Have you ever had trouble getting to sleep? Whether it’s your fault or not, not getting enough sleep isn’t pleasant for anyone, especially so if you lead a busy lifestyle. It can seriously affect your physical state, your mental state, and your appearance. You’ll find that it’s hard to concentrate, you may even be that sleep deprived that you start to doze off during the day.
Sleep is effectively controlled by something your body produces called melatonin. The more melatonin your body produces, the more tired you become. The lower your melatonin levels are, the more awake you become. There are several things you can do to control your melatonin levels, which will all help you to get to sleep much easier.
First and foremost, make your sleeping space as dark as possible. Melatonin production is connected directly to light levels, especially blue light, which is why we feel more awake when we’re outside and looking at the sky. To combat a decrease in melatonin levels, try your best to shut out all possible light from wherever it is you’re sleeping. Close the curtains or blinds, lock, close or turn off any phones, laptops, and computer monitors. Next, find some soothing music, or ambient sounds such as rivers, streams, forests, or whatever appeals to you and calms you down. Play this at a quiet level over a speaker (phone/computer/sound system, it doesn’t make much difference) as long as they’re not earphones in your ears.
After making sure, it’s dark and you’ve found some soothing music, find a position you’re comfortable in and try to lay still, with little to no movement. You’re telling your body that you want to sleep. At this point, your melatonin levels should have begun to increase, and you should start to feel sleepy. Once this happens, begin taking deep breaths at a normal pace, and gradually slow them down over the course of the next fifteen minutes. Really, you shouldn’t ever finish this final exercise, as hopefully, you should have fallen fast asleep.
