It's true that we all have difficulty in sleeping once in a while. But sleep deprivation on regular basis is one of the symptoms of anxiety disorder that can aggravate the condition of a person suffering from this mental problem. Continuous sleep deprivation may also cause depression. There are some highly potential benzodiazepines like xanax Tranquilizers that may be helpful in soothing anxiety. However, it is important for a person who has anxiety to get a good night's sleep every night. It is not at all impossible, rather simple if you make small changes in your daily routine. Follow these simple steps and ensure a good night sleep every night.
Cut caffeine
Caffeine stays up to about 14 hours in your body. So if you drink a cup of coffee at noon and are still awake at midnight, caffeine might be the reason. Cutting out caffeine at least four to six hours before bedtime can help you fall asleep easier. If you have already had too much caffeine, try eating some carbohydrates like bread or crackers to help reduce the effects.
Avoid alcohol
Alcohol is not a sleep aid. Rather it may lead you to alcoholism. It may initially help you fall asleep, but it also causes disturbances in sleep resulting in less restful sleep.
Relax before bedtime
You need to relax to get rid of the stress, if you have any, as it makes one miserable, and wreaks havoc on his sleep. Make a list of all the stressors of the day, along with a plan to deal with them. Combining this with a period of relaxation perhaps by reading something light, meditating, aromatherapy, light stretching, or taking a hot bath can also help you get better sleep.
Keep your bedroom quiet, dark, and comfortable.
Use earplugs, window blinds or curtains, and an electric blanket or air conditioner everything possible to create an ideal sleep environment. And don't use the overhead light if you need to get up at night; use a small night-light instead.
Eat right, sleep tight.
Try not to go to bed hungry, but avoid heavy meals before bedtime. An over-full belly can keep you up. Some foods can be helpful in promoting sleep, like milk, which contains tryptophan, a sleep-promoting substance. Other foods that help promote sleep include tuna, halibut, pumpkin, artichokes, avocados, almonds, eggs, bok choy, peaches, walnuts, apricots, oats, asparagus, potatoes, buckwheat, and bananas.
Restrict nicotine.
Having a smoke before bed -- although it feels relaxing actually puts a stimulant into your bloodstream. The effects of nicotine are similar to those of caffeine. Nicotine can keep you up and awaken at night. It should be avoided particularly near bedtime and also in the middle of the night.
Sleeping right is very important for your mental health. Even if you are not suffering from any psychological issues, you need to take care of a few regular causes of sleep deprivation like watching TV, eating, and discussing emotional issues in bed. Do not associate the bed with distracting activities that could make it difficult for you to fall asleep. Remember, the bed is for sleeping...and nothing else!
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Sunday, November 30, 2008
Trick to get better sleep
Our mind is often the best resource we have for creating and solving problems. This is certainly the case when it comes to insomnia. Those who have problems sleeping know far too well the way anxiety about not sleeping perpetuates the problem. You cannot sleep; you toss and turn; worrying about having to be up by a certain time the next morning exacerbates the situation and you toss and turn even more.
There is, however, something you can do to turn the situation around. You can trick the mind to get better sleep. The mind, after all, can be tricked into compliance, especially if you work at re-programming what it understands to be a time for wakefulness and a time for sleep. Here are a few suggestions you might find helpful to trick the mind into compliance with a sleeping schedule.
a) Maintain good Sleep Hygiene or setting a regular schedule and routine for sleep. Getting habituated to a set routine at bedtime works well because it programs the mind and body to a set of expectations: the same time every night, in the same bed with the same routines. Nothing convinces the mind more of your seriousness and expectation than repetitive action. You might experience sleeplessness for the first night or two, but if you persist with the routine schedule, chances are within a week, you will have little difficulty falling asleep. According to a report in the Boston Globe, a study of insomniacs found that those who had set and regulated their waking and sleeping times, who avoided naps during the day and used their bedrooms only for sleep, were able to reduce their sleepless period (after retiring to bed) by 54%. This percentage is significant considering that a control group using relaxation therapy experienced only a 16% reduction while a placebo group had only a 12% reduction. Maintaining good sleep hygiene is one way of tricking the mind to get better sleep.
