Summer sleep enhancers
Sidestep soaring temps and travel woes with natural strategies that will help you get the rest you crave
AWAY FROM HOME? Pop in earplugs
Vacations are a blast, but 85% of us come home groggy since we sleep restlessly when we’re not in our own beds. The save? Putting in soft foam earplugs at bedtime. A study in the journal Critical Care says they’ll help you sleep 40% deeper and cut middle-of-the-night wake-ups by as much as 65%. The scientists explain that when you’re sleeping in unfamiliar places, your brain stays on high alert, but earplugs block out noises like wind gusts or passing cars that would jolt you awake.
LONGER DAYS? Don evening shades
Your brain’s cue to make sleep-inducing melatonin is darkness— so it’s no wonder later sunsets sabotage sleep for two in three of us these days. Love spending your evenings outdoors? You can coax your brain to maximize its nightly melatonin release by donning sunglasses two hours before bedtime. Canadian sleep researchers say a sudden drop in the amount of UV light reaching your retinas activates brain enzymes that make your melatonin levels rise, helping you drift off 40 minutes sooner than if you’d basked in the evening glow shades-free.
ACHY ALL OVER? Snack on watermelon
Great news if you’re sore from weeding or lugging lawn furniture: Sweet, juicy watermelon can be a treat and a treatment! Debra Jaliman, M.D., author of Skin Rules, explains that the pigment that makes watermelon red (lycopene) relaxes tight muscles, reduces tissue inflammation and boosts blood flow to damaged muscles. Nosh on two thick slices (that’s two heaping cups of the cubes) each evening, and British researchers say you could cut your healing time in half, plus drift off 26% faster, often from the very first night.
DISRUPTED ROUTINE? Chill your eyes
Going to bed at the same time each night helps you drift off with ease—but summer fun can make a set bedtime difficult. The good news: Placing an ice pack on your eyes can help you drift off in just five minutes, no matter when you turn in, say scientists at Seattle’s Bastyr University. Chilling temperature-sensitive nerves in your eye area signals your brain to release sleepdeepening theta waves.
STICKY NIGHTS? Step on grass barefoot
Hot, humid evenings triple your risk of restless sleep. The natural remedy that can help you snooze right through a summer heat wave? Taking a five-minute break near bedtime to wiggle your bare toes through soft, tickly grass! According to an Australian research team, toe tickles induce slumber as quickly and effectively as sleep meds— by stimulating the pressure-sensitive nerves in your feet that prompt your brain to release the calming, sleepdeepening hormone serotonin.
SUN-KISSED SKIN? Try green tea this way
Sunburn sabotaging your sleep? Green tea to the rescue! University of Connecticut researchers say its tannins can soothe skin discomfort in 15 minutes by calming overactive pain nerves and dialing down inflammation. To do: Simply cover small spots with a green tea bag soaked in cool water until you feel relief. Or steep six tea bags in a tub of warm water for 10 minutes, then climb in for a 15-minute soak.