What Are the Best All Natural Sleep Aids?
A variety of sleep aids exist for people requiring assistance calming down and falling asleep. However, many of these, such as tranquilizers, alcohol, or narcotics are not all natural and can contribute to addiction. Conversely, a variety of natural sleep aids are available, and these are less harmful and do not enable addiction.
For instance, many natural sleep aids exist in the form of tea or other natural drinks. Other natural sleep remedies include hormone or mineral supplements that contribute to a healthy night's sleep. One reason these are much safer is because natural sleep aids provide chemicals in their natural form and dose, so there is much less of a chance to overdose or become addicted. Another way they assist you is that they provide chemicals your body already needs or produces, so the chances of experiencing ill effects are substantially decreased.
Perhaps the most important aspect of an all natural sleep aid is that it often works in tandem with other chemicals or foods. This means that in and of themselves, one aid might not work. However, when taken in conjunction with something else, your body can better absorb the chemical and benefit from extra sleep.
1. Warm Milk
There are few things as comforting as a small glass of warm milk before bedtime. All natural, organic milk contains a variety of hormones, and the one that contributes most to sleep and may be the best natural sleep aid is tryptophan. Although warm milk before bed is one of the best known natural sleep remedies, many studies have shown that warm milk by itself does not induce sleep. In fact, drinking warm milk to induce sleep only works under certain conditions.
Ways to benefit from warm milk
First, in order to benefit from the tryptophan within the milk, you should drink whole fat milk as it helps your body benefit most.
Additionally, tryptophan will likely be digested in the stomach. Even if it is absorbed in the lower intestine and enters the blood stream, the levels of tryptophan will likely be too low to have an effect once they cross the blood-brain barrier. For best results, you must significantly increase your blood's plasma levels of tryptophan, and to accomplish this, you should accompany the drink with a small serving of carbohydrates.
Of course, the first thing that comes to mind is a cookie. However, the extra processed sugar within the cookie can interfere with the soothing effects provided by the tryptophan. Additionally, the extra sugar is not healthy in that research participants showed an elevation in insulin when combining pure carbohydrates with warm milk.
Instead of eating pure carbohydrates, you can have a small serving of beans. Beans offer up to eight grams of carbohydrates per serving, and they are also rich in protein. When consuming protein with milk, research participants showed much less increase in insulin while enjoying much higher plasma tryptophan levels.
Additionally, beans contain up to 70 percent of the recommended daily allowance of tryptophan, so it is a perfect addition to a night-time snack. Of course, beans and warm milk might seem like a strange snack. If this is the case, you can mash the beans into a soft paste and spread it on a low-salt, non-sugar cracker.
2. Melatonin
In the same way drinking milk as a sleep aid requires you to follow a certain process in order for the milk to work, melatonin is a natural sleep aid that must be taken while following a variety of best practices.
Schedule
First, melatonin is a hormone produced naturally by your brain. This hormone helps regulate relaxation and sleep. In terms of levels, your melatonin level will reach its peak when it is dark and taper off as it becomes daylight. As your melatonin levels rise, you will likely become relaxed and sleepy. Because melatonin production declines with age, some older people can benefit from melatonin supplements--if taken correctly--to boost their melatonin levels and help them enjoy a good night's sleep.
Safety
Second, melatonin levels take up to one hour to reach their peak levels. As such, it is recommended to take between .2 mg and 5 mg one hour before bed time. Taking it in this fashion will synchronize your melatonin levels with your dark room and your nighttime sleeping schedule, allowing you the best opportunity to fall asleep.
Third, melatonin's effectiveness declines with repeated usage, so it is best used as a temporary or sporadic sleep aid. Specifically, it is best used to help people who experience jet lag. Although it is used to help people who work second shifts, side effects such as headaches and ineffective dosages are common with repeated use. This decline in effectiveness is due to the fact that supplements do not work in the same exact manner as melatonin produced by your brain.
3. Magnesium
Magnesium is a mineral essential for good health and proper sleep. However, your body does not produce magnesium, so it must be obtained via the diet or through supplements. If you have a magnesium deficiency, your parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) is not stimulated effectively. Because the PNS is responsible for, among other things, calming you down and relaxing you, if it is inactive, insomnia can result.
Magnesium, however, helps regulate neurotransmitters to the PNS. In doing so, it helps you become more relaxed. Additionally, magnesium regulates melatonin. If you are low in magnesium, your melatonin levels will be off. If your melatonin levels are off, you can have a very difficult time falling asleep.
Gamma-Aminobutyric acid
Perhaps the most important aspect of having proper magnesium levels comes from the fact that magnesium binds with gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors. GABA is a neurotransmitter that helps decrease nerve activity. As nerve activity decreases, you become more calm. Although many prescription sleep aids are based on GABA, they are not all natural, so you can become reliant on these types of medicines. Additionally, a GABA-based sleep aid does not necessarily address your lower magnesium levels.
Instead of getting a prescription, there are ways to safely increase your magnesium levels and benefit from a more healthy path to sleep.
Foods high in magnesium
The first and best strategy to enjoy the benefits of what might be the best natural sleep aid is to begin eating foods high in magnesium. These foods include the following items.
