Natural Sleep Aids: Four Supplements for Better Sleep
Sleep is often left on the back burner. But when you improve your sleep quality, your health will benefit tremendously. If you knew all the benefits of sleep, prioritizing your bedtime would be a no-brainer!
Though there are supplements for good sleep that will help you fall asleep or stay asleep longer, getting 7-8 hours of quality sleep each night will be more beneficial than any supplement. Improving your sleep quality will do wonders for every aspect of your life – energy, stress, hormones, hunger, brain health – you name it.
Why is Sleep So Important?
Without enough sleep, cortisol, the stress hormone, rises. There is also an association between decreased sleep duration and increased risk of obesity. Short sleep duration can result in weight gain, as well as insulin resistance, diabetes, and heart disease.
Sleep helps reset your body's metabolism. For example, a lack of adequate sleep will decrease leptin and increase ghrelin hormone levels, making you hungrier the next day. Have you ever noticed how hungry and less satiated you feel the day after a rough night of sleep? Not to mention, insulin response is shown to be decreased by 30% after just six nights of poor sleep.
Needless to say, aiming for better sleep should be a top priority.
Control your Blue Light Exposure
Your body needs blue light to keep your circadian rhythm in check. Blue light from sunlight tells your body it's time to wake up. We have sensors in our skin cells that can sense this light exposure. Too much blue light exposure from screens at night can send signals to your body that it is not bedtime yet. Thus, reducing blue light exposure at night is vital to improve your body's sleeping habits.
An excellent tip to boost natural blue light exposure in the morning is to go outside or sit by a large window for about 15 minutes when you wake up. At night, consider using candlelight or salt lamps instead of bright white lights. You can also use blue light blocker glasses if you cannot avoid computer or smartphone screens!
Compartmentalize Your Sleep Environment
Your sleep environment greatly affects your sleep quality. The best environment is one that is completely dark, cool (about 18 to 19℃), and quiet. Perhaps you need to lower the thermostat, invest in blackout blinds, remove electronics from the bedroom, or use earplugs for a noise-free night. Every small improvement you make to your bedroom can significantly impact your sleep quality.
Follow a Consistent Sleep Schedule
It's almost impossible for your body to adjust to a healthy sleep routine if you wake up at a different time each day. Going to bed and waking up at the same time every day helps reinforce your body's sleep-wake cycle. The recommended sleep duration for healthy adults is at least seven hours. If you're having difficulty falling asleep, try doing something relaxing, like breathing exercises, before bed.
Four Best Supplements For Good Sleep
While natural supplements should not replace good sleeping habits, there are several supplements out there that can help improve overall sleep quality. Many prefer natural sleep supplements over prescription medications due to the reduced risk of side effects. Consider trying these four natural supplements for good sleep.
Magnesium
Magnesium is a vital mineral for sleep. Due to the lack of quality soil nowadays, getting enough magnesium from food sources alone is difficult. Almost 50% of the population in developed countries does not consume enough magnesium. Magnesium supports deep sleep by maintaining healthy levels of GABA, a neurotransmitter that promotes sleep and calmness.
People with low magnesium levels often wake up frequently during the night. Increasing magnesium intake can help quiet the mind and body, make it much easier to fall asleep, and improve overall sleep quality. A 2021 study asserts that magnesium helped older adults reduce the time it takes to fall asleep.
To help you stay asleep at night, we suggest a magnesium supplement in its bioavailable form, such as magnesium bis-glycinate. We recommend the Stress-Relax Nighttime Magnesium Bisglycinate for complementary sleep support. Combining magnesium bis-glycinate, melatonin, L-theanine, and Pharma GABA, this is one of the best supplements on the market for good sleep.
Melatonin
Melatonin is a sleep hormone that your brain produces in response to darkness. It is naturally produced in the evening as you wind down to help prepare the body for sleep. With today's busy lifestyle, melatonin supplements can help the body adapt to new sleep schedules, jet lag, and night shifts. A 2016 research backs melatonin's efficacy in improving daytime sleep quality.
One of the most popular supplements for good sleep, the Now Melatonin Capsules are non-GMO and vegan-friendly natural sleep aids that help reset the body's sleep-wake cycle. They come in a selection of dosage options to accommodate different individual needs. These supplements for good sleep help increase the total sleep duration of people dealing with an altered sleep schedule.
Valerian Root
Valerian root is an herb often used to help reduce anxiety, depression, and menopause symptoms. It's also one of the most popular herbal supplements for good sleep in the US and Europe. A 2018 study showed improved sleep quality in menopausal women taking valerian. Additionally, research in 2021 found that hemodialysis patients who took valerian before bed for a month had better overall sleep.
For a top-quality valerian root supplement, we highly recommend the Nature's Way Valerian Root capsules to help relieve restlessness and nervousness. With a verified vegetarian and non-GMO project profile, these outstanding supplements for good sleep help improve your daily well-being and overall mood. They feature valerian grown from European farms in Poland, the Netherlands, and Bulgaria.
Passionflower
Passionflower tea or extract is a known herbal remedy for insomnia. A 2020 research tested the efficacy of passionflower extract for insomnia patients and found improvements in certain sleep parameters, including total sleep duration and sleep efficiency. Another study in 2017 further supports passionflower's sleep-promoting effect.
The Solaray Passion Flower Veggie Caps are excellent vegan-friendly and non-GMO supplements for good sleep. Featuring high-quality passionflower, these capsules help ease restlessness and sleeplessness. They also help improve overall calmness without any risk of dependency.
Conclusion
Supplements for good sleep complement good sleeping habits, helping you achieve better sleep quality and overall well-being. Natural supplements like magnesium, melatonin, valerian root, and passionflower help improve sleep quality without worrying about side effects. For the best supplements for good sleep available in today's market, Healthy Planet has you covered.
