The frustration of tossing and turning the night before a big test or presentation is enough to throw you off your game. At one time or another, we’ve all experienced this. Handing this situation is tricky. However, there are things you can do to settle in for at least a few hours of shut-eye. Read on for a few suggestions. But first, let’s talk about things you SHOULD NOT DO!
3 Things You Should Not Do When You Need to Get to Sleep Fast
Panic– this will lead to anxiety and that is a sure ticket to a sleepy morning.
Reach for a bottle– If it is a bottle of alcohol or a bottle of pills, it may seem to help in the short term but long term it is not the best option.
Stay in bed– You may think I have put this in the wrong place in this article. But I assure you I have not. Laying in bed awake will cause your brain to bring up all sorts of worrisome thoughts. Again this is anxiety-producing and not going to help you get to sleep fast… if at all.
3 Bedtime Snacks to Help You Get to Sleep Fast
Being hungry will make it difficult to relax. However, reckless midnight snacking may make matters worse. The key is to choose the foods carefully and eat a minimal amount to satisfy you through the night.
Here are a few of my favorite bedtime snacks that do not interfere with my sleep.
Milk- Perhaps you have heard that turkey makes us sleepy is because it contains the amino acid tryptophan which helps your body to produce melatonin. But I am not one who keeps turkey as a staple in my fridge so I choose milk. Milk also contains tryptophan. It has protein and it is just plain soothing. Some people like it gently warmed.
Nuts- Walnuts are high in magnesium, which is known to help you fall asleep faster and sleep longer. They also have a healthy amount of omega fats, protein and fiber to help you feel full. It only takes a handful, so it is a very quick and easy fix. It doesn’t even require you to turn on a light if you keep some near your bed!
Bananas- I know very few people who don’t love the sweet creamy flavor of a banana. They are just 
missing out. Bananas also contain tryptophan. You can just eat them fresh or if you like tea, try a banana tea. Remove the peel and slice the banana into small sections. Place the fruit in a pot with a small amount of water in it. Place the pot on a burner on medium heat until the water boils. Strain the fruit out and drink the liquid as a tea with some. I once had an insomniac roommate who swore by this. Let me know if it works for you too.
The preferred solution would be to be sure you have eaten enough before bedtime to avoid midnight hunger pangs. But in a pinch, these foods will work well.
3 Tricks to Calm Your Brain
Brain Dump- It’s so difficult at times to turn off your mental engine when you have so much going on. You need to put your endless to-do list and problem-solving brain to bed. One of the most effective ways to do that is to do a brain dump to get your thoughts out of your brain. As fast as you can, write down everything that is on your mind. Don’t try to think about any of it. Just tell your brain you will sort it tomorrow. You will find that your mind will quit spinning and allow you to settle
Soothing Music-I love music in general, but when it lulls me to sleep quickly, it is my best friend. I have put together a playlist of my favorite soothing music that is about 10 hours long. This playlist includes some music with delta waves. I have found that with it playing quietly in the background I will drift into sleep quickly and sleep solidly through the night
Read a Book- I’d recommend that you stay away from self-help books. You need to read something that will not get your curious mind thinking too hard. Read a fantasy, a love story or poetry.
3 Techniques to Relax Your Body
Warm Bath- For me, nothing that beats a warm bath with bubbles at the end of a day. I like to have the lights off or dimmed and scented candles nearby. Even if you don’t have the candles and bubbles, a warm bath can help you get to sleep fast. Use the time to pray, meditate, listen to music or recite affirmations. Whatever you do, do not allow yourself to review the things that stress you.
Progressive Relaxation- This is a way of training your body to relax when it is time. It does take some practice, but it works every time. This is a type of meditation but easier because you are focusing on your muscles.
You start by clinching up the muscles in your feet, curling your toes uptight. Then let out a breath slowly as you relax those muscles. Move up to your ankles and calves. Repeat the process of tensing up your muscles and then consciously relaxing each one slowly. I like to imagine that part of my body sinking into a cloud. Continue this up your body including your face and head. I usually don’t make it past my waist. How far up can you get?
