Sleep - Useful tips!
More useful tips for a Good Night Sleep
Sleep in as close to or in complete darkness. Light has the ability to disturb the production of serotonin and melatonin. Should you have the need to get up during the night to visit the bathroom, keep the light switched off. This is due to the production of melatonin which will completely cease with light interruptions.
Avoid food intake prior to going to bed. Food will raise the blood sugar levels and hinder sleep. In the case eating occurred before sleeping hypoglycaemia (low level blood sugar levels) can result which may make it difficult to return to sleep. Foods that are particularly bad to consume before sleep are sugars and grains, caffeine and foods that you may be sensitive to (scenarios such as wheat, gluten and dairy products). These can cause gas, apnoea, congestion and gastrointestinal upsets.
Alcohol should also be avoided. Alcohol has the ability to keep you from the deeper sleep stages, even though initially, alcohol will make you drowsy. The deep sleep stage is when the body conducts most of its healing.
During sleep, the body has poor circulation. A study has found that wearing socks to bed improves sleep by reducing the number of wakings during the night due to the feet feeling the cold ahead of any other part of the body.
Avoid using loud alarm clocks as the body goes through a stress period when suddenly woken. Alarm clocks can actually be an unnecessary tool if the individual is sleeping sufficiently. Also remove the clock from view from the bed. You may find yourself counting down how much time you have left to sleep before you must get up, which can actually act as a worry for you.
It is wise to check your bedroom for EMF’s (electro-magnetic fields). A gauss meter can be purchased to measure the EMF’s. These magnetic fields are able to disrupt the gland that produces serotonin and melatonin, the pineal gland. The EMF’s are known to have added negative effects on top of this. Associated with this are alarm clocks and other pieces of electrical equipment such as televisions. Keep these out of your bedroom as this would be the best option. Also avoid the presence of mirrors. These provide negative energies due to the constant reflection of magnetic waves.
It is common to lie down to go to sleep and a million thoughts are racing through the head. One way of combating this is to write down your thoughts for that day in a type of journal, allowing your mind to rest and be at ease.
Chris James CDs such as ‘Sleeping Angels, Silk in the clouds and Fiery Eyes’ are popular to listen to quietly before retiring to bed. Only these act as a type of meditation allowing the listener to feel peaceful within themselves and their surrounding environment.
Along the lines of relaxation CDs are relaxation books or magazines like Serge Benhayon’s or books from
Alice A Bailey. Keep in mind that should one read a horror, mystery or suspense novel, it is quite possible that they will have trouble falling asleep due to their brain being stimulated as a result of the information being read.
Both over the counter medications and prescription drugs have an effect on one’s sleeping pattern. Reduce or avoid these drugs if possible and use natural medicine instead. Your Naturopathic Doctor, Naturopath or Health practitioner can assist you in this manner.
It is important that your bed be only used for sleeping. If doing work or watching television in bed the body finds it difficult to rest and switch off. Allow your mind to acknowledge that bed is for sleeping only.
Regular exercise definitely assists sleep. Exercising daily for 30 minutes will help you fall asleep. However, do not exercise too near to bed time, as it may actually prevent you from falling asleep!
Being overweight is a cause of sleep apnoea. It is recommended to exercise daily and alter nutrition habits.
Hormonal problems which may be experienced during menopause or premenopausal may affect sleep.
On the proviso changes to behaviour has been modified and there still is no result in ease of falling to sleep, supplementing the hormone melatonin may prove to be effective. Due to melatonin being a powerful hormone, it is best to acquire it in natural form rather than a supplement. Exposure to bright sunlight during the day and complete darkness at night is ideal. If this continues to have little effect an
amino acid L-Tryptophan or Homeopathic Melatonin can be prescribed and safely taken.
Eating a small piece of fruit can aid L-Tryptophan from crossing the blood-brain barrier.
Several hours before bed, it is advisable to eat a high protein snack as this can also provide the L-Tryptophan required to produce the necessary serotonin and melatonin.
Drink up to half a litre of water immediately prior to retiring to bed. The water acts to dilute acids and other toxins within our body so that the toxic level does not increase too much at night time when your Lymphatic System is not working as effective as during the day.
A very good assistance to help you sleeping, especially if your racing mind is stopping you from getting a good night sleep is the Breathing/Meditation Technique from Universal Medicine. For more information come to the free Freeearth Breathing Meditations Classes or visit: http://universalmedicine.com.au/node/267
Freeearth recommends doing this gentle Breathing technique 3 times a day for only 5 to maximum 10 Minutes. See www.universalmedicine.com.au go to Interview 20.May 07 with Serge Benhayon, Universal Medicine Instructions for the Gentle Breathing Technique.
