Sleeping well is a highly valued thing. According to an article in the United Kingdom’s “Daily Telegraph”, a good night’s sleep has been voted life’s ‘Greatest little pleasure’. The poll, which interviewed 3,000 people in the UK, asked them what their greatest little pleasures in life were.

The British company “Bachelors” conducted the survey. The sleep theme showed up in other places as well, with ‘Little pleasure; number three being ‘Sleeping in newly laundered bedding’. Number six was ‘Cuddling up with a loved one in bed’ .

Chronic insomnia contributes to sleepiness during the day, increased accidents and illness, and may have an adverse effect on concentration, interpersonal relationships and the ability to handle stress. Because good sleep is so vital to health, scientists continue to pursue the trail of finding things that enhance its quality and quantity.

Dr. Ramakrishnan, a professor at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, says, “Exercise improves sleep as effectively as sleeping drugs in some studies.” His study found that on average, exercise increases total sleep time by 42 minutes.

Studies at the University of Arizona found that walking more than six blocks a day at a normal pace significantly improves sleep at night for women. Scientists suspect that exercise helps set our biological clock into a consistent wake/sleep pattern, or it may boost the brain’s production of serotonin, a neurochemical that encourages sleep.

A drop in body temperature may help you fall asleep. According to a study in the Journal “Sleep”, making a special effort to cool down before bedtime may be of particular benefit to insomniacs. Sleep specialists have long debated whether the nighttime drop in temperature induces sleep or follows it. To investigate this question, Doctors Murphy and Campbell of the New York Hospital’s Cornell Medical Center in White Plains, recruited 21 men and 23 women, aged 19 to 82.

The researchers identified the time at which the subjects’ body temperature fell most sharply. This point almost always occurred in the two hours before sleep began. Therefore, people with trouble falling asleep might benefit from taking hot baths about 90 minutes before bedtime, the researchers speculate. When they get out of the bath, body temperature will drop rapidly, and this might help them to fall asleep faster.

Warm milk has long been a highly recommended folk remedy for insomnia. Regarding this, William Sears, M.D. says: “Calcium helps the brain use the amino acid tryptophan to manufacture the sleep-inducing substance melatonin. This explains why dairy products, which contain both tryptophan and calcium, are one of the top sleep-inducing foods.”

Calcium is directly related to our cycles of sleep. In one study, published in the European Neurology Journal, researchers found that calcium levels in the body are higher during some of the deepest levels of sleep, such as the rapid eye movement (REM) phase. The study concluded that disturbances in sleep, especially the absence of REM deep sleep or disturbed REM sleep, are related to a calcium deficiency. Restoration to the normal course of sleep was achieved following the normalization of the blood calcium level.

Jobee Knight, a nutritional researcher and President of Nutrition Breakthroughs in Glendale, CA., is someone who fought her own battle against sleeplessness and insomnia. She decided to put her background to use by searching out effective natural insomnia remedies for relaxation and deeper sleep.

The result was Sleep Minerals II, a sleep remedy which contains calcium, magnesium, vitamin D and zinc. The ingredients are delivered in a softgel form with healthy carrier oils, making it more quickly absorbable than tablets or capsules and providing a deeper, longer-lasting sleep.

Kimberly B. of Troy, Michigan says: “I have been taking Sleep Minerals for about a month now. I have tried everything out there and this supplement is amazing. I have suffered with insomnia for two and a half years. I have also had restless leg syndrome my entire life and this is the first relief I’ve ever had…..gone for a month now.”

So if you need help with getting better sleep, take the tips of recent research studies and do some form of exercise during the day, keep yourself cool before bedtime, and use an effective form of calcium as a sleep remedy to relax yourself into a sound, restful sleep.

Click here for more information on Sleep Minerals II.