Getting good sleep is essential for a good quality of life. People who suffer from sleep disturbances like difficulty falling asleep or waking up in the night can benefit from being self hypnotised before bed.

The Importance of Good Sleep

Lack of sleep can lead to all sorts of unpleasant effects and interfere with enjoyment of life. People who are regularly deprived of sleep often experience:
•    Reduced concentration
•    Poor memory
•    Reduced motor coordination
•    Weakened immune systems

Reasons for Sleeplessness

The cause is most often linked to poor sleep patterns is stress, which can be a result of:
•    overworking
•    troubling psychological baggage
•    financial troubles
•    other stressful factors
Loss of sleep due to stress is common. A survey by the Better Sleep Council found that 51 percent of Americans report that stress regularly disturbs their sleep. Sporadic episodes of insomnia can be overcome with simple techniques of hypnosis. Individuals who become self hypnotised before bed are relaxed and enjoy quality, deep sleep.

How to Get Better Sleep

These three steps are a great start to improving your quality of sleep. If your sleeplessness persists, see your doctor for a complete health evaluation and further guidance.

1. Consider your lifestyle. If you work day and night, ignoring signs of stress, schedule in a break for yourself. Clear your calendar for a day and dedicate it to relaxation.

2. Evaluate your sleep environment. Make the bedroom a quiet haven for rest. The hum of a computer, light from a bedside clock or are environmental disturbances that could reduce the quality of your deep sleep. Use a sleep mask and ear plugs if you have no control over environmental factors.

3. Go to bed self hypnotised. Many people go to bed with a “to do” list still running through their minds keeping the brain in an adrenaline-fueled state that will never bring good sleep. Self-hypnosis is a simple, effective way to calm the mind before sleeping.

Steps To Relaxation Through Self-Hynposis:
•    Lay on your back and close your eyes and arms naturally at your sides.

•    Inhale deeply from the abdomen and count to eight. Exhale slowly as you count to eight again. Repeat for several rounds.

•    Flex and release every muscle sequentially. Begin with your toes and work your way up, focusing on each muscle group.

•    Remain focused on relaxing. Don’t allow your mind to wander. As thoughts arise, drop them and return your focus to your breath.

•    Count down from ten and imagine yourself descending into deeper relaxation as you go through each number. Don’t rush through the numbers; enjoy relaxing into each one.

•    By the time you reach “one,” you should feel completely relaxed if not asleep. Increase the count to twenty until you fall asleep. Do this every night before bed and be patient. The results will be worth the effort.

Your Pillow and Your Health

Posted by admin in Prescription Sleep Medicine on December 12th, 2009

Can a common item like a pillow affect your health for good or bad? Sure it can. Many of the items that we use everyday and never think about either improve or hinder our physical, mental and emotional health if you consider their everyday impact. Making basic connections between the stuff we use everyday and their effect on our health is a simple way to improve well-being.

Medical studies and common sense tell you that getting enough sleep is good for your health. In fact, not getting enough sleep can actually harm your health. Notice how much more you snack on foods that are not good for you the next day following a sleepless or fitful night. Well, maybe you won’t notice because lack of good sleep also badly affects your mental ability and focus the next day.

When you can’t sleep, especially away from home during business travel, what is it that you do most while tossing and turning? Probably trying to get your pillow right. So you pound it, turn it to the “cool” side, try a different one, maybe try to put two pillows together or maybe try to sleep on your back or with your arm behind your head - all because the pillow is uncomfortable.

This is why savvy travelers who need to get a good night’s sleep might try to find a way to pack a pillow that helps them sleep soundly. A pillow that is a good fit for them. Good sleep health depends upon a good pillow that is a fit for you.

What about the importance of the right pillow while traveling? Think about the traveler that must cover long distances - an example is flying on business from Dallas to Singapore. By the time this person arrived in Singapore, she most likely flew three hours to Los Angeles, lugged her carry-on gear through the security checkpoint at the international terminal, got on a midnight flight there to Hong-Kong, “lost” a day flying fourteen hours through the night while crossing the international date line, arrived in Hong Kong early the day after she left L.A., hauled her carry-on gear yet again through an international security checkpoint, and then hiked a quarter mile inside the Hong Kong International airport to her gate for the additional four hour flight to Singapore.

