Definitions of drowsy driving generally involve varying uses and definitions of fatigue, sleepiness, and exhaustion. For the purpose of the discussion at hand, drowsy driving is simply driving in a physical state in which the driver’s alertness is appreciably lower than it would be if the driver were “well rested” and “fully awake.”

Warning signs of drowsy driving is:

- The inability to recall the last few miles traveled,

- Having disconnected or wandering thoughts,

- Having difficulty focusing or keeping your eyes open,

- Feeling as though your head is very heavy,

- Drifting out of your driving lane, perhaps driving on the rumble strips,

- Yawning repeatedly,

- Accidentally tailgating other vehicles,

- Missing traffic signs.

Here are a few tips that can help you avoid falling asleep at the wheel:

- Get adequate and quality sleep before a trip;

- Avoid alcoholic beverages and heavy foods;

- Beware of medications that can impair your driving ability;

- Limit long distance driving — stop at least every two hours — and rest;

- Stop at a safe place and take a nap. Wait at least 10 minutes after waking up to see how alert you are. If you don’t feel any more alert, don’t drive. Find a place to sleep for an hour or for the night;

- If possible, drive with a companion and switch driving when necessary. Talk with passengers but not to the point of distraction;

- Keep the temperature cool in your vehicle. Keep your eyes moving and check your mirrors often.

- Avoid caffeine-type drinks like coffee or cola. They provide a short-term boost, however, if you are seriously sleep deprived, no amount of caffeine will help. It’s best to stay off the road.

- If possible, avoid driving during the peak drowsy times — from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., and from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Read The Full Story…

Over the years of putting our own children to sleep and keeping them asleep, and counseling thousands of other moms and dads on various styles of nighttime parenting, here are some time-tested, proven attitudes and techniques. Most of these are applicable to infants and toddlers of all ages.

Here are a few simple tips you may want to try to get a bit more uninterrupted sleep:

1. Keep to a routine. If your baby wakes up late in the morning to help make up for some of his late nights, begin waking him at an earlier time each day to help encourage him to get the sleep he needs at night — when the rest of the household sleeps.
2. Put baby in bed while awake. Yes, they can go to sleep by them selves if not hungry! This you should do both at night and every time your baby takes a nap at day time. During his first weeks your baby will probably fall asleep at your breast every time he nurses (or with the bottle). Don’t worry about it.
3. Increase daytime feeds. Feeding your baby more often during the day will allow him to meet his nutritional needs at a time more convenient to you.
4. Sleepy Sounds. The calming, repetitive sounds of traditional lullabies recall the ‘womb music’ your baby heard before birth (your heartbeat, and fluids whooshing through the placenta). Baby music that incorporates elements such as the rhythm of the maternal heartbeat or ‘white noise’ has remarkable soothing effects, especially if played continuously through the night.
5. A light cotton cloth over the eyes. I know many babies that fall asleep almost instantly if their face is cover by a very thin cotton cloth. I suppose it helps them shutting out distracting visual impressions.
6. Choose a well-lit area for your baby’s naps. This will help encourage shorter naps, which in turn may help your little one sleep better at night.
7. Stuffed animal or blanket that smells MOM. Mom and milk is usually what babies want when the most waking up. With a stuffed animal with your smell on it, he might not feel as lonely when waking up in the middle of the night. Put the animal close to your body for a few day and nights and then give it to your baby every time he goes to sleep.
8. A Magic Touch. Silent nights could be at your fingertips: Research from Miami University showed that infants and toddlers who were massaged daily for one month, for 15 minutes prior to bedtime, fell asleep more easily by the end of the study.
9. Avoid using Aids to Help your Baby Sleep. Many exhausted parents resort to external aids to get their babies sleeping (for example, constantly using a pacifier, driving your baby around, and rocking or nursing your baby to sleep). Though your baby might initially fall asleep sleep quicker with these external aids, you are ultimately making your job much more difficult. The problem is that it helps you avoid teaching your baby how to fall asleep alone. Instead, take the time to get your baby falling asleep without any help, and he will fall asleep faster and sleep

10. Waking up Throughout the Night. Most, if not all, babies wake up several times throughout the night. Even a baby who is already sleeping through the night wakes up numerous times during the night. The key is that if your baby knows know how to fall back to sleep on his own, he won’t need you to put him back to sleep. So, don’t rush in as soon as your baby wakes up in the middle of the night. Instead, give it some time and you might be pleasantly surprised to find that your baby falls back to sleep on his own.

Did you know that 78 percent of women have insomnia and other sleep problems during pregnancy? There are numerous reasons you may have trouble drifting off to dreamland during pregnancy. Some of the more common troubles include frequent urination, an unquiet mind, stress, leg cramps or the incapacity to get into a comfortable position.

