14 Ways To Get To Sleep.

Did the Sandman forget where you live? Is sleep eluding you? Do you find yourself waking up all night long? Maybe it’s from tossing and turning? Are you looking to count some z’s and they seem to escape you at every turn? Read on my friends to find a solution to get the sleep you need.

Why is sleep being evasive?

How many cups of that oh so good tasting coffee did you just have right before bedtime?

Is the temperature in your house too cold or too hot?

Are you wearing too tight or too loose of clothing or are you wearing anything at all?

Are the lights shining in your room too many and too bright?

Is your bed new or well worn?

Do you suffer from a medical problem?

Or in my case, restless leg syndrome.

Are you sharing your bed with an unmovable, ten ton animal? (my case it’s my cats)

Are you stressing about something in life? And I’m not just talking about the obvious school, work, money, family, bills, Ect…

There are so many reasons that I could go on and on, but that’s not why you’re reading this. If you are like me and just want to find a better solution to get some sleep before you go insane, maybe all it takes is to know that you’re not the only one that suffers from the lack of shut eye.

Just like there’s as many reasons why you CAN’T get to sleep, there are just as many ways you CAN get sleep. It just takes finding the right one for you. But you don’t even know where to begin looking for the sandman. Well, here is a list of 14 ways I have found that helped me close my peepers for the night that might even help you.

14 Ways To Catch The Sandman

1 Let’s start with the easiest thing first and that’s to change your sheets and blankets on your bed. Yep, you heard me. Clean or new sheets and blankets can make a world of difference sometimes.

Even try washing them in a lavender or chamomile scent laundry soap, which is supposed to be smells that can help you relax.

2 Change what you’re wearing. I know for the past few nights I couldn’t sleep because my nightgown/t-shirt was too loose and kept riding up. Once I changed into a different nightgown, I slept pretty well.

3 Cover all the lights in your room from that little red light on your TV, your power strip button, to the blinking lights from your computer, or any other lights you have in your bedroom, including getting some blackout curtains for all your windows.

I even put my phone against my alarm clock for two reasons: 1 to block out the light and 2 so that I’m not tempted to keep checking the clock every few minutes.

When it’s dark, look around your room. It will surprise you how many little lights there are when you’re actually looking for them.

4 What temperature do you have your house set at? They say a pleasant temperature to set your thermostat to at night is between 65 to 67. But I like it just a bit cooler around 60 and my brother he likes it in the 70s so find the temperature that’s right for you.

5 Did you know going for a walk outside can help calm you down a lot right before bed?

6 If going outside at night for a walk is not the best idea where you live, then stay indoors and try meditating or yoga.

7 Have a good book next to your bed only problem with that is, if it’s too good of a book you won’t want to put it down and will keep reading it.

Think back to when you were in school. Was there any subject that required reading that made you want to doze off? If so, get a book on that subject. In my case, there would be way too many books on my nightstand. I hated school growing up. Until college, that is.

8 Try taking a warm bath or shower to relax your muscles before you hop into bed.

9 Make sure you’re in bed at the same time every night (good luck with that one)

10 Keep your bed only for sleep, and well, Other Pleasant Things. I mean, don’t use your bed to do your schoolwork on, or those bills that are due next week, not even to play on your computer. Keep it for sleeping on.

11 Try sleeping on your back unless that is uncomfortable for you, then try the left side (that seems to work for me).

12 Try flipping your bed over/around or move it to a different spot in your bedroom. Maybe have your head facing north and your feet pointing south, works for me.

13 If you do wake up and can’t get back to sleep, DON’T turn on the TV or grab your phone. The light from those will wake you up all the way.

Make yourself a cup of warm milk or a cup of chamomile tea. (Hot cocoa and chamomile tea with honey are my go-to’s for when I can’t sleep).

14 get your self a noise machine to help block out all sounds.

I like the one listed below because you can’t hear the loop like other sound machines.

There are quite a few different ways to help you get to sleep and I hope you find the one that will work for you.

I even tried the 4, 7, 8 trick = so you’re supposed to inhale through your nose for a mental count of 4, hold your breath for a count of 7, then let it out your mouth slowly for a count of 8 and repeat these steps 4 more times.

Which is supposed to help you distress and relax, but it never worked for me. Maybe it might work for you. I mean, just like the yoga and meditation helps me relax, but it doesn’t help with finding the sandman.

Smells To Calm You

Lavender= releases tension and restlessness, calms your thoughts, unwinds you, stress and anxiety reliever, sedative effects

Chamomile= calms you down., good for the heart, tranquillizer to the brain, and has sedative effects

Vanilla= soothing scent, lowers your blood pressure, puts you in a relaxed state, ladys beware of the smell (side note: it’s a natural aphrodisiac for men)

Jasmine= calming effect on nervous system, releases restlessness and irritability, sometimes stronger than sleeping pills, most effective, alleviate stress, anxiety, the tea contains caffeine so go easy at bedtime, (side note: the smell is an aphrodisiac it may heighten sexual desire in men and women)

Valerian root= relax muscles, reduce anxiety and hyperactivity, reduce insomnia. It’s an anti-inflammatory, however it may take weeks to be felt, (more side effects than the others)

These smells/teas/oils may help with sleep in some people, but they’re better for:

peppermint= relieves headaches and migraines, increased alertness, enhances memory, helps with sinuses, lack of energy, relaxes the stomach muscles, lowers blood pressure

rosemary = better memory, alertness, intelligence, anti-inflammatory, improve blood flow, lowers anxiety, improved sleep quality

Fun Tidbits Of Information About Sleep

4 nights without sleep can cause you to start hallucinating

11 Nights was the longest a person has gone without sleep. Record goes to Randy Gardner from the US.

8 days straight was the longest anyone has slept. Way to go Peter Powers from the UK.

3 hours of sleep and a person can function normally

No matter what you do to stay awake once the brain says enough, you go night, night.

Age changes your brain signals. That’s why older people go to bed earlier and get up later.

Side Note

My mom has to have the T.V. playing. She sleeps on her right side, and she likes a night light on in her room. But to top it off, she can’t go to bed without a cup of coffee or two. She is just plain weird, but I love her anyway.

Sleep cycles

REM = rapid eye movement dreaming 90 minutes after you fall asleep
NREM= non- rem. There are 3 stages to this:
N1= light sleep easily woken up
N2= slow brain waves
N3= hard to wake up. This is when your body repairs itself.
Most sleep cycles are about 90 minutes long and the most important one is N3, the deepest sleep