Sound Sleep Guide

Archive for July, 2006

Just relax. Does anyone ever tell you this as a way to get to sleep? Better said than done! If you have problems sleeping, you probably have tried practically anything and everything to catch a restful night’s sleep, but you may not know how to relax properly. Oh, you along with many others may think you do, but relaxation is almost an art form, something that you have to really concentrate on to accomplish. And because everyone has their own styles, tastes and interests, one relaxation technique may work for one person but not you.

Let’s begin by talking a little about what relaxation tips might do for you. Sleep might come more quickly if you are relaxed. When you sleep, your mood improves and your energy level is higher. You have more patience and humor. Stress and tension factors ease up thanks to relaxation techniques that help you sleep. Getting that good night’s sleep is the linchpin that really holds all facets of your life together. Why not give some relaxation tips another try?

As mentioned before, relaxing means different things to different people. You may wind down by watching a good movie on television while another person goes for a run. A cup of herbal tea or soaking in a hot tub can also be relaxing to the right person. However, the relaxation tips we are going to talk about today go even deeper. They will help you in a physiological sense and go straight to the deeper issues of anxiety and stress. The following relaxation tips and techniques require focus and active participation in order to help resolve those factors that hinder sleep.

Picturing yourself somewhere else is one relaxation technique and is also known as visual imagery. Think about the most peaceful, calming scene you can think of. It could be a visualization of ocean waves lapping at the beach sand or flying a kite on a beautiful sunny day in a wildflower meadow. No matter what it is, you just have to focus on that particular scene and displace yourself from the worries and stress that is in your life. Add details to this scene and imagine feeling the warmth of the sun or breathing in the salty ocean air. The more you focus on this scene and imagine all the little details, the more likely that tension you are harboring in your body will release.

Deep and controlled breathing is another strategy that could possibly be relaxing to you. This breathing technique is often effective for the simple reason that you are focusing on your breathing, something that is normally an involuntary reflex. You start by taking a deep breath slowly through your nose for three to five seconds, then exhaling through your mouth for another three to five seconds. Continue repeating this breathing exercise while at the same time visualizing that the tension is slowly leaking out of your body, much like the air escaping from a balloon. Many people say that by focusing on their breathing, they are making a more conscious effort to take in oxygen into their bodies, which has a light rejuvenating effect.

The muscles in your body contribute greatly to stress and therefore affect your sleeping habits. A muscle relaxation technique utilizes not only the muscles in your body but also some of the breathing tips listed in the above paragraph. As you breathe in for the three to five seconds, start by contracting a muscle group in one part of your body. Beginning from your head and neck on down your body is a good plan. When you exhale, you release the muscle group you were contracting. You repeat this technique as many times as necessary going through facial muscles to the neck to the shoulders and back and even all the way to your pinkie toes.

As with all things, if it is something you want to do well , you have to practice. The same philosophy applies to these relaxation techniques. They may not work the first, second or even third time you try them. But if you stick to it, one of them just may prove to be a winner in helping you relax so that you can fall asleep.

Sleep deprivation is a very common problem in our world today. In fact the Better Sleep Council surveyed a thousand adult respondents and discovered that more than thirty percent of them confessed to not getting enough sleep each night. The recent survey also revealed that not getting enough sleep affected their daily performance at work and at home in terms of their ability to concentrate, their capacity for problem solving, their coordination and reaction time, their physical strength and energy levels and how they handled stress.

The short-term effects of sleep deprivation are excessive tiredness and a general feeling of irritability but studies have proven that there are long-term effects as well. In order to learn and process information one needs to be able to fall into a deep sleep and also dream. Memory also requires these things as well. The brain is capable of retaining new information for a short quantity of time and that is why it benefits tremendously from restful sleep patterns. Information learned throughout the day can be easily forgotten or lost by the brain if a person is sleep deprived.

Sleep is important to wake up feeling alert, fresh and ready to take on the day. If one wakes up feeling more tired than when one retired the night before it is definitely a sign that more hours of sleep are required. Not everyone needs the exact same amount of sleep per night as it varies from person to person with the normal amount of sleep hours being from five to ten. Incidentally studies have shown that the average adult receives seven and a half hours every night. As a person ages they don’t require quite as much sleep. It is estimated that from the time that one is a baby, until a person reaches adulthood, sleep is cut in half. Teenagers though need plenty of sleep because they are still growing and are very active. Sleep experts believe teenagers require a greater amount of shuteye than adults, on average from 8.5 to 9.25 hours per night.

