(Healingtalks) Dramatic statistics tell us that more than one-third of U.S. adults have trouble falling asleep at night or staying alert during the day.
Inadequate sleep has been linked to many ills, including depression, cardiovascular disease and other health problems. Getting a good night’s sleep regulates moods, aids memory functions, plus concentration, learning, and focus. It is a critical factor in health, weight and energy levels (Davila, 2009).
So what to do?
Let’s explore combining a healthy diet and a regular exercise program.
Real links between exercise and sleep
Scientists at Northwestern University conducted a study which showed that those who exercised reported their sleep quality improved immensely. They also reported fewer depression symptoms, more vitality, and less sleepiness during the daytime. ‘By improving sleep, they were able to improve physical and mental health as well as the ability to fight diseases
Exercise timing
The type and timing of your exercise makes a difference.
A light morning exercise, like running or walking outside, can relieve stress, improve mood and impact sleep at the end of the day. Exposure to natural light in the morning reinforces your body’s sleep-wake cycle. Waking up earlier and walking or bicycling to work could help your overall vitality and quality of sleep (Virdil, 2011).
To affect your sleeping habits even more, vigorous late afternoon or early evening exercise is recommended. Exercise too close to bedtime and you can have a negative impact because your body’s temperature needs time to cool down. The exact time it takes can vary from person to person so a trial and error approach could be taken. The decrease in body temperature appears to be a trigger that helps ease you into sleep (Virdil, 2011).
Exercise types
The type of exercise is also important. Virdil recommends a 20 minute cardiovascular workout to get the heart pumping. It will make a difference to the depth of sleep. Also it’s best to choose an activity you love to do for your routine. It shouldn’t be burden. Having fun greatly betters the chance that the exercise is maintained.
Exercise for life
Healthy eating and regular exercise are essential for a good life. To recap, the benefits of exercising includes; better sleep, greater weight control, improved immunity, less mood swings, higher levels of energy, and even a better sex life. Lastly it can be fun. So let get with it! Exercise regularly for better sleeping and which then leads to better living.
What to do to sleep at night, how to sleep well, sleep at night, sleep better, sleep last night, problems sleeping, sleep all night, how to sleep all night, sleeping disorders, how can I sleep through the night, how to sleep with insomnia, nights sleep, how to cure insomnia, natural sleep, to help you sleep, sleeping help, problem sleeping, sleep habits, baby sleep at night, good night sleep, sleeping habits, sleep health, sleeping tips, sleep aides natural, what to take to sleep at night. nights sleep, effects of exercise
Nathan Batalion, Global Health Activist, Healingtalks Editor
(Healingtalks) The overall environment of sound, lighting, electro-magnetic waves and other subtle influences really affects how soundly we sleep.
Here is a summary of some of these important deep sleep influences:
Environment Promoting Melatonin
Melatonin is a hormone that is produced at night by the pineal gland. Through research it is believed that adequate melatonin production is linked to our ability to deeply sleep. It is also heavily linked to other things, including inhibition of tumor growth, protection from cancer and a generally strong immune function. Melatonin production is stimulated by the dark and inhibited by the light, and also by sleeping within electromagnetic fields. To get a good night’s sleep it is thus very important to sleep in an environment that promotes melatonin production, and as follows:
Lighting and deep sleep
Obviously sleeping in a darkened room will help deep sleep. How dark ?
Do you sleep with the light on? Does the light from the hall spill into your bedroom? Does the TV flicker? Are your curtains or blinds blocking out the light from the neighbors, and the lamps and neon signs from the street? See how else you can make your bedroom even darker than it is
Electricity and deep sleep
Electricity can suppress melatonin production.
Electricity produces electromagnetic radiation, or electromagnetic fields (EMFs), which are made up of two separate parts: the electric field, and the magnetic field. Fifteen research studies have shown that magnetic fields inhibit, reduce or suppress melatonin production. For some people, sleeping within a magnetic field will also disrupt their sleep. The stronger and larger a field, the more likely it is to disrupt the quality of sleep, and the more people it is likely to affect.
