7 Natural Sleep Tips for Insomnia

Ever find yourself staring at the ceiling, unable to drift off to sleep, no matter what you take or how hard you try?

Do you wake up feeling more exhausted than when you went to bed and find yourself fighting off to sleep throughout the day?

You're not alone in dealing with your sleeping problems, and solutions that work for some people may not work for you.

According to the National Council on Aging, about 30% of adults experience insomnia symptoms with 10% suffering severely enough to impact daytime activities. Some studies suggest insomnia and other sleep problems could affect up to 60% of the population.

As the most common sleep-related issue, insomnia can lead to serious consequences that contribute to other mental and physical ailments.

Many people who have trouble sleeping try prescription sleeping pills or over-the-counter sleep aids, but these come with a host of side effects. You may wake up feeling groggy, have problems with memory or attention, feel mentally slow, and more. Even more concerning, some prescription sleep aids are addictive.

So, what helps insomnia without the side effects?

In this post, you’ll learn seven essential natural sleep tips for insomnia to help you transform your nights and reclaim your days with renewed energy and vitality.

1) Stick to a Consistent Sleep Schedule

One of the most effective sleep tips for insomnia is to maintain a consistent sleep schedule. However, for many, that may sound easier said than done.

Going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, including weekends, helps regulate your body's internal clock. This means you’ll need to be diligent in creating a nighttime routine you enjoy.

In the Overcoming Insomnia course, Dr. Shane Creado shares how essential regulating your body's internal clock, also known as the circadian rhythm, is to your physical and mental health.

He’ll go over ways you can train your brain to recognize when it's time to wind down, making it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep. The most crucial step in overcoming insomnia is preparing your mind for quality sleep so you can fall asleep and stay asleep.

2) Optimize Your Sleep Environment

The best investment you can make in your bedtime routine is creating a sanctuary for deep sleeping. To create your ideal sleep environment, try the following methods to set a foundation for better sleep hygiene:

• Keep your bedroom cool, dark, and quiet.
• Invest in comfortable pillows, comforters, and quality mattress.
• Plan your last meal no less than 3 to 4 hours before bedtime.

With consistency in your routine, you can begin to incorporate more of Dr. Creado's recommendations to help reduce the negative impact of light and noise on sleep. For example, consider getting blackout curtains, earplugs, or a white noise machine to eliminate external disturbances.

Removing electronic devices from the bedroom can also significantly improve sleep hygiene for those seeking insomnia help.

3) Develop a Calming Bedtime Self-Care Routine

Now that you’ve committed to having a consistent sleep schedule and creating a calming bedtime environment, the next step is to focus on self-care. Signaling your body to wind down is often a neglected step, especially if you’re dealing with high stress at work or struggling with anxious thoughts.

In this course, Dr. Creado shares methods to reduce pre-sleep stress and calm inner anxiety. Activities can include reading a novel or uplifting nonfiction book, taking a warm bath, and practicing meditation or deep breathing to calm your nervous system.

Find the stress-relieving strategy that’s right for you to get help sleeping and transition from wakefulness to restfulness from now on.

4) Mind Your Diet and Hydration

Ever felt that mid-day slump even after drinking a few cups of coffee? Do you ever struggle with a headache that keeps you up at night? Truthfully, your nutrition and hydration levels greatly impact your sleep.

Spikes in blood sugar from overly processed foods and fatigue after another sleepless night make overcoming insomnia feel impossible. 

Here are some ways to start to make healthier dietary choices to promote better sleep:

• Hydration is crucial, but too much before bed can disrupt sleep.
• Avoid consuming caffeine or heavy meals close to bedtime.
• Opt for lighter protein snacks such as yogurt, peanut butter, or small fruits.
• Take natural supplements like BrainMD’s Restful Sleep 30 minutes before bed.

Dr. Creado’s tips in this course can help you rebuild a relationship between your diet, hydration, and sleep. Sometimes you just need that extra support to help your body work in harmony as you wind down. 

5) Incorporate Regular Exercise

Fatigue often follows a lack of quality sleep, and poor sleep can sabotage your fitness goals. Whether you want to engage in gentle movement like yoga or you’d like to train for a marathon, you need to get good sleep.

By the same token, you need regular physical activity to help regulate sleep patterns and alleviate insomnia symptoms.

Essentially, exercise is one of the most effective natural ways to improve sleep quality. Working out earlier in the day can enhance your sleep by reducing stress and helping to regulate your circadian rhythm.

Good news, you don’t need to spend hours in the gym. Just 30 minutes of moderate exercise 3 to 4 days a week will provide benefits. You can create a personalized strength training plan, have fun at a dance or kickboxing class, and build resilience in a yoga or Pilates session.

In the Overcoming Insomnia course, Dr. Creado stresses the importance of timing your activities and shares one exercise habit that can actually impair quality sleep.

6) Address The Root Causes to Manage Stress and Anxiety

If you didn’t already know, stress and anxiety are major and common contributors to insomnia. Learning to manage these conditions can significantly improve your sleep quality.

Mindfulness techniques, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and journaling can be incredibly effective tools when looking at sleep problems and solutions.

In the Overcoming Insomnia course, Dr. Creado offers strategies to address excessive wakefulness of the brain—also known as hyperarousal—and goes over different factors that mask sleepiness.

Start addressing these root causes to help you create a more peaceful mind that’s conducive to deeper sleep.

7) Optimize Daytime Habits

What you do when the sun is out determines how well you sleep when the sun goes down. While napping is tempting, especially if you’re not sleeping well, it can interfere with your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep later.

Napping doesn’t have to be a net negative. If you must, keep it short (no more than 30 minutes) and early in the afternoon.

Exposure to natural light first thing in the morning and staying active is crucial to regulating your body’s natural wake-sleep cycle. Amen University’s digital course breaks down additional holistic habits to help you reset that internal clock and improve your nighttime sleep quality.

Here’s Your Next Step To Better Sleep

If you're struggling with sleeping problems and solutions seem elusive, there’s hope right now for you to solve it. Use these seven sleep tips for insomnia in your daily routine to reclaim your nights with rejuvenating sleep.

For effective and natural solutions to fall asleep and stay asleep, sign up for Amen University's Overcoming Insomnia course today. This digital course, presented by sleep specialist Dr. Shane Creado, was created for anyone seeking help for sleep.