b) Lower the temperature of the bedroom before sleep. Cool temperatures make for better sleep because they can trick the body into lowering its temperature, a prerequisite for deep sleep. The body's temperature is triggered by an internal clock. Although the average body temperature for humans is about 97 degrees F, it fluctuates in a regular pattern on a daily basis. Body temperature hits its low (about 88 degrees F) between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m., then climbs steadily through the morning before dipping again at around 3 o'clock in the afternoon.
c) Wearing socks and mittens to bed can also trick mind and body into better sleep. Socks and mittens widen blood vessels in hands and feet, a necessary step to inducing sleep, according to a Swiss study. In this study, researchers found that as the body prepares for sleep, the blood vessels in hands and feet dilate. This dilation precipitates the cooling of the blood as it flows through the open channels near the surface of the skin; when body temperatures fall, sleep automatically follows.d) Do not go to bed hungry. Hunger will keep you alert and tense. A bedtime snack that contains amino acid tryptophan is best. The body converts tryptophan to sleep-inducing chemicals. Having a small, lean slice of turkey (rich in this amino acid) with a piece of toast is best. Another alternative is one oatmeal cookie with a glass of milk (also rich in tryptophan).
f) Focusing on staying awake rather than trying to fall asleep can do the trick as well. In what is known as "paradoxical intention," the mind that focuses on being awake will sooner relax than the mind that is struggling to fall asleep. If you aren't asleep 30 minutes after you retire to bed, get up and read a book--preferably one that you know is dull and tedious. Research shows that the longer you lie awake in bed, the less likely you will have a night of uninterrupted sleep. Far better it is to get up, do something else until you feel sleepy.
g) Getting at least 1-2 hours of sunlight each day is another trick to get better sleep. Research suggests that getting enough sunlight keeps our biological clock on track. Out master body clock is a tiny cluster of cells that lies deep within the brain in an area called the hypothalamus. This area controls basic functions such as food intake and body temperature. This cluster of nerve cells is influenced by light which regulates the secretion of melatonin, a hormone that controls the circadian rhythm of our body (when we sleep and when we stay alert). During the day, sunlight slows the production of melatonin (which is a reason why we feel so alert during the day); at night, the production of this hormone increases, allowing us to feel relaxed and drowsy. Getting 2 hours of sunlight during the day will ensure that the natural wake and sleep cycles of the body are maintained.
If you still have difficulty falling and staying asleep, make sure you see a physician because insomnia can be triggered by physiological conditions such as sleep apnea, menopause or depression. Some drugs that can disturb sleep include antidepressants, beta-blockers, diuretics and painkillers.22 ways to a good night's sleep
How many of you consider the importance of sleep in relation to fat-loss, injury prevention and recovery, lack of focus, and overall health and vitality?
According to a study published in the Lancet Medical Journal (1) chronic sleep deprivation may speed the onset or increase the severity of age-related conditions such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and memory loss.
Just one week of sleep deprivation altered subject’s hormone levels and their capacity to metabolize carbohydrates.
During sleep deprivation the researchers found that the men blood sugar levels took 40% longer to drop following a high-carbohydrate meal, compared with the control group (well rested group).
Their ability to secrete and respond to the hormone insulin (which helps regulate blood sugar) dropped by 30%.
Additionally, the sleep-deprived men had higher night-time concentrations of the hormone cortisol, (hormone released in response to stress), and lower levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone.
These raised cortisol levels mimic levels that are often seen in older people, and may be involved in age-related insulin resistance and memory loss.
So with that in mind here are some helpful tips to getting a good night’s sleep:
1. Get to sleep by 10.00 pm if possible – as most of the physical repair in your body takes place between 10 pm and 2 am. For example the gallbladder dumps toxins during this period. If you are awake then your liver is being overworked and perhaps sending toxins into your bloodstream.
