How to Sleep Better Naturally

I hate cranky people.  More accurately, I like them a lot better when they are in a good mood.

Even one poor night’s sleep makes us all feel and act like total garbage.  When we string several sleepless nights together it gets even worse.  We become a pathetic version of ourselves.

Of course, this doesn’t even mention the long-term health consequences of insomnia, and it doesn’t talk about the low productivity and the lack of brain power we experience when we’re walking around like a zombie all day either.

Sleep is important.

It is important for you – and for the people around you too.  I’ve dealt with my own sleep problems as well as witnessed them from a lot of other people.  Let me share with you what I’ve found that works.

Before diving into a list of something obvious, let’s first consider what would be the absolute worst advice possible for a good night’s sleep.  It’s a fun exercise, and it can illustrate what is going wrong.  Then we can look to the polar opposite ideas to help us.

Natural Ways to Ensure you WON’T Fall Asleep

1. Drink a huge cup of coffee before bed.

2. Watch a horror movie or a thriller.

3. Leave the door unlocked and imagine people lurking around downstairs.

4. Make a list of all the stressful things in your life and focus on them. Focus specifically on what you are dreading about the next day.

5. Pick a fight with your spouse or someone else in your house. Make sure you are both really upset.

6. Wear some really tight and uncomfortable clothes.

7. Set the temperature of your room to a really hot and uncomfortable temperature. Hopefully it’s humid in there too.

8. Keep all the bedroom lights on.

9. Turn on the brightest lights and stare at your bright computer screen.

What a ridiculous list right?  If you do even one of those things ‘properly’ it’s quite likely you will be tossing and turning all night.  The ‘amazing’ thing is, this list isn’t necessarily too far off what people actually do!  Then they wonder why they are having trouble falling asleep.

The above list will get us in the wrong physiological state to fall asleep.  It will activate all the wrong neurotransmitters and hormones.  We need to almost do the opposite of what is on that list, and therefore get the right hormones and neurotransmitters flowing.  Then falling asleep naturally should be almost as easy as just lying down and closing our eyes.

Let’s try this instead:

1. Avoid caffeine after 12 noon. Some people are more sensitive than others to caffeine, but if you are having trouble sleeping, then pay attention to this. The effects of caffeine are still present between 8-14 hours after you had any. This is true even if you don’t “notice” it.

2. Don’t watch any TV or use the internet right before bed. I know, this can be annoying because it’s fun to do that! So if you must, then at least watch some funny show where you don’t need to think much, or read some simple blog that puts you in a good mood. Don’t get all bent out of shape over political stuff. Don’t watch or read anything that makes you excited or nervous or anything like that. Forget about news. Forget about email too. Because just one slightly annoying email from work or someone can ruin the entire night’s sleep. If you can shut off TV and internet, then reading a book or playing some simple game is even better. If you think too much or get too excited about anything, you’ll release more of the stress hormone cortisol. We need corsitol levels to be very low when we’re trying to fall asleep. See ashwagandha below in the supplements.

3. If you do choose to use your computer before bed (I confess, I often do), then you need to download some free software to block the blue light that lights up the screen. Blue light at night from screens negatively impact melatonin and cortisol levels. The newer iphones and ipads already come with “Night Shift”. If you are using a PC then you can download “Flux”. Just “Google it” and you’ll see it. Android has many free aps you can find. Night shift on iphone and twilight on android. When you install this software (very easy to do) then you’ll notice that after sunset, your screen will look “redish”. It’s sort of weird at first but you’ll get used to it after a few hours (at most a few days). It will then seem normal and you’ll find the old bright “blueish” looking screen to seem really intense and annoying. This one trick has helped me significantly getting to bed earlier, and waking up refreshed. The blue light interferes with our melatonin production. We want melatonin levels high when we’re falling asleep. Make sure you try this.

4. Say something nice to your spouse or the other people in your house, and don’t bother saying much at all. Don’t argue about anything. You need your sleep and so do they. Discuss anything bothering you the next day. If you wake up and forget what you were mad about, then great!

5. Do whatever you need to do before you sleep like brush your teeth, use the washroom, get into your most comfy pj’s. Even get a few simple things ready for the next day like picking out your clothes or making breakfast plans. You’ll feel less overwhelmed because you’re taking action. This simple task can help you drift off to sleep feeling like you are already ahead of the game!

6. Set the temperature to a cool and comfortable setting (This can take some negotiation if you have a spouse!) but don’t worry, you’ll figure something out!

7. Try not to think about anything. The day is finished and there is nothing you can do until the next morning anyway. And you’ll need to be fresh then. So the best way to solve anything is to think happy thoughts no matter what situation you are in.

8. Turn off the lights and get the room to as close to total darkness as possible.

9. Try our natural supplement combination (Below)

Yes, I know it’s not always easy to relax and think about nothing.  We’re stressed and we have a lot of things going on in our racing minds.  Shutting our minds off doesn’t seem to be as easy as switching off a light.  I’ve been there and I know exactly what you mean.

It’s also why we have developed some very effective natural supplements to help with sleep.  We have many people from all over the world who take them regularly with great results.

I recommend the following combination to try.

Ashwagandha – This is a powerful natural herb from India.  It helps to reduce stress and anxiety.  It also lowers the stress hormone cortisol.  Many customers absolutely love this for a deep sleep.  We have an organic, non-GMO, and highly standardized ashwagandha

L-Theanine – This is the relaxing amino acid found in green tea.  It helps relax a racing mind and helps us get a deeper and more peaceful sleep.  It works quickly and it feels very pleasant and peaceful.

Magnesium Bisglycinate – Magnesium is well known to be the “relaxing mineral”. The form of magnesium matters a lot because many do not absorb very well at all.  We use a non-buffered and very pure magnesium bisglycinate, which is great to both boost magnesium levels and for sleep.

SleepX – our popular sleep combo formula. It contains melatonin, l theanine, 5 HTP, l tryptophan, magnesium bisglycinate, passionflower, and vitamin B3 (niacinamide).  It’s great on its own, and even more powerful with the other supplements listed above.