Written by Dr. Sandra Miranda, ND

Do you have a ridiculously hard time falling asleep at night?  Do you wake up several times during the night to pee?  Do you wake up feeling like you never slept a wink?

You probably feel like you won’t be able to actually stay awake during the day.  You also might feel like you can’t get your high priority work done properly at your job. Sleeping problems is one of the biggest health concerns affecting people in our western world. We just don’t get enough of it.

When you are able to get a really good night’s sleep on a regular basis, you will feel like a new person.  You will have so much energy that you can complete your work and still have energy for the family when you get home.  You’ll be ready to fall asleep and stay asleep all night.

I had a patient who had this exact problem.  She could not get a decent night’s sleep for years.  She was able to overcome her sleep issues by doing 5 easy steps and she feels like a million bucks!

Here’s what she did –

Step 1.  She got into a regular routine to train her body to be tired at bedtime and to wake up at the same time every morning. 

Step 2. She changed when she ate dinner so that her stomach was virtually empty when she went to bed. 

Step 3. She learned that she was a “mouth breather” at night. This contributed to her waking up in the night, grinding her teeth and snoring.  She handled this by changing from mouth breathing to breathing through her nose. 

Step 4.  She had a medication review and found any that affected her sleep.  She then went to her prescribing doctor to see if these could be changed to others that did not affect her sleep.

Step 5.  She changed her exercise routine to earlier in the day so she could fall asleep at bedtime.

Step 6. She started turning off all her electronics 30-45 minutes before going to bed and instead she just started reading a book.

These are just 6 ways to get better sleep.  If you are in the same boat as my patient, try some of these steps.  After all, sleep is critical to your health – your energy level, your immune function, your ability to think clearly and concentrate.