8 Natural Supplements For Sleep: Our Top Picks To Get Your Sleep Back On Track

We’ve all heard getting those magic 8-9 hours of sleep a night does wonders for our health, but how many of us are actually getting consistent, high quality, restful sleep?

Are you finding it difficult to wind down after a stressful day at work? Racing thoughts keeping you up at night? Feel like you can’t get a deep sleep or seem to wake up persistently through the night? Let’s face it, in today’s fast-paced world, our jam-packed days make it almost impossible to squeeze everything in. And try as we might, those golden 8-9 hours of sleep can feel quite out of reach. 

Lack of sleep presents a whole myriad of health-related issues including weight gain, increased blood pressure, stress, weakened immune system, altered hormone production, mood swings, and even disease.

If you’ve ever experienced issues with your sleep, you can appreciate how frustrating, mentally draining, and downright exhausting it is.

But before you go reaching for the heavy-duty sleeping pills (that quite literally knock you out cold), here’s some all-natural, tried and tested products to have you catching some sweet, healthy Z’s in no time.

For many of us, sleep is valued more highly than anything else and is often a barometer to measure how we’re doing health-wise. So when your usually sound sleep cycle is thrown out of whack, it can be pretty distressing.
To help keep you calm and get your sleep back on track, try Natural Factors GABA. GABA, a non-protein amino acid is a calming neurotransmitter in the brain and an ideal supplement for people experiencing anxiety, muscle tension and short term sleep issues. It helps to reduce acute stress and nervousness, promotes physical relaxation without heavy drowsiness or grogginess and improves the quality of your sleep. 

It’s a vicious cycle when you want to get more sleep, but start fretting when you can’t actually fall asleep. This not only causes a new layer of stress the mind and body have to cope with, but it also causes anxiety around bedtime itself - the time when you need to be most relaxed. Take a chill pill! Or better yet, try our Body Energy Club Calm. It’s our organic herbal formulation that contains a blend of medicinal herbs such as Chamomile, Valerian, Passionflower, Hops, Skullcap and California Poppy to help restore relaxation and deep, restful sleep.

Lack of sleep puts extra pressure on the body. It lowers your energy levels and causes you to feel fatigued, making it more difficult to manage the other major stressors in your life. Deadlines at work, studying all night for exams or even high intensity exercise all count as stress and could be messing with your sleep.     

Your poor adrenals need support, pronto. Try AOR Ortho Adapt - it’s an adaptogen containing Ashwagandha, Rhodiola, Licorice and Siberian Ginseng as well as Vitamin C and B5. All of these work together to prevent fatigue and burnout while boosting energy levels and immunity. Because the last thing you need right now is to get sick! P.S this product has a vegan-friendly option too.

Ever noticed that when you finally climb into bed after a long day, suddenly your brain just won’t shut up? Maybe you’ve got a lot on your mind, but racing thoughts at bedtime lead to racing heart rate, which inevitably leads to the inability to fall asleep. This is where L-Theanine comes in. The benefit of L-Theanine is that it works to relax you without sedating. It’s an amino acid naturally found in tea and has the ability to lower stress, your heart rate and blood pressure. It’s widely used to help people fall asleep more easily at bedtime and safe to take for extended periods of time. 

 If your bedtime habits are on point, but you’re still tossing and turning or frequently waking up during the night, you may be in need of Magnesium. Magnesium is not only key for muscle recovery and nerve function, but it helps calm your nervous system down by regulating GABA (the calming neurotransmitter in our brains) giving you better quality sleep for longer. 

Melatonin is actually a hormone the body produces that tells us when it’s time to go to bed. Unfortunately, things like stress, smoking, exposure to blue light or too much light at nighttime, shift work and jet lag can all mess with our natural melatonin levels, so taking a Melatonin supplement can help normalize and re-stabilize your internal clock. It won’t necessarily ‘knock you out’, but it works with your body’s circadian rhythm to calm you down and prime you for sleep. 

And for those that have tried everything else, there’s Endo Sleep - a doctor-formulated, THC-free blend of non-cannabis herbs and botanicals, as well as Magnolia and Passionflower Extract to regulate healthy sleep-wake cycles and give you back consistent, restful and rejuvenating sleep. Sweet dreams!

Before taking any kind of new supplement, we always recommend having a chat with your doctor first and deciding on dosage or even the best course of action, especially if you’re experiencing chronic insomnia or anxiety around the issue.

While natural sleep supplements can often be that ‘quick fix’ to put an end to your sleeping woes, there are other daily things you can be doing to improve your sleep hygiene, which may make the world of difference.

• Avoiding caffeine and alcohol right before bed. Try Chamomile tea instead

• Making sure your bedroom is dark and cool. Eye masks can really come in handy

• Limit screen time right before bed - this includes TV, computers and yep, Instagram scrolling too. Try reading a book or listening to a guided meditation until you’re sleepy

• Taking a warm bath or shower before bed can promote relaxation and help you wind down

• Afternoon naps, late night strenuous exercise or even heavy meals before bed can also mess with your ability to get to sleep

And if you’re lucky enough to have your sleep habits sorted but need extra support in other areas, come in and have a chat with our friendly staff. We’re always happy to make recommendations and find a solution to meet your needs.