One in four Americans develops insomnia each year and 25% of them develop acute insomnia. With it becoming increasingly common for American adults to develop insomnia, it is becoming increasingly evident that more effort must be taken to help fall asleep in a natural way or rather reduce the amount of obstruction between when you get into bed and when you fall asleep. 

Before we get into how to fall asleep in a natural way let’s have a look at some of the side symptoms of long term and short term insomnia:

• Shift in cognitive abilities – you start to make more mistakes and forget more. There is an increase in clumsiness causing more accidents
• A major shift in mood – mood swings, increase in irritability and depression
• Issues with memory and remembering both short term and long term memories
• Trouble falling asleep and remaining asleep throughout the night – waking up several times during the night
• Waking up too early and not being able to go back to sleep
• Feeling tired and sluggish throughout the day – an overall sense of grogginess

Insomnia can’t always be cured naturally. It depends on the severity of the disorder. It always best to consult a doctor before trying anything out. Natural remedies tend to help better with short term insomnia. Chronic insomnia on the other hand may need medication depending on what the doctor thinks is best for your specific condition. We’re always of the firm belief that no matter what your condition and even if you do have to take medication, we should always do everything in our power to live, eat, sleep, and function in the healthiest way possible. And hence, the tips that are given below fall in line with this belief. 

Tips to help you fall asleep naturally when you have insomnia:

1. Meditation, discipline, and mantras

Meditation is one of the most effective ways to calm the mind and regulate body function. It’s easier to go to sleep when there isn’t so much noise in your head. Often times, one of the main reasons for not being able to go to sleep is having racing thoughts. Meditation can help with that. The discipline that comes with meditation helps you to control your thoughts too. This helps both inside the body and outside. Regulate your thoughts on the inside and this helps to regulate your actions and habits on the outside. And finally, mantras help to stay focused and disciplined. Follow simple mantras like eat clean and live a clean life. Or Exercising for half an hour a day will help with blood flow. Or even as simple as an apple a day keeps the doctor away. These mantras will keep you active, will give you positive things to focus, will make you healthier, and will help to clear your mind and leave less space for negative thoughts. 

Meditation doesn’t come easy to anyone. It takes time and a lot of practice but just because you can’t do it today doesn’t mean you can’t do it tomorrow. Start today and work towards improving. Try this out-

• Start with finding a quiet space, it can be anywhere in your house as long as it feels good and is quiet. 
• You can sit or lie down, the choice is yours. Whatever makes you the most comfortable. Since you are trying to sleep perhaps lying down would be a better option. 
• Since you are trying to calm the mind, slowing down is part of calming down. Slowing down your breathing will help you calm down. So close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Time your breathing to the count to help you regulate. Breathing techniques also help to regulate body function, oxygenation of the blood, and much more. Close your mouth and inhale through your nose slowly as you mentally count to 4. Hold your breath as you count to 7. Exhale through your mouth slowly as you count to 8. Keep doing this and with the time you will get into the habit and will not have to mentally count anymore.
• Try to keep your mind as clear as possible. Focusing on your breathing does help with that. If any thoughts do enter your mind then calmly let them go and refocus on your breathing again. 
• Use the meditation techniques provided by the iband+ to help you meditate and de-stress before bedtime. 

2. Eating 

What you eat and your nutrient intake definitely affects how your mind and body function. It’s the toughest to change your diet altogether and we don’t recommend you doing that because the chances of you going back into your old habits are far greater. What we do recommend you do is make little tweaks to your diet so they are more long-lasting. 

• Alcohol surprisingly can have a positive and negative affect. While some researches have shown that alcohol can help to fall asleep faster and remain in deep sleep. However, you wake up just as fast once the alcohol wears off and this causes you to wake up very abruptly from the deepest stages of sleep. Too much alcohol can also worsen sleep apnea and insomnia. Researches have shown that while it worsens sleep problems it also increases your chances of sleepwalking and talking and also causes several kinds of memory problems. Regulate your intake of alcohol. If you are the kind that drinks every day then stick one glass of wine a day. Preferably red wine since it helps to lower bad cholesterol keeps your heart healthy regulates blood sugar, and reduces the risk of cancer. 
• Avoid spicy food. Eating too much spicy food can cause acidity, ulcers, and heartburn. All these cause immense discomfort and impact sleep. Chilies are also known to increase core body temperature and while your body lowers its temperature naturally when you sleep it automatically becomes tougher to fall asleep when your core temperature is higher than it should be. Avoid eating spicy and heavy foods before bedtime or rather post-sunset. Keep it light, keep and fresh and cool.  
• Foods that are high in fat lead to weight gain if one doesn’t work out enough to burn all the excessive energy. This leads to to the body becoming less sensitive to the chemical orexin that is released by the brain which regulates the body’s sleep clock. Thus obstructing sleeping patterns. Instead of fatty foods try to eat complex carbohydrates like oatmeal, whole wheat, or multi-grain bread. These foods help the body to release serotonin which is the sleep hormone.  
• Research has shown that taking a magnesium supplement can help improve sleep. Magnesium is known to increase levels of gamma-Aminobutyric acid enhances relaxation as well as sleep. 

3. Sunlight

Exposing yourself to natural sunlight in the morning can prove to be highly beneficial and will help you sleep better at night. Sunlight helps to warm up the body and regulate body temperature. Sunlight also acts as an aid to lessen the production of the stress hormone cortisol. Lastly, it helps to boost serotonin production. Several studies have been done on light therapy or rather phototherapy in relation to insomnia and how it helps. Most importantly; sunlight helps to boost melatonin production which helps you fall asleep. Make sure to get at least half an hour of sunlight in the mornings to get a good start to the day. 

Struggling from not getting enough sleep due to insomnia can be cumbersome and can impact every aspect of your life. Make small changes to your lifestyle and routine to help alleviate your sleeping issues. It’s easier to stick to the smaller changes for longer periods of time and eventually turn them into lifelong habits.