I’m no sleep specialist but I’ve certainly suffered in the past from the inability to just fall asleep and get a peaceful night’s rest! A friend and I were talking about this the other day and we shared tips.
This post contains affiliate links.
Here’s the gist of our discussion and what we came up with. I really hope you find something that will help you with this struggle.
Sleep problems are difficult but not impossible to decipher and to fix
There are different reasons why people are suffering from lack of sleep. Can you imagine this: statistics show that a large number of adults lay awake at nights when they should be sleeping! Are you one of them? What is your reason for not being able to sleep? Sometimes we have to get to the root of the problem before we are able to fix the problem. Below, is my story and reason.
I was in an energy-zapping job and was doing way too much until I was totally burnt out, stressed and unable to perform to the best of my ability. The worst part of this all was that I could not sleep at nights! Have you ever been too tired to fall asleep? Well, I was. And it was horrible! As a result of my lack of sleep, I was having scary hallucinations that felt so real! I hit panic mode and sought out some counseling. More on that later.
My friend, on the other hand, couldn’t sleep because she had recently been diagnosed with the big C and the worry of the whole situation kept her up at nights. Poor thing tried so many different things that she was so overjoyed when she found one that actually worked.
I am hoping that you can find something here that will help you or your loved one.
My readings have shown me that people suffer from insomnia for a number of reasons: from chronic pain to not having the right mattress, to noise pollution and relationship issues, snoring, and everything in between. So the solution has to be something that’s tested and tried as not everything works for everyone! Point is, you may not get results with the first thing that you try.
If your sleep problem is caused by pain, then you need to address the cause of your pain first. I found a really helpful article about 30 natural pain relievers that can be used over on the CFAH website here: https://cfah.org/natural-pain-relievers/. Plenty of people really do advocate for the use of natural pain relievers and a lot can be said for that as there are often fewer side effects. That would be the reason that I would choose natural pain relievers. Did you know, for example, that yoga can help to relieve pain? There are also several products that you already have at home that can be used to combat pain. Check out the article and see which ones might work for you.
This post does contain affiliate links. The cost to you, should you decide to purchase a product, is not affected.
When I did counseling, I was told that you have to work at the root of what is causing your inability to sleep. For me, it was a stressful job that I wanted so badly to leave, and I told her. She asked me to think about how I saw myself in the big picture of things and also whether I was feeling less than the rest because so many people seemed to be coping when I clearly wasn’t! She suggested a few cheap reads that I cannot recommend enough! Honestly, they helped me to put things into perspective and to make some decisions regarding my life and future. The books are Introduction to Coping with Anxiety by Brenda Hogan and Leonora Brosan and An Introduction to Improving your Self Esteem by Leonora Brosan and Melanie Fennel.
The books actually opened my eyes to my reality and guided me as to how exactly to treat how I was feeling. Talk about soul searching! I had to face the problems head-on and make some drastic moves in my personal life and also my career. I even quit my job and to this day still, think I would have had a nervous breakdown if I didn’t. When you read my story you will understand why I had to do it.
Needless to say, my friend and I did try a few things to try to get that elusive sleep back to a regular pattern. Some worked but were only temporary. Others didn’t do anything for us but we’ve heard of others who have had luck with them. Like I said earlier, it’s a matter of trying them and seeing which one works for you. It’s just like taking the advice that people give about growing your hair! Some remedies work for some people but not for others. Here are some of the ones my friend and/or I tried
What will help you sleep
- Kalms herbal tablets (Some people swear by it but the first night I took it I had a funny feeling in my head so I didn’t take anymore). It was my friend Antoinette who told me about it. I’m all for herbal treatments but …
- Blinking your eyes really fast (you decide, lol)
- Having a warm drink before bed (I tried my favourite hot chocolate drink but I think it’s partly to be blamed for my weight gain (it’s easy to lay blame, isn’t it)
- Read a book (but who is going to switch the light off if you haven’t got a bedside light? And by the time you get up to switch the light off, you’ll be wide awake anyway)
- Deep breathing and concentrating on each breath (This actually worked for me for several months)
- Wake up at the same time every day (don’t know how this would help. After all the problem is falling asleep!) But some people say this has worked for them.
- Use window shades/blinds to block out light These ones have been a real Godsend to me and I’ve since told so many people who have also used them. If the problem is that too much light is getting in, you will need some proper block out blinds.
- Read boring classified ads on things you have no interest in (I did this for some time too and it did work but again there was the matter of the light when it’s time to fall asleep!
