Can’t Sleep Without Counting Sheep? How to Cure Insomnia Forever!

Hormones, muscle growth, metabolism, digestion, immune system function and quieting of the mind all perform best in our sleep.

People who get uninterrupted sleep are likely to be more productive and healthier than those whose sleep is often interrupted.

Habitual lack of sleep is responsible for depression, high blood sugar levels, weight gain, increased risk of diabetes and even brain damage.

Here’s what you can expect to learn from this post: 

• The fruits to eat before bed that help you fall asleep 30% quicker.
• Eating these foods before bed increases the amount of time you’re actually asleep by several hours.
• How to teach your body to be tired and fall asleep quickly.
• Reducing exposure or completely turning off certain items an hour before bed helps induce sleep.
• Doing this activity within 2 hours of going to bed will keep you up all night.

Sleeping Too Much Reduces Lifespan

I wasn’t always concerned with sleep, I felt I was earning in the gym and in sports; the problem was however, sleeping too much reduces lifespan. I remember a thread on a bodybuilding forum when I was 17, the topic of discussion was on gains and sleeping too much having a negative effect.

There was a lot of debate on the thread and it left me wanting to know more…

The last time I ever had sleep issues, I did a ton of research and alleviated them!

Don’t Sleep Too Much

Studies suggest more than nine hours a night is linked to an increased risk of heart disease, thinking problems and premature death.

Children and teens are still growing and need to adjust their sleep according to individual needs; as for most adults, it’s important to get at least 8 but no more than 9 hours of sleep per day.

Adults sleeping more than nine hours a night on average, are at greater risk for chest pain and coronary artery disease. Other studies linked oversleeping to obesity, heart disease and a host of other medical problems.

According to a study conducted by RealAge sleeping significantly more than the recommended 8 hours can have negative affects on our health.

The findings showed participants who slept more than nine and a half hours a night suffered from a 60% increase in heart disease, and higher mortality rate compared to those who stuck with the suggested amount.

Sleeping Too Little Is Still Worse

Turns out, too little sleep proves to be more dangerous. People who sleep less than six hours were 33 percent more likely to obese and eat more junk food.

The problem with this aside from the obvious, is that a good majority if not all junk food is made with genetically modified organisms (GMO).

Eat Kiwi Before Bed

One of my best tricks, was eating 2 kiwi before bed as per a suggestion by my grandmother…

It seemed to work. I fell asleep that night, slept for 6 straight hours – longer than the previous 4 days combined.

A recent study shows that eating two kiwi fruit every day before bed improves the quality of your sleep by 40% and to fall asleep 35% quicker.

How does grandma always know?

Kiwis are high in serotonin, which is a pre-curser to melatonin. Melatonin is an internal sleep “facilitator” for humans. The hormone is used to regulate our circadian rhythm.

Any Of These Before Bed Will Help You Sleep:

Dim Your Lights In The Evening

Now that you know what to eat to help yourself fall asleep, you can actually train your body to expect sleep. One way is to dim your lights in the evening.

According to a 2011 study, room light was proved to have a profound suppressive effect on melatonin levels and shortens the body’s internal representation of night duration.

Basically, if you regularly expose yourself to artificial lighting in the evening you’re going to disrupt your melatonin signaling and could impact sleep, thermoregulation, blood pressure, and glucose homeostasis.

What good is falling asleep quick, if you don’t stay asleep? People who get uninterrupted sleep are likely to be more productive and healthier than those whose sleep is often interrupted throughout the night.

Sleep deprivation plays a part in everything from your memory and immune system to your heart and metabolism because it alters the levels of thyroid and stress hormones in your body.

Habitual lack of sleep has been shown to be responsible for depression, high blood sugar levels, weight gain, an increased risk of diabetes and even brain damage.

Sleep In Complete Darkness.

Researchers found that sleeping for several hours in darkness promotes
healthy blood levels of the hormone melatonin, which can significantly suppress the growth and proliferation of tumors.

They also found that sleeping while exposed to any light at night causes a dramatic drop in blood melatonin levels, setting the stage for growth and proliferation of breast cancer cells in particular.

Sleep With Socks On

Sometimes sleeping in darkness isn’t enough as other factors come into play, especially during winter.

