If you cannot sleep well, your day suffers.
While one night of insomnia happens now and again to most people, a chronic problem with lack of sleep can wear your body down.
Here's some information about why you need sleep, and tips for when you just can't get your 40 winks.
Why You Need Sleep OK, so you need sleep to function on a day-to-day level, but why do we need to sleep in the first place? Interestingly, it's not so much the sleep as the dreaming, which only happens when you are deeply asleep.
One type of insomnia is when a person gets their 8 hours of sleep, but that sleep is shallow.
While they don't wake up, they also don't descend into the deeper REM (rapid eye movement) sleep that is the world of dreaming.
Similarly, if you can't get to sleep or keep waking up at night, you're not getting quality sleep.
REM sleep accounts for between 20 and 25% of your night, in cycles (not all at once).
Since it takes time to get there, if you aren't getting enough total sleep hours, you are also getting less REM time.
Tips for When You Cannot Sleep These tips are based on simple causes of insomnia, not those that are caused by a medical condition (in which case you should check with your doctor).
You may find that you need to use more than one tip at times.
Repetition.
You've heard the adage of counting sheep to fall asleep; it's actually not all that far-fetched! The trick is to imagine the detail of the sheep, not that they are just white blobs.
If sheep aren't your thing, imagine counting flowers or leaves or some other set of items.
Biofeedback.
This is where you condition your body to have a certain response to stimuli.
It can be very effective, but the downside is that you can't learn how to do it all at once; it's better suited to people who often have issues where they cannot sleep, as opposed to someone who just has occasional insomnia.
Meditation.
This can almost be thought of as a combination of repetition and biofeedback; by focusing on an object or idea, you are teaching your body to relax.
It can also help to calm your mind, so it can be quite effective if you're suffering from mental stress or anxiety.
Herbal remedies.
Yes, herbal remedies such as chamomile tea can help you to fall asleep.
Scenting your pillows with lavender oil can also help send you to dreamland.
There are a host of herbal teas specially blended for sleep, and they are widely available.
Be tired.
If you aren't tired, you probably won't sleep, and then you'll get worried that you aren't sleeping while you are lying there in bed.
If you really are wide awake and you don't want to try any of the above, just get up until you do start to feel sleepy.
Warm bath.
A warm bath or shower can help by relaxing your muscles.
You just don't want it steaming hot.
There you are, some tips to help you when insomnia attacks, and you cannot get to sleep.
Sweet dreams!
While one night of insomnia happens now and again to most people, a chronic problem with lack of sleep can wear your body down.
Here's some information about why you need sleep, and tips for when you just can't get your 40 winks.
Why You Need Sleep OK, so you need sleep to function on a day-to-day level, but why do we need to sleep in the first place? Interestingly, it's not so much the sleep as the dreaming, which only happens when you are deeply asleep.
One type of insomnia is when a person gets their 8 hours of sleep, but that sleep is shallow.
While they don't wake up, they also don't descend into the deeper REM (rapid eye movement) sleep that is the world of dreaming.
Similarly, if you can't get to sleep or keep waking up at night, you're not getting quality sleep.
REM sleep accounts for between 20 and 25% of your night, in cycles (not all at once).
Since it takes time to get there, if you aren't getting enough total sleep hours, you are also getting less REM time.
Tips for When You Cannot Sleep These tips are based on simple causes of insomnia, not those that are caused by a medical condition (in which case you should check with your doctor).
You may find that you need to use more than one tip at times.
Repetition.
You've heard the adage of counting sheep to fall asleep; it's actually not all that far-fetched! The trick is to imagine the detail of the sheep, not that they are just white blobs.
If sheep aren't your thing, imagine counting flowers or leaves or some other set of items.
Biofeedback.
This is where you condition your body to have a certain response to stimuli.
It can be very effective, but the downside is that you can't learn how to do it all at once; it's better suited to people who often have issues where they cannot sleep, as opposed to someone who just has occasional insomnia.
Meditation.
This can almost be thought of as a combination of repetition and biofeedback; by focusing on an object or idea, you are teaching your body to relax.
It can also help to calm your mind, so it can be quite effective if you're suffering from mental stress or anxiety.
Herbal remedies.
Yes, herbal remedies such as chamomile tea can help you to fall asleep.
Scenting your pillows with lavender oil can also help send you to dreamland.
There are a host of herbal teas specially blended for sleep, and they are widely available.
Be tired.
If you aren't tired, you probably won't sleep, and then you'll get worried that you aren't sleeping while you are lying there in bed.
If you really are wide awake and you don't want to try any of the above, just get up until you do start to feel sleepy.
Warm bath.
A warm bath or shower can help by relaxing your muscles.
You just don't want it steaming hot.
There you are, some tips to help you when insomnia attacks, and you cannot get to sleep.
Sweet dreams!
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