Anyone recommend any holistic non toxic one please
Thanks
Sleeping tablets
I use magnesium glycinate before bed. Melatonin has helped in the past as has an antihistamine called chlorphenamine. If my osteoarthritis is playing up I’ll have paracetamol & ibuprofen too to prevent being woken by the pain.
Not sure if you already take this but I find exercise works! And not eating too late. And getting stress levels down (thats where the exercise helps)
- regular bedtime (preferably before 10pm)
- limit/remove screen time for 2 hours before bedtime
- improve mental health by not eating plants
- accepting non-sleep time during the night: just rest, stay in bed, stay quiet, even if not sleeping
- don’t get frustrated for not sleeping: meditate, count sheep, don’t overthink problems
Does Melatonin qualify?
It works for me. Not all Melatonins are the same, cheap market stuff only gives nightmares and a couple of hours sleep for me.
Agree with melatonin. Valaerian is another option but it is stinky. Eliminate all caffeine or at least try to eliminate any taken after noon.
I keep a kindle by my bed set to a night setting and blue light glasses. If I wake up I will read a few pages of non fiction on a subject that I like but does not excite me (no politics) and within a few pages I am back asleep
Having a good bedtime routine has done wonders for me. But I have a few modifications to your list.
For me:
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Carbs with dinner: Since I’m not a carnivore, I tend to eat my daily carbs with dinner. I sleep much better with some carbs later in the day. I am more likely to stay asleep.
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Candlelight: We use candlelight at the end of the day when we are getting ready for bed. Candlelight 30-60 minutes before going to sleep really helps me fall asleep much faster.
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No caffeine past noon., but better yet, no caffeine at all.
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Natural Calm ( a magnesium citrate powder) taken in the evening
I have used melatonin on days when I’ve had caffeine later in the day. It does help me fall asleep, but it does not help me stay asleep.
If I do wake up(usually around 3-3:30 AM) and start stressing about life, I have found that popping in the earbuds and listening to a boring podcast on very low volume puts me back to sleep fairly quickly.
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Effectiveness is going to vary based on what is keeping you up. I am generally a very good sleeper, but now that I am passed 60 sometimes I wake up and have trouble falling back asleep. Lately this is around 5 am, so I just get up for my day rather than lay there. Magnesium is important for sleep, and I supplement about 200 mg of magnesium glycinate every evening with some other minerals.
If I am slightly stressed about something so that I am ruminating on it, or my mind keeps going back to it, I have found that using sleepytime Celestial Seasonings tea helps me go to sleep.
Melatonin can help me get to sleep as well. I have not used it, but if you have trouble waking up during the night, you might try a slow release form of melatonin. You can find these in most drug store OTC departments.
I am a heavy computer user this time of the year, and installed a program which automatically adjusts the blue light levels from my screen at night. I have also ordered a pair of blue-light glasses to wear during day-time computer usage as well as adjusting down the brightness and blue-light levels manually. Same for modern LED TVs. If you have LED lights in the home, use warm shades of light rather than cool, which has more blue light.
Most people don’t want to go here, but if you are a coffee drinker, give it up. I use MCTs from morning goat yogurt to get me going - makes instant ketones practically. Caffeine from coffee is going to increase cortisol levels and keep your body in fight or flight mode. This increases your blood pressure, and actually decreases blood flow to the brain. You just don’t want this all day, and certainly not in the evening. Can also cause headaches for some.
Do not eat dinner past 7 pm.
Here’s an interesting thing. It’s only recently humans expect to sleep through the night.
Search biphasic sleep. We commonly had 2 sleeps in 24hrs. Many mediterranean people expect to sleep in the afternoon and wake in the night.
I agree!
I usually eat my last meal before 5h30pm, I don’t sit around or lay down afterwards even though I am usually tired from the day. I do this NOT to torture myself but to spend all my energy left so I feel more tired when I am about to go to bed.
Then, two hours before I plan on going to sleep, I have my nighttime routine. I just tidy up my room, get things ready for the next day, take a shower or bath, take care of my skin and then, I just relax. I lay in bed with something at the time that relaxes me. and then, I fall asleep by 11, wake up by 7 or 8 am.
I have been sleeping so much better ever since I have a routine. It’s like training your mind and body that it’s time to sleep, turn off your brain and enjoy your dreams haha
Of course, none of us has actually answered your question about holistic sleeping products. I have used a tea called “Nighty Night” by Traditional Medicinals. It uses passionflower and other calming herbs. It works pretty well for making one feel sleepy. You may want to look into that if you can find it.
To unconstipate you or give you a bout of diarrhea. Magnesium oxide is hardly absorbed at all. What you need is magnesium glycinate or if you are willing to spend more - magnesium taurate.
Magnesium oxide is a molecule with a very strong bond, which they body usually doesn’t break, so it goes through the intestines, and its very presence draws water out into the intestines. So it is used in many or most constipation formulas.
Magnesium glycinate is absorbed at a rate of probably at least 70%, allowing that magnesium to be used throughout the body. Magnesium is one of the most important minerals in the body, and is used in hundreds of reactions throughout the body - too many to list here. Because most fertilizers do not contain magnesium, our modern soils are depleted from this mineral compared to a century ago, and thus most people even on a good diet can be or are below optimal levels. One result is trouble sleeping. Another common symptom is charlie horses.
Here is where I usually get mine:
https://www.swansonvitamins.com/p/swanson-ultra-albion-chelated-magnesium-glycinate-133-mg-180-caps?otherSize=SWU073
actually well over half my supplements come from Swanson’s