Notice how your feet often feel cold before the rest of the body? It’s because they have the poorest circulation, which inevitably causes interruptions during our sleep. A recent study has shown that wearing socks to bed reduces night waking.

I never wore socks to bed growing up, but since I started, I’ve noticed a dramatic drop in tossing and turning at night.

Thermoregulation is the body’s heat distribution system and it’s strongly linked to sleep cycles. Something as simple as lying down increases sleepiness by redistributing heat in your body from the core to the periphery.

Blood flow helps distribute heat evenly throughout the body. Poor blood flow causes a reduction in the temperature of our extremities; researchers theorized cold hands and feet might be associated with sleeplessness.

Wake Up To Light

If you’re still having trouble sleeping after employing what you’ve just learned, the next heavy hitter is a secret weapon that has not only helped me to sleep at night but also promotes wakefulness during my day… Waking up to light.

By coming out of sleep naturally, I learned to help my body get off to a more calm start to a significantly more energized day, which primes me for sleep the following night.

When was the last time you went a day without coffee or some sort of stimulant?

For a lot of people, in fact I’d say most of the people I know, they’d say it’s been a while.”

It’s a much better idea to start the day by letting your body catch up to the natural sleep-cycle cues it detects.

Teach Your Body To Get Tired And Fall Asleep Quickly

Waking up to light each morning by way of my wake to light alarm clock has surprisingly turned out to be one of the most important aspects of getting my sleep and health in check.

I couldn’t believe how simple and effective a concept it was. There was one other thing I did to alleviate my sleep issues for good. I learned how to teach the body to be tired and fall asleep quickly.

Let me set the scene for you. You’ve had a long day at work, you’ve just finished you favorite show and are headed to bed…

You climb in, exhausted but seem to be wide awake in the head. Closing your eyes you try to force sleep but it’s not happening. You toss and turn, it’s not until an hour before your alarm is to sound that you finally drift off…

I can’t think of a worse way to start my day. Fortunately while on this journey to impeccable sleep is something that I’ve got a definite handle on.

I go to bed and wake up at the same time everyday (typically 11pm- 8am). Sleeping and waking at the same time sets you’re your “internal clock” to expect sleep at a certain time.

Waking up at the same time each day is the best way to “set your clock.”

The body has an extremely accurate natural clock, and in the hour before you wake up it starts preparing. Studies show that one in five of us wakes up relying on our internal clock.

Reducing Exposure To Certain Household Items At Least An Hour Before Sleeping Will Help You Fall Asleep And Stay Asleep

Blue light is part of the light spectrum that’s especially visible during the day and it’s the same type of light emitted by computers, cell phones and television.

It’s no coincidence millions of American have sleep issues because those same Americans usually look at a screen before bed. The problem is, these devices emit what’s known as blue light.

The appearance of blue light cues the body to wake up by tricking your brain into thinking its still daytime. Before modern technology, humans relied on environmental light to determine when to sleep and when to wake up.

Regardless of tiredness, the body limits production of melatonin in the presence of blue light – even with your eyes closed.

Exercise Before Bed Will Wake You Up

With my busy schedule the only time I can feasible get a good workout in, is at night. Well at least that was the case in the past.

Here’s the thing, intense exercise before bed or within a couple hours of going to bed will probably make it harder to fall asleep. This is because you’re stimulating your heart, muscles and brain.

Some people feel exercising prior to bed actually helps them fall and stay asleep due to their demanding workout.

Unfortunately this is simply not the case. Don’t get me wrong, busting your butt in the gym to the point you can’t raise your arms in the shower, you’ll likely fall asleep.

However, if you do that right before bed, you might be setting yourself up for an unsatisfying night. Many times I’ve hit weights at midnight to find I couldn’t sleep a wink, wanting only to run around.

Exercise junkies see: 10 Friendly Pieces of Fitness Advice You Should Never Take

An interesting things about our bodies is how they regulate body temperature and how it actually affects our sleep. During the day our body temps rise and at night they gradually decrease. The decrease in body temperature seems to be a signal to the body that it’s time to sleep.

When it comes to getting a good night’s sleep, get your intense exercise in the late afternoon or early evening.

We raise our body temperature a few hours before bed, so it’s falling just as we’re getting ready to sleep. This decrease in temperature appears to be a trigger helping ease you into sleep.

Health by choice, not by chance.

-David