2. Establish a regular, relaxing bedtime routine such as soaking in a hot bath and then reading a book or listening to soothing music. Some studies suggest that soaking in hot water before retiring to bed can ease the transition into deeper sleep, but it should be done early enough that you are no longer sweating or over-heated.
3. Create a sleep-conducive environment that is dark, quiet, comfortable, cool, and without interruptions. Design your sleep environment to establish the conditions you need for sleep. Also make your bedroom reflective of the value you place on sleep. If there is even the tiniest bit of light in the room it can disrupt your circadian rhythm and your pineal gland's production of melatonin and serotonin (growth and immune boasting hormones).
4. Avoid arousing activities before bedtime like working, paying bills, engaging in competitive games or family problem-solving.
5. Avoid exposure to bright light before bedtime because it signals the neurons that help control the sleep-wake cycle that it is time to awaken, not to sleep.
6. Keep the light off when you go to the bathroom at night. As soon as you turn on that light you will immediately cease all production of the important sleep aid melatonin.
7. Eating a high-protein snack several hours before bed works for many (but not all as it depends on metabolic type). This can provide the L-tryptophan needed to produce melatonin and serotonin. Also eat a small piece of fruit. This can help the L-tryptophan cross the blood-brain barrier.
8. Avoid foods that you may be sensitive to. This is particularly true for dairy and wheat products, as they may have effect on sleep, such as causing apnea, excess congestion, gastrointestinal upset, and gas, among others. Additionally grains will raise blood sugar and inhibit sleep. Later, when blood sugar drops too low (hypoglycemia), you might wake up and not be able to fall back asleep.
9. Exercise regularly. It is best to complete your workout at least a few hours before bedtime. In general, exercising regularly makes it easier to fall asleep and contributes to sounder sleep. However, exercising sporadically or right before going to bed will make falling asleep more difficult. In addition to making us more alert, our body temperature rises during exercise, and takes as much as 6 hours to begin to drop. A cooler body temperature is associated with sleep onset.
10. Wear socks to bed. Due to the fact that they have the poorest circulation, the feet often feel cold before the rest of the body does. A study has shown that this reduces night waking.
11. Remove the clock from view. It will only add to your worry when constantly staring at it... 2 am...3 am... 4:30 am...
12. Use your bedroom only for sleep and sex to strengthen the association between bed and sleep. It is best to take work materials, computers and televisions out of the sleeping environment.
13. Using dimmer switches in living rooms and bathrooms before bed can be helpful.
14. Journaling. If you often lay in bed with your mind racing, it might be helpful keep a journal and write down your thoughts before bed.
15. Avoid caffeine (e.g. coffee, tea, soft drinks, chocolate) close to bedtime. It can keep you awake as caffeine is a stimulant, which means it can produce an alerting effect. Caffeine products remain in the body on average from 3 to 5 hours, but they can affect some people up to 12 hours later. Even if you do not think caffeine affects you, it may be disrupting and changing the quality of your sleep.
16. Avoid nicotine (e.g. cigarettes, tobacco products). When smokers go to sleep, they experience withdrawal symptoms from nicotine, which causes sleep problems.
17. Avoid alcohol close to bedtime. Although many people think of alcohol as a sedative, it actually disrupts sleep, causing nighttime awakenings. Alcohol will also keep you from falling into the deeper stages of sleep, where the body does most of its healing.
18. Avoid using loud alarm clocks. It is very stressful on the body to be awoken suddenly. If you are regularly getting enough sleep, they should be unnecessary.
19. Avoid drinking any fluids within 2 hours of going to bed. This will reduce the likelihood of needing to get up and go to the bathroom or at least minimize the frequency.
20. Sleep on a comfortable mattress and pillows. Make sure your mattress is supportive and have comfortable pillows. Make the room attractive and inviting for sleep but also free of allergens that might affect you and objects that might cause you to slip or fall if you have to get up during the night.
