Take It Easy

Often, just getting into a relaxed state of mind is enough to send you off into sweet dreams. If you're struggling with relaxation, follow these tips:

• Eliminate noise. Even the smallest amount of noise, from a dog barking down the block or a car driving past can increase wakefulness. Use earplugs or thick curtains/blinds to block out noise when you go to bed.
• Block out light. You might not know it, but you could be sensitive to light. Blackout curtains will help to block out even the smallest amount of light, but it's also important that you don't look at your phone/tablet once you go to bed as it'll wake you up again. And if you wake up in the middle of the night? Whatever you do, don't look at your clock - it'll only make you worry about how much time you have left to sleep.
• Keep your bedroom cool and comfortable. Too warm or too cold and you'll find it difficult to sleep. And if your bed is too hard or too soft, sleep will be elusive, so make sure that you have the most comfortable, cozy bed and a temperature-controlled room.

Sleep and Sex

Associating your bedroom with anything other than sleep and sex could make you more wakeful - especially if you're guilty of watching TV in bed or taking your laptop into your bedroom to answer some late night emails. Subconsciously, you'll come to associate your bedroom with everything but sleeping and sex, which means that when you want nothing more than to drift off into dreamland, your brain is more likely to be thinking about what you have to do at work tomorrow or the television program you just watched. Banish everything from your bedroom that has nothing to do with sleeping - or time spent with your partner - and you'll find that it'll be much easier to get to sleep.

Eat Right and Move More

It seems like we recommend eating a healthy diet and getting plenty of exercise for virtually every ailment, but it holds true for most things - the better you eat and the more you work your body, the better you'll feel.

Exercising will not only make you feel better by releasing endorphins, but it'll tire you out, too - perfect for helping you get to sleep.

See Also: 18 Tips for the Best Sleep Ever

And if those tips aren't quite doing the trick? Try these wacky tips:

• Curl your toes and uncurl - relaxing your body
• Eat cherries or drink cherry juice, as it's rich in melatonin
• Have a sleep ritual - something you do only before you go to sleep, whether you drink warm milk or take a lavender bath
• Rub your belly
• Think about everything you did all day and go back over it in chronological order - the effort of remembering your day will tire you out
• Listen to white noise or sleep hypnosis audio