What is this traveler doing in between? If she is not lucky enough to be in first or even business class she is trying to be comfortable sitting in a cramped space for what seems like forever. Now imagine that the traveler is older or suffers from neck and back problems and has no choice but to travel for her job? Or what if the poor traveler suffers from hemorrhoids?

This can be a horrible experience with no relief to be found except through use of a good travel pillow. A pillow made to assist with easing the uncomfortable state of sitting unnaturally in limited positions for a long time or an inflatable pillow to ease having to sit for a while with a sore behind. In this case, good travel health depends upon a good pillow that is made for the coach class passenger.

Think of the other connections between good health and a good pillow. A person with orthopedic neck issues needs a neck pillow. A person with back problems needs a proper lumbar or backrest pillow with the proper form to support and provide comfort. Choosing the right size and form for your toddler’s pillow is most important for your child’s safe and healthy sleeping. Know someone that suffers from allergies? A latex pillow is one part of that person’s defense against allergens.

And most important, good health is about feeling good. Even if you have no health problems, a good buckwheat pillow that forms right for your head can help you sleep soundly and well. Even pillows used to decorate a house can be good for our emotions and mental health by making our homes warm and inviting, a place where we can unwind from the day.

Think of the stuff that we use everyday as not just things. These are the pieces of our physical world that enhance or detract from our overall health and well-being. Yes, even the simple, obscure items we never consider - like the pillow.

Natural Sleeping Aides If you are having from insomnia, you are possibly quite frustrated - and tired. There are millions of people such a have queries surrounded by sleeping, or rather a lack thereof. When you suffer tried all the cures for insomnia which you can, the solution may be a good deal simpler too you think. Most cures for insomnia fall into the medication area, whether they are alternative treatments, over the counter sleep aids, or prescription medications. Unfortunately, there are too many people that are not having any success from these kinds of treatments. In this article, you will learn some of the simpler things that you can do - without taking any medications. Natural Sleeping Aides One of the first cures for insomnia is to train your brain. You have most likely gradually disturbed your body’s natural sleep cycle, and the common culprit is television. Many people think that it is okay to just grab a few hours of sleep when there is some great late night movie you don’t want to miss. This turns into a habit and then when you are overtired and realize you aren’t getting enough sleep, your body is already trained to this altered sleep cycle. Other cures for insomnia include restricting your caffeine ingestion and exercising. Try not to drink anything that has caffeine in it after three in the afternoon. Exercise is always beneficial, but you should avoid exercising in the evening to allow your body proper time to adjust. Finally, one of the most helpful cures for insomnia is to set a schedule and stick to it. You will need to maintain a consistent time for waking up every morning, whether you are getting up for work or not. You should also be choosing a set bedtime each night. Do your body a favour. Have a good sleep tonight! Download your Natural Sleeping Aides eBook now!

Obstructive Sleep Apnea is a sleep disorder wherein breathing stops and starts quite frequently while sleeping. These episodes of temporary cessation of breathing last for about 10 seconds or even longer. People with this condition may not be aware of having any problems in the night, but may feel extremely sleepy and groggy during the day. In obstructive sleep apnea, throat muscles tend to block and relax the airway.

As a matter of fact, snoring is considered to be one of the most evident indication of sleep apnea. Anyone could have this disorder, but most people suffering from obstructive sleep apnea are men, especially the ones who are kind of overweight.

Obstructive sleep apnea treatment would mainly include use of a device for keeping your airway tract open or else undergoing a special procedure for removing the tissue from your mouth, nose or throat.

Causes

“Obstructive sleep apnea” comes about when your muscles and soft tissues of the soft palate, uvula, tonsils, and the tongue in the back of the throat are over-relaxed. Due to this, the passage of air is obstructed by the sagging muscles. This obstruction to the air movement, leads to loud snoring, and when there is a complete obstruction, cessation of breathing occurs.

This could further lead to lowering the level of oxygen in the blood stream, thus making the brain sense the lack of ability to breathe. That is why; sometimes the person is awakened from slumber, so that the airway can be opened up. Mostly, this incidence is so brief, it is not recollected. This corrects the breathing for that short period of time, and this might repeat even as a pattern throughout the sleep, possibly following a kind of sequence of breaths, most likely even up to 30 times in an hour, all through the night.

