It doesn’t matter who you are, where you live or what line of work you are in: Life is stressful for everybody. As the day turns to night and the time comes for you to try and get some much-deserved sleep, shutting off your thoughts and reaching a state of relaxation can seem almost impossible. If you’re having a hard time getting to sleep or staying asleep, then it might be time to mix up your bedtime routine to achieve the best rest you can get.

CBD To Help You Sleep

The health benefits of the CBD have been documented in history for thousands of years, one major benefit being its properties for relaxation.

If the idea of getting high makes you nervous or you don’t live in a legal state, no need to worry: Although tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the psychoactive chemical that gets you high, there are plenty of products that have little to no THC in them at all.

No matter whether you’re using CBD or THC to help you sleep, best practice is to give it twenty minutes to an hour to take full effect. Given its diverse nature, there are more ways to consume CBD:

-Edibles infused with CBD oil. These are often treats like cookies and brownies or hard candy and chewable gummies.

• CBD pills or tablets. When you take your nightly multivitamin before bed, take one of these at the same time.

-Oils or concentrates. Measuring out a dropper of marijuana oil and letting it sit under your tongue for 30 seconds is one way to quickly get the effects without having to smoke.

Unplug Completely

Bright lights, fluorescent bulbs and flashing screens are visually distracting and can hinder one’s ability to fall asleep. About 30 minutes before you plan to try and sleep, try doing this every night:

-Round up all your devices: Phones, tablets, laptops and whatever else you use daily that has a screen and/or an IP address

-Plug everything into its appropriate charger in a separate room from the bedroom

-Switch off all devices and let them charge overnight without being turned on

It’s such a simple method, but when you don’t have easy access to your devices then you’re not tempted to play with them. Of course, make an exception with your personal cell phone, but be disciplined enough to close all your apps and power it to silent in case there’s an emergency.

The Most Relaxing Exercise Of All

There’s a reason that yoga has been practiced worldwide for the last 5,000 years: It’s effective. A combination of stretching, proper breathing techniques and meditation, yoga helps to relax the mind and body at the same time.

While you can certainly sign up for a yoga class taught by a professional at your local community center or yoga studio, you can also opt to try it yourself in the privacy of your own home if you’re self-conscious. Check on Amazon for DVDs of yoga routines for bedtime, or for a free option look on Youtube. Perform your yoga stretches about an hour before you plan on going to bed and let your endorphins and serotonin help to get you into a state of total peace and calm.

On a similar vein, think about beginning a meditation or prayer ritual before or after you practice yoga. Whether you’re religious or not is not the point of meditation; it is more about humbling yourself before powers that are much bigger than you are. Allowing yourself even five minutes to let go and let yourself feel small before whatever the larger force is can be a powerful way to finish the evening — and feel strangely freeing too.

Have A Nightcap

This doesn’t necessarily mean a shot of whiskey before bed (unless that’s something you normally do, in which case, carry on); rather, make yourself a pot of tea to help relax before bed. This has been something that humans have done since the earliest days, and there’s something calming in the ritual of tea itself: Filling the kettle, watching the water darken and everything else that comes along with the process.

It goes without saying that drinking anything with caffeine in it if you’re trying to relax is not a good idea. Stay away from black tea and drink herbal tea instead. Some of the best kinds of tea before bed include:

-Peppermint

-Chamomile

-Lemon

-Lavender