Four things that help me sleep

Thanks to my DNA, I am keenly sensitive to certain naturally-occurring and man-made substances, such as alcohol, monosodium glutamate, and caffeine. I can only drink 1/4 of a beer before feeling uncomfortable in my stomach and head (not even reaching the buzzed state). I have terrible GI problems when I intake too much MSG. And, as I discovered recently, the caffeine in a chai latte purchased at 1p will disrupt my sleep ten hours later.

Since the latter incident, I've come across a few things that help me sleep better. None of them will counteract the caffeine I ingest (even from coffee ice cream! :[ ), but I'm pretty sure the last three have helped me fall and stay asleep on a consistent basis.

1) White noise. I found this website online that will play white (or pink or brown) noise off your computer. It even has a sleep timer so that you don't have to have it playing all night. It's certainly a cheap and effective way to help the mind relax. Even when caffeine makes it hard for me to stay asleep for very long, the white noise helps me fall asleep quite well.

2) Earplugs. Obviously, you won't benefit from external white noise if you're wearing earplugs. But wearing the plugs themselves provides some gentle white noise, like when you put your ear to a conch shell. More importantly, it largely blocks out annoying noises like ticking air conditioners. And, to my surprise, I always hear my alarm in the morning. I use Hearos foam earplugs every night.

3) Exercise. Signing up for short-distance running races (3-5 miles) has motivated me to run a couple times a week. Mind you, I'm not a natural runner. So especially on days that I "train", my sleep latency is just a few minutes.

4) Shower before bed. This is probably the most subjective tip, but I feel much more relaxed when I go to bed feeling clean and refreshed, especially in the summer time. Sometimes it's tough to shower when I'm already feeling tired, but it's been worth sticking with it.