Movement- Try a short walk or a few stretches. This may help you “get your wiggles out”, as my mom used to say. A bit of movement can help your body let go of the stress it is holding in your muscles.
Here’s to Sweet Dreams
When you need to get to sleep fast watching the clock will stress you out. However, there are several other things you can do to relax your body and calm your brain. Try some of these or find others that work.
Please comment below to share what works for you
I didn’t realize bananas could help. I do like bananas and will try this out next time I wake in the middle of the night. My problem isn’t falling asleep, it’s when I wake up at 1:am and am up for a couple of hours. Something I’ve been doing is one of your recommendations, getting up. That seems to help and is more relaxing than the struggle of, “forcing” my self to fall asleep.
One thing that helps, I count down from 99. When I lose track, I start over again. For some reason that seems to help sometimes.
That is a great idea. Thanks for commenting.
I used to have the terrible anxiety of not getting enough sleep and needing more sleep. Because of that worry, I couldn’t sleep anymore, and my sleep was very bad. I was much helped by a warm bath before bed as well as a good book. I also realized that I needed fewer hours of sleep if I was in the mood. These are great tips you gave, and I’ll try some more to incorporate into my routine.
Thank you for your comments!
Many thanks to you for sharing such an excellent article with us .In my mind, sleep is very low at night and it is too late to sleep.Because when I start watching my facebook online I don’t have any sleep then I just want to see the home page of facebook.And I love listening to music a lot and when I feel like I need to sleep, I keep a long playlist of my favorites on it.It helps me a lot in my fast sleep.And the rest of the methods you mentioned in your article seem to me to be quite effective.I will follow the procedures and share new experiences with you.
Thank for sharing.
Falling asleep has always been a problem for me sometimes, I hardly ever fall asleep during the day and some nights it gets difficult for me to fall asleep. I never knew staying in bed awake would actually make me not fall asleep faster, interestingly your points are accurate because that is when I tend to do the most thinking and sleep does not come afterwards. Now that you have mentioned these valid points about falling asleep faster, I would from now bear it in my mind and then use more of the bedtime snacks you advertised.
Excellent, thanks for the comments!
Your post is very informative, who would have thought there are so many different techniques to help you fall asleep. I know the feeling when you trying to fall asleep but your brain will not shutdown, it’s very frustrating.
Over all I enjoyed reading your post and the advise that comes with it. I will definitely try the banana tea.
Nice work
You are welcome. Let me know how the tea works.
I really appreciate this article. Thank you so much for sharing this great article with us. Your post is very helpful to me. Through your post I have clearly learned what to do if I need to sleep fast. I am
If I eat drugs for fast sleep, I know I’m physically damaged by it. Your post will help a lot to fall asleep faster without medication. I will follow the strategies you give, I love reading books. I hope that quick sleep strategies will help me.
I will share this article on social media. I think others will benefit too.
Thank you for letting me know. I hope this helps.
Amazing!! I had no idea nuts and bananas were good foods to eat! I will certainly remember this one!
I do always have a book next to bed and I find that really helps, plus my notepad helps me to write 3 things I’m grateful for for that day and plan what I want to achieve tomorrow.
Kind of like a brain dump but I always like to get these things down on paper. I also find it helps my brain think about things overnight that helps for the next day!
I really needed to read this right now, so thanks so much for sharing!
Thank you for taking the time to comment and share. I’m happy to know my work has helped.
Hello, I really want to first appreciate your effort in putting this great website together and writing this article. I really enjoyed reading your article. There are sometimes when I find it very difficult to fall asleep quick. Most the times I do not know what to do but with the help of your article. I should get to sleep when I want and how I want
Yes, I hope that you find some of these ideas help.
