Nearly half of the UK have trouble falling asleep at least once a month and within that over 36% of UK adults struggle to get to sleep at least once a weekly basis.
With prescriptions rates of insomnia medication at an all time high, we are here with 5 simple ways to help you get a better nights sleep.
1. Reduce blue light exposure:
The natural sleep-and-wake cycle, or circadian rhythm is controlled by varying normal exposure to different colours of light.
Blue light has a higher energy than other colours as well as a shorter wavelength which blocks your bodies ability to produce a hormone called melatonin that helps aiding the ability to fall asleep. Meaning reducing blue light exposure before bed is essential.
Ways to reduce blue light exposure:
- wear blue light blocking glasses
- turning on night mode or buying blue light screen filter
- switching lightbulbs that contain less blue light
- turning off screens 2-4 hours before bed
2. Read a book:
Stress is one of the top reasons that you can have difficulties sleeping. Reading has been proven to help reduce stress making it a great option to help you wind down before going to sleep.
Also focusing on reading helps to disconnect from your electronic devices which can also impact to bring down your stress levels and allow you to focus on getting a good nights rest.
3. Meditate:
Meditation is a relaxation technique that has been heavily researched over the years, most notable benefits being how it can help reduce cortisol levels, which is the hormone associated with stress, which as we know - negatively impacts the bodies ability to get enough rest.
During meditation, the brain shows predominantly theta waves. These are the wave types that are linked with a relaxed state of mind, compared to alpha waves, which are linked with an aroused state of mind.
Meditation can help to quiet the mind, increases the natural melatonin levels, alongside with the reduction of cortisol both will help with more restful sleep.
Tips to help meditate:
- start with smaller meditations and build up as you feel more confident
- use an app or youtube tutorials to help guide you
- find the right type of meditation that works for you
4. Drink herbal tea:
Adding in herbal teas to your bedtime routine can be a simple, cost effective and supportive addition to help increase your sleep. Many of the herbs used within the teas are often used predominantly as natural remedies to help reduce stress, promote relaxation and increase sleep.
The specific herbs that are used can affect specific neurotransmitters within the brain that can help to improve the quality of sleep, help to decrease cortisol, stress and anxiety which in turn helps you be able to fall asleep faster.
Our top pick teas:
5. Take melatonin supplement:
Melatonin is produced by the pineal gland which is located in your brain. It is a natural hormone with the main function of controlling your sleep cycle. Melatonin is produced by the body as a response to a change in light exposure, being produced when it gets dark and acts on receptors in your body to encourage sleep.
If you are somebody who struggles to fall asleep, then taking a melatonin supplement may be worthwhile in order to help you get back into a more positive sleep cycle. There are also many more supplements that we have listed below that can help just as well.
Note that it is more worthwhile to implement the previous tips before resulting to using melatonin supplements. The use of them should be as a temporary measure for no longer than 1-2 months.
Supplements that can help support sleep:
