Helpful Tips for Insomiac

Take a Warm Bath - It's a great way to relax your body. Don't overdo it, however. You merely want to relax your body, not exhaust it. Too long in hot water and your body is drained of vitality.

Use bath salts, or throw in salts and baking soda—one cup of each. These will relax you and also help remove toxins from your body.

Get a Massage - Have your spouse (or whoever) give you a massage just before going to sleep. If you can convince them to give you a full body massage, great. If not, even a short backrub and/or a face and scalp massage can be a big help. Have them make the massage strokes slow, gentle, yet firm, to work the tension out of your muscles and soothe you to sleep.

Listen to Music - Play some soft, soothing music that will lull you to sleep. There are even cassettes and records designed for that very purpose. Some are specially composed music, others simply have sounds of waves rhythmically breaking, or the steady pattern of a heartbeat.

Drink Warm Milk - A glass of warm milk 15 minutes before going to bed will soothe your nervous system. Milk contains calcium, which works directly on jagged nerves to make you relax.

Drink Herb Tea - If you don't like milk—or are avoiding dairy products—try a cup of hot camomile, catnip, anise or fennel tea. All contain natural ingredients which will help you sleep. Most health food stores will also have special blends of herb tea designed to soothe you and help you get to sleep.

Eat a Bedtime Snack - A small, low protein, high carbohydrate bedtime snack, such as juice and cookies, eaten about an hour before bedtime, can help you fall asleep sooner.

Studies indicate that foods with large amounts of the amino acid L-tryptophan help us sleep better. These include warm or hot milk (but not cold milk), eggs, cottage cheese, chicken, turkey and cashews.

Avoid Caffeine, Alcohol and Tobacco - It should be obvious, but some people forget that coffee is not the only drink containing caffeine. Black tea, chocolate and cola drinks are also high in caffeine.

Alcohol may feel like it's soothing you, but all it's doing is stupefying you. Research has shown that alcohol upsets sleep, preventing a deep rest. Same with tobacco. Avoid them all.

Sleep in a Well-Ventilated Room - Fresh air and a room temperature between 60-65 degrees will give you the best sleeping conditions.

Sleep on a Good Firm Bed - A firm bed will give your entire body the support it needs to really relax. It's better for your spine, too.

Sleep on Your Back - It's the best position for relaxing, and allows all your internal organs to rest properly. If you must sleep on your side, do it on your right side, not your left. Sleeping on the left side causes your lungs, stomach and liver to press against your heart, causing stress on an organ that most of us find quite useful.

Never -- ever -- sleep on your stomach. It causes pressure on all your internal organs -- including your lungs, which results in shallow breathing. It can also, as you've no doubt discovered, cause a stiff neck and upper back problems.

Get Some Physical Exercise During the Day - People with "mental" jobs, like office workers, have far more trouble with insomnia than do people who work physically hard all day. Even 15 minutes a day of exercise (at least half an hour before going to bed so your body will have a chance to slow down) will give your body the activity and oxygen it needs to help you relax more and sleep better.

Keep Regular Bedtime Hours - Your body likes regular routines, whether you do or not. It likes to know that it's going to get up at the same time each day, eat at the same times, and go to bed at the same time. Not very exciting, maybe, but comfortable. So pick a reasonable and regular time to go to bed each night. And stick to it. Even if you don't think you're tired when the time comes. Your body will appreciate it. And after a while when it feels it can rely on the routine, it will begin to repay the favor by letting you get to sleep when you want.

If You Can't Sleep, Get Up - Don't lie awake trying to get to sleep any longer than 30 minutes. If it goes that long, get up. Do something quiet and non-stimulating. When you feel tired again, go back to bed.

Don't Sleep In - Get up at the same time every day, even on weekends and holidays. Once you've awakened, get up. Don't lie in bed awake, thinking about getting up. Just do it.

Get Up Earlier in the Morning - At least try this when you're trying to set up your new regular bedtime routine. As much as you may hate getting up one-half hour earlier (or even more) than you really have to, you'll be that much more tired at night and more apt to get to sleep. Once you and your body have the confidence that you can get to sleep when you want at night, you can go back to your preferred wake-up-in-the-morning time.

Keep Your Bed a Place for Sleep - Okay, and maybe for one other thing. But not for working, reading, watching television, doing crossword puzzles, or whatever else occupies you in the evening. Let your mind and body identify bed with sleeping.

Avoid Naps - Sure, they're nice to do during the day, and if you couldn't sleep at night, you're grateful for any chance to sleep. But if you're really having trouble sleeping at night--and you're not a senior citizen who sleeps for small periods of time, skip naps. You'll be more tired at bedtime and more able to fall asleep.

Avoid Illuminated Bedroom Clocks - Try to keep your bedroom as dark as possible. An illuminated bedroom clock is a source of light that can be extremely annoying if you're having a hard time getting to sleep. If you can't replace the clock, at least block its light with something.

Sleep With Your Head Facing North - And, obviously -- unless you have a particularly unusual body -- your feet facing south. This aligns your body with the magnetic field of the planet, bringing your own energies into harmony with those of the Earth. Sound like a pretty bizarre theory? Try it. You'll see what a difference it makes.

Don't Watch TV or Read Before Going to Bed - Wait at least one-half hour (preferably longer) before going to bed after reading or watching television. We know; some people say that reading a detective story or some such escapist book helps put them to sleep. If it works for them, great. But it seldom worked for us. And it probably hasn't worked for you either.

The reason is that no matter how passively we watch television, or how innocuous the book we read is, our minds are still being stimulated. And an overstimulated mind -- along with anxiety and stress -- is what keeps us awake. It's all those thoughts in our head we have to get rid of before we can get to sleep. The last thing we need is more input into our heads from television or books.

See A Doctor - Insomnia can be a symptom of physical disorders, although for most of us it's the result of tension, stress and anxiety—and of course the more anxious we get about our insomnia, the worse it gets. If your doctor pronounces you a "healthy" insomniac, he might suggest some of the techniques provided here. Or she might prescribe drugs to help you get to sleep.