5 Ingredient Natural Sleep Aids

If you’ve struggled with sleep, you know how frustrating it can be to watch the time tick by while you should be asleep. What’s more, you know how hard it is to face the next day and function throughout the day. All the frustration is validated by science. It’s proven that sleep is the time when your body physically and mentally is restored.  What’s more, lack of sleep has been attributed to accidents and, over time, lack of sleep can lead to chronic health issues. Lack of sleep causes difficulties with thinking, reacting, working, learning and just your general mood.

All that said, just because you’re having a hard time getting enough sleep doesn’t mean you necessarily want to take a sleeping pill. Sleeping pills are well known for being addictive. Plus they are frequently associated with negative side effects including, a burning or tingling feeling in the extremities, headaches, memory issues, drowsiness during the day, stomach pain – just to name a few. So many seek a natural route to address sleep issues. Another plus of natural sleep aids is that they are quite effective, especially when paired with behavioral interventions and improved sleep habits.

Here are five natural sleep aid ingredients that can help with sleep –

1. Melatonin – we’ve discussed here, here and here.

Melatonin works naturally with a darkening day, if you expose or continue to expose yourself to bright light or “blue light” (i.e. screens like TV, your phone or tablet), your body will think that the day is still going strong. Spending time on the computer or watching television before bed means you are working against your body’s natural queues to help you get to sleep. Even if you’re taking melatonin, your body won’t be fooled. So make sure to turn off screens a few hours before bedtime.

2. GABA

GABA has an inhibitory function – it tends to slow down neuron firing, helps relieve anxiety, lowers the activity of some brain cells, improve mood, making you feel more relaxed.

3. Magnesium

Magnesium is well known for its ability to relieve insomnia. It also helps decrease cortisol, the “stress hormone” that can keep you up at night. What’s more, it helps muscles relax to give you that calm, sleepy feeling. And as if that wasn’t enough, it has been shown to help with depression and other mood disorders (and it’s in dark chocolate!).

4. Valerian Root

This plant’s root helps increase GABA. Plus it has been found to help with relaxation and relieving anxiety. Because it increases GABA, it calms nerve cells in the brain and makes you feel more relaxed

5. L-theanine

L-theanine has been shown to stimulate the brain’s alpha waves suggesting that it has the ability to put users into a more relaxed state, lowered anxiety, along with benefits to sleep quality. It is an amino acid that is found in teas from Camellia sinensis, which includes both black and green teas. Here’s an interesting article if you’re interested in learning more about this beneficial ingredient.

Our Sleep Renew is a natural formulation designed to help you fall asleep faster, rest peacefully and wake up ready to embrace the day without any grogginess. What’s more, it’s a 100 percent plant-based, 100 percent GMO free, gluten free, and contains no artificial dyes, coloring or chemicals.

Natural, restorative sleep is only a click away. Shop now for our all natural Sleep Renew supplement.