Friday, November 21, 2008

How to Fall Asleep Quickly?

There's an ungodly amount of articles online about how to get out of bed in the morning, since apparently that's a topic people love to research. But what about actually getting in bed and falling asleep? Surely, to get out of bed, you would have to have gotten in bed at some point in time. And once your in bed, you have to fall asleep. Otherwise you wouldn't be able to wake up at 11am the next day to Google up articles on how to wake up earlier.

Falling asleep when you hit the sack is something that most people want to do quickly and effortlessly. Nothing beats a good night's sleep out of the window if you're tossing and turning for an hour after laying down. There's lots of solutions for this problem you can try - medication you can take, rituals you can perform, and a multitude of other options. Some work great - some don't. This article is going to explore the basis of the method I use to fall asleep at night; hopefully, it'll be of some use to you.

The basic steps I use are:
1. Turn off the TV, computer, and other distractions 30 minutes before bedtime.
2. Dim all of the lights just enough so that it's dark, but I still can see.
3. Do something totally relaxing, like journaling, reading, or playing soft music.
4. Go to bed when 30 minutes are up, or before then if I feel sleepy enough.

Before I begin, I have to inform you that the method that you use to fall asleep will (most likely) be unique for you. Some people can watch TV for hours on end, shut it off, and in 5 minutes be out like a light. Most people aren't this lucky, though, so that's where this article comes in. Let's begin!

Turn off the TV, computer, and any other box of flashy lights, sounds, and distractions 30 minutes before bedtime. (Yes, your computer has an off button, and no, it doesn't give you an electrical shock when you press it.) Stimulation before sleeping is the #1 killer of a good night's sleep. If you're getting overly involved in that Law and Order: SVU episode to the point you're crying when the jury reaches their verdict - 3 minutes before your scheduled bedtime - you probably won't fall asleep very well. Turn off all of all of that stimulation at least 30 minutes before you go to bed, even earlier if possible.

If you absolutely must surf the internet, watch TV, play games, etc., choose sites/shows/games that are not violent, graphic, sexual, etc.. Nightmares are also killers of a good night's sleep.
Immediately after doing the previous step, dim all of the lights.

Now, you don't have to immerse yourself in a black, thick blanket of darkness and sit there for half an hour - you'll get bored and antsy. Instead, dim all of the lights just enough so that you can still see reasonably well and do basic tasks, like reading or meditating. When you're subjected to darkness, you start signaling to your brain to produce a chemical that makes you sleepier - melatonin. After just a little while, you'll start to feel a little sleepier, which will allow you to quickly go into sweet dreams. Hooray!

Next, do something totally relaxing for yourself.
"Totally relaxing" is a subjective phrase - what's totally relaxing to you may be 30 minutes in a personal Hell to somebody else. What are some relaxing things you can do before bed? Use this list to get you started on your own ideas:

• Listen to quiet music while meditating.
• Journal.
• Read a good book.
• Take a bath.
• Drink some chamomile tea.

Whatever you choose to do, make sure it's relaxing. The idea is to start winding down and slip into a peaceful state - the last thing you want to do before bed is something invigorating.
Is 30 minutes up? Time to go to bed!

Ah, the fun part! Time to attempt to sleep! If you still feel wound up at this stage, feel free to take a little more time in the previous step. You may find it takes you 15 minutes to become tired enough to sleep, or you may find you need an hour to get ready. Whatever the case, do what your body tells you. Don't try to force yourself to sleep if you know you can't fall asleep.
To cut out caffeine and exercise before bed? Your call.

Some people can drink a pot of coffee an hour before bed and have no trouble falling asleep - I fall in this category. Likewise, other people can exercise two hours before hitting the sack and have no trouble sleeping as well. It's entirely your own personal preference. If drinking half a cup of coffee will wire you up for 5 hours, then it's best to skip out on the drink.

