Not being able to fall asleep is both irritating and bad for your health.
When you struggle with falling asleep, you could probably write a book on all the sleep-inducing solutions you've tried. There's the relaxing music technique, then the graduation to drinking sleep teas before eventually walking down the sleep medication aisle at your local grocer. It's no wonder all of these attempts have led you to long for the night when you can just fall asleep naturally. The old-fashioned way of enjoying drowsiness before a full night's rest presents a modern-day solution -- it's addressing the core problem to your restlessness.
Poor Bedtime Routine
While it's true that your body will grow tired, not everyone turns this tiredness into a routine that prepares them for bed. Successful sleepers don't just fall asleep, they have a bedtime routine. Every night, at a specific time, a successful sleeper starts the process of winding down. This can begin by taking a hot bath or shower, sitting in a comfy chair or enjoying some light reading.
When your inability to fall asleep is a result of your bedtime routine, mimic what sound sleepers do. Avoid holding any exciting conversation about an arousing subject right before bed. Keep lights dim and lower your home's temperature to prepare your body for a comfortable night of sleep.
Stress
Stress is an instinctive human reaction that produces hormones designed to keep you alert, prepared and awake. When stress is your bedtime problem, you may find yourself worrying about things instead of falling asleep. An effective way to rid yourself of this stress is to create a list before you begin your bedtime routine. Write down five major things that are bothering you, then write a possible solution for each one. Even if a solution is to wait and see or to ask for help from someone, write it down as an answer. Do this every night to help you gain a sense of control over what could be an overwhelming compilation of life situations.
Your Diet
Food naturally influences the way both your brain and body function. This is why you have to be careful what you eat before going to bed. In times when people didn't have a cabinet full of sleep medications, they had knowledge of what foods they could eat to help them fall asleep. Some of these food items are milk (which should be served warm), chicken, bananas and yogurt. For small bedtime meals, enjoy a bowl of cereal or bread and cheese. The secret to these snacks is that they all contain tryptophan, which is a sleep promoting substance.
Loneliness
Sometimes the best remedy to help you fall asleep is to simply have a good old-fashioned, heart-to-heart talk. With modern technology providing Americans with the Internet, social media networks and television, it can be hard to accept that you could still be lonely. A person who is feeling lonely may have a hard time falling asleep or have poor quality sleep while resting. To cure this ailment, reach out to a loved one or friend. Let her know you just want to talk. The act of listening and being heard is enough to ward off feelings of isolation and detachment.
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