These sleep experts have a couple of tricks up their sleeves

Everyone has trouble sleeping sometimes. You simply cannot for the life of you fall asleep and then you get frustrated and it becomes even more difficult to fall asleep. Time to get out a bag of tricks to find out if there’s anything you can try to still catch some Zs. Sleep experts reveal the things they do to be able to fall asleep and these are definitely worth a try.

Maybe these tips from actual sleep experts will make the difference for you.

Relaxing

The first thing to do is to try some relaxation exercises. Neurologist Sandra Blok explains exactly how to do this. “Concentrate on slowly tensing and then releasing every muscle group in five-second intervals. You start down at your toes and slowly move up toward your head. End the exercise by visualising yourself in a relaxing place, like a beach of a forest.” This exercise is supposed to make you feel so calm and relaxed that you slowly fall asleep.

Breathing

If you focus on your breathing, it’ll become much easier to fall asleep, says Jose Colon. “I try to breathe a little more slowly and count back from 100. If I lose count, I have to start over. While you’re counting down, you’re being mindful of your breathing and that helps to relax.”

Staying awake

Staying awake to fall asleep? It sounds really strange, but the fact is that being too focused on trying to go to sleep makes it nearly impossible to actually do so. Sajay Kansagra tries to not fall asleep when he actually wants to fall asleep. “Instead of worrying about falling asleep, I try my best to stay awake. This usually reduces your fear and gives your mind a chance to relax enough to be able to fall asleep. It’s a technique that’s known as ‘paradoxical intention’.”

Smoothie

A lot of people snack before going to sleep. This isn’t the smartest thing to do. It’s much better to make a healthy smoothie. This is of much more use to your body during the night. “I use a little bit of Greek yoghurt and almond milk. Those contain a lot of nutrients that will improve your sleep, like tryptophan, calcium and magnesium,” explains sleep specialist Robert S. Rosenberg. “Then I add frozen cherries, which can lengthen your amount of sleep with one whole hour, recent research shows. I finish it off by adding a bit of cinnamon.” You’ll sleep like a baby!