If you’ve been catching yourself staring at your room’s ceiling or changing sleeping positions every two seconds just to find the sweet spot, you’ll need to do more than that to catch those elusive Zs. Waiting until midnight for the gods of sleep to bestow upon you your well-deserved rest is not the way either.
In this piece, we’re going to show you how you can get better and longer sleep with three of the most popular super mushrooms known to man: reishi mushroom, lion’s mane, and cordyceps mushroom.
But before we dive into that, let’s answer this question first:
Why can’t you sleep?
There are several reasons why you might be having trouble getting some sleep or staying asleep. It could range from underlying medical conditions to your lifestyle, and the environment you live in.
These are all the factors that play a role in your sleep problems:
Poor sleep habits
Struggling to sleep doesn’t just happen overnight. Often, it’s caused by bad habits like going to bed well past midnight or having an irregular sleep schedule. Getting a quick snooze in in the afternoon or later in the day won’t also help you get the Zs at night.
Practicing these bad sleep habits will not only affect your sleeping, but it can also negatively impact your mental health.
It’s been proven that poor sleeping habits are connected to poor mental well-being. That’s why getting a good sleeping schedule should be on top of your list.
Stress and anxiety
Sleep has a unique connection with both stress and anxiety. As we’ve mentioned earlier, poor sleeping habits may lead to anxiety and other mental health issues. At the same time, too much stress and anxiety can also cause sleeping problems.
Poor sleeping environment
This may not sound like a lot, but a well-appointed and comfortable bedroom plays a huge role in good sleeping patterns. A good sleeping environment could mean a clean and organised room, a well-air-conditioned, heated or a friendly-lit space.
A poor sleeping environment on the other hand is everything that’s the opposite of what we just mentioned. Examples of these are rooms that are cluttered and extremely hot during the summer, noisy neighbourhoods or having a partner that snores loudly!
If you could reduce these sleep-depriving elements or eliminate them at all, a good night’s sleep is within reach!
Caffeine
Coffee before bedtime is never a good idea. Unless you’re planning to stay up late for work or studies, of course.
Science shows that only half of the caffeine that you drink will be eliminated from your body within 3-5 hours. This means that the other half will linger in your body for who knows how long. That’s why an afternoon fix isn’t recommended for it won’t let you sleep later that night.
Alcohol
A glass of wine or a bottle of beer may seem perfect for relaxing and winding down before going to bed. And it can help drop you off quickly to sleep.
However, while imbibing alcohol can help you sleep quickly most of the time, what it cannot do is to promote a night of healthy and quality sleep. Alcohol can disrupt your circadian rhythm and can cause insomnia.
What good does falling asleep quickly do if you’ll wake several times in the middle of the night, right?
Diet
If you want to catch your Zs tonight, make sure not to be tempted to munch on your chips or reheat your slices of pizza for a before-bedtime meal. Or just generally avoid eating too much right before sleeping.
If you do that, your stomach will have to work harder to grind those munchies making it harder for you to fall asleep.
Medicinal mushrooms as sleep aids
Mushrooms have long been an essential part of traditional medicine, especially in Asian cultures. Medicinal mushrooms are often used as a supplement that could help one’s body in several ways.
Increasing one’s energy and strengthening the immune system are only some of the medicinal mushroom’s claims to fame.
But little did everyone know that certain medicinal mushrooms can also help you when you’re tussling with your body clock for a goodnight’s sleep.
Some mushrooms are part of a superfood category they call “adaptogens”. Adaptogens are plants or mushrooms that help the human body in responding to both physical and mental stressors like stress, anxiety, and fatigue, thus, helping you ease your mind and body to get the rest that they rightfully deserve.
With that said, below are the most popular mushrooms that can help you catch those Zs.
3 Mushrooms for Better Sleep
Reishi mushroom
Reishi mushroom or Ganoderma lucidum is a popular mushroom, and rightfully so, because of its numerous health benefits.
It can help boost your immune system, help to supply your body with antioxidants and more. But probably the most underrated power of the Reishi mushroom is its ability to help you to doze off faster and longer.
In several studies done on rodents, it was found that the Reishi mushroom can also help you spend more time in non-REM sleep and get you there faster, which is exactly what you need to transition into a deep sleep.
Once you achieve it, you’ll feel more refreshed and stress-free the next day, which is something that you should strive for every day.
There are several ways to enjoy the Reishi goodness. Below are only some of them:
- Fix a cup of delicious tonic tea with Reishi Mushroom Extract
- Pop a soft gel capsule made from Reishi mushroom spore oil for a quick and easy intake
- Help heal skin wounds with a drop of Reishi Mushroom Spore Oil
- Cook a steaming hot veggie soup with Australian-grown reishi mushrooms
Lion’s mane mushrooms
Lion’s mane mushroom is popular for its weird looks, but there’s certainly more to this mushroom than meets the eye.
These pom pom-looking mushrooms can help reduce memory loss, boost your cognitive functions, improve your digestion, and reduce inflammation.
Aside from this, lion’s mane mushroom can also help correct your circadian rhythm problems which ultimately affect your sleeping patterns, which might help you overcome your sleep issues.
Here’s how you can enjoy the mushroom-goodness of lion’s mane:
- Upgrade your morning fix by mixing some lion’s mane mushroom extract in your cup
- Take a dose of Lion’s Mane Extract Capsules every day for daily nutrition!
- Add a healthy kick to your morning coffee, afternoon, tea, or milk with a drop of Australian Lion’s Mane Mushroom Tincture
Cordyceps mushrooms
Speaking of weird-looking mushrooms, the cordyceps mushroom is certainly near the top of the list. Although this fungus looks like a clump of wiggly worms, its health benefits are nothing short of incredible.
Cordyceps mushroom is famous for being a great pick-me-up as it can help increase your energy levels. You may be asking, “if it’s an energy-boosting mushroom, why is it listed in the list?”
Well, cordyceps has a secret weapon called cordycepin. This compound is an adenosine analog that helps in regulating sleep. Below are only some of its benefits:
- Promotes good NREM sleep
- Could help improve deep sleep and prevent wakefulness
- Could help reset your circadian rhythm
If you want to get all these sleeping benefits, it’s easy, just mix our Cordyceps Mushroom Extract with your favourite beverage or take Cordyceps mushroom capsules daily!
Go get your well-deserved sleep with Superfoods Australia
If you really want to take back your sleep from insomnia, the best thing that you can do is to start practicing good habits concerning sleep. That includes sleeping early, maintaining a clean and organised bedroom, and eating a healthy diet.
Making a habit out of these things will certainly help you catch that quality Zs faster and longer.
While a good night’s sleep always starts with these regular doses of our superfood products that we mentioned won’t hurt your cause. Our cordyceps mushroom, lion’s mane mushroom and reishi mushroom products will even help increase your chances of getting proper sleep.
That’s why if we were in your shoes, we’d hoard these superfood products before they run out of stock. If you shop for more than $100-worth of superfood products, we’ll deliver them to you for free wherever you are in the Land Down Under!
Check out more of our superfood collection here.
