Healthy Living Guides » Sleep Disorders

Sleep Stress: How NOT to Bug out because you can’t sleep

staff — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 18:13:29 +0000

If you can’t sleep because of stress, try a relaxation meditation. This can help distress you and relax you so you can sleep. Here is a good meditation to try. You can either pre record this in your soft voice or memorize it and say it to yourself when you are ready. Most prefer to prerecord it so they can just relax. Lay in bed to do this. Make sure that you are comfortable and that you will not be disturbed. If you fall asleep this is fine.

Natural Sleep Aids that Can Guide You to Dreamland

staff — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 18:13:28 +0000

If you find yourself counting shadows on the ceiling or watching the numbers tick by on your alarm clock, then you are definitely not alone. Millions of people all over the world have problems sleeping. With some, it is a recurring problem called insomnia and with others, it might be the occasional night or two, every so often. Regardless of how your sleep problems came to be, you have a plethora of options in regards to sleep aids. However, if you are reluctant to ask your doctor for prescription sleep drugs or other medical alternatives, there are some natural sleep aids that can guide you to dreamland.

Why Us Mere Humans Need to Snooze

staff — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 18:13:26 +0000

Humans must sleep. Studies have shown that people can live longer without food than they can without sleep. Shakespeare commented on the restorative nature of sleep calling it “nature’s soft nurse”. Mammals, reptiles, and birds also have to sleep.

Easy Ways to Talk to your Kids about Sleep

staff — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 18:13:25 +0000

There are several ways to talk to your kids about sleep. Proper sleep habits should be established early in life so they become habitual instinct early and potential problems can be avoided later on in life. Sleep routines started as a child generally carry over into adolescent and adult life. It is your job as a parent to instill in your children a sense of good sleep habits now, so they will have them for life.

Tryptophan: The Trick to Catching Some Zzzz’s

staff — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 18:12:40 +0000

Do you know what tryptophan is? Tryptophan is a vital amino acid that you can only get from foods you eat. Your body cannot produce tryptophan on its own, so it depends on the foods and supplements you eat or consume. In turn, this tryptophan assists the human body in making niacin, a B level vitamin. This chain of biological events helps produce serotonin, a chemical that your body needs in order to “cool off” and relax so that you can slip into dreamland. People with insomnia and characteristics of sleep deprivation have low levels of this serotonin.

Melatonin: A Natural Sleep Aid

staff — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:23:27 +0000

Melatonin is an all natural sleep aide. It’s secreted by the pineal gland, a small pea size gland in the center of the brain, as our eyes register the fall of darkness. At night melatonin is produced to help our bodies regulate our sleep and wake cycles. The amount of melatonin produced by our body lessens as we get older. Scientists believe this may be why young people have less of a problem sleeping than older people will. Though we create our own melatonin, this can also be bought in the form of supplements.

What You Should Know before Signing Up for a Sleep Study

staff — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:23:14 +0000

A sleep study, or Polysomnogram, is an overnight recording of sleep pattern and behaviors associated with sleep. It is necessary to determine what stages of sleep an individual achieves and whether any sleep-related abnormalities are present. Several sensors are applied with glue or tape to the body’s surface to record brain waves, eye movements, muscle tone, body movements, heart rate, and breathing. Audiovisual recordings are made also to view later for study. None of the sensors used are painful or harmful. Even the oxygen content of the blood is measured painlessly with a simple clip on the index finger. There are connecting wires to the sensors, but you are free to get up and walk about as needed.

Seasonal Depression Can Signal a Sleep Disorder

staff — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:23:12 +0000

Who hasn’t suffered from the ‘winter blues’? We wake in the dark and go to work in the dark, and by the time we fall asleep, it has long been dark. With the cold weather and gloomy skies, it’s no surprise that some people suffer from seasonal depression and an overall sense of lethargy.

Exercise Your Way to a Good Night’s Sleep

staff — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 18:14:15 +0000

Sleep deprivation is a very common problem in our world today. In fact the Better Sleep Council surveyed a thousand adult respondents and discovered that more than thirty percent of them confessed to not getting enough sleep each night. The recent survey also revealed that not getting enough sleep affected their daily performance at work and at home in terms of their ability to concentrate, their capacity for problem solving, their coordination and reaction time, their physical strength and energy levels and how they handled stress.

Traveling Tips to Keep You Sleeping

staff — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:14:06 +0000

While traveling, we often push ourselves to our physical limits, almost to the point of exhaustion and deprive ourselves of sleep. Because of this, we may experience symptoms of sleep deprivation including headaches, indigestion, decreased concentration and ability to focus, and irritability. It is imperative that we give our bodies the rest and relaxation it needs each night.