What to Do when You Just Can't Sleep

There are many reasons for the inability to sleep. It is a very popular problem. Most people are overworked or have a mound of things to do during the day. A fast pace and lots of stress has become a normal way of life. As a result many people have a very hard time relaxing and shutting down their minds. Some days that it is hard to shut down the mind enough to get to sleep.

Tranquilizers are one of the worst solutions. People become dependent upon them for any sleep and over time they become less effective. There are several good things to try if you are having trouble sleeping.

• Take time every day to make a list of things that you need to do or important things that you need to remember. Try to take about an hour to unload these things from your memory bank and to have a short, quiet block of time, to collect your thoughts. Many people who have problems sleeping, stay so busy during the day that the only time they have to think and solve things that are on their mind, is when they lay down to sleep. For some, it is the only quiet time that they have to think.

• Avoid caffeine after 7 pm, and if you drink lots of coffee or tea during the day, try going decaf or cutting your daily consumption in half. Caffeine is a stimulant and it can accumulate in your system resulting in sleep problems.

• If you have a hard time relaxing, you can try meditation or playing soft music before you go to sleep. Some people try visualizing things that relax them such as drifting on a float down a quiet river with a calm breeze blowing. Picture whatever you enjoy for peace and quiet relaxation.

• Try reading. Sometimes this makes the eyes tired and the brain grow fuzzy after a while and you will fade off to sleep. Make sure you shut off the light when you get tired because it can cause you to stir or wake up even after you get to sleep. Broken sleep is not deep sleep.

• Make sure you set a regular bedtime, and try to get to bed by midnight. The body makes an important chemical called melatonin and the production peaks in the middle of the night. Melatonin is also what creates sleepiness, so if you lose sleep and the production decreases then so does the ability to sleep. It becomes a vicious circle. It may help to take a melatonin supplement before bedtime until your sleep patterns get back to normal.

If you create a routine using these tips, it may take a little while but this routine has been known to help most people get more sleep. Pleasant dreams.