Whether you're a sound sleeper who just doesn't get enough hours or a toss-and-turner who can't seem to stay asleep, there's likely a natural solution to your problems.
While commercials touting the ease of sleeping medication may be tempting, those solutions are only temporary.
It might be time to reevaluate the quality of your mattress and drop some bad bedtime habits.
Back Support The price tags for a quality mattress may seem high, but when you do the math you'll realize you spend most of your time in bed.
Your quality of sleep impacts your day, which in turn impacts your wallet, friendships, health, and more.
There's not a perfect mattress for everyone, which means you need to do some research about your particular issues in order to find the best one.
For example, if you have sleep apnea or lower back pain, the mattress firmness and foundation will impact your sleep quality.
Set a Schedule Life can be full of unplanned events, but it's best if you get your body on its own clock.
If you're going to bed at different hours each night, your body won't naturally adapt to your schedule.
Your circadian rhythm is to thank.
Medication Review There are many prescription (and non-prescription) drugs on the market that may be interrupting your cycle.
Beta-blockers are linked to insomnia, as well as many SSRIs.
Take full account of every pill you take and discuss how these could be impacting your sleep, as well as the steps you can take to mitigate their negative side effects, with your doctor.
Exercise Getting your blood pumping during the day, especially through cardio, leads to better sleep at night.
It's important to be mindful about when you choose to create this daily dose of endorphins, since aerobic exercise keeps your body temperature elevated for about four hours.
If you try to hit the sack too soon after a workout, you may hurt your efforts.
Nutrition While you may be tempted to grab just about anything before you hit the sack, the nutrition in your food has a greater impact than you may know.
An ideal snack should include carbohydrates and calcium or protein, which contain the amino acid tryptophan.
If you're a wine or cocktail drinker, you may also need to alter your drinking hours.
If you head to bed before two hours have passed since your last drink, your body will signal itself to wake up thanks to alcohol levels dropping in your blood.
If you're going to sip, make sure you wait at least two hours before slumbering.
Ready for a good night's sleep? Enjoy mattress shopping and a good workout!