Your “sleep hygiene” describes your sleep habits. By boosting your sleep habits, you can increase your possibility of falling asleep fast, staying asleep and sleeping between seven to nine hours each night. A good night’s sleep has many health benefits. Most importantly, you will feel great.

• 1. Keep a regular bed and wake time schedule including weekends.Our sleep-wake cycle is regulated by a “circadian clock” in our brain and the body’s need to balance both sleep time and wake time. A regular waking time in the morning strengthens the circadian function and can help with sleep onset at night. That is also why it is important to keep a regular bedtime and wake-time, even on the weekends when there is the temptation to sleep-in.

• 2. Create a Bedtime Ritual. Create a nightly ritual to signal that it is time to sleep. Start the ritual about 30 minutes before you lie down to help release stressful thoughts and be ready to sleep when you lie down. A little quiet reading (not in bed) or a warm bath can be great. Avoid watching TV, since it stimulates your brain.

• 3. Do not use alcohol or tobacco products close to bedtime. Use of these products may calm you at the time of use, but they can have disrupting effects on your sleep during the night.

• 4. Do exercises daily. Daily exercise will improve your chances of falling asleep quickly and sleeping deeply. Try to exercise early in the day and never within three hours of bedtime. Exercising too late in the day can make it difficult for you to fall asleep. A daily exercise habit will not only improve your sleep hygiene, but it will also improve your overall health.

• 5. Only Sleep and Have Sex in the Bedroom – No TV. The bedroom should be used only for sleep and sex. That means no reading in bed and no TV in bed. Doing these things (or anything else) confuses your body, making it difficult to fall asleep. Give yourself about 15 minutes to fall asleep. If you haven’t fallen asleep by then, get out of bed until you are sleepy. You can do some quiet reading (pick something boring), but avoid TVs and computer screens. Remember, your goal is to train yourself to fall asleep quickly. Reading a stimulating book, watching TV or doing anything else undermines that. Read The Full Story…

Note: This guest post was written by Dr. Rick Donald. Check out his websites: www.stopmysnoringnow.com and www.slimtone.com.au

Snoring is a worldwide health concern that affects more than fifty percent of all adults and, yes, it can be successfully treated without the need to spend any more money on ‘yet another’ stop snoring treatment, or even worse still, on dangerous surgery.

But there’s no such thing as a ‘wonder snoring cure’, so stop looking for it right now because it doesn’t exist! In fact, if you do ever read about one, put it in the snake oil category along with magic potions to re-grow hair on a bald head. It’ll simply be a con.

Instead, the two best natural stop snoring treatments are to firstly address your daily food and drink intake and secondly, assess the impact of the lifestyle choices that you have made on whether you snore or not.

Otherwise you will always be behind the eight ball, because these contributing factors that may well be causing your snoring in the first place will still be there to haunt you and your sleeping partner, night after noisy night.

For example, it’s common knowledge that milk can cause upper respiratory tract congestion, which then may exacerbate snoring. But most snorers are unaware that consuming certain specific carbohydrates groups after 3pm, such as potatoes and dried fruit, can also influence whether they snore of not. Read The Full Story…

Note: This guest post was written by Dr. Rick Donald. Check out his websites: www.stopmysnoringnow.com and www.slimtone.com.au .

• Snoring is definitely no laughing matter. You may think it funny, even make jokes about it, but please, think again. Snoring is not only an annoying inconvenience for those sleeping within earshot, it can also be an indication of more deep-seated health issues. Snoring has been linked to marriage break-ups, engagements being called off, being socially black-listed when weekends away with friends are organized … even death.

• Now this last complication is a big call I know. And I am not talking here about a frustrated sleeping partner finally flipping out and pulling the trigger. Instead I am referring to actually dying either in your sleep, or departing from this world as a direct result of your snoring.

• Scary thought isn’t it, but it does actually happen. And unfortunately, the probability of this occurring actually affects more people than most of us would care to imagine. If someone does die as a result of their snoring, it is usually due to complications that have arisen as a result of the respiratory disorder Obstructive Sleep Apnea (O.S.A.).

• However luckily most snorers suffer from what is often referred to as ’simple snoring’. They do not have the breathing disorder Sleep Apnea and this article primarily refers to this more common form of snoring. If you do feel that you may have O.S.A., always have it checked out by a healthcare professional because as mentioned, it can lead to serious health issues developing. Read The Full Story…

Sleep and weight loss have a power connection. They are invert relation: sleep loss, weight gain and sleep more, weight loss. Sleep loss appears to do two worst things that affect our weight: boost the appetite that makes you take in more calories and reduce the metabolism which helps to burn calories.

Study:
Researchers at Laval University in Quebec looked at 276 people for six years who were part of a larger Canadian study.

Sleep duration was determined from a questionnaire and the participants were classified into three groups: short sleepers slept five to six hours a night, the average got seven to eight hours, and the long sleepers put in nine to 10 hours of sleep every night.

Some of the findings:
Over six years, short sleepers were 35% more likely to gain 11 pounds than average-duration sleepers.
Over the same time period, long sleepers were 25% more likely to gain 11 pounds than average-duration sleepers.
Short sleepers gained 58% more around their waists and 124% more body fat than the average sleeper.

