Fall Asleep In 3 Short Minutes

Trytophan is an amino acid that helps the brain produce serotonin, which helps you relax. You can find it in turkey, milk, chicken, ice cream, tuna and peanuts.

The soothing effect of trytophan can help you put your day's worries behind you and allow you to fall into blissful slumber.

On the other hand, avoid spicy and fatty foods, which can give you heartburn and keep you awake.

Similarly, too much liquid before bedtime can leave you running to the bathroom all night rather than sleeping.

Sometimes, staying in bed and worrying about falling asleep can actually put too much pressure on you and prevent you from falling asleep. Get up, do something else, and try again in a little while.

Regulating when you go to bed and when you wake up is important to establishing a regular sleep pattern. Go to sleep and rise at the same time every day, even on weekends.

Don't nap during the day, as this inhibits your ability to Fall asleep at night

Caffeine, found in coffee and soda, and nicotine, found in cigarettes, are stimulants that inhibit your ability to slow down and get some rest. Herbal energy boosters can also keep you awake.

Try to avoid stimulants

A survey of 1.1 million residents in America conducted by the American Cancer Society found that those who reported sleeping about 7 hours per night had the lowest rates of mortality, whereas those who slept for fewer than 6 hours or more than 8 hours had higher mortality rates. Getting 8.5 or more hours of sleep per night increased the mortality rate by 15%. Severe insomnia - sleeping less than 3.5 hours in women and 4.5 hours in men - also led to a 15% increase in mortality. However, most of the increase in mortality from severe insomnia was discounted after controlling for comorbid disorders. After controlling for sleep duration and insomnia, use of sleeping pills was also found to be associated with an increased mortality rate.

The lowest mortality was seen in individuals who slept between six and a half and seven and a half hours per night. Even sleeping only 4.5 hours per night is associated with very little increase in mortality. Thus mild to moderate insomnia for most people is associated with increased longevity and severe insomnia is only associated with a very small effect on mortality.

As long as a patient refrains from using sleeping pills there is little to no increase in mortality associated with insomnia but there does appear to be an increase in longevity. This is reassuring for patients with insomnia in that despite the sometimes unpleasantness of insomnia, insomnia itself appears to be associated with increased longevity.

It is unclear why sleeping longer than 7.5 hours is associated with excess mortality.[9]

Your body temperature naturally drops when you are sleeping. To imitate this pattern and help to induce sleep, keep your bedroom temperature lower. Use an air conditioner or fan to reproduce these conditions, and wear light clothes.

One of the biggest culprits of sleep deprivation is the inability to stop the mind from racing with the day's event and ongoing worries.

The key is to slow down, and try to leave your troubles behind. A warm bath, meditation, peaceful music, a good book and dimmed lights can have a soothing, therapeutic effect.

Women with an iron deficiency tend to have more trouble sleeping. Check your iron level and start taking an iron supplement, if needed.

Take the time to make your bed every day, making it a more appealing place to go to. Make sure you have a good mattress, comfortable sheets, and fluffy pillows. Also, only use your bed for sleeping, so that your body registers that the bed is a place to sleep.

Exercise three to six hours before bedtime can help you relax, and tire you out, enabling you to fall asleep more easily. Plus, regular exercise increases the quality of your sleep.