Trouble sleeping? 

Insomnia can take many forms: trouble falling asleep, trouble staying asleep, waking frequently, waking too early, etc. Implementing good sleep hygiene (or sleep habits) will increase mental and physical health as well as overall quality of life. 

Here are some of the suggestions I offer my patients when they are looking to improve their sleep: 

1. Try a body scan meditation when you get into bed. This is my favorite one.

2. Get off all screens at least one hour before bed. If this doesn’t feel possible, at least turn on night shift on your phone and computer. To do this go to Settings > Display & Brightness > Night Shift (I schedule mine 8:00pm to 8:00am).

3. Eat a complex carb with dinner to increase tryptophan and serotonin—hormones that support sleep.

4. Stop drinking caffeine by 12pm.

5. Make your bedroom a sleeping oasis. Keep your room at a cool temperature, keep electronics out of the bedroom if possible (an alarm clock can replace your phone’s clock), and invest in some soft sheets and a comfy pillow.

6. Establish a soothing pre-sleep routine. Take a bath, read a book, meditate, or massage some lotion on your feet to ground yourself.

7. If you wake up in the middle of the night, avoid looking at the clock. This can increase stress and make it harder to fall back asleep.

8. Stick to a consistent sleep schedule. Try to go to sleep and wake up around the same time every day. In the winter it is normal to go to sleep earlier and wake up later. In Chinese medicine it is best to fall asleep before 11pm.

9. If you have trouble sleeping, try eating a spoonful of nut butter. Sometimes poor sleep is related to unstable blood sugar, and eating a little bit of healthy fat can stabilize things.

10. Stop drinking all fluids at least one hour before bed. This will limit trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

11. Listen to binaural beats (sounds that calm the mind) before you go to sleep or when you’re having a hard time sleeping. This is my favorite binaural beats playlist for sleep.

And remember, even if you are having trouble sleeping, your body is still getting rest just by laying horizontally in a dark room.