8 years before I had a bilateral pontine ischemic stroke I had migraines for 8 years. Repeat – eight! As you can imagine, I had bouts of insomnia and nights where sleep became very hard to come by. Here’s a list of 5 natural ways to get to sleep – and stay asleep!
The Calm App
I have to put this as my number one tip. Even til this day, I swear by this app and use it EVERY single evening. They share adult ‘bedtime stories’ that are calming after a long day and certainly sleep-inducing. I cannot rave enough about it. It’s available on both the Apple App Store and the Google Play store for Android phones.
Lavender Oil
Second tip – lavender oil! And if not oil, some sort of perfume from lavender oil. Put some drops on your pillow and the smell lulls you to relax.
Herbal Concoctions
My naturopath looked at my current medicines to see if there were any interactions to be aware of and mixed up a herbal concoction to sleep. I won’t give you the recipe for mine as I’m sure everyone and everyBODY is different. But look into seeing a naturopath or a homeopath to mix up something that will aid you to sleep. The connection I now have also helps alleviate headaches. I love it AND it’s natural.
Strenuous Exercise
You’ve probably heard this tip before but it really does help. Make your body exhausted (without hurting yourself, of course). I find going for a nice, long swim really gets me sleepy and on days I don’t – it can take hours to fall asleep.
Turn off anything digital around at least an hour before bedtime
Do you sleep with your phone next to you? Watch tv before trying to fall asleep? It’s time for a digi-detox. Things like TVs, mobile phones, tablets etc. keep your mind active, and you know what that means? Yeah, a hard time to fall asleep. Set some ground rules, charge your phone NOT next to your bedside, perhaps across the room. Turn off the tv and read something a little boring. Listen to a calm bedtime story (best tip ever!)