Use Melatonin to Bring the Serotonin.
Melatonin, a hormone from the pineal gland in the brain, helps maintain a body’s inner clock. Researchers have learned that the aging process causes a loss of melatonin, which explains why children, once calmed, sleep harder than the rest of us. At the University of Maryland’s Medical Center, experimental studies have also shown that taking melatonin can create a surge in the chemical serotonin, which helps alleviate the symptoms of depression. I found that melatonin was a perfect supplement for me during the grieving process, and have used it when traveling between time zones, when I can guarantee that my sleep schedule will be disrupted.
Exercise is Bliss.
Research has shown that regular exercise helps relieve insomnia. I know that for myself, a regular exercise regimen helps my body, my mind, and my sleep. I’ve also learned that right after exercise, I tend to feel quite awake, so I avoid late night tennis dates or yoga. Yet, when I first started yoga ten years ago, a teacher taught me a posture to do right before I go to bed, the Sleeping Thunderbolt (Supta Vajrasana) pose. Any time my body is fighting getting under the sheets, I remember this pose to help calm me.
Avoid Afternoon Coffee, Late Night Drinks, and Midnight Snacks.
I never knew that it could take up to eight hours for caffeine to wear off, so I know now to get decaf in the afternoon. Although alcohol is known as a sedative, I’ve been awake on too many middle of the nights after one too many glasses of wine to realize that alcohol will make my body act like a newborn baby, screaming to be nursed. Warm milk might do the trick since it contains tryptophan, a substance that promotes sleep, but it’s best to avoid spicy foods or too much protein, which give you a jumpstart of energy.
With work, family, personal commitments, and all the other stress every day life brings, sleep restores our sanity. Treating sleep as a friend brings the “nighty night, sleep tight” that we all need and deserve.
