You wake up tired, and it just gets worse as the day goes on. By mid-afternoon, you feel as if you can’t go on without a nap. If this sounds like you, it’s likely you aren’t getting enough deep sleep at night. This can affect your days, making you sluggish, sleepy, and unable to concentrate.

There are steps you can take to improve your nighttime rest. You don’t need to rely on habit-forming sleep medicines either. Read on to learn how to naturally address your sleep issues.

Adjust Your Diet

Sometimes getting more rest is simply a matter of adjusting your diet. Have you ever noticed that you become tired after a fast food lunch of chicken nuggets and fries? That’s because foods high in fat content contain molecules that are much larger than protein or carb molecules. This makes it harder to digest, causing mid-day drowsiness.

It’s not recommended to eat greasy pepperoni pizza or a large slice of buttery apple pie before bed just to fall asleep faster. However, there are healthier foods that can ease you into a deep sleep. For example, foods rich in tryptophan, such as turkey, eggs, and nuts, help your body produce serotonin and melatonin, which are essential for regulating sleep cycles.

Probiotics, the beneficial bacteria that support gut health, also play an indirect but essential role in sleep regulation. The gut and brain are closely connected through the gut-brain axis, with gut health influencing the production of serotonin. A well-balanced gut microbiome, supported by probiotic-rich foods like yogurt, kefir, and fermented vegetables, can enhance serotonin levels, which in turn supports better mood and sleep quality. If you don’t enjoy probiotic-rich foods, you can add supplements to your diet instead. Some sleep gummies include probiotics to improve gut health and lead to better rest.

Enjoy a Sleep-Inducing Beverage

If you aren’t hungry, but still want sleep-inducing effects, you can enjoy an evening beverage with the same effects. These may include some tart cherry juice, a glass of warm milk, or a cup of chamomile tea. These drinks each work in their own way to help you fall asleep faster and enjoy a deeper sleep.

Tart cherry juice is believed to help with melatonin production and ensure your sleep cycle is healthy. It also contains tryptophan. The combination of melatonin and tryptophan in tart cherry juice promote better sleep. Additionally, if you combine this juice and a meal of sleep-inducing foods, you’ll find an even greater benefit.

Warm milk has been used for a long time as an aid for sleep. It acts on the brain with the effects of tryptophan, present in milk products. A glass of warm milk is a soothing drink that makes you feel warm and sleepy. Or you may choose some chamomile tea for that same feeling. The tea, which doesn’t have caffeine, is known to help with the sleep-wake transition. It has ingredients which affect the benzodiazepine receptors in the brain, helping you to fall asleep.

Many people think that alcohol helps with sleep. While it often does help you fall asleep quickly, it actually interferes with sleep by causing mid-night awakenings. Alcohol does this by increasing the amount of light sleep you get as the alcohol effects wear off. It reduces the amount of REM sleep that you get, which is the deepest type of sleep. Since it is a muscle relaxant, alcohol also causes the flap in the back of your throat to go slack. It blocks your airway and causes you to wake up, gasping for air. This condition, known as sleep apnea, may worsen, and with chronic drinking, you are at risk for developing it.

Add Exercise to Your Day

Exercise improves sleep by positively influencing several physical and psychological processes. Regular physical activity regulates your circadian rhythm, the body’s internal clock that governs sleep-wake cycles. Exercise, especially in the morning or early afternoon, signals your body to produce more sleep-inducing hormones like melatonin later in the day. Aerobic exercise, in particular, can elevate your quantity of deep sleep.

Additionally, physical exertion raises your core body temperature, and the subsequent drop in temperature post-exercise can promote the feeling of sleepiness, helping you fall asleep faster. It’s almost the same effect as taking a hot shower to wake you up in the morning. A higher core body temperature is a signal to your internal clock that it’s time to be awake. Just as you need a cool room at night to help you sleep, you need warmth during the day to feel alert. These effects will start to wear off after about 30-90 minutes, and your body temperature will begin to drop.

Body temperature actually fluctuates throughout the day with your circadian rhythm. It is at its lowest in the early morning hours while you are asleep and increases until it reaches its peak in the late afternoon. Then it drops as nighttime approaches. Different factors, such as exercise or sickness, can alter your circadian rhythm through temperature changes.

Natural Sleep Aids

Are you still experiencing fatigue after making changes to your lifestyle and trying natural sleep options? You may have a sleep disorder. Sleep conditions such as narcolepsy and sleep apnea can interfere with your sleep quality. See your doctor and explain your symptoms to get help.

It’s possible to get a good night’s sleep without relying on habit-forming medicine. Natural sleep aids can effectively help ease you to sleep, allowing you to get a full night of deep sleep. You’ll awake feeling refreshed and alert and ready to take on the day.