21. Listen to white noise or relaxation CDs. Some people find nature sounds like rainfall or ocean waves, or white noise soothing for sleep.
22. Herbs including chamomile and valerian are regarded as natural relaxants.
Happy Sleeping! :-)
According to a study published in the Lancet Medical Journal (1) chronic sleep deprivation may speed the onset or increase the severity of age-related conditions such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and memory loss.
Just one week of sleep deprivation altered subject’s hormone levels and their capacity to metabolize carbohydrates.
During sleep deprivation the researchers found that the men blood sugar levels took 40% longer to drop following a high-carbohydrate meal, compared with the control group (well rested group).
Their ability to secrete and respond to the hormone insulin (which helps regulate blood sugar) dropped by 30%.
Additionally, the sleep-deprived men had higher night-time concentrations of the hormone cortisol, (hormone released in response to stress), and lower levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone.
These raised cortisol levels mimic levels that are often seen in older people, and may be involved in age-related insulin resistance and memory loss.
So with that in mind here are some helpful tips to getting a good night’s sleep:
1. Get to sleep by 10.00 pm if possible – as most of the physical repair in your body takes place between 10 pm and 2 am. For example the gallbladder dumps toxins during this period. If you are awake then your liver is being overworked and perhaps sending toxins into your bloodstream.
2. Establish a regular, relaxing bedtime routine such as soaking in a hot bath and then reading a book or listening to soothing music. Some studies suggest that soaking in hot water before retiring to bed can ease the transition into deeper sleep, but it should be done early enough that you are no longer sweating or over-heated.
3. Create a sleep-conducive environment that is dark, quiet, comfortable, cool, and without interruptions. Design your sleep environment to establish the conditions you need for sleep. Also make your bedroom reflective of the value you place on sleep. If there is even the tiniest bit of light in the room it can disrupt your circadian rhythm and your pineal gland's production of melatonin and serotonin (growth and immune boasting hormones).
4. Avoid arousing activities before bedtime like working, paying bills, engaging in competitive games or family problem-solving.
5. Avoid exposure to bright light before bedtime because it signals the neurons that help control the sleep-wake cycle that it is time to awaken, not to sleep.
6. Keep the light off when you go to the bathroom at night. As soon as you turn on that light you will immediately cease all production of the important sleep aid melatonin.
7. Eating a high-protein snack several hours before bed works for many (but not all as it depends on metabolic type). This can provide the L-tryptophan needed to produce melatonin and serotonin. Also eat a small piece of fruit. This can help the L-tryptophan cross the blood-brain barrier.
8. Avoid foods that you may be sensitive to. This is particularly true for dairy and wheat products, as they may have effect on sleep, such as causing apnea, excess congestion, gastrointestinal upset, and gas, among others. Additionally grains will raise blood sugar and inhibit sleep. Later, when blood sugar drops too low (hypoglycemia), you might wake up and not be able to fall back asleep.
9. Exercise regularly. It is best to complete your workout at least a few hours before bedtime. In general, exercising regularly makes it easier to fall asleep and contributes to sounder sleep. However, exercising sporadically or right before going to bed will make falling asleep more difficult. In addition to making us more alert, our body temperature rises during exercise, and takes as much as 6 hours to begin to drop. A cooler body temperature is associated with sleep onset.
10. Wear socks to bed. Due to the fact that they have the poorest circulation, the feet often feel cold before the rest of the body does. A study has shown that this reduces night waking.
11. Remove the clock from view. It will only add to your worry when constantly staring at it... 2 am...3 am... 4:30 am...
12. Use your bedroom only for sleep and sex to strengthen the association between bed and sleep. It is best to take work materials, computers and televisions out of the sleeping environment.
13. Using dimmer switches in living rooms and bathrooms before bed can be helpful.
14. Journaling. If you often lay in bed with your mind racing, it might be helpful keep a journal and write down your thoughts before bed.