Smaller EMFs Strong magnetic fields are usually found around the fuse box, or electricity meter. If you’re not sleeping well, the very first thing to do is to check where this is. Is it anywhere near your bed? People often unknowingly sleep with their bedhead, or their child’s bed, backing onto the meter box. This is not only associated with insomnia, but also with weakened immune systems, which can lead to a variety of health issues. Often something as simple as moving the bed to the other side of the room has been known to dramatically alleviate sleeping problems.
I once consulted for someone who hadn’t slept properly for over two years. She averaged no more than a few hours each night, and had simply got used to feeling exhausted all the time. I found out that her bed backed onto the junction box, and suggested she move her bed. She decided to try sleeping in the spare room to see if it made a difference. From the very first night she started sleeping right through, and now has a completely different quality of life. The remedy was simple, effective, immediate and cost nothing!
Larger EMFs – Learn to look three-dimensionally – and think about what’s behind and under your bed. A junction box, a computer, TV, fridge, microwave…anything that emits an electromagnetic field around your bed may be disrupting your sleep. Large EMFs can also come from an external source, such as nearby electrical transmission lines, transformers or substations. Sometimes large EMFs within the house can be caused by a fault or anomaly in the wiring system.
Electrical appliances and sleep
Try to remove as many electrical appliances from your bedroom as possible, and make sure that those you do have are at least a meter or three feet away from your pillow. Magnetic fields from electric appliances reduce as soon as the appliance is switched off. The electric field remains even when you have turned off the appliance switch. To reduce this field you need to turn the appliance off at the plug (or take the plug out if there is no plug switch).
Be aware also that most mattresses contain metal springs, and that the metal in these springs can conduct electricity – another important reason to keep electric fields away from your bed.
Some water beds have electrical heaters attached and these should be turned off.
Bedroom electric space heaters are not advisable.
Low halogen lights and digital clock radios should be watched, as these both contain transformers and often give off very large and powerful fields. Lamps with ordinary, incandescent light bulbs, and battery alarms are far better for your health.
Electric blankets can emit enormous fields, and continue to emit electric fields that keep your whole system buzzing all night unless they’re switched off at the plug. If you want to keep warm in bed, either use a hot water bottle, or snuggle up to someone instead.
Cordless phones and phone rechargers can also emit large fields. Both are better placed well on the other side of the room, or in the next room, as are TVs, DVD players, or music systems.
Microwave radiation affecting sleep
Mobile phones, ‘wireless’ technology, DECT cordless phones and digital baby monitors – just like your microwave oven – emit microwave radiation. Microwave radiation is increasingly intruding into our lives, and the more appliances we buy that use this form of energy, the more we invite it inside our own homes. And, once there, it is often operating 24/7. This is increasingly being linked with disruption in sleep patterns (in addition to other health issues such as impaired brain function and energy metabolism, fatigue and depression). Reducing your usage of this technology may well help to increase your quality of sleep.
This is relatively new technology, and as such we still are not aware of all of the health effects. However, a recent Australian study has firmly linked the use of mobile phones before going to bed with sleep disruption: it appears it stimulates brain activity in the early stages of sleep, and also reduces level of melatonin. This research also indicated there may be certain people who are particularly susceptible to the effects of mobile phone radiation.
All electromagnetic and microwave radiation is invisible stress – however, a variety of meters do exist which can measure their effect, and so make visible this invisible world. If you suspect you may have EMFs or microwave radiation in your house, and you’ve eliminated all the simple causes, it may be best to consult with someone who is experienced in this field. They can help you to detect any fields and their source, and then to find a solution.
Geopathic stress impacting sleep
This is an area which is not widely discussed in our society. Ancient cultures and indigenous communities are well aware of the impact of the Earth’s natural electromagnetic radiation, and also of the areas in which this becomes disrupted. These areas of disruption are often referred to as areas of geopathic stress, or geopathic zones.
