Sleep at night doesn’t come easy for a large number of adults. If you’re one of them, there are a lot of things you can do to get a better nights sleep. Sleep medication and over-the-counter sleep aids are by far the most popular ways to help alleviate sleeplessness. But are they as effective as they make out to be?

Surprisingly, it was revealed in a recent sleep study that a placebo was more effective than sleep medication. The group of participants in the overnight sleep study reported faster onset of sleep, less disturbances through the night and more energy during the day. If this is the case then surely it’s better not to take sleep medication.

Another point this test proved is that insomnia is just as much a psychological issue as it is a physical. Sleep at night will come a lot easier if you can let go the worry of not being sleep. Frustration, restlessness and anxiety, only make sleep at night much more difficult.

You may find yourself waking up frequently through the night feeling tense, and physically and mentally on edge. Your muscles may feel clamped up and stiff. You may wake the next day feeling as though you’ve not slept at all, your mind a haze and your body tired and weak.

If you suffer from sleeplessness frequently, then it’s important to work to eliminate the cause, but also actively improve your sleep habits. Simply taking sleeping pills will rarely remove the cause of sleep disorders. This is often why many sufferers who start taking medication end up becoming long-term users.

Getting good sleep at night can make all the difference to your health, well being, mood, confidence and outlook on life, so it’s in your interest to make an effort to regain a normal healthy sleep cycle.

Sometimes this can take time. Just as insomnia develops gradually, it takes time to restore normal healthy sleep. Paying attention to sleep hygiene can make a world of difference. This includes getting up and sleeping at the same time everyday, avoiding stimulants such as caffeine, eating healthy and exercising.

Aside from these simple habit changing practices which can improve sleep at night, there are far more powerful ways to really tap into the unconscious mind, to make profound and life long changes.

Therapies such as hypnotherapy and EFT do exactly this and help sleep at night become a natural process again.