Sleep and Rest

Content related to healthy sleep strategies and issues related to poor sleeping and poor rest.

Sleep: An interesting story

Date: May 5, 2011

Author: admin

When you’re in a hurry to do your work, go to school, look after family, do you reduce your sleep time? You might think that sleep is merely a “down time” when the brain shuts off and the body rests. It is not so. Sleep is essential for a person’s health and wellbeing, according to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF).

Sleep is as important as food and air. It is a necessary function required to support all human life, growth, development and brain function. Sleep keeps your mind alert and calm. It helps you in optimal daily functioning.

If you wake up tired after sleeping for eight hours or longer, more sleep is not what you need.

Herbal Sleep Aids For Insomnia And Other Sleep Disorders

Date: May 5, 2011

Author: admin

Categories: Sleep and Rest

By Malcolm Moorhouse

Insomnia is defined as difficulty in sleeping, or disturbed sleep patterns leaving the perception of insufficient sleep. There are many herbs with reputations as being effective sleep remedies. The key to successful treatment of insomnia is to find the cause. If you do not want to take prescription sleep medication, then there are a plethora of holistic medicines available to you.

Often the key to successful treatments lies in the focusing upon some part or function of the body that is experiencing problems. Hypnotics and nerviness can be used within the context of such treatments. These can be selected based on the role they play upon the system in question. The following are, a list of systems and possible remedies.

1. The circulatory system responds well to Motherwort, Lime Blossom and Balm.

2. The respiratory system responds well to all types of hypnotics, if used in the right dosage.

3. The digestive system relaxants to use are Chamomile, Vervain, Balm, Hops and Valerian.

4. Hypnotics are important to use as a muscle relaxant for the urinary system. Pasque Flower and Black Cohosh have a high success rate on the reproductive system. Jamaican Dogwood, Valerian and Black Cohosh are excellent ingredients to relax the muscles and skeletal systems.

5. Chamomile and Cowslip are healing herbs for the skin.

Some of the medications are classified in the following way:

Hypnotics are herbs with a reputation as easing the person into sleep. They are usually strong nervine relaxants. Nervine relaxants ease the tensions that often produce sleeplessness.

Anti-spasmodics address any somatic muscular tightness that may be involved. Nervine tonics are indicated if there is any suspicion that the insomnia is associated with nervous exhaustion.

Adaptogens will help in a similar way to the nerve tonics, but should only be used in the morning to help deal with stress.

The value of hypnotics is to ensure that the body has a good recuperative rest each night. By selecting herbs that address specific health needs that are compounding the sleep difficulties, better results are obtained than simply going for strong hypnotic.

An example of an herbal prescription for insomnia would be the following:

Insomnia associated with hypertension and headaches:

* Passion Flower

* Valerian

* Linden

* Cramp Bark

7.5ml of tincture 30 minutes before bedtime.

There are many herbal remedies suggested for curing insomnia. You may have to try a few before you find the recipe that works best for you.

NOTE! Always consult a qualified Herbalist for guidance about the correct herbs to use

About the Author: Malcolm Moorhouse Web: www.sleepok.com Email: info@sleepok.com Copyright Malcolm Moorhouse 2006

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Marpac Sleep Mate On Sale

Date: May 5, 2011

Author: admin

Categories: Sleep and Rest

Looking for a good night’s sleep like many thousands of others? Many people are using the Marpac Sleep Mate to help them, and at the end of this article I’ll tell you where you can find the great deals.

Why do you need a Marpac Sleep Mate?

Most of us live in cities where we can easily be disturbed by a variety of different noises and sounds. Our neighbours may come in and slam their car doors at all hours of the night, or the constant roar from jet planes taking off may disturb us. Traffic noise can also play its part in a bad night’s sleep, or the next door neighbour’s dog barking through the night at anything that moves. If we live in a highrise, it might be the people above dragging furniture around, or at least it seems like that, and I’m sure you’ll have plenty of your own source of disturbing noises.

How can a Sleep Mate help you?

Obviously, unless we move away to the country, or to a mountain somewhere, we are going to be bombarded with noise that has the potential to disturb our sleep patterns, making us tired and cranky, or more tired and cranky as the case may be! The Marpac Sleep Mate, or any of the Marpac sound conditioners were developed and patented over 45 years ago, are designed to surround you with natural sounds to help soothe and relax you.

Who Are The products designed for?

Anyone can use these systems, and doctors often recommend them to their sleep deprived patients. Parents use them for their children, and themselves! while business professionals use them in their offices.