Exercising on a regular basis helps to improve the quality of a person’s sleep and relieves the daily stresses of life. Sleep experts say that strenuous exercise is not necessary but instead all that it takes is light to moderate exercise. Research on exercise has shown that less than one-third of American adults get enough exercise every day. In fact, forty percent of adults do no form of exercise at all. A complete lack of exercise can be the cause of many health problems such as diabetes, high cholesterol and obesity.

Walking is a moderate form of exercise that is considered “low impact” because it is easy on the joints and can be done by virtually everyone. Walking is not an expensive form of exercise and only requires a good pair of walking shoes or sneakers. Walking is a workout but it is dependent on the fitness level the individual in question is starting out at. For example, for those who haven’t exercised in quite some time or who are overweight they should begin with slow-paced walking, but those in better shape would need to walk more swiftly and longer to reap the benefits. The more vigorous a walking pattern one develops, the more exercise they will get. It is important to walk fast enough to really get the heart rate up!

People who engage in frequent walking admit to enjoying the benefits of physical fitness and to having improved sleep habits as well as an overall better outlook on their life. Studies have proven that walking burns the same amount of calories every hour as does running but it does not put any strain on the body.

Other types of exercises that help improve sleep include yoga, which helps center the body and soul, and jazzercise, which really gets the blood pumping. Jazzercise has been proven to be the largest exercise program across the globe and boasts 5,000 plus instructors who teach more than 19,000 weekly classes to 450,000 students in 38 countries. This form of exercise is growing in popularity all of the time. It is recommended that light stretching of the muscles and joints be done before any exercises are undertaken. This improves flexibility and cuts down on the incidence of injuries.

Never exercise before bedtime if you desire to have a good night’s sleep. Late afternoon or early evening is the best time to set aside for exercise (the former being the very best) and exercise no less than four hours before you turn in for the night.

Snoring may be making your nights restless and frustrating. However, many people don’t know, exactly how much their snoring may be effecting their spouse. It is a known fact that bedmates of a snorer generally lose around 1 hour of sleep per evening due to the fact that their spouse’s snoring is not conducive to proper sleeping patterns. Known as spousal arousal syndrome, this overlooked facet of snoring can cause the bedmate to wake up as many as 21 times per hour, damaging their night’s rest in an irreparable way. This can result in a daytime fatigue, causing a host of problems from restlessness to trouble concentrating on simple tasks. As a side effect of the lack of proper sleep, the affected person often has poor performance at work and may feel irritable, ill, or unable to think well.

According to a recent survey, as much as 80% of snoring couples sleep apart. This can affect the happiness of a relationship, not to mention the sex life. Snoring can be a bigger problem than you’d think! When snoring begins seriously effect your relationship, it is important to take action. If your spouse’s snoring is giving you troubles, here are a couple guidelines to help address the issue:

It’s most important to discuss the issue with your spouse. If you do not have a solid line of communication about the problem, there’s no way it can ever be solved. Let your spouse know about the problems that spousal arousal syndrome can cause.

Next, you should examine the factors that contribute to snoring, and see if any of them could be reasons for your spouses problem. Common reasons for snoring include consumption of alcohol, excess weight, sleeping on your back, and medications such as anti-histamines or sleeping pills. Read up on all the reasons that people snore, so that you can accurately diagnose the problem that your spouse is facing. For most of the reasons that people snore, there are effective methods of stopping the problem. For instance, if your spouse has trouble with snoring only when they are sleeping on their back, try putting a regular tennis ball into a sock, and pinning it to the back of their pajamas. This will make it uncomfortable for your spouse to sleep on their back, forcing them to sleep on their side or on their chest, fixing the problem.

If you can’t seem to pin down the reason that your spouse is having these nightly problems, it is important to check with a health care professional about the possibility of sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a breathing problem which can cause many more issues than a standard snoring problem, and needs to be addressed.

Make sure that your spouse understands that you respect him or her and that you need to get over this problem for both of you. Snoring is a fixable problem that just needs some attention to be remedied. You both will be feeling much better after a little research and work!