Getting a good night’s sleep is very important for your health. With the right amount of sleep, your brain functions well, you’ll be more alert, have a strong memory, be more productive and energised.
On the other hand, depriving your body of enough sleep could be dangerous. Studies show that it could increase the risks of conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and even obesity.
Having quality sleep usually starts with good sleep practices and habits. However, for some, that’s simply not enough.
If you find yourself having trouble getting enough sleep and require a little extra help, consider trying the following natural sleep aids:
1. USE LIGHT IN THE RIGHT WAY
If you are having trouble falling asleep at night, or you find yourself waking up too early, you may need more light during the day.
Enough exposure to light during the day like taking a 30minutes walk in the morning or 2-3 hours light therapy in the evening helps your body produce more melatonin (a sleep hormone that tells the body when to go to sleep).
Avoid blue light right before bedtime as it disrupts your body’s secretion of melatonin. Ideally, switch off your light at night and wear a sleep mask to fall asleep faster.
Using light in the right way to go to sleep and to wake up, is also something that can really help serotonin and melatonin production. If you can’t use natural light to help you, the light lamp pictured below, helps you wake up to gradually with increasing light and go to sleep with gradually decreasing light. This stimulates your body’s hormones in a natural way for better sleep. Check this out!
2. NAP IN THE DAY
Taking that short snooze during the day might just be what you need to set the tone for a good sleep later at night; it’s a natural sleep aid, and it comes with other benefits too!
Short naps of about 20 minutes daily will improve your mood, boost your memory and keep you alert for the rest of the day, but there’s a trick to it: Set the scene, set your timer, and keep it short so you don’t plunge into a deep sleep and wake up feeling guilty, groggy and tired.