Studies have been done on many indigenous and ancient sites, and have found not one built over a geopathic zone. However, in Westernised societies, most of us have lost touch with this knowledge, and so are not aware of the best areas in which to make resting places, and those to avoid.
The people who work with geopathic stress are well aware of its effect on our general health. Some research studies carried out overseas link it strongly to specific health issues – including disrupted sleep, behavioral issues, lowered immune function, and cancer.
You can engage a professional dowser or intuitive to guage geopathic stress.
There is another way to gain insight as to whether geopathic stress may be affecting our houses. Nature gives us many clues. If you have any rooms that: feel cold and uninviting (in both temperature and ‘feel’), no-one really wants to go into; are for no apparent reason full of damp and susceptible to mould; it may be possible that they are built over areas of geopathic stress. It then becomes necessary to move a bed or even one’s bedroom.
Cats, by the way, may love these areas; dogs may avoid them. Termites, wasps and ants might also love GS. Plants often won’t grow or are distorted. So, watch for such clues. In our scientific high-tech age, such topics as geopathic stress and old-fashioned dowsing are looked down upon as superstitious. But for some people it works. If you think your bedroom may be over a geopathic stress zone, try to find someone locally who works in this field, and can dowse for you – or learn to dowse yourself. Many states have a local Dowser’s Society who can put you in contact with a dowser, and many run training courses as well.
Chemicals and sleep
Since the middle of the 20th century we have been subject to a vast marketing campaign about “better living through chemistry.” Chemicals essentially are designed mathematically, so what could be wrong with that? Mathematics is a set of symbols for the universal separation of all elements of consciousness, beginning with 1,2,3. This universal symbolism, when universally applied, impacts potentially everything in our environment, including our bedrooms. One cannot, however, deeply connect a vision or environment of nature using the most powerful of all symbols for consciousness separation. There is much more about this in other articles in Healingtalks.com and Raw-wisdom.com.
On a deep level, we end up very negatively or ill-affecting/polluting the depth connectivity that is the foundation of life and healing, and to which we connect most powerfully during sleep.
Among the sources of chemicals in bedding, curtains, decorations, furniture, walls and floors, cleaning and deodorizing agents to become aware of, including the following:
Particleboard or MDF
Carpeting and underlay
Foam and fabrics in furniture
Pesticides
Adhesives
Varnishes and paint
Material dyes and finishing products
Fabric pre-stainer and softeners
Easy-iron’ or ‘crease-free’ fabrics
Disinfectants and air fresheners
Preservatives in wood and wallpaper
Personal care products, cleansers and cosmetics (among others).
Air quality – If you have just had your bedroom decorated, you can help the fumes to escape, and prevent their accumulation, by opening the windows and ventilating the room. Make sure you do this for some time each and every day, particularly just before you go to bed. Ideally, leave your bedroom window open so that you’re sleeping with a constant supply of fresh air. You can purchase an air filter and run it on a timer during the day.
More considerations – Be especially aware of this when decorating a bedroom for a new baby or child, as they are much more sensitive and vulnerable. Try to decorate the room as far in advance as you can, so that any fumes have time to diminish. Use non-toxic or bio-friendly paints, and furnish it with products made from natural materials. If you have any furniture made of MDF, then seal it using a non-toxic sealer. When it next comes time to buying bedding, consider bed linen made from organic cotton, which has been grown without chemicals, or not treated with formaldehyde in the manufacturing process. For people of all ages, easy-care sheets may definitely not be leading to easy sleep.
More than eliminating negatives – Besides eliminating all that can hamper sleep, you can also add things to your bedroom that positively impacts sleeping – such as soothing blue colors, and meditative and relaxing images, saying and pictures. Consider a meditation sound machine or noise machine plugged in at a distance that simulates the soothing sound of a waterfall, rain sound, meditative healing music, or offers other soothing, ambient or “white” sounds. Keeping a bedroom on the relatively cool side also helps, but not too cold.