Which Marpac Sleep Mate?

There are quite a few different units to choose from depending on your needs and your budget, and they are compact, although obviously the travel version is more compact than others. The units are made in the USA for those of you who are concerned about environmental issues.

Now to find the Marpac Sleep Mate that best suits you, and at the best price, could involve a lot of your time and effort searching for answers, but we have done the research for you, and found some great deals with a reputable company you can deal with, so you save time, money and get peace of mind with your purchase too.

Article Source:

http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Angela_Walsh

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Heads Up! The Way You Are Sleeping May Be Killing You!

Date: May 5, 2011

Author: admin

Categories: Sleep and Rest

Every one of us has a mysterious double life.

For about two thirds of the time we are conscious beings, thinking about the world within and without, and negotiating our ways through the obstacles of life. For the other one third of the time we are nearly lifeless lumps of flesh, unconscious to everything but our own fantasies, as we lie flat in bed asleep. We all know that sleep is important for health. But for an activity that consumes about 8 hours of everyday of life, surprisingly little is thought about the act of sleeping, or the way our culture teaches us to sleep. Sleep behavior, like all human activities, is defined by our culture.

Sometimes, the practices taught by our culture can impact on the way our bodies function. As medical anthropologists, we research ways our cultural practices may be affecting our health. And we have found that the way we have been trained to sleep may be one of the most important causes of various diseases plaguing our society.

Of course, when you consider the culture of sleeping, it includes such isues as the length of time to sleep, and time of day for sleep. Do you take frequent naps or do you sleep 8 hours straight? Do you sleep at night or during the day?

Other issues concern sleepwear. Do you sleep nude, or with pajamas or lingerie? Do you sleep in your underwear? Should the sheets be natural fabrics, such as cotton or silk, or is polyester okay? What about the detergent and fabric softeners used in the sheets, pillow case, and pj’s?

Should you eat before you sleep? What is the impact of watching television before sleep? Should you take sleeping pills to help you sleep?

These are some of the culturally defined issues that help determine how we sleep, all of which may have some potential impact on health. However, there is one cultural issue that tops the list of importance, and which may greatly determine your health status.

Baby Sleep Tips – Developing Sleep Associations

Date: May 5, 2011

Author: admin

Categories: Sleep and Rest

By Brandon C. Hall

Everyone who has had the experience of being a parent knows all too well the difficulties of getting your baby to sleep soundly throughout the night. The dark circles around the eyes of new parents are usually familiar to all those that have been around them. In terms of baby sleep tips, one of the most important things you must try and establish as a parent is getting your baby to learn to fall asleep on his own. The process by which your child begins to fall asleep on his own is one that involves a natural transition from falling asleep with the mother to falling asleep in an independent fashion. One of the best ways in which you can speed up this transition is to encourage your child to develop sleep associations that he or she can recreate independently.

Naturally, everyone – and babies in particular – will develop sleep associations. These are the things that you associate with bedtime, and allow you to create an environment in which it is easy to fall asleep. When your baby is at an extremely young age, he will naturally develop sleep associations involving the mother, as he will often fall asleep in her arms. As you attempt to get your baby to sleep in his own, however, it is crucial that you work to change these associations.

If you always put your child to sleep by holding him, or allowing him to use a pacifier, you create a sleep association with these things. Then, when your child wakes up in the middle of then night, he can’t go back to sleep on his own because he is unable to recreate his sleeping environment without you: he needs you to feed him or rock him in order to sleep.

As you begin to try and get your child to sleep on his own, you should introduce items into his sleeping routine that he can sleep with, such as a particular blanket or a stuffed animal. What this will do is create associations for your child with these items for sleep. Then, when he awakes in the middle of the night, he will be able to recreate a sleeping environment without your assistance by grabbing his stuffed animal, etc. It can also be beneficial to introduce “transitional items” into your baby’s bedtime routine: Allow him to have his stuffed animal or blanket with him during a final feeding and before-bedtime activities, and allow him to take these things with him to bed.

No matter what you do, your child is going to be creating his or her own sleep associations. Your job is to try and create associations with items that are under his or her control. By giving your child as much control over his sleeping environment as possible, you allow him to begin to achieve sleep independently. The most difficult transition in early parenting is the one towards independent sleep for your child, and if you introduce new items into your child’s sleeping place, you will hasten this transition, which will soon allow both you and your child to get a good night’s rest.

About the Author: Brandon C. Hall maintains Free Info Blog which contains many articles and resources on baby sleep tips as well as many other topics.

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