This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at U Ottawa chapter.
By now you’ve probably experienced the hard hit of exam season—by the time midterms and term papers roll around we can feel worse than a Saturday morning after a night out. Things like constant sleep deprivation, stress, or too much caffeine can lead to sleepless nights that most students tend to brush off. But unhealthy sleeping and eating habits can easily turn into acute or chronic insomnia. Chronic insomnia is marked by a person’s difficulty falling and staying asleep for at least 3 to 4 nights a week, for three or more months.
An interesting finding shows that women are 150 percent more likely to experience insomnia than men. Dr. Meir Kryger, a professor at the Yale School of Medicine, says that women are more susceptible to insomnia because of the hormonal changes they go through on a regular basis. Amy Wolfson, PhD, author of The Woman’s Book of Sleep: A Complete Resource Guide found that “more than 70% of women complain of sleep problems during menstruation, when hormone levels are at their lowest”. And if taking birth control pills—a very common contraceptive option among collegiettes—sleep disturbances could be more frequent.
If you’re having difficulties falling asleep and find that your lifestyle isn’t the healthiest, you might want to avoid any chemical solution like Melatonin—a synthetically-made hormone that can throw your body off even more. Here are a few natural tips that might just do the trick if you’re struggling with sleep.
1. Dilute 1 tablespoon of honey in lukewarm water and drink the mixture 30 min before bed
This might sound unusual because you’re drinking sugar water to help you fall asleep. Shouldn’t sugar do the opposite? Surprisingly, one of the many unknown remedies of honey is that it actually helps you relax by raising insulin levels and allowing tryptophan—a compound known to make us sleepy—to enter the brain.
2. Consider taking a Valerian extract pill 2 hours before bedtime
If the honey trick doesn’t work for you, try Valerian—a natural supplement extracted from the root of the Valerian plant. The use of Valerian as a sedative has been around since the Greek and Roman empires and is one of the most common over the counter treatments for insomnia today! Valerian tea is also great for anxiety.
3. Clear your mind and get organized for the next day
Sometimes, our favorite activity to do before we doze off is to overthink even about the most insignificant things. To combat your brain’s overdrive mode, make sure you’re prepared for tomorrow: write a to-do list, avoid any big decisions right before bed, and put your phone on airplane mode. Think of nighttime rest as a “Thank You” gesture to your body for surviving yet another day.
4. Focus on your breath
Although it seems easy, focusing solely on breathing requires a lot of mental capacity and perhaps this is why this tip is effective in helping you fall asleep. By the time that you fully relax your mind and body, your brain is exhausted to the point where falling asleep becomes automatic. Lie flat on your back with arms by your side, close your eyes, and as you take a deep breath in imagine how the air is travelling through your body—from the top of your lungs to the end of your toes. Before you release your breath, hold it for 3 seconds, and then repeat the process.
When you lead a busy and hectic life, your bad habits can easily morph into a more serious health condition that you might not notice at first. If you’re having any recurring trouble falling or staying asleep, take note, and make sure to tackle the problem right away.
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