If you're anything like me and have a lot of trouble sleeping at night, you need to find healthy ways to relax. My biggest issue is that if I don't go to bed extremely tired, I start thinking and the thoughts do not stop, no matter what I try to do. Since I started college, I've had to put a TV show on Netflix in the background to fall asleep. I usually watch something like Friends or another show I've watched about a million times so that I don't get too distracted by it but I distract my thoughts enough to relax and sleep eventually.

I've found that lately, even that doesn't work. Sometimes I feel so overwhelmingly stressed out that I simply cannot sleep. My eyes refuse to grow heavy, my heartbeat stays elevated, and my muscles remain tense. It's not a good feeling to have especially the night before a big event, or a class you have to get up early for.

People aren't aware of all the negative things not sleeping can do to a person's body. Sleeping badly can do a lot of damage as well. Symptoms can range from muscle pain to trouble focusing and memory loss. Sleep is so important yet so underrated in our society.

As students, we work so hard in school and need to rest, but sometimes our bodies won't allow us to get that well-deserved rest because we are still in stress mode. Relaxing and taking my mind off of issues is hard. It's so hard for me to just let things go and fall asleep. I don't think about the stress I am putting my body under until I wake up and feel awful and moody all day long. When this happens consistently, it can really take a toll on life in general.

I haven't been sleeping well. I have too much on my mind, so much that I forget things. I have lapses in memory sometimes. I have muscle pain everywhere even when I don't work out. My head hurts almost daily, I feel lightheaded and my mood changes quickly.

Those are just some of the symptoms I've noticed since my sleeping habits have deteriorated. I have been working on getting a good sleep schedule again. I've been listening to sleep meditation and muscle relaxation videos at night to fall asleep.
I have found these things to help tremendously. If you are having issues with sleep, before resorting to any type of medication, try to watch videos like these. They help you focus on your breathing and relaxing your muscles so that you can sleep and stop thinking about all the issues that exist in the world. Take care of yourself, stay hydrated, stay healthy, and rest easy!