Exercise some time during the day, unwind at night from the day’s cares, relax and unload worries and eat and drink lightly (or not at all just before sleep), perhaps with a relaxing herbal tea.
Summary
To summarize: To get a good night’s sleep, become more and more conscious of your total bedroom environment Sleep is one of our most precious resources. If you get enough beautiful, restful sleep you are more likely to have enough vitality to bounce forward into life with a spring in your step. You’ll look and feel wonderful. Take the time to learn about your home, particularly your bedroom. Look after it, and it will look after you.
Credits
Post inspired by an article by Alison Wilson BBEC, is a Building Biologist and Associate Director of the Sydney School of Feng Shui. Her business Healthy Homes, consults and runs courses teaching people how to transform their houses into Healthy Homes. http://www.alisonwilson.com.au/
Keywords
sleep better, deep sleep, sleep problems, white sound, meditative music, noise machine, sleep and insomnia, sound therapy, cure insomnia, rain sounds, cannot sleep, help with sleeping, soothing sound, sleep remedies, calm music, music to sleep by, aids to sleep, sound to sleep, music to sleep, sleep songs
Video
The states of consciousness we move through to get to the fourth sleep state:
(Healingtalks) You want to sleep, lying there staring at the clock’s luminous dial, but you can’t. Chances are, you took a late afternoon nap, or maybe you’re stressed out or excited. This kind of insomnia is usually temporary and lasts from several days or even a few weeks.
Here’s some ways to make you fall asleep easily.
Have a full day
Researchers in England found that people who have an active day are more likely to have restful sleep at night.
Paint your bedroom
Light colors are best. Look for peach, pink, pale green and aqua to be the best for soothing you into slumber.
Set aside some quiet time to fall asleep
Before bedtime, begin a ritual you will follow each night. Take about 10 minutes to reflect your day’s activities. Plan tomorrow’s. Try to work out solutions to problems, and then put your cares aside.
Keep strict mealtimes
Regular meals tell your body that its internal clock is working properly. Also, avoid eating heavy meals at bedtime, when they can cause reflux or heartburn.
Turn your evening snack into a sleeping pill
One of the amino acids in food, called L-tryptophan, can help you get to sleep faster.
Here’s how it works: You eat a late-evening carbohydrate-rich snack such as rice cakes, dry cereal, air-popped popcorn, potatoes, corn, bagels, or a muffin. As your body digests the carbohydrates, the pancreas releases insulin, decreasing the bloodstream concentration of all amino acids by tryptophan. The now-strong tryptophan levels reach the brain, where they are used to manufacture a chemical called serotonin. Serotonin is the body’s own prescription for sleep, and as your brain uses it, feelings of stress and tension slip away. Most people need only an ounce or so of carbohydrates to get the tranquilizing effect within 20 to 30 minutes.
Try a soothing drink before going to sleep
You may be tempted to reach for that old standby, a glass of warm relaxing tea, milk or even a warm broth.
Can the coffee
Coffee, cola, chocolate and your insomnia have something in common–caffeine. Caffeine is a long-acting drug. Avoid caffeine after noon and you’ll fall asleep faster at night. Also, skip sugary snacks at night.
Draw a hot bath before sleep
A bedtime soak in the tub is a traditional–and effective–tranquilizer, though to work by relaxing the muscles. Another theory holds that hot water raises the temperature in the brain, too, by about 1 degree Fahrenheit, according to a study at Loughborough University in England. To be effective, run a bath 100 to 102 degrees and soak for no more than 15 minutes. The small change in your brain temperature can cause an increase in deeper stages of sleep.
Try a lullaby before sleep
In just two weeks, you can teach yourself to fall asleep on cue. The cue? The same music each night at bedtime. Here’s what you need to do: List to various composition to find one that seems restful. Turn out the light, and then flip on the music you selected. Listen to it over and over until you fall asleep. Use this particular tune only when you’re ready to sleep. Eventually hearing that lullaby will alert your snooze response and you’ll drift off with the first few notes.
