Insomnia Tips for Falling Asleep

Many people have a problem falling asleep. Insomnia affects an estimated 3.5 million Americans each year. Here are a few insomnia tips for falling asleep:

Set a schedule – when you go to bed early one night and late the next, your body doesn't know when it's time to wake up or go to sleep and over a long period of time, you could suffer something similar to chronic jet lag.

The cure is simple, set your clock for the same time every night and every morning, including weekends. Of course there will be the occasional exception, but if you go to bed at the same time and wake up at the same time, this will help you fall asleep better.

Exercise – getting some exercise is a great remedy for falling asleep and staying asleep. Exercise can reduce stress and that makes it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep.

Any kind of aerobic exercise will do the trick; however, avoid exercising three hours before going to bed because that may cause you to be too pumped up to fall asleep.

Editors Note: Get the low-down on natural cures for Insomnia

Stimulants – skip the stimulants such as caffeine, coffee is the most obvious but there is enough in soda, chocolate, alcohol, diet drugs and pain relievers. Remedies like herbal teas will help you fall asleep and stay asleep.

If you smoke, here is another reason to quit, Nicotine raises blood pressure and pulse rate, both makes it hard to fall asleep.

Foods – watch what you eat, anything that upsets your stomach should be taken off the menu. Do not eat anything heavy near bedtime because the process of digestion will keep you awake. You can overcome your hunger near bedtime with a glass of milk and it will help you fall asleep because it is loaded with tryptophan, an amino acid used by the body to produce a brain chemical called serotonin which quiets nerve activity.

Forget the sleeping pills – doctors will prescribe sleep aides to the most hardcore insomniacs to break the cycle so they can get some sleep, but it's best to try natural sleep aids to cure insomnia. The thing with sleeping pills is they can be addictive and hard to walk away from. And, over time, they loose their effectiveness and you end up taking more and more.

No worries in the bed – don't go to bed with worries. Decide on a place and time you will worry about all the things that are bothering you and then don't take them to bed. You can worry about things in the kitchen or living room, but not in the bedroom. Write them down and put them in a safe place – outside the bedroom – for your worry date. This will help you to fall asleep worry free. It will be difficult at first, but you can do it.

Important Note: You should consult your doctor if you have concerns over your health,
and the information on this site, inclduing insomnia tips for falling asleep, is not medical advice, and is for information purposes only.