Finally, test out my method. See if it works, and make changes if needed.
I'm not saying this method is a sure-fire way to fall asleep immediately once you go to bed. However, it's a blueprint that you will most likely get some very good results from. The only way to tell is to actually test it out for several nights and see how it works. If it gives you superb results, that's great - keep on doing it! If not, reevaluate the steps and make small changes.

Perhaps turning off the TV for 30 minutes before bed is too little, and you need to boost it up to an hour. Or maybe you'd like to meditate for slightly longer before going to bed, as you'll feel more relaxed.

Good luck, and sweet dreams!

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Read more of my articles The Power Of Questions Different Types Of Questions How To Use Reflective Listening
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Thursday, October 30, 2008

What are the symptoms of insomnia?

These are the most common symptoms:
it is difficult to fall asleep — we toss and turn, trying to get comfortable or lie like a log, rigid with boredom for what seems like hours;

when we wake up, it is still pitch dark. We look at the alarm clock and it has only been one or two hours since we turned out the light — turning over and closing our eyes does not bring sleep back;

we manage to get through to daylight, but it is still way too early — we have woken up several hours before we need to get up;

when we wake up, we feel like we have had no sleep at all — the sleep has not left us refreshed;
during the following day, we walk round like zombies, often impatient and irritable and, as it begins to happen more often, a little anxious. When we try to concentrate, we have trouble in focussing our eyes, we yawn all the time and, occasionally, we cannot recall what we were doing for the last few minutes — have you ever had the experience when driving that you could not remember the last ten miles? This type of memory loss can be a real danger sign;

over time, you are likely to experience blurred vision and, in some people, colour blindness. There is an increasing disconnection between you and the world, sometimes called derealisation, as a first sign of clinical depression;

your immune system is slowly affected and you will find yourself catching more coughs and colds; and you start to get headaches and, as sleeplessness persists, you may find yourself suffering dizziness or fainting spells, growing confused or hallucinating, your speech grows slurred and incomprehensible, and your body may be affected by tremors.

For more information on how to cure your insomnia effectively, please click here now.

Sleep As We Grow Older.

In the most recent issue of Current Biology, researchers suggest that healthy old people lose some capacity for sleep. The research group at the University of Surrey, UK, recruited 18 participants aged between 60 and 72 years, and 35 participants aged between 18 and 32 years. They were all healthy and none had any problems in sleeping. Their sleep patterns were assessed by self-reporting, and those reports were followed up by formal monitoring overnight in a sleep laboratory. The headline news from this small sample was that the older participants took longer to fall asleep and spent slightly less time asleep.

Many of the older adults slept about 1.5 hours less than those in the younger groups. This was established in an slightly unusual part of the trial. The participants were invited into the laboratory and asked to sleep for as long as they wished over periods of 16 hours lying in bed in a darkened room. On average, the older participants slept for 7 hours as against 8.5 hours for the younger participants. Over the period of the study, the older group went to sleep and woke earlier. The young preferred sleeping after midnight and waking later. The older slept between 7 and 9 hours, while the younger slept between 6 and 10 hours.

But it is important to recognise that the two averages were quite similar, i.e. 8.1 hours for older participants and 8.5 for younger ones. Finally, if older adult slept less at night, there was no increase in any afternoon napping to catch up. The older group simply prospered on less sleep. As an aside, in their self-reports, the younger participants appeared to underestimate the length of time they slept. There is evidence that people have more accidents and make more mistakes when they are tired. This is perhaps an indication that younger more active people should actually sleep for longer. There has always been anecdotal evidence that sleep patterns change as people age, but there is little objective evidence of this.

For the purposes of diagnosing and treating sleep disorders, it always has been important to collect scientific evidence. If older people do naturally sleep less, they should be persuaded that fewer hours in bed are simply a part of the ageing process and there there is no problem to be treated with powerful medications like ambien. People should only take drugs when they genuinely need them.

For more information about how to effectively cure your sleep disorders, please click here now for free easy tips.