Conclusion
Some people who are finding it difficult to sleep at night have really good ways or techniques to fall asleep fast you should learn your own, too. These tips are somewhat basic but have been proven effective. Try these ones and see for yourself if they will work for you.
Sleep is so critically important for a healthy life and many people really struggle to fall and stay asleep.
With adequate sleep, you avoid becoming cranky, irritable or having difficulty concentrating the next day. Poor concentration can result in making serious mistakes in your work . Your immune system can go down so that you also get headaches or a cold. Needless to say, it is thus vital to get adequate sleep and following “good night sleep tips” are thus a matter of common sense. But it helps to have these simple tips instilled and reaffirmed because they are so important:
Develop a Bedtime Routine
It is a good idea to develop and stick to a bedtime routine. Going to bed and waking up at the approximate same times each day can establish a rhythm for your body to get used to. This will make it easier to feel sleepy when it is time to go to bed and more awake when it is time to get up!
Sleep in Darkness
Leaving the television on or the nightlight on can disrupt your body’s inner production of a natural sleep aid, melatonin. If you must keep a light on, dim it as much as possible and definitely shut the TV off. Use a shut off timer if you tend to fall asleep while watching.
Use Relaxation Music at Bedtime
This can help calm you into a sound state of sleep. Sounds of nature, white noise, or gentle classical music may lull you into a soothed and calming state. Some people prefer to hear a fan whirr or the faint background sounds of traffic. Find what works for you.
Avoid Eating Just Before Bedtime
Eating just before going to sleep can cause raises your blood sugar and engage your digestive organs in ways that hampers sleep. Grains, candy bars, and nuts or other heavy proteins are particularly bad choices just before going to bed.
Read Something Relaxing
Light reading can serve as a great way to wind down. Be careful not to choose reading something that is shocking, disturbing, or too engaging.
Make Your Bed Comfy
Think about it, you are going to be in the bed for 1/3 of the day. Splurge a bit on your bed and/or bedding. If you are buying a new mattress, try it out in the store and choose what’s most comfortable and soothing for you.
Preparing a room for sleep can include not only an adequate bed and bedding, but managing any air drafts, uncomfortable temperatures, smells, and nearby sounds As to redecorating, try choose relaxing colors (toward the blue spectrum) as well as images or motifs such as water flowing or a Buddha or yogi meditating. Choose whatever image relaxes you best.
Take a Cleansing Bath, Shower or Sauna
With the bath you can use relaxing herbs, or with the shower you can use scented soaps that help you relax before sleep. A brief home sauna may put you right out.
Avoid Stimulants and Choose Relaxing Herbs
This includes coffee, chocolate, alcohol and sleep-disturbing drugs. We don’t recommend any pharmaceutical sleep aides with the natural approach. A variety of herbs and herb combination can be found in most health food stores and which are labeled as sleep promoting. These include chamomile, lavender, hops, valerian, passion flower, California poppy, wild lettuce, St. John’s Wort and kava kava.
Limit Liquids Before Going to Sleep
A small 4 ounce cup of warm decaffeinated tea may help you sleep but too much more can make you get up during the night.
Control Worries and Anxiety
If something during the day has disturbed you, don’t belabor the issue. Give it a rest. See yourself unloading your worries. If there are issues with a partner you sleep with, make it a priority to resolve these as well, or agree to do so the next day so that you can both sleep soundly
Learn Visualization Techniques
There are many varieties of peaceful, restful, calm visualizations. Choose one you feel akin to. This can include systematic relaxation techniques for every part of your body, from head to foot.
Bedtime Routines That Approximate Nature’s Cycles
Try to go to bed closer to sundown and get up closer to sunrise.
Exercise During the Day Not Late at Night
So get busy during the day, and you will be ready for a sound, deeper sleep later.
Exercise Your Mind During the Day
This is because boredom during the day may lead you to engage in things too late at night.
All these many tips can greatly help you sleep better. Remember sleep is nature’s invaluable and indispensible means to daily rejuvenate us. Please add your comments and other suggestions to this article.