- Avoid high drama whether in your personal life or on TV before you fall asleep
- Listening to soothing music/talk. My friend says she has found a YouTube channel that has some sort of dreary male voice set against some equally dreary music and also a cloudy background that is bound to let you fall asleep. She says it works for her and she says it’s the man’s voice. It’s way too boring to keep listening to, plus he keeps saying things like ” In your mind’s eye, watch your body drift off into the clouds…just relax”. That particular one was actually a little over 3 hours long! That’s a long time to stay awake when you should be sleeping!
- Would you like to get a 365 Night Sleep Trial?
One of the really good thing to come out of my sleepless nights is that I would get up at nights and just write. In this post from the NHS, it is recommended that you get up and do something when you can’t fall asleep.
Writing helped me to get my head clear about what I was going through and to be able to encourage others. Some of my night writing is now published in this little book called Living Life While Squeezing Lemons. It is a lovely little read that is funny, yet practical and I would encourage you to also write your own book and make money from the fact that you had difficulty sleeping! What do you think?
$125 off plus two free pillows!
Shop Related Products
I would strongly suggest that you try some of the ideas and see what works best for you. There are many other things you could try and I’m confident you will get the result you are after. Whether it is medication or simple changes to your routine, or reading up and making changes to your life, it can be done. If not, you may need to see a counsellor or sleep specialist.
Summing up how to sleep better at night naturally
- try natural sleep aids that are available online
- get into a routine for sleep and wake up times
- try to get to the root of the problem that is keeping you up and sort it
- get up and do something until you feel sleepy
- avoid alcohol and other stimulants
- make some money from the fact that you can’t sleep (see what I did above)
Good luck with whatever you choose to do.
xoxo
Great links, very informative!
Lovely article, very informative!
Why thanks Paige! Stop by again soon!
Very informative. ….and I enjoy reading these, they are awesome.
Thanks Tia.
I’m going to start trying out some of these tips, I’ve not been sleeping lately. Great post by the way! Very informative and nicely done.
Congrats
~Adriana from http://theweirdbumblebee.co.uk/
Sorry to hear you havent been sleeping well. They say whatever it is you’re thinking about when you can’t sleep, is what is causing the insomnia! So first thing to do is to get that bit sorted first.
Hope you will be rejoicing soon that one or more of the tips has worked for you, I am sure you will be.
Thanks so much for stopping by.
xoxo
These are excellent tips and I have had lots of phases in my life that went on for months where I suffered from insomnia due to anxiety. Honestly, the deep breathing and concentrating on each breath, which sort of morphs into a self hypnosis is what works best for me. I have tried lots of different methods but really focusing on the breathing or transporting my mind into one place while focusing only on a single thing is what has helped. There are some podcasts with music or talks which are also great.
Great post! Getting to the root of any insomnia Is better than living with the condition without seeking help.
Yes! You gotta start at the beginning. Glad the post was of some help to you. Thanks for stopping by too!
Oh wow these are some great tips, I really need to take some of these on board!
http://Www.stepinsidemyhandbag.blogspot.co.uk
Sainab recently posted…Halal Goodies Box Review
I find that my mind is racing every night when trying to fall asleep. This sometimes results in hours upon hours of laying around trying to fall asleep.
I am constantly stressing and even panicking over my future/failures. I’ve been going on about 4 months of this now and I can’t find anything to slow my mind down besides pure exhaustion.
Sleeping pills don’t even work – I just lay there feeling extremely tired but still having the same issues. How can I get my mind off this dizzying track?
Very informative definitely getting to the root of the problem is important. Lots of good meditation apps to I used them when deployed.
Thanks for sharing what works well for you. As I say, different things work for different people.
Love these tips! I’m sharing with friends… I usually sleep OK unless I drink coffee after midday OR I’m worrying about something. But one of the tricks I was given and I found to be working is to actually get up and do something. That’ll tire you in the end so you’ll get to sleep. SO when i can’t sleep I get up and work – instead of waking up normal time the following day I sleep in and it works for me coz i work for myself. I usually feel good about it in the end coz I’ve made use of the time I’d normally waste.
I find when I struggle to sleep I try to meditate but still laying down as you don’t have to sit up to do it, it is very helpful! I also agree with the whole reading thing it is so hard isn’t when you finish and turn off the light and you’re awake again
http://www.pagesfrombeth.co.uk
never heard of blinking as an option 🙂
joy @ The Joyous Living
Enough good quality sleep is the key to vibrant good health……thanks for taking on an important topic and offering some ideas for solutions.
loved this post every step of the way
Other than listening to soothing music o haven’t heard of many of these tips especially blinking. I have eds so chronic pain stops me sleeping will definitely be giving some of these tips a try thanks
Very useful, like it
I don’t suffer from insomnia but I do suffer from other medical and mental illnesses. I love reading posts about health and mental illness. It’s very comforting to know others deal with this sort of thing like me and reading about others experiences really helps. Great job.