Here are 10 tips for reducing insomnia during pregnancy:

1. Go to bed drowsy. Sometimes the issue is that you are going to bed wound up and not able to sleep because you are not physically or mentally ready to sleep. By entering your bed, only when truly ready to sleep, you increase the likelihood of actually succeeding. To help with this avoid caffeine after early afternoon, don’t exercise vigorously past late afternoon, and don’t have heavy discussion before bed or in bed. Doing relaxation alone or with your partner can be helpful.
2. Skip the daytime naps. Oh, how tempting they can be. When my daughters are entertained, or my husband is home, I’m tempted to take some good pregnancy advice and sneak in a nap. Unfortunately, taking a nap means I have a more difficult time sleeping at night. While it might be hard to make it all day long without catching some zzz’s, naps might be contributing to your pregnancy insomnia. Try cutting them out, and see if you are able to sleep more soundly at night.
3. Try a glass of warm milk with some honey and a light, carbohydrate filled snack that will keep your tummy full so you don’t wake up in the middle of the night hungry. The milk will help you drift off to sleep.
4. Pillows. Use them where ever you need them: between your knees for aching hips, under your belly for support, behind your back, and under your head.
5. Warm water bath. A bath or shower can not only relax you and soothe soreness that accompanies pregnancy, but it can also help you prepare for sleep. This works before bedtime as well as in the middle of the night.
6. Change eating habits: Many cases of pregnancy insomnia are caused by improper eating habits. When food intake is causing heartburn or acid reflux, eating less at night can help a whole lot. Also, if you haven’t already, cut out caffeine and other similar products. These can add to pregnancy insomnia a whole lot and they are not good for the baby. Read The Full Story…
   

The right room temperature plays an important role in your sleep.

Studies have found that in general, the optimal temperature for sleep is quite cool, around 60 (15.5 C) to 68 (20 C) degrees Fahrenheit. For some, temperatures that fall too far below or above this range can lead to restlessness.

Temperatures in this range, it seems, help facilitate the decrease in core body temperature that in turn initiates sleepiness. A growing number of studies are finding that temperature regulation plays a role in many cases of chronic insomnia. Researchers have shown, for example, that insomniacs tend to have a warmer core body temperature than normal sleepers just before bed, which leads to heightened arousal and a struggle to fall asleep as the body tries to reset its internal thermostat.

Experts agree the temperature of your sleeping area and how comfortable you feel in it affect how well and how long you snooze. Why? “When you go to sleep, your set point for body temperature — the temperature your brain is trying to achieve — goes down,” says H. Craig Heller, PhD, professor of biology at Stanford University, who wrote a chapter on temperature and sleep for a medical textbook. “Think of it as the internal thermostat.” If it’s too cold, as in Roy’s case, or too hot, the body struggles to achieve this set point.

For normal sleepers, the drop in core temperature is marked by an increase in temperature in the hands and feet, as the blood vessels dilate and the body radiates heat. Studies show that for troubled sleepers, a cool room and a hot-water bottle placed at the feet, which rapidly dilates blood vessels, can push the internal thermostat to a better setting.

The relaxing music and nature sounds must be carefully chosen for their ability to aid sleep, reduce stress, and provide a relaxing atmosphere for activities such as yoga, tai-chi, and meditation.

Study:

Researchers have shown just 45 minutes of relaxing music before bedtime can make for a restful night.

The Taiwanese researchers studied the sleeping patterns of 60 elderly people with sleep problems.

They told the Journal of Advanced Nursing, how the technique was easy to learn and lacked the side-effects of other treatments.

If anyone is a bit agitated before they go to bed then anything that can help calm them down and relax is a good thing.

Professor Jim Horne, from the Sleep Research Centre at Loughborough University

The study participants were either given a choice of music to listen to before going to sleep or nothing at all.

The music group were able to choose from six tapes that featured soft, slow music - around 60-80 beats per minute - such as jazz, folk or orchestral pieces.

Listening to music caused physical changes that aided restful sleep, including a lower heart and respiratory rate, the researchers found.

Sweet dreams

The people in the music group reported a 35% improvement in their sleep, including better and longer night-time sleep and less dysfunction during the day.

Lead author Professor Hui-Ling Lai, of the Buddhist Tzu-Chi General Hospital and the University of Taiwan, said: “The music group reported a 26% overall improvement in the first week and this figure continued to rise as they mastered the technique of relaxing into sedative music.”

Professor Jim Horne, from the Sleep Research Centre at Loughborough University, said: “If anyone is a bit agitated before they go to bed then anything that can help calm them down and relax is a good thing.

“Some say making sure older people sleep less in the afternoon and get plenty of exposure to daylight can help them get a better night’s sleep.”

http://news.bbc.co.uk/

We spend about a third of our life sleeping. The average adult sleeps 7 to 8.6 hours a day. Children sleep more than adults; they spent about 10 hours a day sleeping. Newborns, however, may sleep for nearly two-thirds of their day. There is an age-related difference in average time spent sleeping. As a person ages, they require less sleep. The elderly only spent around 6.5 hours a day sleeping.

The amount of time spent sleeping may be genetically influenced. Deprived of sleep, we run the risk of fatigue; depressed immune system; impaired concentration, creativity, and communication; irritability; and deteriorated performance. In the long-run, sleep deprivation may contribute to obesity, hypertension, and memory impairment.

Who is More Stressed?