15. Avoid caffeine (e.g. coffee, tea, soft drinks, chocolate) close to bedtime. It can keep you awake as caffeine is a stimulant, which means it can produce an alerting effect. Caffeine products remain in the body on average from 3 to 5 hours, but they can affect some people up to 12 hours later. Even if you do not think caffeine affects you, it may be disrupting and changing the quality of your sleep.
16. Avoid nicotine (e.g. cigarettes, tobacco products). When smokers go to sleep, they experience withdrawal symptoms from nicotine, which causes sleep problems.
17. Avoid alcohol close to bedtime. Although many people think of alcohol as a sedative, it actually disrupts sleep, causing nighttime awakenings. Alcohol will also keep you from falling into the deeper stages of sleep, where the body does most of its healing.
18. Avoid using loud alarm clocks. It is very stressful on the body to be awoken suddenly. If you are regularly getting enough sleep, they should be unnecessary.
19. Avoid drinking any fluids within 2 hours of going to bed. This will reduce the likelihood of needing to get up and go to the bathroom or at least minimize the frequency.
20. Sleep on a comfortable mattress and pillows. Make sure your mattress is supportive and have comfortable pillows. Make the room attractive and inviting for sleep but also free of allergens that might affect you and objects that might cause you to slip or fall if you have to get up during the night.
21. Listen to white noise or relaxation CDs. Some people find nature sounds like rainfall or ocean waves, or white noise soothing for sleep.
22. Herbs including chamomile and valerian are regarded as natural relaxants.
Happy Sleeping! :-)
Smoke More, Sleep Less
Smoke More, Sleep Less
Cigarette smoking has been associated with a high prevalence of sleep-related complaints. However, its effects on sleep architecture have not been fully examined. The primary objective of this investigation was to assess the impact of cigarette smoking on sleep architecture.
Sleep disturbances are a common side effect of nicotine withdrawal. Some people will sleep much more than usual through this phase of cessation, while others have difficulty getting any sleep at all. If you find yourself suffering from insomnia during the first few weeks after you quit smoking, try a few of these natural remedies to ease your discomforts.
Remember, the physical withdrawal phase of quitting tobacco is a temporary condition. Your sleep patterns will return to normal soon, providing you didn’t have insomnia before cessation. If symptoms persist beyond the first month or so, schedule a visit with your doctor. The current lifestyle greatly affects the sleeping pattern of human beings. Among many causes, smoking is one main cause for sleeping disturbances.
Smokers spend more time in a light sleep. Non-smokers spend more time in a deep sleep, allowing them to feel more awake the next day. A reason for this is nicotine and its impact on the brain.
Smoking cigarettes impairs sleep quality, possibly because of nicotine withdrawal, according to a study in the February issue of Chest, the journal of the American College of Chest Physicians. The study is among the first to isolate the effects of smoking on sleep. In previous research, it was unclear whether changes in sleep patterns were from smoking itself or from the medical conditions underlying smoking such as heart or respiratory disease. A strong correlation was found between smoking and various complaints of ill health as well as between smoking and sleep duration and quality of sleep. The results suggest that there is a strong relationship between the constituents of tobacco smoke and poor sleeping habits.
Cigarettes contain nicotine that affects sleep. It is a stimulant that keeps you awake. But smokers are not aware of this fact. Rather they claim that a puff of cigarette smoke makes them feel calmer and helps them relax. On the contrary, nicotine stimulates the mind and the body. It interferes with the body’s ability to fall and stay asleep. Nicotine is a stimulant drug that once it wore off threw the smoker into a physiologically depressed state. To overcome this depressant effect the smoker would smoke again to stimulate him or herself. Soon it would wear off and the endless cycle would be repeated over and over. Blood sugar and hormone levels would skyrocket, only to come crashing down later. By the end of the day the smoker could be physically exhausted from this chronic stimulant/depressant roller coaster. They had to adjust their sleep around these effects.
