Self Improvement

5 Natural Sleep Remedies You Need in Your Life

posted on November 8, 2018 | by Chloe Gibson

I never used to think of sleep as something that stressed me out. Even after I experienced anxiety for the first time when I was 20, sleep still wasn’t usually something that escaped me. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve found myself worrying about that looming time of day when it’s time to go to bed. I think about how long it’ll take me to doze off and then the panic of how tired I’ll be the next day will set in.

With these kinds of thoughts happening almost every day, I’ve started looking into natural sleep remedies. I don’t want to get on a serious sleeping pill, but I do want to get enough Zzz’s to help me feel rested. So, the below five things are remedies that have helped me do just that.

Melatonin

My fiance (who I live with) has always been a troubled sleeper. One day when I was at the grocery store he called me and asked me to get him some kind of supplement to see if it would help. Neither of us had ever taken anything other than Nyquil while sick, so I spent quite a bit of time mulling over all the options. I decided to go with Melatonin because it’s more natural.

Melatonin is a hormone already in the body that promotes sleep, so when you take a Melatonin supplement, it’s kind of like taking a multivitamin – just boosting what the body already produces. This seemed better than taking a drug, in my opinion.

I had no idea what to expect, but wow, has it made a huge difference for both of us! We bought this kind and take two tablets before going to bed. I usually start to feel drowsy after about 15 minutes. Honestly, I have no idea how I functioned without Melatonin. Best discovery ever!

Lavender essential oils

This is probably one of the best known natural sleep aids, and I truly think it helps. Growing up my mom used to spray my pillow every night with a lavender tonic. Now, I’ll sleep with a diffuser on my nightstand and drop in a lavender blend meant for promoting sleep. There’s just something about the scent that is so relaxing.

White noise/soothing sounds

I feel like there are two kinds of people in the world – those that like to sleep with noise and those that don’t. I am someone who will literally panic without some kind of noise. I’ve had a small fan in my room for most of my life, so noise is essential. Unfortunately Trevor (fiance) likes complete silence, so faux fan and headphones it is for me.

Even if you’re not a fan person, I still recommend checking out apps like Headspace or Calm for meditations. If meditating sounds a little woo woo to you, give it a try anyway! It’s very relaxing and what’s the worst that could happen – you doze off?

Cold and darkness

Although I’m not so much a fan of cold and I don’t need complete darkness to fall asleep, nor have I noticed not having these things preventing me from falling asleep, studies show they can be very beneficial. To test it out, set your thermometer at 68 degrees (the suggested temp) and block out as much light as possible from your sleeping space. Give it a week and see if you notice a difference.

No tech

This is something I struggle with a lot. Between blue light and research that shows how cruising social media for hours on end does not, in fact, put a person to sleep, you’d think I’d know better by now. Unfortunately, I continue to struggle with it, but it’s actually one of the easiest things you can do to boost your Zzz’s. I definitely notice a difference the nights I’m on my phone versus the ones I’m not.

I’m really hoping over time some of these things become more of habit and I won’t even need the Melatonin. For now, though, this is what helps me! Do you have any natural sleep remedies that help you get to sleep sooner?