Get a Good Nights Sleep

Home Page
Art Gallery
Home Decorating
Home Improvement and Woodworking
Photography
Garden & Outdoor Living
Crafts and Hobbies
Health and Fitness
Beauty and Fashion
Kitchen and Cuisine
Living Mindfully
Writing and Publishing
Christmas

The Harvard Medical School Guide to a Good Night's Sleep

Stretching and breathing exercises can have many healthy lifestyle benefits including reduction of stress and anxiety. Stretching relaxes the muscles and releases built-up tension. Breathing helps to calm the nervous system and focus the mind but you must learn how to do them correctly to get the positive benefits.

The Relaxation & Stress Reduction Workbook

Home Page > Health & Fitness

Getting a good nights sleep is crucial for allowing to body to heal and regenerate and recover from the stressful events of the day. Most adults need between six and eight hours of sleep to avoid fatigue, irritability, and the concentration and short-term memory loss that is often associated with sleep deprivation.

Disturbed sleep patterns can be caused by a number of factors

• Illness (short term or long term)

• Stress, worry and anxiety

• Poor diet and nutrition

• Environment not conducive to sleep (hot/cold/light/noise).

• Irregularity of sleep patterns (shift work, too many late nights or broken sleep, sleeping during the day)

• Chemical imbalance (hormones/toxins in the body)

• Stimulants before bedtime (caffeine, alcohol, nicotine).

Eliminate sources of outside light as much as possible with heavy curtains or blinds that generously cover the window. Darkness inhibits the brain’s biological clock and encourages you to sleep sounder and for longer periods of time. Use thermal backed curtains to keep the bedroom warmer in winter by keeping cold air out and reducing heat loss from within the room.

The bedroom is for sleeping. Remove TV's and computers from the bedroom and avoid using a computer late at night as the light from your monitor right before bed is enough to reset your whole wake/sleep cycle and postpone the onset of sleepiness by 3 hours. Clock radios with lighted displays or even hall lights can be misinterpreted by your brain as a signal you should wake up.

If you suffer from allergies check the room for dust and mould if you find you are waking up un-refreshed or with sinus problems. Keep the bedroom as dust free as possible and this includes the mattress and bed linen. If allergies symptoms persist consider installing anti-allergenic carpeting or polished wooden floors for easy cleaning.

Make use of night breathing plants in the bedroom such as bromeliads, anthuriums and orchids that are natural botanical air purifiers. These plants breath out oxygen (O) and absorb carbon dioxide (CO) during the night to refresh the air for a restful night’s sleep.

Reduce stress, worry and anxiety

Take time to learn some deep relaxation techniques or meditation if you feel your insomnia is caused by stress and anxiety. The following meditation technique for 10 minutes, twice a day, can be very beneficial for helping you become more relaxed.

• Sit or lie in a quite place with your eyes closed, stay alert and awake if you can. Starting with your right hand, tense then relax each muscle group in turn, all around the body then back to the right hand again.
• Next, focus on each muscle group, this time relaxing only. pay extra attention to your head and neck or any area that feels extra tension.
• Now turn your attention to your breathing. Listen to the sound of your breath and focus on the rate of each breath. Breath in and out slowly, filling your lungs from the stomach up to your chest.
• Now repeat the words "relax" silently in your mind. If you find the pace fast slow down. Each time other thoughts distract you, calmly return to the word "relax"
• just let go and enjoy this quite time for yourself letting your body and mind totally relax.

If you can't get to sleep because of worry, or you tend to wake in the night, write down everything you’re thinking about and any strategies you’ve thought of that will solve the problems and get a good nights sleep knowing you will deal with those items in the morning.

Take a warm bath before bed with added Epsom salts. Epsom salts are high in magnesium and help to relax any tension in the body. Six to eight drops of lavender essential oil can also be added to the bathwater.

Avoid stimulants at bedtime

For quality sleep, eat a healthy diet throughout the day and try to follow these general rules:

Caffeine and nicotine are stimulants and can make falling asleep difficult. Alcohol affects REM and deep sleep. Avoid drinking coffee, hot chocolate, tea and energy drinks containing caffeine within 3 to 6 hours of going to bed. Research has shown the caffeine blocks the effects of adenosine, a chemical produced by your brain that makes you sleepy. If you need to drink something, choose water, non-caffeinated tea or hot chocolate (which has very little caffeine) or try a warm glass of milk and a cookie. The carbohydrates in the cookie will help get the tryptophan, a chemical found in the milk, to where it is needed in the brain to make you feel sleepy.

Short-lived bouts of insomnia are usually nothing to worry about, but chronic sleep loss can contribute to health problems that can affect metabolism, mood and cardiovascular health. Getting fewer than five hours on a regular basis results in higher levels of fibrinogen - a blood-clotting protein that can slow the blood flow to your heart. After only four hours of sleep for six consecutive nights studies have shown that our ability to process blood sugar can be reduced by 30 percent - a level close to diabetics.

For sleep problems that have existed for a while visit your doctor or health professional to ensure there are no underlying health or sleep disorder problems preventing you from getting a good nights sleep.

Health and Fitness - Health and Fitness Store