Could You Be Sabotaging Your Sleep?

We were all born with the ability to get enough sleep, so if you aren't sleeping you have to ask yourself why not. If you don't have a howling newborn or a snoring partner, what might you be doing that stops you getting a good night's sleep? Consider the following...

Eating Late In the Day

One of the things that happen when it is time to sleep is that your body temperature becomes lower. But, if you are still digesting your meal this won't happen. Try to finish your meal by 8.00 pm so that your body can begin the process that leads to a good night's sleep. A milky drink such as hot chocolate at bedtime is good, and you can even add a little alcohol to it if you like.

Going To Bed Late

Are you staying up late because you think it more likely that you will sleep if you are completely exhausted? This doesn't work. Your body clock needs re- training so that you can fall asleep in time to get around 8 hours of sleep before the alarm clock goes off. Going to bed late simply means your body clock is being set to a later time schedule. Go to bed when you feel sleepy and get up at your normal time. Don't have a lie in at the weekend either; sadly that further confuses your body clock. Once you are sleeping well again you can have the occasional late night without upsetting things too much.

Getting Enough Daylight

If you work under artificial light all day spend some time outside so that you get enough daylight. Your body needs this so that it can regulate your sleep-wake cycle. You also need daylight to ensure you have enough Vitamin D to keep you healthy. (Vitamin D is made in your body by sunlight falling on your skin.) This also ties into the next point.

Getting Enough Exercise

Its important to get some exercise every day, it really will make a difference to how you sleep. If you take a brisk walk for at least 30 minutes a day you will kill two birds with one stone, daylight and exercise.

Is Your Bedroom Into An Entertainment Center?

A bedroom is a place for you to wind down, relax and sleep. If you have a television, computer or DVD player in your bedroom it is time to clear them out.

Sleeping On A Saggy Mattress

Is your mattress comfortable? You will spend an average of 26 years of your life in bed. A decent mattress is more important than any other piece of furniture, yet we spend the least on it. If you want a good night' sleep you need to sleep on a good mattress.

Relaxing in The Evening

We are all so busy that it is tempting to spend the evening catching up. But don't expect to fall asleep easily if you are busy until bed time. Try to give yourself an hour to relax before you go to bed. Have a warm bath, read a good book or a magazine and listen to relaxing music. If you are really stressed there are many good relaxation audios that can help you.

Relaxing In Bed

If you have a lot on your mind and you find that as soon as you switch off the light it all comes flooding in try this; an hour before you go to bed sit down and write your problems down. Then draw a line under them and tell yourself that you will not think about them again until tomorrow. When you turn off the light begin to relax and simply redirect your thoughts if they stray back to your problems.

So are you sabotaging your own sleep? If so see what happens when you make changes as outlined above.

Liz Beresford is a registered nurse and the creator of the popular Sleep Sound Insomnia Program which uses brainwave entrainment and guided relaxation to send you to sleep. She also has a 30 minute relaxation audio which can be used at any time to calm you. You can find the audio here: Alpha Relax.

Insomnia? Don’t Let These Mistakes Sabotage Your Sleep
If you suffer from insomnia, every night becomes a grueling contest in pursuit of a few hours of undisturbed sleep. There are times when you may feel ...

REM Sleep
You might have heard about REM sleep, but might wonder exactly what it is, and what goes on during it. REM Sleep is a stage of sleep that you go thro...

Good Night Sleep
You might be asking yourself how to know if you got a good night's sleep. That's pretty easy to tell actually. If you can wake up in the morning (wi...

Ineffective Sleep Equals to Sleep Disorder?
What are the symptoms of ineffective sleep or sleep disorder? You feel tired even when you have nine hours of sleep. You get to sleep easily with no n...

Sleep Eye Mask - Why Would You Want A Sleep Eye Mask?
Sleep is one of the most important things that you can do to keep yourself healthy. There are a lot of people who have problems sleeping in one form ...

Stages of Sleep
When you go to sleep each night, you just know that you fall asleep, and then eventually wake up. What you might not know, is that you have many diff...

How Do You Treat Your Sleep Problem?
Do you know that over 50% of adult peoples are suffer from some kind of sleep problem? I used to be a part of them. How about you? They have difficult...

Why Is Sleep Important And What Can An Eye Mask Sleep Do For You?
Everyone needs to sleep. This is a fact of life that everyone has to deal with and make sure that they get enough of. You don't want to walk around ex...

Insomnia Treatment Can Help
If you are suffering prolonged and repeated bouts of sleep disruptions, are unable to get to sleep, and finding yourself unable to concentrate during ...

Sleep Apnea Interrupting Your Breathing
Sleep apnea, fairly common among adults, is a disorder in which the soft tissue located in the back of the throat narrows and repeatedly closes during...

Sleep And The Shift Worker - How Do You Discover Restorative Sleep
There are millions who work the non-traditional employment hours. Some choose to work outside the normal 8 to 5 block as a benefit to their family, fo...

Wake up Less Groggy
Everyone is different, but there are many people who just can't wake up in the morning. They are very groggy, and have a hard time becoming awake and...

Impacts of Sleep Apnea on Your Health
It is always good to know if you or anyone of your love ones are suffering from sleep apnea. This is because many of us do not know the impacts of sle...

Do You Know How Sleep Apnea Home Testing Service Works?
Have you ever heard of a sleep Apnea Home Testing Service? If you have not, you are not the only one. There are millions of Americans who are sufferin...

Symptoms of Sleep Apnea - What Are the Signs of Sleep Apnea?
Because sleep apnea has the potential to be a life threatening condition, it's important to know the symptoms of sleep apnea in order to catch the pro...

This entry was posted on Friday, August 1st, 2008 at 11:28 pm and is filed under Sleep Apnea Snoring . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.