If you’re like me, there are going to be nights where falling asleep is impossible.
You know the kind of nights I’m talking about. There are so many things running through your head. You’re thinking about your job, or money or just the stress of day-to-day living.
And if you live in the country, the crickets are making you crazy. If you live in the city, each street noise makes you irritable. Maybe you had too much caffeine during the day and you’re jittery.
If you have chronic insomnia, like I do, you’ve learned to cope with it. After all, insomnia is a sleep disorder that you have for life. You’ve learned to function, even though you’re groggy, and sleep deprived. The coffee shop is your best friend, and they don’t even have to ask anymore. They see you and they know what to fix.
But, did you know that your sleep habits or the habits that lead to you not sleeping are actually something that you can control?
Let’s address some of the issues that are within our control.
Do You Drink Too Much Caffeine?
First of all, if you are a caffeine addict, wait for a weekend and stop drinking coffee. Or, at least stop drinking mega doses of caffeinated drinks.
Limit your caffeine intake to eight ounces before 12 Noon. Even decaf coffee and tea have small caffeine. So avoid it, limit your doses, drink it early and if you’re like me – warn everyone you’re going caffeine free for a day or two.
Do You Drink Too Much Alcohol?
And, whether you know it or not, if you have problems sleeping, you should avoid drinking alcohol. While that one drink too many may help you pass out, the rest you get will not be quality sleep.
Drinking enough alcohol to get to sleep also assures that you won’t be in the best shape the next day.
Are you fighting your body’s natural sleeping clock?
I’m a night owl. My circadian rhythm (the body’s internal clock) functions properly if I sleep between 9AM and 4PM, which is when I should be devoted to work.
Is Your Body Clock Working Correctly?
While your body’s clock may not be as off balance as mine, setting and keeping a schedule when it comes to sleep is important.
My wife works late and early shifts on alternating weeks. Having to go to bed and get up at wildly different hours makes it impossible for her body to set its internal clock properly. She too has problems getting to sleep.
Unfortunately there are things that are not under our control, especially today. Stress plays a large part in why many people have sleepless nights.
While you are trying to go to sleep, if you are thinking about your job, money, family problems, bad relationships or any situation in your life that is causing you anxiety, it makes getting to sleep difficult. Depression, which is something that many people suffer from, also contributes to sleepless nights.
Are You Managing Your Stress?
You can’t remove stress from your life. You can only manage it. This is where proper diet and exercise come in. Making sure your body is getting the nutrition it needs is the foundation to stress management.
If necessary, seek counseling. Talking to someone about your problems can do a world of good. If necessary, your counselor or physician may prescribe a medication that can help you manage stress or depression. This can be the first step in getting a restful night of sleep.
Try to stay on a steady sleep schedule. Even if your work schedule is not fixed, your sleep schedule can be. Going to be and getting up at the same time reinforces your circadian rhythm. This will in turn make it easier for you to get a night of quality.
You might also want to think about changing some of the things in your bedroom.
Is Your Bedroom Comfortable?
If you can afford it, it may be time for you to replace your mattress. A too soft or too hard mattress may be keeping you up a night.
Also, make sure your curtains are heavy enough to block out sunlight, so that you don’t find yourself rising with the sun, especially in the summer. Unless it’s 100% guaranteed to put you to sleep, don’t read or watch TV in bed.
I use the air conditioner for white noise in the summer, and a cheap sound effects machine (with nature noises) in the winter. I also block the alarm clock display with a tissue box, so I’m not constantly looking at the time, wondering when I’m going to get to sleep.
There were still nights, when I found myself awake, tossing and turning. If you still can’t get to sleep, get up and do something. Try to avoid being over stimulated during the work week, so reading is, more often than not, a good choice to help you sleep. After half an hour of reading, try sleeping again.
If after a half an hour, you still can’t sleep, try reading again.
There are nights, when I literally cannot get to sleep. So, I try to reset my body clock by staying up all night. Eventually, the next night exhaustion will push me to sleep.
Except, sometimes it doesn’t. And I find myself wide awake and exhausted at 3AM, when most people are blissfully asleep.
If you’ve found yourself haunted by the inability to sleep and sleep well, here’s what you can do:
- Eat your dinner early, and make sure you have three hours to digest your food.
- Don’t drink heavily. Alcohol is not your friend if you have insomnia.
- Don’t drink anything with caffeine and that includes soda.
Use Alteril Before You Go To Bed
Learn More about Alteril Then, two hours before your usual bedtime, take Alteril, a natural sleep aid, which has melatonin – also found in milk. Because the ingredients in Alteril are all natural, you don’t have a lot of side affects usually associated with prescription drugs.
In the last hour before you are due to go to sleep avoid activities that are stimulating. No balancing your budget, no confrontations with the family, and these days, no talking about politics. Surfing the net is good and so is reading a book, especially one you’ve already read.
Now, you’re ready to get eight hours of sleep, and you should sleep, very well indeed.
If you take charge of the things you can control, such as no caffeine late in the day, no large meals right before lights out and keeping to a strict schedule, even on the weekends, you have a better chance of beating insomnia.
Make sure your bedroom and your bed is only used for sleeping and sex, and you should keep the room cool and dark.
Taking Alteril sleep aid and using the Alteril Sleep Aid System will help you avoid prescription medications, but if your insomnia lasts for more than a month – see a doctor.
It’s a good idea to have regular visits to your doctor.
Managing your stress and taking control of your sleep habits are key factors in getting a good night’s sleep. Adding a proven natural sleep aid, like Alteril should ensure that no matter how crazy your life gets, at night, you’ll sleep like a baby.
How Alteril Sleep Aid Works
Alteril contains four ingredients proven to help a person sleep. The ingredients are L-Tryptophan, Melatonin, Valerian and L-Theanine.
L-Tryptophan
If you remember your parents giving you warm milk to drink before you went to bed as a child, you’ve experienced the effects of Tryptophan. Another food rich in Tryptophan is chocolate.
Tryptophan is an essential amino acid. Essential simply means the human body can’t produce it and it must be taken in through the foods we eat or the supplements we take.
Tryptophan triggers the production of seratonin, which leads not only to feelings of well being, but is also involved in sleep control.
Melatonin
Your body has an internal clock or circadian rhythm, which is regulated by melatonin. The amount of melatonin varies throughout the day and this is part of what regulates your body’s waking and sleeping cycles.
Light affects the production of melatonin, so it is strongly suggested that you have curtains thick enough to stop light from coming into your bedroom.
Some people who take melatonin supplements report an increase in dreams that are very vivid.
While researching autism, a study showed that melatonin decreases the amount of time it takes to go from wakefulness to sleep and increases the total amount of time that you sleep.
Valerian
Valerian is an herb, that is sometimes called all-heal. Valerian has been used by herbalists for centuries.
Only recently has any kind of scientific analysis been done on the benefits of this herb. It has been used as a sedative, specifically for nervous tension and stress.
L-Theanine
L-Theanine is an amino acid that has been extracted from tea. Theanine has been proven to reduce physical and mental stress, while improving cognition. The benefits of L-Theanine is fueling the green tea industry in the United States.
A small human test group in Great Britain show higher immune response when given L-Theanine.
By combining elements proven to help reduce stress, act as a sedative, get you to sleep faster and help you sleep longer, Alteril Sleep Aid has found a common sense approach to helping you get a good night’s sleep.