I was also hoping this experiment would be more fruitful! But finding out the paths that don’t work is just as valuable as finding the ones that do.

I’ve never dealt with full blown insomnia, but struggling to fall asleep had been an issue for a large part of my life. I’ve since changed several things about my lifestyle including vastly changing my diet towards a Paleo approach and incorporating more exercise, both of which have contributed to greatly improved sleep.

But there was one thing I tried that improved my sleep more than anything and immediately — mindfulness meditation right before bed.

When I was struggling to sleep at night, it was always my mind that was staying very active and keeping me up. Meditating right before bed calms the mind, the body, and your heart rate. My heart rate will drop below 50bpm after a nightly meditation. And when I go to bed after this, I fall asleep in minutes.

I’d strongly recommend trying this out for a week to give you time to learn how to meditate and see if it helps you.

If you’re unfamiliar with meditating, I recommend the app, Headspace. The first ten sessions are free, and they walk you through basic meditation practices.

I hope this is a bit more helpful to you!