People who have trouble sleeping seek the advice of professionals such as their physicians or sleep clinics; however there are many sleep aids available on the market today including toothpaste that helps induce sleep without all the side effects some drugs have.

Some physicians are hesitant to prescribe drugs that help people fall asleep because of the addiction factor.  There are many pharmaceutical medications that claim to be non-habit-forming; however if taken every night, how could one decide if it is habit-forming or not.

Many physicians believe that a good night’s sleep begins with good sleep hygiene.  Good sleep hygiene means making a person’s bed room a sanctuary where the only thing that happens there is sleep or sex.  Take the television out of the bedroom and do not read in bed.  This will train a body to realize and recognize that a bed is only for sleep.  Removing the clutter from the bedroom will also help calm the mind when it is time to fall asleep.

Just as grandma had always said, warm milk or calamine tea before bed helps calm and soothe a person’s nervous system so that they could relax enough to have sleep overcome them.  Counting sheep, counting dogs or counting live crawfish it doesn’t matter, but by keeping one’s mind busy counting, which is a somewhat boring activity, helps to wind down the mind so sleep could take over.

Routines are always good for helping a person fall asleep at night.  A warm bath, reading a book or doing a puzzle such as a crossword puzzle can all be relaxing and if done every night will get a person’s body and mind in sync with one another.  And if this routine is followed directly by a bedtime, a person’s body will know that it’s time to wind down when the mind is doing the puzzle, reading a book or taking a warm bath.  Routine is one of the keys to a good night’s sleep.

There are a few things not to do before one goes to bed because it would contribute to waking up in the middle of the night or having trouble falling asleep.  Eating a large meal before going to bed is a major no-no, especially if that meal contains a lot of carbohydrates.  Wait at least three to five hours after eating before going to bed; however if you feel you cannot wait that long, have a small bowl of cereal or a turkey sandwich to hold you over until morning.  Turkey contains tryptophan which it is a natural sleep aids or inducing hormone.

If you feel morning coming in the middle of the night, in other words if you wake up in the middle of the night and cannot go back to sleep, get out of bed and do something boring like read a book or watching an infomercial on television.  Do not watch anything exciting because that will keep a person awake.  The idea is to do something boring until you’re sleepy again and then go back to bed and try to fall asleep again.  Make sure that the reading or something boring is happening outside of the bedroom.