Natural Sleep Techniques
How wonderful it is to wake up after a good night’s sleep! Ah, the body feels refreshed, the mind renewed. Say goodbye to nights of tossing and turning, instead wake up with a smile! Irrespective of your reasons for insomnia, here are some simple and natural tips on how to fall asleep fast:
Instead of resorting to popping those sleeping pills (which can be addictive in itself and will require you to take more and more as you become increasingly dependent on it), you can go at it the natural way. Here are some quick and easy ways to fall asleep. Although some of these will not work immediately, keeping at it will eventually reap the benefits of good sleep.
1. Keep away from heavy and late meals at night or during the wee hours of the morning. An empty stomach will actually help in quieting your mind so that it is geared towards sleeping.
2. Get rid of caffeine in your diet. Or, if you really can’t avoid coffee, drink this in the mornings, and not before you need to go to bed to sleep.
3. Read. This habit can relax you.
4. Remember that the bedroom is for sleep and sex only! This will help condition your mind that once you are in bed, you should already fall asleep. Eliminate distractions – such as the television, the phone and the computer.
5. Take a warm and scented bath. Sprinkle chamomile or lavender oil into the bath to thoroughly relax and soothe your body and sense. The warmth and the steam will make you feel drowsy an hour after the bath.
6. Get comfortable – wear the night clothes you are comfortable with. Be willing to spend money on a good and comfy bed – it should not be too hard nor too soft. A memory foam pillow would be another wise investment.
7. Use a fan to get rid of surrounding noises. It can also serve to distribute the air throughout the room.
8. If it helps, listen to relaxing music – such as the sound of the waves or birds chirping.
9. Eliminate distractions in the bedroom – turn the TV off, put away magazines and fliers, if you’re sleeping beside someone, request that they be quiet as possible.
10. Shun coffee at least 3 hours before you go to bed. The same goes for candies and chocolates.
11. When you have to exercise, don’t do so before bedtime. The exercise will give you an energy boost and will certainly not help you fall asleep.
12. Don’t go to bed when you are not sleepy. This will increase your struggle to sleep and condition your mind that getting some sleep is a struggle.
13. Fake it until you make it. Pretend to be sleepy.
14. Picture yourself doing something in the house, like painting the walls with slow up and down motions.
Tags: daytime sleepiness, insomnia, REM, rem sleep cycle, sleep, sleep deprivation, types of sleep disordersRelated posts
CPAP Machine: Sleep Apnea Treatments
I was experiencing all the symptoms of sleep apnea, but didn’t know any better at the time. I was constantly snoring and never really felt refreshed after a night of sleep. After dozing off a couple of times while driving home from work the scare of what could have happened finally got me to go to my physician to check out sleep apnea treatments.
She provided me with a referral to a specialist along with a brochure on sleep apnea. I scheduled an appointment with the specialist and I was quickly schedule to undergo a sleep study. I showed up at the appointment and they prepared a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine (which is a device used to treat sleep apnea) and wired me up for monitoring.
They are monitoring you for multiple things including breathing patterns, eye movement, brain activity and extremity movement. The night started off going to sleep around 10pm and by about 2am they entered the room to put the CPAP machine. They monitored for another 4-5 hours and then I was let go until the results could be provided to my specialist. At this point, I had no idea my life was going change after reviewing the sleep study results. I met with the specialist a week later to find out I had a severe case of sleep apnea. The results were very clear I could never get into a REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep cycle and on the average I stopped breathing about 28 times a minute.
When I heard that number I wondered how I even kept myself alive while sleeping. We then turned to the comparative results when they placed the CPAP device on me. They had to make a few adjustments to the air pressure they were using, but where able to eliminate me from stopping breathing, no more snoring and they were able to see me get into a REM sleep cycle. After reviewing the results the treatment was on its way. I was provided a CPAP machine and fitted for a mask.
With my sleep apnea treatment in hand I headed home with the hope this would actually help. Within a week I could already see a huge difference. I woke up feeling more refreshed and alert in the mornings. When I was driving home from work I no longer felt tired and didn’t have to fight to keep myself awake. My energy started to turn around and I could now start to live again.
It has been a couple years now and there is no way anyone would take the CPAP machine away. I can’t even take a nap without having the CPAP. The CPAP is and will be my long term treatment for my sleep apnea condition.
Tags: airway pressure, breathing patterns, CPAP, cpap machine, rapid eye movement, rapid eye movement sleep, REM, rem sleep cycle, sleep, Sleep Apnea, sleep apnea treatment, Sleep Apnea Treatments, sleep study, snoring, symptoms of sleep apnea