Meg
Very informative post and great tips!
Thank you for such informative blog article. This will surely be helpful to anyone who thinks that they are affected with this.
Im the same way. Ill be up on the couch finally falling asleep or already asleep and when i get up to go to my bed im wide awake again! Why is that?? Best wishes to your friend!!
i have not yet faced the problem of insomnia but you never know. your article is going to be handy if i ever face that.
Deep breathing really helps. But blinking? Okay, let me try this out and see if it works!
Great article!
Just wanted to five my insomnia-busting tips!
1 – Meditate – as much or as little as you have time for. It helps me too calm my mind before sleeping.
2 – Yoga & Cardio Exercise – I can’t think straight without raising my heart rate for at least 30 mins per day.
3 – Avoid Social Media – You know it’s true…haha! Living your life waiting for “likes” is the best way to increase stress and affect your sleep!!!
Hope this helps some of your readers.
Keep up the great work!
These are such great tips! Thanks for stopping by and for sharing.
Great tips – I’d like to add another one. My partner snores unbelievably loudly. I don’t sleep well anyway and it was a real problem. I was using the foam earplugs which you get on airplanes to block out the noise but it still kept me awake. Then a friend suggested wax earplugs and goodness me they make a huge difference. So I can sleep now but have to be careful that I can still hear the alarm to get up!
That’s a good one, Jane. I snore badly, and so does my sister. I am not bothered really by the noise (most times). I will look into them though and might add to my list of recommended products. Thanks so much for stopping by.
“Blinking your eyes really fast”? That’s really an odd one that I have never heard of, but I am sure when you’re desperate to get sleep—that’s NEVER been my problem, thankfully—you’ll do anything to make it happen. Thanks for enlightening me on how best to combat insomnia.
Waking up at the same time every day helped me. Something about waking up at the same time gives your body kind of a set clock. So it’ll start getting sleepy and tired around the same time every night too. Great tips! I should read that book! Definitely sending this article to my boyfriend who suffers heavily with insomnia.
I go in Cycles with struggling with my sleep. Sometimes I watch infomercials or listen to David Attenborough which totally puts me to sleep LOL
I struggle with this so much, I totally get you. I need to cultivate better sleep habits.
Insomnia is awful! I honestly felt like I had forgotten how to sleep when I had it. Sleep is precious and you certainly realize that when you can’t get it.
My insomnia turned out to be a symptom of Graves Disease. I think it’s so important we get down to the why and talk to our doctors. Getting a diagnosis and treatment helped so much. Now I sleep like a baby ♡.
Thanks for sharing your tips and experiences with us 🙂
I had to laugh about the man with the “boring voice”… I wonder what he felt about his voice… probably relaxing.
We all have some time when we can’t get to sleep – so it is like you say – finding the cause. Good tips!
Buying the right cushioning for your upper body and positioning it correctly is one of the most important parts of sleeping success. It is a very comforting feeling to have just the right height and softness beneath you to rest an achy, tired, over-thinking head on.
Fitness has a ton of benefits, it doesn’t have to take all day and it doesn’t have to cost a fortune! we should all be investing time in our bodies.
Poor sleep has a big impact on your cognitive performance. This manifests itself in two main ways: speed and accuracy
In our busy lives and schedules, and among all the numerous commitments and obligations that we have going on, we often forget to take care of ourselves.
Lot’s of good advice. I struggle with getting to sleep because of my anxiety. Always thinking even when I should be sleeping. Like you suggest, I have some warm green tea before bed sometimes and that helps. Thanks for the sleep tips. I will try them out.
This blog post has proven to be very useful. but I would like to add that a good mattress also plays a major role in a good night sleep
Hi, I have read so many articles and reviews but this one is really nice, keep it up.
Hey, this is the great article THAT was written by your team. I love to read this kind of articles when I get free myself, I have only one request that you write always like this for your users like me.
very informative
What a fascinating and informative blog! So happy you figured out the sleeping thing. Thank you for sharing!
Hey there,
Thanks for this article, is insightful and interesting, my name is Fred, my grandma suffers from insomnia, and have been trying to help her get some sleep, through this article, have learned some tips that she will put into practice.
Thank you
Great Post! This is very helpful for health & Sleep. I will follow this tips & I am glad to read this awesome article. thanks for sharing such a great post.
Thank you so much for sharing your valuable knowledge with us. I am very much enjoying when reading your content. Your content is most useful for us.
I am facing difficulty when it comes to sleep. Especially in nights. I am restless and more often stressed. I don’t know if I am suffering from insomnia or not. Will go to the doctor. Thanks for the tips.