Try These Relaxation Exercises to Get a Better Night's Sleep

These relaxation exercises will help you achieve the goal of better sleep each night. You don't have to do them all every day; instead, pick and choose from them to find out what works for your needs.

• Deep Breathing – There are numerous breathing exercises you can try to help you get to sleep each night. It's very beneficial and effective when you use breathing to help cut your anxiety and stress. Try this before you use medication to help you sleep.

• Professional Massage – While getting your spouse to massage you is fine, it's often easier to relax by investing in a professional massage. But, again, ensure that you go to someone with a license to avoid injury or problems.

• Meditation – Starting a meditation practice is all about learning how to become more mindful and aware of yourself in any setting without allowing clutter to enter your thoughts. I'm necessarily talking about eastern meditation. Simply taking time to clear your mind of the clutter and being grateful will work wonders. It takes practice and daily attention to work well. But, you can do it in just ten minutes a day, and you'll get better with each progressive attempt.

• Yoga – There are many types of Yoga for beating stress. It's best to try a slower yoga practice or flow that focuses on losing weight or relaxation and better sleep. You can find professionals who specialize in different areas in Yoga to guide you, but you can also find information simply by looking it up on YouTube.

• Walking – This is one of the easiest things to do if you have issues sleeping to relax your mind and body. The trick is to step outside in nature as much as you can in the morning and after dinner, which are the best times to help your brain adjust to morning and night better, plus burn a few calories.

• Art Therapy – Finding a professional specializing in art therapy is an excellent way to reduce anxiety and improve your sleep quality every night.

• Aromatherapy – How your bedroom smells is important, but this type of therapy involves using essential oils according to package directions to help your brain relax and go to sleep.

• Hydrotherapy – Use your shower, a hot tub, or other body of water to help you relax or even wake up. For example, immersing yourself in a cold shower in the morning can make you more alert, and taking a hot bath can relax you for sleep. You can also find professional doctors who use hydrotherapy in their practice to help improve mental and physical health.

• Visualization – One reason creating a vision board works to help you reach your goals is because the act of imagining your goals and objectives as if they have happened can help you figure out how to actually accomplish them. Likewise, if you want to visualize yourself getting ready for bed, going to bed, and sleeping each night soundly, that can also help you.

• Progressive Muscle Relaxation – This technique is one of the easiest to accomplish from your bed at bedtime when you're already in bed but having issues clearing your mind and falling asleep. Start at the tip of your toes and work your way up to the top of your head, taking your time tensing and then releasing the muscles as you move up your body.

The truth is anything you do that helps you sleep better at night that is drug-free and healthy is a good thing to try. Even if it sounds strange to you, it might work. There isn't much risk trying any of these methods but talk to your doctor first.