Yoga
Yoga stretches and deep breathing techniques before bed can help.
Lie on your bed and redirect your focus on breathing and relaxing your muscles. Doing yoga postures i.e surya namaskar before sleep also helps you stretch and loosen your muscles. That's when relaxation sets in.
Aromatherapy Oils
Clear the air and mind with aromatherapy oils like lavendar, which induces sleep. Try showers gels with essential oils of camomile, lavendar, neroli, rose and marjoram before bed, or place a few drops of a relaxing oil onto your pillow case.
Exercise
A workout is good for sleep but the timing is crucial. Invigorating exercises like lifting heavy weights pump up your endorphin levels and should be avoided just before sleep. Do them at least two to three hours before bedtime. To relax your body for a good night's rest, do yoga or go for a long after-dinner walk.
Warmth
A hot shower about 90 minutes long before bed will help induce sleep.
Visualisation
Counting sheep helps. For variety, visualise walking down an endless stairwell. Anything repetitive or mindless helps your brain shut down and sets your body on auto-sleep mode.
Ritual
A regular relaxing bedtime routine is a key factor. Go to bed and wake up around the same time every day. Each night, take a warm shower before bed, change into your PJs, switch off the tv, dim the lights and read an easy book.
Jet Lag
A sleep stealer, jet lag is the inability to snooze having travelled across several time zones. If you're staying at your destination more than a few days, try to change your time table to match the destination time. A few days before leaving home, stay up later or go to bed earlier, depending on your destination. On the plane, adjust your watch to local time, and try to sleep at the appropriate hour. No matter how tired you are, don't nap when you reach your destination or you'll confuse your body's internal clock.