- Spinach
- Almonds
- Tofu
- Pumpkin seeds
- Peanut butter
- Brazil nuts
- Black turtle beans
- Cashews
- Avocado
If you are thinking the above list looks like a salad in the making, you are correct. Foods typically associated with salads are often high in magnesium. If you are primarily a meat and potatoes eater, you might not be getting your fair share. Additionally, if you eat a lot of processed foods, you might be getting only a portion of the daily recommended allowance of key minerals.
Supplements
For people with deficiencies, magnesium supplements have been shown to provide an almost immediate improvement in mood. Researchers are discovering that "gut health" contributes to your overall emotional stability. Increasing your magnesium intake helps improve the gut health, which, in turn, helps reduce anxiety and depression. With the alleviation of anxiety and depression, you have an increased chance at falling asleep.
Dosage
You should attempt to get a daily dosage of 100 mg to 350 mg.
Side effects
Magnesium supplements have been known to adversely effect kidney stones. Additionally, it is not recommended for people who suffer from bleeding disorders. Finally, if you are pregnant or breast feeding, additional magnesium via supplements is not recommended.
4. Magnolia bark
Magnolia bark comes from the plant Magnolia officinalis. It grows in China at high altitudes and has been harvested for centuries as a mild sedative. Although it does not necessarily put you to sleep, it does remove a variety of obstacles of sleep, primarily anxiety and tension. For instance, the chemicals within this plant that assists with sleep include magnolol and honokiol, which both serve as a muscle relaxant. Upon ingesting Magnolia bark, your muscles will soon relax slightly, increasing the chance you can fall asleep.
However, relaxed muscles will not in and of themselves help you sleep because tense muscles are related to stress, itself a result of high cortisol levels. Because stress is a key component in insomnia and lesser sleep-disruptive states of mind, reducing cortisol levels is critical to getting sleep. Studies show that Magnolia bark helps regulate GABA activity, and the result is lower cortisol levels and a much higher degree of relaxation.
Quality of sleep
Studies show that the key thing that makes Magnolia bark so effective is its ability to help increase the REM portion of sleep, which is important to feeling rested upon waking.
Side effects
Studies show 60 mg of Magnolia bark to have negative effects in approximate six percent of subjects. These subjects reported such ailments as heartburn, shakiness, numbness, and sexual dysfunction.
Conversely, 94 percent of the research participants reported greater degrees of relaxation as a result of lower cortisol levels and relaxed muscles.
Toxicity
Important: it is extremely important to recognize that Magnolia bark must never be taken by pregnant women. Doing so causes contractions of the uterus, which could result in a miscarriage.
Similarly, because research is still being conducted on the safety of Magnolia bark and children, it is highly recommended that breast feeding mothers do not use it.
Surgery
Although Magnolia bark is very effective, it can be too effective in some situations. For instance, people preparing for surgery should not consume Magnolia bark as it can result in a depressed central nervous system, which could make anesthesia unsafe. Finally, it is known to slow blood clotting, which can prove dangerous following surgery.
Usage: supplements versus herbs
Most supplements come in dosages as high as 400 mg. This might raise some cause for concern. Bioavailability represents how well a chemical or substance is absorbed and utilized by the body. Where magnalol and honokiol are concerned, bioavailability are rather low. However, tetrahydromagnolol (7), a third chemical in Magnolia bark, is up to 19 times more potent than either magnalol or honokiol and absorbed readily into the body. Therefore, high doses are not required. Obviously, it is important to purchase supplements that contain tetrahydromagnolol, but this is difficult as most contain only magnolol or honokiol.
Because supplements to not utilize the most effective component of Magnolia bar, tetrahydromagnolol (7), it is best to obtain Magnolia bark not as a supplement but as an herbal tea, which will provide a broader base of all the plant's beneficial chemicals.
5. Valerian root
Valerian root, an herb that is native to Europe and Asia, is one of the most often used herbal supplements to help manage anxiety and insomnia. Based on the research, there are limited findings that show valerian may decrease the time it takes to fall asleep. There is also some research that shows valerian may improve quality of sleep.
Additionally, if you want to avoid the morning grogginess that can accompany may sleep aids you may want to try valerian. Most people that use valerian as a natural sleep aid do not experience grogginess in the morning. Furthermore, some findings suggest that the use of valerian over four weeks might provide better effects than taking for just one night.
Valerian may also help in the production of GABA, a chemical in the body that helps to calm the nervous system which, in turn, may help promote sleep.
Safety
Short term use of valerian root appears to be safe for adults, however, its safety over the long term has not yet been established. Consequently, pregnant women and women who are breast feeding should avoid using valerian root because it may be unsafe for this population. Finally, some users experience dizziness.
6. Lavender
If you are looking for a rather pleasant way to achieve a better night's sleep, you may want to consider lavender. This purple flower produces a pleasing fragrance that is said to enhance sleep. In fact, studies have shown that just 30 minutes of smelling lavender oil before sleep improves sleep quality. Females and young people with mild insomnia appear to benefit the most from this all natural sleep aid. Additionally, there is a small study that has shown lavender aromatherapy for the elderly may be just as effective as typical sleep medications while offering the added benefit of fewer side effects.
Benefits
Lavender oil has been shown to improve sleep quality by increasing the amount of time spent in slow- and deep-wave sleep.
Safety
Although using lavender oil in aromatherapy is considered to be safe, lavender supplements may cause stomach pain and nausea in some users. Additionally, there is only very limited research on the use of lavender supplements as a sleep aid.
