Sometimes sleep can elude you. You lie in bed tossing and turning, only to get frustrated. Lack of sleep not only makes you tired, it also increase your risk of heart attacks, hypertension, and obesity.
Instead of running to your medicine cabinet for some over-the-counter sleep aid, try these home remedies to help ease you into sleep and rest your weary body.
Green tea
Green tea contains theanine, which is a sleep-inducing amino acid, and also helps with anxiety. An added benefit from drinking green tea is that it may actually make you smarter. The theanine in green tea is linked to increased brain function.
Note: Since green tea contains caffeine, it may be best to drink it in the early afternoon, perhaps before a workout.
Cherry juice and vanilla bean
Cherries are loaded with melatonin, a hormone that regulates your sleep. Adding a vanilla bean will render a soothing aromatherapy effect, adding a greater impact to this natural sleep aid.
Apple cider vinegar
Combine 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar with 1 teaspoon of raw honey in warm water, and drink before bed. This remedy may help you have a more restful sleep. While there is no scientific evidence that apple cider vinegar induces sleep, many people will attest to this nighttime remedy.
Warm milk
Like apple cider vinegar, these is no real evidence that drinking warm milk will induce sleep… but many people swear by it. Although milk does have small amounts of tryptophan, a compound also found in turkey which secretes melatonin and serotonin in the brain, it is not enough to help induce sleep. Perhaps it’s just the comfort of something warm and soothing before bedtime that relaxes the body and mind in preparation for sleep.
Drinking one these beverages may not be the end-all for your sleepless nights, but they may help and they certainly won’t hurt. It also helps to have the same routine every night before bed, as it will prepare you to relax for a restful sleep.
-The Alternative Daily
