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 to sleep better, balance your hormones, and fight against the aging process, don't miss the 'next page' below...
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Please share with family and friends if you think they could benefit from these tips, thank you.
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