The availability of objective data on sleep architecture, with self-reported information on smoking status, provides an opportunity to characterize sleep architecture among current, former, and never smokers in a large community-based sample. Previous analysis of a subset of the cohort have shown that current smokers and former smokers, compared with never smokers, have greater amounts of stage 1 and 2 sleep.
Healthy Sleep Tips
Healthy Sleep Tips
Make after-dinner playtime a relaxing time. Too much activity close to bedtime can keep children awake.
Establish a regular, relaxing bedtime routine such as soaking in a hot bath or hot tub and then reading a book or listening to soothing music.
Quantity and quality are very important. Most adults need between 7.5 to 8.5 hours of uninterrupted sleep. If you press the snooze button on the alarm in the morning you are not getting enough sleep. This could be due to not enough time in bed, external disturbances, or a sleep disorder.
If you are having trouble sleeping at night, try not to nap during the day - you will throw off your body clock and make it even more difficult to sleep at night. If you are feeling especially tired, and feel as if you absolutely must nap, be sure to sleep for less than 30 minutes, early in the day.
Eat a light dinner about two hours before sleeping. If you're prone to heartburn, avoid spicy or fatty foods, which can make your heartburn flare and prevent a restful sleep. Also, limit how much you drink before bed. Too much liquid can cause you to wake up repeatedly during the night for trips to the bathroom.
Therapists often use "reconditioning" as part of a treatment plan for insomnia. With this method, people are "reconditioned" to associate the bed with sleep. If you find yourself unable to sleep at all, get out of bed and move to another room, so that you only associate the bed with sleep and not with wakefulness.
Don't forget to use our soft and fluffy fleece bedding with any mattress you choose.
Drink yogurt or other product that can help neutralize the harmful effect of stress hormones on your digestive track.
Not everyone requires seven to nine hours of sleep each night. Some people require only five, others 10. To find out how much sleep your body needs, assess how you feel after different amounts of sleep. Pay attention to your energy level, productivity and general well-being.
Our sleep-wake cycle is regulated by a “circadian clock” in our brain and the body’s need to balance both sleep time and wake time. A regular waking time in the morning strengthens the circadian function and can help with sleep onset at night.
Sleep on a comfortable mattress and pillows. Make sure your mattress is comfortable and supportive. The one you have been using for years may have exceeded its life expectancy — about 9 or 10 years for most good quality mattresses. Have comfortable pillows and make the room attractive and inviting for sleep but also free of allergens that might affect you and objects that might cause you to slip or fall if you have to get up during the night
Get The Sleep You Need With Adjustable Beds
Get The Sleep You Need With Adjustable Beds
Researchers and scientists have concluded that a human body needs a minimum of 6 hours of quality sleep every single night in order to function properly. Most physicians even advise people to get 8 hours of quality sleep. What many people don't know is the fact that their mattress might negatively impact their sleep patterns and the amount of quality sleep they get. Mattresses have to be carefully chosen depending on each individual's needs for firmness or softness.
The popularity of adjustable beds is increasing. An adjustable bed helps you find the position that is most comfortable for you. When you sleep in an adjustable bed, you will find that you fall asleep more easily and enjoy a more restful and uninterrupted sleep, awaking refreshed and full of energy, ready for the day. As your quality of sleep improves, so will your ability to function during the day.
Why wouldn't you make the choice to get yourself at least 6 to 8 hours of truly restful sleep a night? Is it because you believe that an adjustable bed has to be extremely expensive?
Although the prices of these beds are on the higher end, but you don't have to worry about it. When you get them at the usual retailers, the prices tend to be higher. Buying them through online stores is more reasonable, thus saving you hundreds of dollars in the end.
Such beds can be purchased at numerous stores through the internet. Their prices are often cheaper as their other business costs are less. Accordingly, reductions in price can be passed to consumers. Various brand names can be purchased at a significant saving to the prices that other retailers may charge.
The best will make you sleep better and your life more livable. It is important to sleep on a mattress which will provide the necessary support to your spine. It should be designed to relieve pressure points and provide you with comfort and support. It can also relieve lower back pain.
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