Fifty Useful Tips For Better Sleep
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1. Try to relax before bedtime; take a walk or read a newspaper; just do something which is not stressful.
2. Do your paperwork or other work-related activities early in the evening.
3. Make sure your bedroom is not noisy.
4. If your bedroom is noisy and you can't correct it, wear earplugs.
5. Think of places you fell asleep easily and try to copy those places; set your room up the same way.
6. Check the medicines you are taking to see that they aren't nervous system stimulants.
7. Make sure your bedroom is well-ventilated but not too cold.
8. Don't use too many or too few blankets.
9. Don't tuck your sheets in too tight at the bottom of the bed; your feet should feel free and unrestricted.
10. Your mattress should not sag.
11. Have a big enough bed for yourself; if you're 6'8", don't try sleeping in a single bed.
12. Your pajamas or nightgown should be comfortable, not too tight.
13. Use a pillow that suits you, soft or firm, whichever you prefer; or not at all, if that's what you prefer.
14. If you like a soft light on while you sleep, have one on.
15. If you prefer to sleep in darkness make sure your blinds are thick.
16. Rise at the same time seven days a week, no matter what.
17. Do not linger in bed when you wake up; instead, get up right away and start moving on with your morning routine.
18. Avoid napping in the afternoon.
19. Do some sort of physical exercise each day which will tire you out.
20. Cut down on smoking and drinking alcohol at least two hours before bedtime.
21. Don't drink coffee or soft drinks containing caffeine after dinner.
22. If you like to watch TV before going to bed, keep it light; watch a comedy instead of a drama.
23. If you like to read before going to bed, keep it light. Read to a logical stopping point, so you won't lie awake wondering what's going to happen.
24. Don't socialize with friends with whom you are likely to argue in the evening. Nighttime arguments are like poison to an insomniac.
25. Establish a regular bed-time.
26. Avoid eating too much salt with your dinner and in any after-dinner snacks.
27. Try eating snacks high in calcium and protein before retiring; small amounts of cheese and nuts contain Tryptophan, an amino acid which promotes sleep.
28. Take bone meal tablets or some other form of calcium regularly after dinner.
29. Herbal teas such as chamomile and valerian induce sleep.
30. Try a teaspoon of brewer's yeast and a tablespoon of molasses in a glass of milk.
31. Don't forget about a glass of warm milk before bed; it does work.
32. A teaspoon of honey in a cup of hot water is said to induce sleep.
33. Another old-fashioned remedy is to take two teaspoons of cider vinegar with two teaspoons honey in a glass of warm water.
34. Ask your spouse which sleeping position you sleep most sound lying; try to assume that position upon retiring.
35. Don't go for 8 hours of sleep; you may only need 4 to 6 hours.
36. Spend no more than 3 minutes thinking about the day's problems when you are in bed.
37. If you find it difficult to sleep with your spouse, try getting twin beds or separate bedrooms.
38. The optimum temperature for sleep is 60 to 64 degrees F.
39. Relax before bed in a warm bath.
40. Buy a humidifier to keep your room warm in the winter without drying out the air too much.
41. Add a tablespoon of dry mustard powder to your before-bed bath.
42. Add baking soda to the bath water.
43. Footbaths before bed help.
44. Before bed, listen to relaxing music.
45. When you are in bed, recall the happiest experiences of your life.
46. Ask someone to read aloud to you in bed before you go to sleep.
47. Lie on your back in bed and relax each muscle in your body.
48. Visualize various parts of your body relaxing.
49. Concentrate on doing some deep breathing as you lie in bed.
50. If all else fails, try counting sheep; it's an age-old cure and has helped many an insomniac get a good night's sleep.
Snoring, Apnea, and Sleep Disorders
Article courtesy of: QualityBooks.com
Experts estimate that half of chronic snorers over 40 have episodes of obstructive apnea, when flabby soft tissues at the base of the tongue and throat block all air flow. For the person with apnea, its as if someone sticks a giant cork in his throat as many as 300 times a night. Some people stop breathing for as long as a minute, and each year many apnea sufferers die of cardiac arrest in the night.
You can tell if your mate or close family member has sleep apnea by their irregular snoring. There are lots of sharp snorts and gasps. It is labored, at times explosive, and in severe cases its just as bad no matter what the sleeping position.
To confirm whether a person has apnea requires an overnight sleep study, performed at a sleep disorder clinic. Called polysomnography, a sleep study records heartbeat, along with eye, chest, and leg movements while the snoozing patient is hooked up to a series of electrodes. Most health plans require a sleep study, showing apnea or another underlying medical condition, before theyll cover costs of surgery and other treatments for snoring.
Untreated, apnea can contribute to high blood pressure, enlargement of the heart, and increased risk of stroke. And because their sleep is so tormented, apnea sufferers are perpetually fatigued. An estimated 20% have had car accidents as a result of falling asleep at the wheel. All in all, experts say, 20 million Americans have apnea but do not know it.
If you or your mates snoring is fairly low in the Richter scale and is not causing any clear or present danger to your marriage, surgery should only be considered as a last resort. You should first consider some of the no surgical alternatives.
Develop a daily exercise regimen and stick to it. By firming up, you’ll cut down on fatty throat deposits, which can contribute to snoring.
Sleep on your side or stomach instead of your back, the position in which the tongue is most likely to slide toward the throat and block air flow. If you have trouble staying off your back, try sewing a tennis ball into the back pocket of your pajama bottoms.
Try wearing a jaw-retainer. This customer-fitted device, which resembles dental bite plates, is designed to keep the airway open by holding the entire lower jaw forward. It’s helpful in about a third of patients, particularly those with small lower jaws, deep palates, or short necks.
Tilt your bed, using bricks or wood block, so that the head is raised about four inches. If your snoring is aggravated by congestion or the position of the tongue, this helps keep airways open.
Use a decongestant pill or spray if you have allergies or a cold, or try nasal dilator strips that fit across the bridge of the nose like a band aid, pulling the nasal passages up and open. You can purchase these in packages of ten and if you can’t find them stocked in your local drug store, ask your pharmacist about ordering some for you.
Avoid alcohol and tranquilizers within four hours of bedtime and sleeping pills altogether; all three tend to relax the muscles of the soft palate, thus causing so much noise and commotion.
Make sure you visit www.sleep-aid-tips.com for more natural sleep remedies.
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