Tips for a Good Night’s Sleep

Having trouble sleeping? try these strategies:

• Find out whether or not you have a food intolerance or a blood sugar problem.
  
  
• If stress is a problem, seek counseling to learn how to relax, set boundaries and manage your stress.
  
  
• Visit a physician or a sleep clinic to rule out sleep disorders such as sleep apnea.
  
  
• Tune in to your body's signals. Notice when you start feeling sleepy in the evening, and try going to bed at that point.
  
  
• Create soothing rituals as part of a bedtime routine.
  
  
• Don't use the bed for activities other than sex and sleep.
  
  
• Create a quiet, dark, comfortable atmosphere in the bedroom.
  
  
• Make sure your mattress and pillows are comfortable.
  
  
• Go to bed and wake up at fairly consistent times.
  
  
• Exercise regularly (but not too late at night).
  
  
• Do relaxation exercises in the evening such as meditation, visual imagery, breathing exercises or progressive muscle relaxation.
  
  
• Take a warm bath before bed (not a hot one), perhaps with Epsom salts or lavender essential oil.
  
  
• Drink tea that includes relaxing herbs such as chamomile, hops, lavender, passionflower or valerian.
  
  
• If sleeplessness is an ongoing problem that you can't seem to resolve, consult a health practitioner.

Contributors: Steve Milkis, ND, and John Hibbs, ND.
Date: 2003

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