100 Simple Strategies To Sleep Better Every Night

The Editors of Prevention July 30, 2014
insomnia tips

Getting enough sleep is a good health must: It keeps you slim, prevents heart disease and diabetes, muscles up your memory, and more. Don’t sleep on it—start following these easy tips today to wake up happier, healthier, and totally refreshed.

1. Make breakfast your heaviest meal.
Digesting food energy, so if you have a heavy meal late in the day, your body will have to work hard to digest it while you’re trying to sleep. Aim to eat balanced meals throughout the day instead. (Give these 18 hearty morning meals a try.)

2. Balance your bedtime snack.
Combining carbs with protein containing tryptophan—like a cup of whole grain cereal with fat-free milk—will make you sleepier than having just one of the two. Carbs help release the sleep-triggering chemical into your bloodstream, which tells your brain it’s time to log off.

3. Go bing before bed.
In the evening, eat a handful of cherries, which scientists discovered are jam-packed with melatonin, the same hormone created by your body to regulate sleep pattern. (Check out how drinking tart cherry juice leads to sleeping 90 more minutes a night.)

4. Dine on seafood.
Eating a fish-based diet can help you snooze more soundly. Cod, tuna, snapper, halibut, and especially shrimp contian levels of sleep-promoting tryptophan comparable to those found in turkey. (Here's everything you need to know about buying healthy fish.)

5. Steer clear of greasy eats.
A late-night pizza slice can trigger heartburn—that burning sensation in your esophagus—and derail slumber. If you’re prone to indigestion, avoid fatty or citrus foods (as well as chocolate, mints, and carbonated beverages) close to bedtime.

6. Avoid three-alarm chili.
Stay away from spicy foods before bed. They raise body temperature, which may keep you from drifting off, and can trigger heartburn, too. 

7. Skip Chinese takeout.
The food flavor enhancer monosodium glutamate (MSG)—which is often added to Chinese food, canned veggies, soups, and other processed foods—may trigger headaches and insomnia in some people. Check food labels if you suspect the additive is keeping you up. (And avoid these other worst foods to eat at night.)

8. Save caffeine for the morning.
Caffeine can stay in your system hours after your last cuppa joe. Snooze soundly by cutting it out after lunch or switching to decaf or herbal teas.

9. Watch for other hidden sleep robbers.
Coffee is the most obvious source of caffeine, but don’t forget that the sleep-stealing chemical is also found in sodas, chocolate, tea, and some medications. Avoid these after lunch, too.

10. Eat the right vitamins.
Getting adequate amounts of vitamins B6 and B12, calcium, and iron can help you maintain healthy sleep patterns. 

11. Try magnesium.
This mineral helps the body make serotonin, which in turn produces melatonin, the brain chemical that sets your body clock. Take 200 to 300 mg of magnesium citrate daily with dinner. Balance it with calcium (which aids absorption) by taking 400 mg of calcium daily with lunch.

MORE: The 100 Best Supplements For Women

12. Say no to refills.
It may sound obvious, but limiting liquids for a few hours before bed will minimize your need for midnight bathroom breaks.

13. Cut calories.
If you’re overweight, shedding pounds may help you rest easier. Studies show that heavy people who suffer sleep apnea (a known slumber stopper) experience fewer symptoms after slimming down. Have you tried our Flat Belly Diet yet?

14. Sip smartly.
Limit alcohol within 3 hours of bedtime. A cocktail helps you nod off initially but may disrupt your sleep later on as the alcohol is metabolized and its sedating effects wear off.

15. Check your tolerance.
Even if you’ve never been sensitive to caffeine, you may become so over time; age-related changes in body composition can affect the speed at which it is metabolized. Take note that caffeine’s half-life—the time required by your body to break down half of it—can be as long as 7 hours.

16. Time caffeine intake around your cycle.
Estrogen may delay caffeine metabolism even further. Between ovulation and menstruation, you take about 25% longer to eliminate it. If you’re on birth control pills, you take about twice the normal time. (Newer, low-estrogen pills have less of an impact.) (Check out this handy infographic to see how coffee affects you.)

17. Try tea.
If cutting coffee cold turkey will make you miserable, have tea instead. It has about half the caffeine content of coffee and contains substances that may help calm the stress system. If black tea is too strong, try green, which has about one-third the caffeine content of black.

18. Steep some lemon balm. 
This mint-family herb has been shown to bring on sleep; certain chemicals called terpenes are known to have a soothing, sedating effect. Brew yourself a mellowing mug tonight.

19. Sip sage.
This common kitchen herb is often a top choice for stopping night sweats. Place 4 heaping tablespoons of dried safe in 1 cup of hot water. Cover it tightly and steep for 4 hours. Strain and reheat when you’re ready to drink. (For more tips, see The Ultimate Irreverent Owner's Guide To Menopause.)

20. Relax with chamomile.
A bright, daisylike flower, chamomile has an age-old reputation for calming nerves and gently aiding sleep. Drinking one or two cups of tea before bed can help you doze off.

21. Give valerian a go.
This herb is one of the most widely used natural sleep soothers in the world. It contains compounds called valepotriates, which may stimulate your own natural relaxation system without causing dependency. Buy it in tea, tablet, and tincture form at health food stores.

22. Balance your blood sugar.
Women with sleep apnea are more than 3 times more likely to have diabetes than those without it. Try our Diabetes DTOUR Diet for delicious foods to help steady blood sugar; you may also relieve sleep apnea symptoms and have a better night’s rest.

23. Cool off.
Set your thermostat between 60 and 65° F. It’ll help nudge your internal temperature down—a key ingredient to deep and restful sleep.

24. Dunk in the tub.
When your feet and hands are warm, blood vessels dilate, allowing heat to escape and body temperature to fall, which guides the brain into sleep mode. Taking a hot soak 45 minutes before bedtime can trigger this cooling process.

25. Cut back on TV.
Heavy users of electronics right before bed (3.5 hours or more) are almost twice as likely to report poor sleep quality as lighter users (2.5 hours or less)—despite getting about the same amount of nightly shut-eye, found one Japanese study. Spend more time reading before bed and record shows to watch earlier in the day.

26. Relocate your laptop.

The smell of oranges may help you feel less anxious, more positive, and calmer. Add a few drops of citrus-scented oil to a room diffuser in your bedroom on stressful nights.

98. Book a post-work rubdown.
A little pampering can rub your stress levels the right way. Massage sessions lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol and boost production of mood-boosting brain chemicals dopamine and serotonin.

99. Sing to stop snoring.
Belting out your favorite tunes during the day may let snorers (and their bedmates) snooze more soundly. Study participants who sang for 20 minutes a day snored significantly less once they started singing. Researchers suspect singing may help by firming up flabby muscles in the upper airways.

100. Borrow an advance from your sleep bank.
If insomnia is part of your PMS symptoms, prepare for it by going to bed a few hours earlier for a few days before they set in. It may help alleviate the tiredness and irritability later on.

Excerpted from The Doctor Book of Home Remedies by The Editors of Prevention Magazine. Permission granted by Rodale, Inc.

MORE: 5 Scary Signs Sleep Loss Is Messing With Your Brain—Without You Even Realizing It

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