4 Insomnia Home Remedies That Really Work
Recognized as difficulty falling asleep and/or staying asleep, insomnia can be short-term or chronic. Women are 40 percent more likely than men to suffer from it, and our symptoms tend to multiply as we get older. Many folks turn to prescription or over-the-counter sleep aids for relief, but they come with downsides like daytime drowsiness and memory lapses. Americans spend $52 billion on sleep aids and remedies annually! Luckily, you can get better sleep tonight with these tricks.
Tossing and turning? Picture something.
You’ve finally stretched out in bed, but now your mind is whirling in a million different directions. There’s a fix for that: Australian researchers say visualizing a soft, fluffy baby animal (like a kitten or bunny) can help you fall asleep faster and snooze more soundly, improving overall sleep quality by as much as 61 percent! How? Visualizing something tactile — especially if it’s soft and fluffy — shifts the brain into a meditative, sleep-inducing state.
Wired and Tired? Stick to a routine.
It may seem obvious but try going to bed at the same time every night (the actual time doesn’t matter, it just needs to be consistent). The surprise? Cornell researchers say that once your bedtime becomes regular and predictable, your brain will double its production of sleep-inducing melatonin enough to cut your risk of insomnia by 67 percent in 10 days.
Can’t fall asleep? Listen to this.
Listen to Tibetan or Himalayan singing bowls for 20 minutes before lights-out,
How it works: Researchers say the gentle sounds these bowls emit prompt theta wave release, cutting insomnia-triggering tension by up to 89 percent. Two no-cost apps that offer them: Zen Bowl (for iPhone) and Singing Bowls (for Android).
Can’t Fall Asleep? Try Soaking In A Hot Bath.
Researchers recently found that taking a 10-minute bath one hour before bed helped people fall asleep 36 percent faster — results that are as good as Ambien without next-day grogginess. The reason? Warming up skin triggers your internal thermostat to dial down to the cooler levels that mimic deep sleep. “And cooling off after a hot bath also releases melatonin,” adds sleep medicine psychologist Shelby Harris, Psy.D. A steady stream of the hormone helps you stay asleep.
You can also try something like Perfect Sleep Pad This cooling pad uses water running under your body pulling any excess heat into the water which is constantly looping around through a control unit that modulates the water by constantly sensing the water temperature coming back from the pad, the heat never has a chance to touch or accumulate in the mattress.
The control unit can adjust the water so that your core body temperature stays Thermo Neutral. You do not wake up sweating anymore. This is especially important for maintaining deep sleep fazes for hot sleepers.
Temperature can play a big part in the preparation for sleep.
By cooling the core body, you can simulate the circadian rhythm, usually the core body starts to cool as you approach the night. But for people that are hot sleepers it is exceedingly difficult to reach that final drop off point. Many new types of Mattresses trap body heat, and do not alow for enough moisture to be wicked away becous you sink so far into the top layer of foam,the heat is reflected back at the person sleeping by about 3 or 4 in the morning waking people up and if they are hot they have a hard time falling back asleep.
Using the Perfect Seep Pad allows them to get to there ideal temperature to fall asleep faster and stay in deep sleep fazes much longer because they are not being affected by temperature anymore.