- 26% of women report trouble sleeping at least once a week compared to only

- 16% of men

- 19% of individuals ages 45-64 admit to losing sleep due to stress a few nights per week

Sleep Facts

- Up to 15% of people is sleep walking

- Approximately 15% of people have restless leg syndrome

- Vehicular crashes are the third leading cause of death and injury in the United States, and up to 20% of them are sleep related

- Untreated sleep apnea causes 500,000 motor vehicle crashes annually

- One in 20 men have sleep apnea

- Seizures occur more commonly during sleep than during waking hours

- Many tranquilizers actually decrease deeper stages of sleep that are

required for the restoration and fresh feeling in the morning

- Jet Lag is worse when traveling toward the East

- Sleep loss of four hours is equivalent to being drunk with a blood alcohol

level of 0.1%

- One-third of young adults are pathologically sleepy during the day Read The Full Story…

Manny people waste hours and hours in bed for no good reason. The purpose of this post is to help you, not only to fall asleep faster, but also to improve your sleep system – the idea is that you will ultimately waste less time in bed because you will require less sleep and fall asleep faster. If you don’t have enough sleep, it can lead to depression, high blood pressure and lower productivity at work.

Here are 10 bad sleep habits:

1. Limit time spent in bed. Regardless of how long you slept, don’t spend more than 8 hours in bed. Get out of that bed! Unless of course you and your better half have morning activities of some sort planned.

2. Having pets sleep in your bed: Animal hair can trigger off asthma and other allergy attacks, so it is advisable to keep your furry friends out of your bed. Even children’s stuffed toys can be carriers of dust mites. And that is something you need to watch out for.

3. Slow Bed Movements. Instead of tossing and turning in bed, move around slowly if you absolutely have to move around. Frustration feeds on fast movements. Gentle, slow movements will make you yawn and feel more tired.

4. Cleaning your bedroom: Many disinfectants have chemicals that can irritate your skin, nose, throat and lungs when you sleep. So avoid cleaning your room in the evening, but clean it & give it a make-over in the morning. Read The Full Story…

Good sleep habits can help you get a excellent night’s sleep. With correct sleep habits, it is easier to fall asleep and stay asleep. Several good sleep habits include avoiding caffeine and other stimulants late in the day, getting regular exercise, and going to sleep at the same time each night.

Below is a list of things that typically help people sleep better:

1.Bedtime routines are helpful for good sleep. Keep routines on your normal schedule. A cup of herbal tea an hour before bed can begin a routine.

2. Exercise Regularly. Another way to develop better sleep habits is to exercise regularly. Your body uses sleep to recover and repair so exercise promotes your body’s need to rest.

3. No napping. Some people can take a short afternoon nap and still sleep well at night. However, if you are having trouble sleeping at night, try to eliminate napping. If you must nap, do it in the early afternoon, and sleep no longer than about thirty minutes.

4. Eat Moderately, No Caffeine, No Smoking . Caffeine and nicotine are stimulants and can keep you from falling asleep. Alcohol can cause you to wake in the night. It also interferes with sleep quality. Read The Full Story…

Sleep hygiene refers to the habits, environmental factors, and practices that may influence the length and quality of one’s sleep. These include bedtime, nighttime rituals, and disruptions to one’s sleep. These are typically represented by simple guidelines meant to effectively promote a good night’s rest.

The following is a list of sleep hygiene rules which can be used to improve sleep:

1. Establish a Regular Routine: go to bed at the same time each night and rise at the same time
   

   good sleep room

   each morning.

2. Get an enough quantity of sleep every night. Determine the amount of sleep you need by keeping track of how long you sleep without using an alarm clock for a week. Maintain this “personal” sleep requirement.
3. Good environment: Make sure your bed is comfortable and use it only for sleeping and not for other activities, such as reading, watching TV, or listening to music. Remove all TVs, computers, and other “gadgets” from the bedroom.
4. Avoid naps. If you have to take a nap, try to keep it to less than one hour and avoid taking a nap after 3 pm. Read The Full Story…
   

Feng shui bedroom tips are an important part of your wealth creation strategy because you spend up to one-third of your life in your bedroom.. A good feng shui bedroom is a bedroom that promotes a harmonious flow of nourishing and sensual energy. A good feng shui bedroom is a bedroom that invites you, lures you in, excites and calms at the same time. A good feng shui bedroom is fun and pleasurable to be in, either you are there for a quick nap, a good night sleep or to make passionate love!

Here are 10 ways to utilize feng shui in your bedroom:

1. Place the bed so that you have clear sight of the door. However, avoid placing the bed directly opposite or against the same wall as the door. The idea is that you should be able to clearly see who is entering, but without being in the path of incoming energy.
2. Let go of the TV, computer or exercise equipment in your bedroom. The good feng shui energy in your bedroom is destroyed when these items are present in your bedroom.
3. Don’t have a mirror or mirrored dressing table facing the bed, if you can see yourself in the mirror from a resting position. There isn’t a problem if the mirror is too high for this to occur. You can either change the position of the mirror or dressing table, or cover it with a cloth each night before going to bed. Read The Full Story…