Aiding sleeplessness and anxiety

• A tryptophan snack before bed

Serotonin is a brain chemical that helps you sleep, and tryptophan is an amino acid the body uses to make serotonin. Two tryptophan-rich foods are turkey and bananas, and eating a little of either of these before bedtime could help you to fall off to sleep more successfully.

• Drink passionflower tea

Despite its name, passionflower won’t make your honeymoon memorable. In fact, it will put you to sleep. Infuse 3 tea bags in 3 cups (750ml) just-boiled water for 30-60 minutes and sip a cup half an hour before going to bed. (The ‘passion’ in the name of the flower refers to the Crucifixion of Christ, not lust.) Alkaloids in the flower can help to allay both insomnia and anxiety, conditions that often go hand in hand. Caution: talk to your doctor before using passionflower as it may interact with certain medications, especially anticoagulants.

• Calming Epsom salts bath

To calm yourself, pour 450g Epsom salts into a warm bath and soak to your heart’s content. Epsom salts (magnesium sulphate) cleans and tone skin but may also lower blood pressure.

• Make a hops pillow

Take a cushion cover with a zip and stuff it full of dried hops (available online and from health food shops). If you like, throw in a handful of dried lavender, also a sedative herb, to sweeten the smell. When you retire for the night, put the pillow near enough to your head that you will be able to breathe in the aroma. To keep the hops active, you will need to dampen them with grain alcohol every three or four weeks.

• Try St John’s wort as a mood booster

A cup of St John’s wort tea can safely be drunk up to three times a day to allay mild depression, nervousness and insomnia; capsules and liquid extracts are also available. The herb is Germany’s leading antidepressant, outselling even Prozac. Studies show that hypericin and other compounds in St John’s wort act together to prevent the enzyme monoamine oxidase (MAO) from breaking down serotonin, dopamine and other amines that elevate mood and emotions. St John’s wort interacts with various medications, so always check with your doctor before use. Caution: certain people who have used the herb have experienced delayed photosensitivity — an abnormal reaction to sunlight that usually results in a skin rash.

• Stop snoring with a tennis ball

If your bed mate’s snoring is cutting into your sleeping time, put a tennis ball in the pocket of a cotton T-shirt and secure it closed with a safety pin. Get the snorer to put the shirt on back to front before going to sleep and it should stop him (or her) from rolling over into the prime snoring position — on the back.

• Give yourself a soak

There’s a good reason why some parents give their babies warm baths before bedtime or a nap: warm water is a natural relaxant. So fill the bath, turn the lights down low, soak for a few minutes and crawl into a freshly made bed for some superlative sleep.

• Pre-sleep sip

Camomile, which is known to have sedating qualities, is an ideal sleep-inducer. If you can get good-quality tea bags, they will work perfectly; if you can grow fresh camomile in a small pot on a windowsill, all the better. Snip them about 2cm below the flower, tie a few of them together with kitchen string and steep them in a mug of hot water for a delicious calming drink.

• White noise as sleep therapy

A number of studies have shown that white noise — defined as noise that combines sounds of all different frequencies so that they virtually cancel each other out — is an effective, completely non-narcotic, safe and peaceful sleep aid. Where can you get it? You can buy white-noise machines or even less expensively, CDs and tapes. Load them into a CD player in the bedroom, turn the lights down, climb into bed and remember to set the alarm.

• Keep your cool!

The term ‘warm and cosy’ doesn’t always translate to the right conditions for falling asleep; so resist the urge to keep the heat up and instead, lower your bedroom thermostat to around 18°C and, if possible, open the window a little for good ventilation. Most sleep experts maintain that bedroom temperatures that are slightly cooler than living areas result in a sounder, better night’s sleep.