Sleeping poorly or not at all increases risk of heart disease, diabetes, and weight gain. In fact, you may have noticed that when you have to get by on only four or five hours of sleep, you tend to eat more. Chronic insomnia causes a lot of health problems.
We are confident that using the right pillow to support your head, neck and shoulders will help you dream peacefully in slumberland. Your back will also benefit from being correctly aligned while sleeping with your head in a relaxed and confortable position.
1. Try to get into the habit of a regular sleeping schedule. Our ancestors slept well because they usually went to bed at a certain time and arose at a certain time with plenty of outdoor exercise during the day.
2. Exercise early, like taking a brisk walk in the morning. If you have a dog to walk, you will benefit as well as your pet. If you do walk or exercise later in the evening, make it at least three hours before bedtime.
3. Eliminate caffeine after lunch. For an afternoon or evening drink, try delicious, soothing and caffeine-free herbal teas or fruit juice.
4. Use your bedroom only for sleeping and relaxingas opposed to using a computer or watching a movie. Turn off your cell phone.
5. Get some bright sunlight, preferably outdoors every day. This keeps your day/night cycle operating correctly. No matter how evolved we think we are, we are still dependent on nature to maintain good health.
6. A cool, dark room is best for good sleeping. But everyone has a certain temperature that is relaxing for them.
7. Have dinner early and make it a low-fat healthy meal. If you have a glass
of wine with dinner, that's not bad unless it's close to your regular bedtime.
Alcohol relaxes momentarily, but can cause sleeplessness later.
8. Taking certain vitamins and energy supplements at night can also interfere with sleep. Calcium supplements are okay and somewhat relaxing.
9. Smoking before bedtime disturbs sleep. It's bad for you all the time, but especially when trying to sleep.
10. Warm milk is good at bedtime as it contains tryptophan, a sleep-inducing agent. Other foods with tryptophan are bananas, dates, and cashew nuts. Grapefruit juice or half of a fresh grapefruit before bedtime is another great good sleep inducer.
11. Try to sleep on your back or side. Sleeping on the stomach throws the back out of alignment and causes posture problems and often back pain during waking hours.
Relax mentally with soothing music or a pleasant book that takes you away from daily cares. Insomnia can be relieved in many natural ways if you are willing to make the necessary changes in your daily routine. The term "sleep disorder" covers many sleeping problems. A lot of the disorders are not diagnosed, and can even be life threatening.
Snoring is considered a mild disorder, but it can interrupt yours as well as another person's sleep, whether they share the same bed, or are sleeping nearby. Snoring can be helped by losing weight, side sleeping, or sometimes just finding a better pillow to keep the head and neck correctly positioned.
Sleep apnea - seen often in those who snore and who may be overweight. This condition causes many episodes of interrupted breathing, some as long as two minutes at a time. Headaches and fatigue are felt during the day. Sleep apnea can be fatal.
Narcolepsy - called "transient insomnia", occurs when you fall asleep too easily, in any place at any time. This can be life threatening.
Restless leg syndrome - periodic jerking movements causing constant interruption before or during the sleep period. It is better to get up and move around a while than try to remain still. Here is where warm milk may help.
If any condition occurs regularly, consult your doctor, but remember that a lot of sleeping problems can be solved without drugs just by making small changes in our daily habits.