This article was written by John Scott who lives and works in Los Angeles, California and who works regularly with http://www.sweetdreamsadvice.com/blog/sleep-as-we-grow-older.html. Check out http://www.sweetdreamsadvice.com/blog/sleep-as-we-grow-older.html now.

Exercise - The Great Insomnia Cure

Finding an insomnia cure can be quite a journey for many people. Insomnia is not the kind of condition that you can just get rid of right away. It will take some time, and possible a few methods, but finding an insomnia cure is possible, and the best part of all is that you can do it in a natural way.

When trying to find an insomnia cure, you want to stay away from drugs like sleeping pills. First of all, you often wake up feeling very groggy and tired. But more importantly, it is very easy to get addicted to them. Studies have shown that by taking sleeping pills, you could be prone to taking part in some very weird behaviors, including driving your car!

A natural insomnia cure that I will discuss today not only helps you get more sleep, but will also make you look and feel better. That's right, I am talking about exercise. There have been some studies that show that people who exercise on a regular basis not only sleep more hours at night, but the quality of sleep is better too. This is particularly true for women.

One of the major causes of insomnia is stress. And to make matters worse, when you have trouble sleeping, your body's levels of cortisol go up, which makes you feel even more stressed. But as you have probably heard before, exercise helps reduce stress, both physically and mentally.

If you do exercise, make sure you do it at least a few hours before going to bed. If not, the adrenaline from your workout could make it hard to get to sleep.

Click here for more FREE tips on how to cure your insomnia effectively now.

Exercise is a great insomnia cure, though it is certainly not the only one. Read Stop Insomnia here for more great ideas
By Jeff Farley

How to Find Real Insomnia Cures?

Are you struggling with insomnia? Insomnia simply means you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep. Sleep surveys tell us over and over again that almost everyone has trouble with insomnia sometimes. A surprising number of people struggle with chronic insomnia. It seems like a cruel joke that our modern world requires so much more of us during the day, but we are getting less rest at night. With all of the scientific advances, shouldn't there be insomnia cures?

You might be thinking of those fancy new sleeping pills you see on television. They promise a good night's rest with no after-effects and little risk of dependence. But do these drugs represent a real cure, or are people just drugging themselves to sleep? The pharmaceutical industry wants you to believe they are providing a long-term solution. But the truth is that sleeping pills become less effective over time. Sooner or later they will stop working for you. If you choose to go down this road, then you had better hope they have invented another new pill by that time.

There are better insomnia cures than following a trail of sleeping pills. To cure anything, you have to go after the cause. Insomnia is no different. Any effective insomnia cure must fix the problems that keep you from sleeping. Sleeping pills don't fix the problem. They work by causing your brain to release a chemical that makes you sleepy. So you might be able to get some sleep, but if you ever stop taking the pills you will still have insomnia. And it will probably be worse than before.

Wouldn't it be much better to discover the cause behind your sleep problems? Once you discover what's behind your sleeplessness, you can take steps to eliminate it. Then you will be able to enjoy peaceful nights of drug-free sleep. You won't be dependent on a bottle and you won't be explaining to your doctor why you need yet another prescription.

Sometimes the cause of insomnia can be as simple as work-related stress. Your insomnia cure might be learning good stress control and relaxation techniques. The sooner you can discover the cause of your insomnia, the sooner you will be getting the sleep you need.

If you're wondering if Insomnia Cures exist, then wonder no more. Sign up for our free newsletter at http://getagoodsleepnow.com/beatinsomnia.htm
By Philip Tsang

Yes, You Can Cure Your Insomnia!

Are you one of the millions of people who suffer from insomnia? Chances are good that yes, you do suffer from insomnia at some point. It can derail many things in your life including your mood and your ability to function at work or school the next day.

What Exactly is Insomnia?

Insomnia is a sleep disorder that usually keeps the sufferer from sleeping for long periods of time, or at all. Many insomniacs complain that they are not able to shut off their brains and instead stay awake at night and worry. Stress, worries, anxiety, depression, medications and caffeine can all cause the mind to be stimulated and not allow for relaxation. When that happens, insomnia usually results.

