Surprising SLEEP SAVERS

PROGRESSIVE MUSCLE RELAXATION

Tensing and releasing each muscle group calms the mind and puts muscles into the mellow mode they experience as you enter the N1 stage. And focus on your breath – inhale, exhale; repeat. “Doing this redirects the part of your brain that wants to stay active,” says sleep specialist Dr Nancy Collop.

HYPNOSIS

“You are getting sleepy” isn’t just a stage act. In a review of 24 studies, more than half found that when insomniacs put themselves into a trance, it helped them sleep. A phone app like Sleep Well Hypnosis will bring the hypnotist right to your nightstand.

PRUNES BEFORE BED

Their magnesium, B6 and calcium help produce melatonin, a hormone that makes us sleepy.

Eat two or three about an hour before lights-out. More may have you running to the bathroom instead of to bed, says Lauren HarrisPincus, a registered dietitian and author of The Protein-Packed Breakfast Club.