Unable to sleep due to restlessness? 9 tips for a relaxed mind and body.

Sometimes you lie in bed and can't sleep because you feel restless. Your body can't relax properly, or your thoughts keep racing . When you're stressed from work or a personal situation, it's easy to pinpoint. There may also be other reasons why you're not feeling relaxed.

Some examples are:

• Working late
• Difficult conversations before bed
• Social contact until late at night
• An exciting series or movie
• Worrying and caring
• Stress during the day
• Too many stimuli

Sometimes you simply lie awake from restlessness without being able to pinpoint the cause. It's not necessary to pinpoint exactly what's causing your body or mind to feel so restless. The most important thing is to be able to completely unwind, allowing you to relax and fall asleep quickly. This article offers 9 ways to help you when you can't sleep due to restlessness.

Meditation and breathing exercises are a good tip if you can't sleep due to restlessness. Science has now fully embraced meditation as a technique for mental relaxation. During meditation, you move more out of your head and more into your body. This helps to relax both the body and the mind.

Breathing exercises are also calming for both body and mind. The difference between breathing exercises and meditation is subtle. While you become more aware of your breath during meditation, you change the way you breathe during breathing exercises.

An example is the 'box breathing' exercise:

• Breathe in for four seconds
• Hold this for four seconds
• Exhale for four seconds
• Hold this again for four seconds

Continue like this for a while. There are plenty more breathing exercises to do before bed.

A useful app to use for meditation and breathing exercises is Calm. This app can help you sleep better and maintain good mental health. [1]

Sometimes the restlessness that keeps you from sleeping is caused by to-dos that linger in your mind. You don't want to forget everything you have to do the next day, and these tasks keep swirling around in your mind.

It can be helpful to write down everything you want to remember for the next day. For example, put the tasks in your calendar or leave a note on the table with the to-do's for the next day. Hopefully, you'll be able to let go of it afterward and go to bed with a clearer mind.

When you think of tea, you think of peace. Tea is warm and cozy. So, if you can't sleep due to restlessness and are looking for relaxation, a warm cup of tea is definitely recommended.

Be careful not to pour a huge cup of tea. You don't want to get up multiple times during the night to go to the bathroom. Also, choose a tea that doesn't contain caffeine. Caffeine is precisely what you want to avoid before bed, and many people misjudge how much caffeine green, and especially black, tea contains.

Teas that do not contain caffeine are:

• Chamomile tea (also very relaxing!)
• Rooibos tea
• Ginger tea
• Mint tea
• Decaffeinated green, black and white tea

• Fruit tea

There are several reasons why exercise helps you sleep better. Exercise reduces stress, makes you more tired, and clears your mind. So, when restlessness keeps you awake, it's crucial to exercise. However, it's advisable not to exercise intensively too close to bedtime. Exercise wakes your body up and makes you alert. So, it's best to do an intensive workout during the day or as early in the evening as possible.

For example, if you've worked late, thoughts about work can keep running through your mind, making sleep more difficult and restless. You might want to go to bed right after work, lest you end up being too late.

Still, it's better to do something calming before bed. This will shift your attention to something peaceful and pleasant. Think of a good book, like a novel, or a magazine you can browse through. Try to avoid exciting movies or books, as these can have the opposite effect and actually make your mind more restless.

Watching movies or TV shows right before bed is definitely not recommended. Screens are very stimulating. Research shows that looking at screens within an hour of bedtime is detrimental to falling asleep or staying asleep [2] . Moreover, social media can provide a lot of impressions in a short time, which can linger in your mind before you fall asleep and cause restlessness. So try to finish your phone activity well before bed.

Aromatherapy uses essential oils to improve your physical and mental well-being, and therefore also to help you relax. The plants from which the oils are made are said to have certain healing properties, and you can either believe in them or not. Even if you don't believe this, you can still use essential oils to help you feel restless before bed.

A pleasant fragrance with a beautiful meaning can, in itself, create a sense of well-being and calm. You can use them in an aroma diffuser, for example, or simply smell the bottle.

Below are some oils and the meanings often given to them:

• Lavender oil - relaxation
• Peppermint oil - relief
• Citrus oil - good mood and energy
• Eucalyptus oil - refreshing
• Chamomile oil - relaxation

When unwinding before bed, the atmosphere in your room or home is important. Especially after a busy day, your body and mind need time to adjust to the idea of ​​going to sleep. A relaxing atmosphere at home can help with this.

You can create a cozy, relaxing atmosphere by, for example:

• Cleaning up clutter
• Close the curtains
• Dim lights
• Turn on lamps with a warm shade (such as a salt lamp)
• Lighting candles
• Turn on some soothing music
• A scented candle or an aroma diffuser

If you're having trouble sleeping due to restlessness, you might consider taking magnesium. Magnesium has several benefits for your sleep. It provides support during stress and helps you establish a good sleep pattern. There are even more benefits of magnesium for sleep.

There are many types of magnesium on the market, but many are poorly absorbed. Our magnesium supplement contains only the most absorbable types and is combined with other ingredients that contribute to magnesium's effectiveness: taurine, active vitamin B6, and D3.