Can’t Sleep? Here Are 3 Surprising Tips (Involving Yoga + Wine) To Help You Catch More Zzz’s

Do you have trouble sleeping every night? If your answer is “yes,” you’re not alone.

According to Dr. Oz, this is the number one medical issue in America, and addressing it could help so many other health issues, like obesity, high blood pressure, dementia and depression… just to name a few.

Sleep plays SUCH a powerful role in determining your appetite and energy levels that it should be your first priority -- even before you think about your diet, says Dr. Oz. Poor quality sleep can affect everything from your metabolism to your hormones, and even memory.

“Your brain wants four things,” says Dr. Oz. “Sleep, sex, water and food. If you don’t get these things, you’ll seek them elsewhere. Those who aren’t sleeping or having sex might start eating more food. This could lead to addiction and it all adds up.”

WATCH: Head-Banging, Sleep-Eating and Other Strange Sleep Problems

So how can we all get more sleep? By counting sheep! Just kidding… there’s no sheep counting on this list:

1) Have Up to 2 Glasses of Wine to Help Wind Down + No Coffee After Noon
Just follow the “Half-Life” rule. Let's say you have a drink at 5PM, according to Dr. Oz, by 10PM you’ll still have half that amount of caffeine in your blood system. You probably won’t feel energized by 10PM, but it's enough caffeine to prevent you from falling into a deep sleep.

He also says that one out of seven people don’t metabolize caffeine at all. If this sounds like you, follow the half-life rule and don’t have coffee after lunch.

There is some good news, coffee and wine lovers! He says you can have up to three cups of coffee per day without it affecting your sleep (as long as it isn’t too late in the day, of course) -- and two glasses of wine can actually HELP you sleep!

“I was shocked by this,” says Dr. Oz. “As long as you don’t have more than two, it’s a good thing. The whole point is not to numb yourself, but to be able to relax yourself.”

2) Try Yoga Nidra
Dr. Oz says this means “psychic sleep” -- it’s a form of meditation that is believed to give you the benefits of sleep while you’re awake.

Here’s how to do it: put on some soothing music (without words), lie down and close your eyes. Try to focus on individual parts of your body. Start with one hand; focus on each finger, one at a time leading up to your palm, then your wrist, your forearm, and so on until you’ve covered your entire body.

WATCH: Could Lack of Sleep Be Affecting Your Health?

3) Get to Bed by 10:30PM 4 Nights a Week
Dr. Oz says that even if you get a good amount of sleep, going to bed late is likely to leave a large amount of your sleep highly inefficient. Heading to bed around 10:30PM will allow your body to access that vital 90-minute phase of sleep before midnight.

Now hit the hay and try not to dream about sheep. Sweet dreams!

READ: How to Figure Out The Best Time of Day to Have Sex, Sleep, Exercise and Eat for Your Sleep for Your Personality Type