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The inundation of technology and busy work schedules has more and more people finding it difficult to “turn it off” when they lie their heads down at night. If you find yourself being a bit of an insomniac, try some of these strange, but effective, ways to catch some sleep.
Give Yourself Some Tingles
ASMR, or autonomous sensory meridian response, has gained a massive online following across Youtube in the past year. The term actually describes a sensation of tingles along the back of the head and down the body, sometimes jokingly referred to as a “brain orgasm,” that is triggered by outside stimuli such as whispering, tapping sounds, or crinkling paper. Whatever it is, it’s incredibly relaxing, and there are thousands of videos on Youtube designed to help you fall asleep.
Rub Your Belly
This might sound like something you’d do to please your dog, but rubbing your own belly has been shown to help your body relax. When you lay down for bed tonight, rub your hand in a slow, circular motion as you rest your eyes. Supposedly, the feeling will soothe you enough to allow you to fall asleep.
Get In Touch With Your Inner Pavlov
If you find yourself tossing and turning all throughout the night, a little behavior modification might be in order. Similar to how Pavlov taught his dogs to salivate on command, you can teach your body to know when it’s time to fall asleep. Pick a habit, such as rubbing the tip of your nose, pulling an earlobe or squeezing your upper arm and do it each night before you fall asleep. Eventually, your body will accept this motion as a signal that it’s time for it to rest.
Replace The Glass of Milk With Cherry Juice
If you’ve been downing a glass of warm milk every night hoping it might make you more sleepy, try trading it in for a glass of cherry juice. Tart cherries are a natural source of melatonin, which helps to regulate your body’s sleep schedule. Studies have shown that a glass of cherry juice taken in the morning and night helped add an average of 90 minutes to sleep to a person’s nightly schedule, especially in older individuals.
Exercise Your Toes
This one might make you feel a little goofy, but it actually works. While lying in bed, slowly squeeze and release your toes for at a minute or two. Curling your toes actually has the effect of helping all of the muscles in your body to relax, and will release any tension in your body built up throughout the day.
Bring Back a Childhood Remedy
You probably remember your mom or dad rubbing some Vicks across your chest when you had a cold as a kid. But did you know Vicks Vaporub actually has quite a few uses, one of which is helping you to fall asleep. That’s because the decongestants in Vicks helps you breathe more steadily, lulling your body into a sense of relaxation. You can rub it onto your chest or, as we do, around the outside of your nostrils to help you relax. You can even add it to special humidifiers that contain an aromatherapy compartment to help circulate it through the air.
Roll Your Eyes Into Your Head
If all else fails you can try to make your body think that it’s already asleep. Lie back and close yours eyes, then slowly roll them backwards in your head. This mimics the actual position and movement of your eyes while you sleep, so it has been found to be effective in many situations involving insomnia.
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