Before turning to medicinal treatments for insomnia, it is worth taking a look at your sleeping environment to make sure it is the best possible to help you sleep. Here are some of the things that may be disturbing your sleep:

Light pollution – If you are suffering from disrupted sleep, light is only going to make things worse. Heavy curtains or blinds should be used in the bedroom, you can get specialist black-out blinds and curtains that block all light if you find yours aren’t sufficient. If you are worried about waking up in the morning, there are special clocks that simulate dawn to help you wake naturally when you want to.

Noise is one of the greatest disturbers of sleep, and is often one of the most difficult to block out. Even though our hearing is reduced while we sleep our brains still process sound, and even the sound of a passing car can disturb your sleep, not to the point of waking you up, although in some cases it can, but repeated sound disturbance can leave you feeling very tired and groggy in the morning.

Temperature is an important factor in sleeping well. While there is not set rule for the temperature your room should be, too hot is bad. Of course everybody is different when it comes to temperature, one persons cold room may feel warm to the next. Also everyone sleeps in different clothes with different bed coverings. Just make sure you aren’t overheating at night as this will disturb your sleep no end and may make it difficult to go back to sleep.

It seems like one of the most obvious things, but make sure your bed and pillows are comfortable. If you wake up with aches and pains in the morning that disappear after rising, then you should look at getting a new bed or pillow. Your bed should provide uninterrupted contact and evenly distributed pressure across your body. Your pillow should support you head and neck so your spine is as straight as possible. If you find you are suffering from a stuffy nose or itchy eyes in bed you may want to invest in anti-allergy bedding.

While none of the above are actual insomnia cures in themselves, they may well help towards getting a good nights sleep.