During sleep, sounds like those of gasping, snorting or choking might be made. This prevents one from having restful good sleep, which leaves the person tired in the day, and it is no surprise that the person wouldn’t even know if she slept badly, in fact she might even think that she slept well!

This type of sleep apnea is the most common one and generally affects middle aged men, who are likely to be overweight.

Symptoms

You might feel excessively sleepy during the daytime (hypersomnia), or might observe the occurrence of breathing cessation during sleep, snore loudly, wake up abruptly and be short of breath, wake up with a sore throat or a dry mouth, have a headache right in the morning, and probably find it difficult staying asleep (insomnia).

Treatments

Those who are overweight should probably attempt to lose weight. Alcohol and sleeping medicines must be avoided, as it interferes with the normal breathing pattern and could aggravate sleep apnea. Antidepressant drugs could help in milder cases. Some patients having a severe condition of sleep apnea benefit by the use of the treatment of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). In CPAP, air from a compressor is forced into the airway via a mask over the nose.

Artificial ventilation during nighttime might be needed. In some cases, oral appliances might be employed, as it is much easier to use, although CPAP is more effective as a treatment. This oral appliance is designed to keep the throat open. Some of these appliances are devised to bring the jaw forward, relieving snoring and mild apnea, while others might hold the tongue in a different place.

To Your Health!

20 Secrets to a Good Night Sleep

Posted by admin in Prescription Sleep Medicine on September 13th, 2009

If you are having sleep problems then you are not the only one but there are number of people struggling with falling and staying asleep. If you are not suffering from a serious sleep disorder, you can improve it by improving your lifestyle and by creating a better sleep atmosphere for good sleep. Some techniques are listed below:

1. Regular exercises help us in improving our health as well as make us fall asleep and sleep better. A brisk walk, a bicycle ride, running and yoga can help you. Make your schedule of exercise in the morning or early afternoon.

2. Do not take snacks before bed time, mainly grains and sugars. This will increase blood sugar and slow down sleep.

3. If you want to sleep deeply then switch off the light of the room in which you sleep. Make it a complete dark room because the smallest bit of light in the room can disturb you.

4. Do not watch TV right before bed. It is too thought-provoking to the brain and it will take long time to fall asleep.

5. Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day even on the weekends. This will make your routine and also make it easier to fall asleep and get up in the morning.

6. If you want some relax then read some religious or holy books. Do not read thought-provoking books as they have the reverse effect.

7. Try to avoid using noisy alarm clocks as such alarm put pressure on the body to wake up suddenly. Give up your usual shrill alarm and use the sun alarm clock. The Sun Alarm gives a perfect way to wake up each morning if you can’t wake up. This clock is ideal for everyone who has trouble falling asleep.

8. Write down your thoughts before bed if your mind is racing.

9. Go to bed as early as possible as our body system will get disturbed and cause further disruption of our health.

10. Check your bedroom for electro-magnetic fields. These can disturb the pineal gland, and may have other negative effects as well.

11. Do not keep the temperature of bedroom more than 70 degrees F. Too hot homes mainly the bedrooms are not good for sleep.

12. Always try to eat a high-protein snack more than a few hours before bed.

13. Daily eat a small piece of fruit before bed. This can help the tryptophan cross the blood-brain barrier.

14. If you are not having any severe problems then reduce or avoid taking drugs as possible. Many medications may have effects on sleep.

15. Avoid caffeine. Caffeine is not metabolized well and therefore people feel the effects long after consuming it. Use of caffeine either in coffee, tea or some other will keep away people from sleep.

16. Keep the alarm clocks and other electrical devices far away from the bed as possible, at least 3 feet away.

17. Avoid consuming alcohol. Alcohol makes the people drowsy but the effects are short lived and people will often wake up for long hours later, unable to fall back asleep.

18. Loose your weight as overweight can increase the risk of sleep apnea, which will not give you a restful night’s sleep.

