate and prepare the body psychologically whenever it is time for sleeping or waking up. Disrupting this schedule, might cause the body’s alarm clock to relapse.

2. Create a Conducive Environment for Sleeping

The body relaxes in a serene environment and easily given in to sleep. A serene environment for sleeping is clean, organized, quiet, and dark. Any forms of destructions like entertainment material, or even office work should be left outside the bedroom door.

3. Be selective in What You Eat for Dinner

The type of food you eat before bedtime can lure you to sleep, or squeeze the sleep out of you. Carbohydrates are great in drowsing people with sleep. Fatty foods on the other hand are toxic when taken before bedtime. Fats slow down metabolism, which causes discomforts while trying to sleep.

4. Exercise

Exercising is a natural way to prepare the body for good sleep. Working out exhausts the body, making falling asleep easy. People who exercise every day, fall asleep better than people who do not work out. However, exercises should be done at least 2 hours before bedtime

5. Drink Chamomile Tea

Unlike tealeaves, which have caffeine that can keep you awake for long, chamomile tea acts as a sedative that relaxes the mind and drifts you to sleep. You can buy it from the stores or prepare it freshly.

Foods for Sleep

You do not want to drink an energy drink right before you go to sleep because the energy will keep you up for some time. Some foods are good at inducing sleep, while others prevent sleep. Here are foods that induce sleep:

1. Banana

Bananas are known to calm down the body, which is a good ingredient for falling asleep. Bananas are high in potassium and magnesium, which relaxes the muscles. They have amino acids that eventually get converted to melatonin and serotonin; hormones that promote sleep

2. Milk

Having a glass of warm milk before bed is a great trigger for sleep. Milk is rich in calcium, which relaxes the body. Milk contains amino acids that are converted to serotonin, a hormone that relaxes the body to induce sleep. A deficiency in calcium causes difficulties in falling asleep.

3. Carbohydrate Foods

They are good in energizing the body after consumption. However, after some time, they slowly fatigue the body and cause drowsiness. This is a relaxing gradual way to prepare the body for falling asleep.

4. Cherries

Cherries are fully packed with melatonin. They are highly recommended for sleeping anywhere. They are more effective when taken at least an hour before the expected bedtime or naptime, for those hopping to nap on a road trip. Unfortunately, cherries are seasonal fruits and hard to find sometimes.

5. Chamomile Tea

It is a herbal tea that relaxes muscles and nerves. It is a decaffeinated drink and acts as a mild sedative. Chamomile tea should be served with low sugar or honey. Using plenty of sugar at night is disastrous for sleep, since sugar energizes the body.

What to Avoid for Better Sleep

There are some bad habits that people do knowingly or unknowingly, which greatly affect the quality of sleep. Bad practices ought to be eliminated to improve on the quality of sleep. Such habits include:

1. Avoid Jumping

Avoid jumping in bed right after eating. Meals should be taken at least 2 hours before bedtime. The essence of this schedule is to relax the body for digestion after eating. Getting to bed immediately after a meal causes trouble sleeping because of the energy the body will use for digestion.

2. Drinking Water 

Drinking water is great for digestion and keeping the body hydrated. However, you should avoid drinking plenty of water around bedtime. This causes frequent sleep interruptions to rush to the washroom. Besides water, chamomile tea should also be taken in measured quantities.

3. Avoid Over-engaing

Avoid over-engaging the body before bedtime. Activities like dancing, or working out before bedtime cause difficulty in falling asleep. They keep the body active, which makes the transition to sleep difficult. Working out should be done at least 2 hours before bedtime, to give the body time to relax.

4. Keep Your Bed Room Clean

The bedroom is a scared place for sleeping and sharing love. You should avoid watching movies in bed as you wait to sleep. Instead of watching a movie, you can read a book or listen to soothing music. Reading makes your eyes tired, whereas music relaxes the body.

5. Best Time for Sleep

Avoid going to bed when you please. Such a routine makes it hard for the body to prepare itself for sleep. You can make a routine of sleeping and waking up at the same time every day. Such a routine automates the body’s sleeping time, and makes falling asleep easy.

Better Atmosphere for Sleep

Your sleeping area will determine the quality of sleep you get. If your room is cozy, organized, dark, and quite, chances are you will have an easier time getting quality sleep. A disorganized and noisy room makes it hard to get quality sleep.

1. Silence

Silence is golden when it comes to getting quality sleep. It is for this reason that sources of entertainment should be kept out of the bedroom. Quietness creates a serene environment for sleep to thrive in.

2. Create Space

Space is great for relaxing the mind. A full, cluttered bedroom is contagious to the mind and causes trouble sleeping. Create as much space as you can in the bedroom, to keep the mind uncluttered. Wall decors in the bedroom should also be minimized.

3. Control Temperatures

The bedroom should have warm, and not hot, cool and not cold temperatures. In case of any extreme temperatures, you should be able to control the temperatures by reducing or increasing the thermostat. Scientifically, cool temperatures are considered the best for luring sleep.

4. Darkness

Regardless of the location of the bedroom, it is possible to create a dark sleeping environment. Investing in black heavy curtains can cover up well any sources of natural light sneaking in the bedroom. Any amount of light is powerful in interrupting sleep.

5. Comfortable Beddings

A bed is an asset that should be well invested in. The kind of mattress you sleep on is a great indication of the quality of your sleep. Feeling back pains when you wake up is an indication of a low quality mattress, which should be replaced. Beddings should be frequently changed, to enhance freshness.

Sleep should be prioritized just as eating and working are. It increases the quality of life and helps in fostering great relationships. The functionality of the body largely depends on how well rested the body is. The more sleep the body gets the more it can yield to pressure.