Glyconutrients And Sleep Deprivation – 8 Tips To Improve Your Sleep

Date: May 5, 2011

Author: admin

By Spencer Hunt

Are You Tired of Waking Up On The Wrong Side Of Bed?

Do you wake up and still feel drowsy? If you are dealing with sleep deprivation, you are not alone. Almost 1/4 of America’s adults, or 47 million adults, have some type of sleep deprivation. This condition can affect your emotional state, energy level, memory and mental abilities. As you may have noticed, this can eventually lead to depression, stress and irritability. There are other health implications that can afflict the body as a result of sleep deprivation. As the body is deprived of sleep, its ability to metabolize glucose declines, which leads to

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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Insomnia, Sleep Disorder? – Sleep Aids & Tips How to Sleep Better

Date: May 5, 2011

Author: admin

Categories: Sleep and Rest

By Sean Harbison

You toss, you turn, but you just can’t get to sleep. Below are several sleep aids and tips to reduce insomnia and help you sleep better. Try to get in touch with your biorhythms by resetting your internal alarms. Get up at the same time in the morning by setting the alarm clock (and don’t hit the snooze button!), and go to bed at night at the same time. Your body clock will adjust itself to the new schedule after a while, which should alleviate the insomnia.

One great insomnia tip is to make your bedroom a quiet sanctuary that creates a tranquil atmosphere. How can you expect to sleep if you have loud music blaring, overhead lights glaring or family members wandering in staring and asking questions? Use your bedroom only for sleeping purposes and soon your mind will begin to understand the relation between bed and sleep. Don’t make it a practice to watch T.V. or read in bed. Also, try installing dark shades in the room. There are many window covering treatments that will help you darken the room so that light is not an issue when you want to sleep. The bedroom should be a place of peaceful solitude, not an entertainment center.

Rub your neck and shoulders with scented essential oils such as jasmine, patchouli or sandalwood. Just a little will do the job and the fragrant oil is a top sleeping aid as it lulls your mind into a blissful, relaxed state.

Keep active during the day and don’t take those “cat naps” in between work hours. Periodic, intermittent naps are not that restful and they are a top cause of sleeping problems. Many parents encourage their tots to play hard during the day, if they want them to sleep good that night. The same works for adults, too. The busier and more active you are during the day, the more tired you will be at night, increasing your chances of a good night’s sleep without any additional sleeping aid being needed.

Eliminate cigarettes, alcohol, caffeine, sodas and other stimulants if insomnia is a worry. You should avoid these products all during the day, but many people with sleeping problems find that they no longer need any extra assistance once they break the caffeine and stimulant habit.

For insomnia concerns a warm, non-caffeinated drink about 30-60 minutes before bedtime will be a wonderful and effective sleeping aid. You can try milk, green tea or another herbal beverage of your choice to cure your insomnia. The warmth of the beverage is a key factor and you need to drink it slowly to maximize the calming effect.

Many people like to try meditating just before bedtime to help them fall asleep This is another safe, effective and very natural sleep inducing technique that can be used as often as needed.

A gentle noise in the background can be just the soothing help that you need. You can find many electronic devices that provide sounds that are known as “white noise” which are powerful enough to distract your mind and let you beat your insomnia problem. The sounds could be those of the ocean, the rainforest or just the soothing sounds of an outdoor rain shower.

Bathing in comfortably warm, not hot, water can also be helpful in getting your mind and body ready for sleep. The warm water will relax your body and lull your mind into a tranquil state. Keep your bedroom cool and comfortable so that warm temperatures are not responsible for making you unable to get to sleep. Some people find that a fan or an open window is just the key step they need to battle insomnia.

Reading for about 30-45 minutes just before bedtime can be a great way to beat insomnia issues. When you are reading make sure that you are in a room other than your bedroom though, or you will just be defeating the relaxing purpose of this activity.

About the Author: Information provided by http://rockinhammocks.com. To learn more about hammocks and how they can help you relax or to order your Rope Hammock or Quilted Hammock visit our site http://rockinhammocks.com or call 1-800-652-4098.

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Sleep: 10 Ways to Get a Good Night's Sleep

Date: May 4, 2011

Author: admin

Categories: Sleep and Rest

Sleep – are you getting enough? For some people, enough is four to six hours. Other people just don’t feel right with less than eight hours. People need more or less sleep at different phases in their life. Women may need more or less sleep at different phases of the month.

The simplest way to tell if you’re getting enough is by noticing every morning – do you feel rested? Do you wake up without an alarm clock and feel ready to get right out of bed and start your day?

Not getting enough sleep is one of the most direct ways that we self-sabotage our success and well-being. When we are better rested we not only feel better, but are calmer, smarter, more rational, nicer to be around and we look better. Why wouldn’t we choose to have that every day??

1. Set the Stage – turn off the computer and television at least one hour before you’d like to fall asleep, and turn on some music that you find relaxing. Test what your stereo system will do when the recording is finished – does it SNAP! or does it “wrrrr” – this will make a difference as you’re drifting off. My CD player makes a very soft “wrrrr” noise (though I honestly can’t remember the last time I was still awake when the CD was over).

2. Music without words – words can provoke and direct your thoughts more than instrumental music or pure vocal sounds.

3. Music with natural “breaths” – music where the soloist takes natural pauses to breathe can help you to slow down your own breath – try flute, other wind instruments or voice (either with no words or words in a language you don’t understand).

4. A good book – For bedtime reading, try to stay away from material that gets you thinking about things you deal with during the day. Magazines or stories that distract you from your own life may help you to drift into sleep.

5. Imagery – If you find that your mind is racing when you are trying to sleep, picture a viewpoint where you’re traveling down a road. See your thoughts as signposts that you’re passing. Concentrate on letting them pass right by.

6. Progressive muscle relxation – Imagine that a ball of light is traveling along your body, beginning at the top of your head, going down to the tips of your toes, and then coming up again. As it passes your muscles, they fill with light and relax.

7. Take a nap – If your sleep has been interrupted or there’ve been unavoidable late nights, an afternoon nap can help you catch up. Experts advise that naps should be taken earlier in the afternoon, rather than later, and that we should keep them to 30 minutes or less. This will avoid disrupting your sleep at night.

8. Lavender Bath – Take a hot bath and add a couple of drops of lavender oil. Lavender has naturally occurring relaxing properties.

9. Chamomile Tea – Calms the nervous system and helps to promote restful sleep.

10. Take 500 mg Calcium with 250 mg Magnesium at bedtime – The calcium has a calming effect, and the magnesium works along with it.

The advice and information in this article is not meant to replace medical advice. If you suspect you have a serious sleeping problem such as sleep apnea, or if you experience insomnia or extreme fatigue, please consult a healthcare professional.

Linda Dessau, the Self-Care Coach, is the author of “The Everyday Self-Care Workbook”. To receive one of her free monthly newsletters, subscribe at http://www.genuinecoaching.com/newsletter.html

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