There are three recognized types of insomnia: transient, acute and chronic insomnia. Transient insomnia usually lasts for a short period of time-from one day to several weeks. Acute insomnia is the extended version of insomnia and can last for several months. Chronic insomnia is the most serious of types, meaning that it lasts for an extended period of time, or even permanently.

Can Insomnia Be Treated? What are Some Tips to Cure Insomnia?

Insomnia, unlike some other sleep conditions, can be treated effectively and allow the sufferer to go back to a regular sleep schedule. The most important of the tips to cure insomnia is to determine what is causing it. Are you worrying about money? Are you having back pain? Are you drinking coffee or soda too late at night? Determining the root cause is the most important factor in treating your insomnia. Once you determine that, you can figure out ways to stop doing the action that is keeping you awake at night. If you are staying awake from drinking caffeine, stop drinking caffeine several hours before bed. If you are worrying about money, talk to your spouse or figure out a way to cure your worries.

Other tips to help cure insomnia include:

* Keep all sources of stimulation out of your bedroom. Take out the television and radio. Don’t eat or drink in your room. Instead, make your bedroom a place where only sleep occurs. Also, make your room as dark as possible.

* Create a bedtime, and stick to it. Creating a schedule where you go to bed at the same time and get up at the same time every day will help your body form a routine and get used to sleeping at the same time each day.

* Don’t nap during the day. Doctors who give tips to cure insomnia say that it throws off your body’s internal clock and makes it difficult to go to bed later on.

* Don’t drink stimulants at night. Stay away from coffee, soda, tea or alcohol after dinner. The stimulants in the drinks can keep your body awake.

* Eat light dinners. Heavy foods create problems with the sleep schedule. Also, stay away from foods that are likely to create stomach problems and keep you awake.

* Exercise regularly. Exercising during the day will energize you. Exercising at night will energize you as well, making it difficult to sleep.

* Play soft music at bedtime. This creates a soothing atmosphere and will allow you to concentrate on the sound. When this happens, you will fall asleep faster.

These tips to cure insomnia can work for almost anyone. Try a few over the next several weeks and you will be to effectively treat your insomnia and make your life better!

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By Rory Herts

How To Cure Insomnia - Learn How To Cure Insomnia Fast!

Before we dig into how to cure insomnia it is first necessary to find out what make insomnia occur in the first place. There are many causes of this and they vary from person to person. Some of the most common causes can be excessive medication and it's side effects stress, anxiety, pressure in workplace, unhappy relationships and many more.

Sometimes the reasons are too simple to cure. For example a certain type of insomnia called as "primary insomnia" is caused by imperfect digestion. Creating diet routine and some exercise t help digestion can easily cure this. Simple exercise such as taking walk or cycling can solve this problem easily.

For more acute insomnia there are many remedies available. For this your family doctor is the best person to visit. But before you start any treatment always remember that insomnia is not a disease in itself, it is only reaction of your body to something else happening inside. Insomnia is the external expression of something else happening inside your mind or body.

Finding root cause id the best solution to cure insomnia. Curing insomnia is sometimes is just a matter of changing lifestyle habits. Every human body has an inner body cycle of how to sleep and wake up. If your lifestyle has a pattern that obstructs this natural body cycle then it cause insomnia.

By shifting small things one at a time you can easily allow your body to cure itself for good. The best part is this does not have any side effects and is free too. Some times advice is given that keep your bedroom clutter free and clean. This helps you mind for attaining a relaxing mood. Also stop drinking coffee at night to help the body system to attain it's natural state of relaxation that leads to deep sleep easily.

Copyright Shrinivas Vaidya

Read an amazing true story of a 30 year old man, who discovered an All-Natural, drug free way to cure his chronic insomnia in 24 hours. Visit http://www.getagoodsleepnow.com/blog to learn more.