Sleep Solutions Not Involving Changing a Mattress

One's diet can have a profound impact on mood, productivity, and even one's ability to sleep at night.  Beyond prescribed pills, over-the-counter regulated medicines, and self-medication such as alcoholic beverages, there are in addition a number of natural approaches to inducing or encouraging sleep, and some nutritional lifestyle changes which can be undertaken to help correct the problem of insomnia.

Nutmeg oil, for instance, was used by American Indians to help them sleep.  In Germany, a traditional formula has been to mix powdered anise, honey, and warm milk.  Lemon balm is an herb easily grown in the garden. Some people suggest that warm milk on its own can be helpful.

One's overall diet and health is a big part of the sleep equation.  To make an improvement, eat lots of salads and fresh vegetables (as fresh as possible), eat whole grains and fibre foods every day instead of simple carbohydrates, eat a variety of foods, limit fat, limit alcohol and limit caffeine.

Avoid late consumption of foods causing indigestion or heartburn such as spicy, garlic-flavoured, fatty foods, beans, msg.  Experiment with eating more or less salt, to see if one or the other improves sleep.

A light low-calorie snack of some kind before bedtime may help to avoid  waking up in the 2nd half of the night.

Maybe check with a physician to rule out hyperthyroidism (associated with weight loss and short sleep).

Try dairy-free foods, and check if you may have allergies to other foods that you are regularly consuming.

If your body requires food in the middle of the night and this interferes with sleep, then this might be avoided by medication, or naturally by placing the meal next to the bed in advance, and reducing the calory intake of the food gradually until it is simply a glass of water.

Certain vitamins can help with sleep, including the B vitamins, calcium, magnesium, zinc, copper and iron.  Also amino acids such as tryptophan are needed for proper rest.  The hormone melatonin (which typically indicates to the body that it is dark outside) can be obtained without a prescription.

Certain herbal remedies are also available, especially teas made from chamomile, valerian, primrose, catnip, almonds, fennel, melissa, passion flower, rosemary, skullcap, hops, bergamot, pennyroyal, and lemon balm.

It is important to recognize that while herbal remedies are not regulated as medicines, that does not make it wise to self-medicate.  Consulting with an expert, especially in relation to combinations of herbs or medicines, and in relation to obtaining the correct dosage, is a very good idea.  In any case, the best plan is to start slowly (with a ver low dose) to measure how the herb affects your body, and listen to what your body is saying about the herb's effects very carefully.

The ideal time to exercise is 5-6 hours before sleep because exercise will tend to raise the body temperature for 5-6 hours and then lower that temperature to a level more conducive to sleeping.  To be effective, the exercise should get your heart rate up , increase your core temperature, and make you breath harder.