19. Do not drink liquids within 2 hours of going to bed. This will increase the frequency of going to bathroom.

20. Avoid food which is sensitive for you especially wheat and dairy products as they may have effect on sleep, such as causing excess congestion and gastrointestinal upset.

Magnetic Mattresses and Sleep

Posted by admin in Prescription Sleep Medicine on August 13th, 2009

There are an extremely huge amount of people in the world that don’t get enough sleep. Some even think getting good sleep nowadays is impossible and will only be for people who don’t work or have kids. I would have to disagree with that. Even if you were to get six or seven hours of sleep a night, you can still feel energized and refreshed when you wake up in the morning. How is this possible? Getting quality sleep! By getting quality sleep I mean getting, and staying in the fourth REM cycle as long as you can. When your body is in that optimal stage of sleep your body is repairing and rejuvenating at the optimum level. The way to get there is going to be the type of mattress that you have. Now there are many options that you will have when it comes to mattresses. The temperpedic mattress is a good one, but wears out quick, and doesn’t get you into that deep sleep. The sleep number mattress is a good one as well, but wears out quickly and breaks down quite often. The best one that I have found on the market is a kenko magnetic mattress. There are several reasons why this one is so beneficial.

First, the mattress gives you the support you need to give you the best support possible. Second, the magnets in it react with the cells in the body causing them to move more efficiently increasing blood flow and the recovery process. Third, it produces negative ions which promote relaxation helping you to get into the deep sleep you need. Fourth, far infrared technology helps regulate your body temperature, so you are never too hot or too cold. Fifth, the mattress has ruberthane tips simulating a lymph massage as you sleep promoting relaxation to get you in that fourth REM cycle. Sixth, the structure of the magnetic mattress is made from the strongest material which is bamboo and comes with a full warranty for twenty five years. It is naturally bug resistant to insure that you will get the sleep you need without get bit or sick. Clinical studies have shown that this magnetic mattress will help you get into the fourth REM cycle and keeps you there longer than any other mattress on the market today.

One third of our time is spent by our sleep. Good sleeping habit is good to our sinew recovery, wisdom improvement and health maintain. Sleep is also an important process for immunity improvement.
Why we need sleep? When uridine in our body cumulates into some standard in our hypothalamus of our head,
our physiological reaction is to have a sleep.
The majority think that it’s really enough to have a sleep 8 hours a day. But in fact, there’s no clear standard according to the various body condition. Someone needs 8 or 9 hours a day, but 5 or 6 hours is enough for some energetic one. It is said that Napoleon only sleeps 3 hours a day, but Goethe can sleep 24 hours one time. Sleep is simple but important for our health. How many hours you need one day on earth? Someone said that you need to sleep more the next day as long as you sleep less than the former day, someone has the totally opposite idea. Look at your after-sleep health condition or body reaction to your sleep! Are you still too sleepy to study or work well? Are you too energetic for your over-sleep?
Someone said that it is bad for our health to drink before sleep, whereas, some milk before sleep is extremely good for our sleep and health.
Sleep is closely related to our health, how to sleep in order to keep health?
Firstly, we should obey to our biological clock, never disturb it at random. We should form a regular sleep habit, such as when we go to sleep, and when we get up. Generally speaking, 9 pm to 2 am is good for us go to bed. Go to bed before 11pm if you don’t want to see your wrinkle in your face rapidly, especially for those girls who chases for beauty maintain. For those aged man, much sleep than young is better although most of them always get up early and go to bed late. Aged man is easy to be tired, so they need longer time to recovery from fatigue. Sleeping as much as then can is important for good sleep for them. Taking a nap at least half an hour every day is extremely practical for everyone to recovery the energy after the tiredness of half a day. Certainly, changing the bad sleeping habit is crucial for us to keep good sleep and maintain our health. Remember 5 “Never” as follows:
1. Never sleep with the lamp open. We still will be affected by light although we close our eyes during our sleep.
2. Never do strenuous exercise before your sleep.
3. Never drink strong tea or high alcohol drinks.
4. Never look awesome books, movie and television.
5. Never taking sleeping potion often.
You’d better take a footbath in warm water. Opening your windows is good for the air circulation, which will improve your sleep perfectly. Some hot milk is very practical for your sleep speeding because of the amino acid which has light soporific function.