6 natural insomnia remedies for a better night's sleep

If your resting hours have been bumpy of late, use these natural insomnia remedies to help you get better sleep and wake up ready to face the new day.
The quality of your sleep is usually a good indicator for how well the rest of your life is going. When you've had enough rest, your mood is balanced, your energy restored and you feel like you can face the day refreshed and renewed. When insomnia strikes, though, everything feels more challenging and stressful.

Having a relaxing bedtime routine helps to condition your body and mind for sleep each night. Try to go to bed at the same time each evening, even on weekends. Avoid smartphones' and tablets' bright screens, and instead find time to do one or more relaxing activities, like taking a warm bath, putting on some soothing music, and reading from a book or magazine. These quiet activities can all have a sedating effect and help you slip into sleep.

Prayer or meditation can also have a calming effect on your brain, settling away the day's busy mind-chatter and helping you clear your head so you can get to sleep more easily.

Take the time to make your bedroom into a sleep sanctuary. Keep the television and computer away and resolve never to do any work in bed. Decorate your bedroom in soothing colours and choose artwork that has a peaceful effect when you see it. Invest in thick, light-blocking shades or curtains that create total darkness in your bedroom to keep the early morning sun from interfering with your sleep.

If you are sensitive to sound, live in a noisy apartment building, or even next to a busy road, the simple act of popping in a pair of earplugs can help you sleep peacefully through the night and wake up better-rested.

Avoid having spicy foods, alcohol, and caffeine too close to bedtime, all of which can upset your body and make it harder to snooze.

A sedentary lifestyle can make you feel too alert when it's time for bed and lethargic during the day. Exercising on a daily basis, or even just a few times a week can help you to feel pleasantly tired at night.

If you can exercise outdoors in nature, that's even better; getting out into the fresh air each day can help promote deeper sleep at night, nicely complimenting the other natural insomnia remedies you try.