Thank you so much for such an informative post! I do not like banana but I am going to try the banana tea that you mentioned. Omg, I had no idea that you can make a tea out of a banana! Will give it a try and will let you know the result. I also fead a book before bed, my body is so used to the routine that it gets sleepy when i start reading the first page 🙂 I also write a journal before bedtime and that helps releasing my stress as well.
Journaling is a.great way to brain dump. Let me know how the tea works.
Hello Rachele, I must say that this article is very helpful and informative. I am glad I stumbled upon your article because it often happens to me that I need to fall asleep but I can’t because I stay awake to late at night. You give some very useful tips and tricks on what to do, I hope it will help me tonight!
I hope so too! Please let me know how it goes!
I read somewhere that the bedroom ambience can have a huge effect on our sleeping patterns. They say the brighter the more the brain is tricked to think that it is still daylight.
I personally use music to sleep, it doesn’t matter how tired or worried I am I can just fall asleep, albeit for that moment.
If you know how do you get uninterrupted sleep, I sometimes have deep sleep for few hours only to wake up and immediately worry about things that are not going alright.
I have also struggled with that. I still often do. The.progressive relaxation and music come to my rescue on those nights.
Now I would have never though of bananas due to the fact they are high in sugar. I used to drink milk once in awhile, rather than eat something. Now I read my book before bed. I know you said not to reach for the pill bottle, but I do take a melatonin (sp?) before bed. I feel it’s a better alternative over taking an actual sleeping aid pill. For years I took a couple of Benadryl before bed because I have allergies and would snore, which kept my bf awake, LOL!
Melatonin is a good choice. Much better than meds. There are other natural things you.cant use too. Come back soon, I will be writing about some of them.
Thank you so much for sharing this as there are times I have trouble getting to sleep and it’s not a good thing considering how often I have to get up in the morning. I will have to say I was quite surprised when I read about 3 bedtime snacks that help you get to sleep faster. I had always heard it’s not good to eat or drink anything before going to bed, but the 3 foods you listed make sense and sadly I don’t drink near enough milk as I should which I do want to change. There was a night last year where I had extreme difficulty going to sleep because of a borderline traumatic experience I had that day. Do you suggest these methods after having something like that?
I would most certainly try these after a bad day. But be gentle with yourself, understanding that you have had a trauma. I think journaling about it or just talking with someone about it would help put your mind at ease.
best wishes and thanks for sharing
It is applicable to every human being due to anxiety which reduces people’s sleep. It is very difficult for me to sleep at night. I do not sleep at night but I often fall asleep during the day and I never knew that being awake does not actually allow me to sleep fast. The funny thing is the right reason I have been able to figure out the right reason, and I like them very much. Your points will help me sleep this quickly and I will follow your suggestions. I will share the link to this website on my social media so that my friends can benefit from valuable information from this website.
Thank you for your comments and for shading the info with others!
Hey Rachele Bromley,
I really enjoyed reading your article. You really claim to appreciate the important information you gave about sleeping. when I come home from my office. My body becomes very tired. Then I try to sleep but I can’t sleep. Different tensions work in my head. But I like the techniques you give to keep Body and Brain calm. I think so, This is very important for me. So, from today I will apply every tips and trick that you show. I believe that many people still don’t understand what to do if they want to sleep fast. So I will share your post through various social media platforms so that they too can apply this.
I appreciate that.Please come back for new information and let me know which tips work best for you.
Sweet dreamz
Hi,
I have read the topic and I am very much happy to read this. because sometimes I feel this problem. all are logical to me but I am not clear about the warm bath. How it will help me to sleep fast. Milk is very helpful to sleep fast.
soothing music and reading book are also very helpful to me for sleeping fast. some more important things such as eating banana and relaxation are new to me that I have learned from this article.
Many many thanks or sharing this information. I like it very much so I want to share my social media with my friends.
A warm bath will.soothe your.muscles and help you to let go of tension in your body.