So I started researching every possible thing I could do to try to get some better sleep without resorting to getting a prescription. I was so desperate, I considered using Benadryl to knock myself out, but I can’t take that because it dries my throat out too much. To try and find the answer, I made a list of everything I could do to help me get a good sound night’s sleep. Luckily, I never had trouble falling asleep…it was just that I couldn’t stay asleep!
SO… I combined three methods I found online when I was researching how to stay asleep all night to get the most benefit and to make a “magic mixture” I could take to get a good night’s sleep.
How To Stay Asleep All Night With 3 Natural Ingredients:
I take a mixed spoonful of coconut oil, raw honey, and sea salt right before I go to bed every night.
The three components of fat from the coconut oil, sugar from the honey, and the salt all work to help your body be sustained throughout the night. This mixture helps you stay a sleep throughout the night and also helps reduce the impact of spikes in stress hormones or cortisol, which can often cause you to wake up in the middle of the night.
Why Does This Magic Mixture Of Ingredients Work?
The fat in coconut is beneficial right before bed because the fat gives your body sustained energy throughout the night. Having it before bed will prevent you from waking up hungry. Also, coconut oil fats prevent your blood sugar/insulin from spiking which is often a cause of sleeping troubles. Coconut oil provides your body with nutrients that allow your body to manufacture optimal amounts of sleep hormones.
You may be wondering why you would want to have honey that contains sugar before bed? And you’re thinking, “Doesn’t that cause blood sugar spikes that will make it even harder to sleep?” Actually, no, it’s going to help you sleep better. This is because the honey ensures an adequate amount of storage of liver glycogen for your brain. During sleep your brain uses energy and primarily gets this energy from the glycogen (sugar) stored in your liver. When you don’t have enough liver glycogen to provide energy for the brain, your adrenal glands pump out more of the stress hormones, adrenaline and cortisol. If you have high amounts of these stress hormones, they can cause you to have difficulty sleeping. According to this site, raw honey is 22% better at producing liver glycogen compared to processed honey you’ll typically find in the food store.
Having some sea salt right before bed is another important component as it helps lower the stress hormones as well. Salt aids in energy production so your energy can be sustained throughout the night. When you have adequate sodium in your bloodstream, your stress response is reduced and your body won’t pump out as much adrenaline or cortisol. Salt helps your body stay in a homeostatic state so that your adrenaline won’t spike during the night and cause you to wake up, at horrible times like 2am and 4am. There is even some evidence that salt raises your oxytocin level, which is a hormone that helps you feel calm and relaxed.
By combining all three ingredients, you get the benefits of all of them helping you to get to sleep and stay asleep through the night.
What You Need For The Magic Mixture
- 1 tablespoon of coconut oil
- 1/4 teaspoon of raw honey (make sure it’s raw, unprocessed)
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
How To Use The Magic Mixture:
I keep jars of coconut oil and raw honey on a table near my bed at night along with a bag of sea salt and glass of warm water.
The main goal is just to take all three ingredients right before you go to bed. So you can do it however you feel most comfortable.
Option 1: Mix the coconut oil, raw honey, in a dish and sprinkle some sea salt on it. Mix up the ingredients a little. Put it on a spoon and swallow, then chase with water.
Option 2: Take the coconut oil, raw honey separately and chase with water. Then, you could add the sea salt to a small cup of water and drink it.
If You Wake Up In The Middle Of The Night
Just take the mixture again anytime you wake up and you should be able to fall back asleep much easier, in about 30 minutes or less.
Have you tried any of these ingredients to help you stay sleep all night? If any other remedies have worked for you, I would love to hear them in the comments.
