Struggling with sleep? You aren’t alone. Millions of people have trouble getting a good night’s sleep every night. There are many articles out there with conventional ideas for how to fall asleep, including our own, but for some of us, the conventional just doesn’t work. These surprising hacks think outside of the box spring to help you achieve the sleep you need.

Journal

Instead of lying in bed letting thoughts race through your brain, grab a pen or pencil and jot down what happened during the day. With nothing to distract us, studies have shown that we are more prone to worrying at bedtime so putting down some of the more positive things that happened during the day is a great way to free your mind of the things you may be anxious about. Writing down positive affirmations can also be a super effective way to project for a more positive future and dispel some of those unwanted anxieties. Plus, the act of writing before each bedtime helps establish an internal sleep routine for the brain.

Separate Blankets

Share a bed with someone who is particular about their bedding? If it’s working for both of you, great. But if you’re having trouble getting comfortable at night you may want to explore using a separate blanket or bedding. Since the right weight, warmth, and texture for you may not be the same as your sleep partner, getting your own bedding keeps you comfortable without affecting their sleep conditions. Weighted blankets can also be extremely helpful for falling asleep, but they aren’t for everyone. So, get a smaller one for yourself and see if it helps.

Word/Brain Games

Some people get their minds into a better sleep state by playing word games like reciting the most boring words you can think of in your head or doing basic word association exercises. These can calm the brain and massage it into a sleepier state. On the other hand, some find that tough puzzles and harder brain games help their mind tire more easily because it is focused on one task, and not all over the place. In addition to helping you sleep; these kinds of games are also a great way to keep your brain smart and healthy.

Essential Oils

Scents have the power to stimulate, seduce, and yes soothe. Adding an essential oil diffuser to your room or a few dabs of calming scents, like Lavender or Chamomile, to your pillow can be a deeply satisfying way to soothe mind and body into a sleep state. You’ll achieve a restful slumber and your room will also smell amazing.

Convince Your Body It’s Tired

There are several ways to do this. One way is to start at your feet and imagine they feel totally relaxed. Move up your body doing the same for each part, until you feel more restful and hopefully sleepier. Another similar method is called Autogenics. This relaxation technique seeks to reduce anxiety and tension in the body that could be keeping you up. One by one, imagine each body part feels pleasantly heavy and warm, blissfully weighing you down into the bed. After each body part, repeat a positive affirmation like “I am totally relaxed and at peace” or “I am totally calm” several times before moving on to the next part. This unique trick for total body/mind relaxation has helped many people drift off into sweet slumber.

Stay Awake

Sounds crazy right? But it’s not, it’s called Paradoxical Intention and it’s based on the idea that the anxiety of not being able to sleep can be one of the main contributors to a bad night’s sleep. How’s that for irony? For this method, all you have to do is simply lie in bed without doing anything to try to sleep. You might even find it helpful to see how long you can stay awake. By doing this you face the anxiety and worry of not sleeping head on and hopefully in time, start drifting off to sleep more easily.

Go International

People have trouble sleeping all over the world. If some of the more traditional remedies aren’t working, it might be time to look at what other cultures use to fall asleep. Some of these methods may include a foot soak at bedtime, eating dried jujube fruit to calm the mind, or numerous other herbal/liquid remedies other countries swear by—such as Sweden’s Valling, a porridge-like drink containing sleep-aiding nutrients like magnesium, melatonin, and serotonin. In addition to these cultural hacks, there are many more sleep-inducing ideas to be found across the globe.

Hopefully these hacks will help you get the sleep you need and deserve. As always, making sure you’re comfortable is one of the most important things you can do to get a good night’s sleep so be sure to check our collections for the most luxuriously comfortable bedding anywhere. Or give us a call and let us know how we can help you create the sleeping space you’ve always wanted.