Natural sleep aids: Home remedies that help you fall asleep

Natural sleep aids: Home remedies that help you fall asleep

Are you having trouble falling into a peaceful, restful sleep? You're not the only one who sits awake at night: more than 8 million Germans suffer from poor sleep quality.

Disturbed sleep is more than just an inconvenience that leaves you tired the next day: it can affect your emotional and physical health. It negatively affects your memory, concentration and mood and increases your risk of depression, obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure.

Luckily, there are simple, natural solutions that can improve your sleep, says Dr. Charlene Gamaldo, medical director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Sleep at Howard County General Hospital.

“It’s not always necessary to get a prescription for a sleeping pill,” she says. “There are natural ways to change sleep habits.”

Five tips for better sleep

Drink enough

No, no alcohol, which can affect sleep. Gamaldo recommends warm milk, chamomile tea and tart cherry juice to patients with sleep problems.

Although there's no scientific evidence that these late-night drinks improve sleep, it can't hurt to try them, says Gamaldo. She recommends it to patients who want treatment without side effects or drug interactions.

"It has long been thought that warm milk contains chemicals that simulate the effects of tryptophan on the brain. This is a chemical building block for the substance serotonin, which is involved in the sleep-wake transition," says Gamaldo.

Chamomile tea can also be helpful. “It is thought to contain flavonoids that interact with benzodiazepine receptors in the brain, which are also involved in the sleep-wake transition,” she explains.

In addition, chamomile tea does not contain caffeine, unlike green tea or Earl Grey. Finally, tart cherry juice could promote melatonin production and support a healthy sleep cycle.

Movement

Physical activity can improve sleep, although researchers aren't entirely sure why. Moderate aerobic exercise is known to increase the number of nourishing slow waves (deep sleep).

But you have to time it right: Gamaldo says aerobic exercise releases endorphins, chemicals that keep people alert. (That's why you feel so energetic after a run.)

In addition, core body temperature may increase; this increase in temperature signals to the body that it is time to get up and get going. If you have trouble sleeping, you should avoid exercising two hours before bed.

Use melatonin supplements

“Melatonin is a hormone that is naturally released in the brain four hours before sleep,” says Gamaldo. It is triggered by the body's response to reduced exposure to light, which of course should happen at night.

These days, however, there's plenty of light when it's dark outside - be it from your phone, laptop or TV. This unnatural exposure to light prevents the release of melatonin, which can make it difficult to fall asleep. Fortunately, melatonin is available in tablet form from your pharmacy as an over-the-counter preparation.

Sleep in the cool

“The ideal temperature for your thermostat is between 18 and 23 degrees,” says Gamaldo. Menopausal women who experience hot flashes should keep the room as cool as possible and wear cotton or breathable fabrics to bed.

darkness

The light from a smartphone is known to affect sleep. But what about the light in your bathroom? If you need to go to the bathroom at night, don't turn on the light. “The latest recommendation is to use a flashlight if you have to get up at night,” says Gamaldo, because it causes less visual disruption. And remember: If you wake up for a bathroom break, it may take up to 30 minutes to get back to sleep. “It’s completely normal,” she says.
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