Is sleep proving elusive? Here’s how to get a good night’s sleep

Sometimes a good night’s sleep is simply eliminating small things that cause us to sleep poorly. Leaving aside the major sleep stealers – stress and anxiety – most things that keep us awake can be dealt with quite easily. Sometimes you may have to ruffle a few feathers in your quest for a good night’s sleep but remember that sleep is as important as eating and breathing. Claim the sleep you need!

We don’t sleep to just recharge our batteries and stop ourselves being tired, when we go to sleep our body and brain carry on working to heal any damage we have caused during the day and help to organize all our memories, so it is important that we get enough sleep to let that happen. Yet most of us will at one time or another struggle to sleep, and for some people it is a long term battle to find the elusive embrace of sleep. Here are some methods to help you drift off as soon as your head hits the pillow:

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Keep to a specific routine: Having a set routine really helps your brain and body to know what is expected of them. By keeping to a set bedtime each night, and then making sure you wake up at the same time the next day (even on weekends) then your brain can help you to wind down so you are ready each night to get straight off to sleep. You will also find that by having a definite time to go to bed each night that you plan your evening a lot better and don’t end up trying to cram too much in which will lead to you going to bed late and/or stressed out.

Don’t let any annoying noises get to you: When you are having trouble drifting off then you will notice things that normally don’t bother you, like the squeak of a door or a leaking tap, so try to cut out anything like that during the day so it doesn’t annoy you later. If that means you need to get rid of any clocks near your bedroom which tick all night long, or you need to make the dog sleep in the kitchen, then do it.

It is impossible to stop all the noises that annoy you during the night though, as inevitably there will be some outside your house which you can’t deal with, like neighbors who come home late at night or insect sounds etc, but you can buy gadgets to help. Don’t get too excited though, these aren’t fancy gadgets which can literally stop you from hearing that kind of noise, they just try to drown it out with their own noise instead. The Sleepmate 980a is an example of the kind of machine I am talking about, it is known as a white noise generator. I am sure some of the other machines work in a different way, but that one makes a whooshing noise like having a fan going, and that drowns out some of the quieter noises which would annoy you.

Be honest with your partner: Is your partner keeping you up? Sleeping the same bed as somebody else is fine as long as they don’t make a lot of noise or move around a lot, but if they do then that can keep you and even wake you up after you manage to get to sleep, yet people refuse to talk to their partner about it in case they upset them. Unfortunately the best solution if your partner is keeping you up is to try sleeping in different rooms if they are making a lot of noise, or different beds if they toss and turn. However that will not go down well with your partner so first of all try any solutions you can find online for those sort of problems.

I know these things seem extreme, but if you really are having trouble sleeping then they can help you out and isn’t it worth a bit of effort to finally be able to get a good nights sleep?

                          

Get in the habit of shutting off the TV an hour or so before bedtime. It doesn’t really matter whether it’s a movie, sitcom, sporting event or music video. Make the last hour before going to bed one where you’re not watching, texting or playing at anything on a screen. Relaxing music, a book on tape or lecture on your MP3 or CD player is a good way to unwind, as sound doesn’t strain your eyes the way images do. The flickering images and quick cuts between camera shots all stimulate the brain to stay awake and alert. It is harder for you to fall asleep if you simply turn off the television and roll over. If you’re used to watching TV until the wee hours, then, try shutting it off an hour earlier.

Don’t eat any heavy meals too close to your bedtime. When you eat a big meal, and then try to sleep, your stomach will be gurgling and rumbling and doing all sorts of things that will make sleep impossible. Your body needs energy to digest all of the heartier foods you’ve eaten and sometimes those foods will cause things like heartburn or indigestion or stomach pains – all of which can keep you awake. If you really need to eat something before bedtime, be creative and make yourself a healthy snack that isn’t overwhelming for your body to digest.

There are many sleep aids that you can buy over-the-counter; you should avoid taking these. If your insomnia is so serious that you need immediate help, you should see a physician. Even though these sleep products sold over the counter are supposedly safe, many people who start taking them have trouble stopping. Once you start depending on pills (or liquid) to sleep, you may find that, without them, you are completely unable to sleep. Read up on some of these sleep aids and you’ll see that many people have had long term problems with them. Even herbal and holistic remedies can be dangerous, so you should check everything out before trying it; in general, though, natural products are safer than pharmaceuticals.

There are a lot of things that you can do to help yourself get a better night’s sleep.

If there’s a medical cause, you need the advice of a physician of course. The strategies and remedies we’ve covered here can be effective most of the time, though. So make sure you include these suggestions in your efforts to sleep more soundly. You may have to try out various approaches before you finally discover the right formula for sleeping the way you want to.

About the Writer: Known as a fitness addict, Amy Chang is also a culinary consultant who teaches everyone ways to get the ideal best sushi rice cooker and offers sensible best rice cooker review and creating meals or getting the appropriate culinary gadgets to meet your cooking requests.

                          

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Treatments for Snoring: A good place to start would be your personal physician who can associate if any risk factors are involved with snoring and recommend a treatment procedure if needed from a sleep clinic. Treatment methods include…

Changes in Lifestyle to manage snoring: Your personal physician might suggest the following lifestyle changes that help in combating snoring like:

Reduce Weight: Snoring is mainly the result of being overweight. A doctor can recommend a safe and balanced plan to reach a healthy weight. If you really want to discover how to stop snoring naturally, start with losing fat.

Exercise: Sound sleep is essential and physical activity can help you attain this by keeping you busy, healthy and manage your weight too. Exercise, particularlywalking, jogging, running and hiking enhance your sleep quality. Just remember to avoid strenuous exercise at least three hours before sleeping.

Quit smoking: Smoking and second-hand smoke make symptoms worse because of throat irritation and coughing at night, leading to snoring.

Sleep Scheduling: Going early to bed and waking up early and almost always at the same time, aids in bringing about a healthy sleep cycle. Not only that, it also avoids exhaustion due to less sleep which promotes snoring.

Refrain from alcohol and sleeping pills: Alcohol and certain medications such as sleep aids and some pain medications, can make throat muscles relax more than usual leading to narrowing and obstructions. These make things worse by not allowing your brain to be alert thus the duration is prolonged even more.In the long run it causes severe damage to the body.

Sleep side-ways: Scientists have found, sleeping with back rested on the bed enables gravity to narrow airways further more and increase snoring.

In most of the severe cases, sleep disorder clinics are suggested to assess and give their observations and test results, which they do at-home of the patient or at their clinic. Treatments include breathing devices such as CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) equipment. You doctor prescribes a pressure rate which will be maintained by this device, which inhales air and passes it through funnels into a mask at the specified pressure. This equipment is typically worn over your nose and the specified pressure enables smooth and free airflow thus reducing snoring.

Dental equipment is another option which will be worn during sleeping hours, to widen the air passage by keeping the lower jaw and tongue forward. Radio wave treatments are recommended method of treatment which reduces the size of tissue in the throat or tongue and surgeries that reduce the tissues in the nose, uvula, and palate (roof of mouth) or the bony tissues in the back of the throat to alleviate the risk of blockages.