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.

                          

Probably the most dangerous thing about sleep apnea is that so many people are not aware that they have it. If you’ve been told that you snore, it’s possible that you may have sleep apnea. So how can you find out for sure?

If you haver a partner you can ask them to listen to you while you sleep. Ask them to listen out for any sounds like choking or snorting. Also get them to check for long pauses between breaths.

If you sleep on your own, you can make a recording of yourself while asleep. This will soon tell you if your snoring is “just snoring” or something more sinister.

However the most reliable way to know if you may need sleep apnea treatment is by the way you feel during the day. Are you still tired when you wake up in the morning, despite having enough sleep. If so you may have sleep apnea. The reason why you feel so tired is because your sleep is being constantly interrupted even though you may not remember it. Also your blood is lacking in oxygen through faulty breathing.

What can you do if you have tested positive for sleep apnea? What is out there in the way of sleep apnea treatments? Do you really have to have one of those dreadful breathing machines?

While the CPAP may be the best option, if your sleep apnea is mild, you could probably cure your sleep apnea by natural remedies. Here are some suggestions for natural sleep apnea treatments.

If you’re overweight, this could be causing your problem. Lose a few pounds and your sleep apnea may disappear on it’s own. If you’re a smoker, quitting may fix your problem.

Keep to the same sleep schedule each day as much as possible. The more regular your sleep, the sounder you will sleep and the risk of sleep apnea will decrease.

Avoid the following before bed – alcohol, a heavy meal too late in the evening and sleeping pills. The latter will relax your throat too much. Also try to keep you head slightly elevated and sleep on your side if you can.

These simple natural sleep apnea treatments won’t work for everyone. However, if you do need to use a CPAP, they are becoming lighter, more comfortable and quieter as the technology improves.

Obstructive sleep apnea can be very difficult for an individual’s well-being if it’s not treated properly. Learn some tips for assessing and treating obstructive sleep apnea from our medical expert in this free video. Expert: Taylor Smith Bio: Taylor Smith, CMA, is a multifaceted Certified Medical Assistant. Filmmaker: Doug Craig

                          

Looking for a surefire way to get your newborn baby to sleep? Check out the Revolutionary Mama Natural Sleep Technique! By faithfully following this method, you’ll be sure to have a sore back and lapses in sanity, but, hey, you’ll also have a sleeping baby (sleep not guaranteed). Tell me: Do any of these scenes look familiar to you?
Video Rating: 4 / 5

                          

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