Overview
There are many natural alternatives to sleeping pills. Some of these include relaxation techniques, a comfortable environment, maintaining a sleep schedule, changes to the diet and increasing physical activity. When you try natural alternatives to sleep aids, you may find that you fall asleep faster and sleep better without the risk of chemical dependence or side effects associated with pharmaceutical products.
Facts
Insomnia affects many aspects of life including concentration, anxiety, depression and response time in accidents. Potential side effects of sleep aids include physical discomfort, behavioral changes and potential allergic reactions to the medication. The risk of chemical dependence on sleeping pills may be a factor in choosing an alternative to pharmaceutical products for help with difficulty falling or staying asleep.
Relaxation Techniques
A warm bath or shower before bed time can be relaxing for many people. Meditation and clearing the mind of stressful thoughts is another effective relaxation technique to use to try to fall asleep. Count sheep or any other object you can visualize to help to pull your mind away from stressful thoughts.
Environment
The environment that you sleep in can have a dramatic impact on your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep. Maintain comfortable temperature, lighting and sound for a relaxing environment. If your bedroom is lit too bright by a light outside, choose heavier curtains for your windows. If you live in a noisy neighborhood, soft music or nature sounds on a radio in the bedroom will help to cover the outside noise.
Schedule
Stick to a regularly scheduled sleep and wake cycle. If you feel very tired when the alarm clock rings, schedule your bed time for a half hour earlier for a week. You should feel refreshed in the morning and often wake before the alarm rings.
Diet and Exercise
Reduce sugars and products that contain caffeine or other stimulants for at least three hours before bedtime. Increased exercise or physical activity during the day will help you to be physically, as well as mentally, tired at bedtime.
Considerations:
Not all strategies, or a single strategy, will be effective for all people. The wide variety of sleeping pills shows that not all sleep aids work for everyone. Choose a combination of natural alternatives to increase the effectiveness of natural strategies to get to sleep faster and stay asleep longer.
Warning:
The information presented in this article is not a substitute for evaluation by a doctor. Chronic insomnia or inability to stay asleep may be an indication of an underlying medical, psychological or psychiatric condition. If natural alternatives to sleeping pills do not improve the ability to sleep or stay asleep, seek the advice of your health care professional.
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