Sleep Apnea and Weight
Weight loss to treat sleep apnea can create an interesting dilemma. While losing weight reduces the symptoms of sleep apnea, losing weight when you have sleep apnea can prove to be a difficult undertaking. The reason for this is simple: when you can’t get enough sleep, you are too tired to exercise for weight loss. Read The Full Story…

Note: This guest post was written by Andy SZEN. Check out his websites: www.egodevelopment.com

A power nap is a short nap, normally between 10 and 30 minutes long, taken in the middle of the day in order to reinvigorate and refresh you for the next part of the day. Power naps are not similar to normal sleep, so you will not be groggy after taking one. While you might have “dreams”, power naps are more similar to meditation, where thoughts are allowed to move from the sub-conscious mind to the conscious mind and back again without you concentrating on them.

How to Power Nap Effectively:
- Don`t be shame - be proud of your nap, announcing your intentions in advance toworkmates or family members. Napping is great for your health and productivity.
- Choose a time of the day when you are most likely to crash, such as the mid-morning or in the middle of the afternoon. Plan to nap between 10 and 30 minutes in your quiet spot during those times. The time limits may vary depending on how much sleep your body will need to renew its energy.
- Choose a quiet, location to power nap. One thing you want to make sure is that you have a silence place that you can power nap without being interrupted or distracted by environmental factors, such as cars or ground maintenance workers. If you choose to power nap in your office, then make sure that you post a sign that lets people know that you are power napping and not to disturb you.
- Collect your equipment blankets, pillows and, where possible, a foldout bed will ensure you get the most out of the rest, and help you separate naptime from the rest of the day
- Eat right - Avoid caffeine and sugar. If you choose to practice power napping, then you want to make sure you avoid eating too much caffeinated or sugary products before you power nap, as these can obviously obstruct with your ability to sleep. Read The Full Story…

Choosing the right sleeping position is the most important thing what you need to consider to help you sleep better and wake up more rested.There are a number of sleeping positions that you might find comfortable and at the same time promotes proper blood flow. Having a correct sleeping position would prevent that stiffness and soreness you might experience during mornings.

1. Sleeping on your side (with arms on the sides or with legs bent)
Sleep on your side with your legs drawn up slightly toward your chest and a pillow between your legs. Use a full-length body pillow if you prefer.
This position can help keep your skips level and reduce any pain you might have there.
Also , this position may be particularly helpful if you have osteoarthritis in the spine, spinal stenosis — a narrowing in the spine — or hip pain.

2. Sleeping on your back (with arms by the side or with arms by the head)
If you sleep on your back, place a pillow under your knees to help maintain the normal curve of your lower back. You might try a small, rolled towel under the small of your back for additional support. Support your neck with a pillow.This position is helpful if you have low back pain. Read The Full Story…

There are many factors, both internal and external, that can influence the quantity and quality of your sleep. Food can be a common source of creating a chemical origin for insomnia. You may not be able to control or eliminate all of the factors that interfere with your sleep, but you can create an environment and adopt habits that encourage a more restful night.

Here are a ten “Not-to-do” lists that may improve your quality of sleep:

1.Eat right, sleep tight. Try not to go to bed hungry, but avoid heavy meals before bedtime. An over-full belly can keep you up. Some foods can help, though. Milk contains tryptophan, which is a sleep-promoting substance. Other foods that may help promote sleep include tuna, halibut, pumpkin, artichokes, avocados, almonds, eggs, bok choy, peaches, walnuts, apricots, oats, asparagus, potatoes, buckwheat, and bananas.

2. Avoid napping. Napping can only make matters worse if you usually have problems falling asleep. If you do nap, keep it short. A brief 15-20-minute snooze about eight hours after you get up in the morning can actually be rejuvenating.

3. Avoid watching TV, eating, and discussing emotional issues in bed. The bed should be used for sleep and sex only. If not, you can end up associating the bed with distracting activities that could make it difficult for you to fall asleep.

4. Avoid smoking. Cigarettes contain nicotine, which has been linked to difficulty falling asleep and problems awakening. Also, when smokers fall asleep, they experience nicotine withdrawal, which may cause them to awaken. Read The Full Story…

Does the full moon affect our sleep? How about the cycles of the moon? Many disorders seem to follow the phases of the moon. When the moon is full, some people may suffer from insomnia, nightmares, strange dreams, and some people even sleepwalk. There is one more interesting fact that some people sleep better when the moon is full, even if its shine falls into their faces.

… But: Austrian scientists have shown that sleep patterns are not affected by the phases of the moon.

• Numerous studies have tried to find lunar effects. Reuters reports that researchers with the Austrian Society for Sleep Medicine & Sleep Research examined the sleep patterns of 391 people in several European countries. About half the subjects had sleeping disorders, but no one knew the researchers were interested in the effect of the moon. “When I deal with patients with sleep problems, so many say that the full moon stopped them (from) sleeping, that even I was expecting some small difference to show up in the study,” Gerhardt Kloesch, the Vienna University psychologist who led the current research, told Reuters.

• In fact, just 8 percent of those surveyed had problems sleeping while there was a full moon, compared to 25 percent who said they had a particularly good night’s sleep on the night of a full moon. Read The Full Story…

What does food have to do with sleep? Our nutritional status and the food we eat always influence our sleep. Luckily, some foods actively aid falling asleep and staying asleep.
They relax tense muscles, quiet buzzing minds, and/or get calming, sleep-inducing hormones - serotonin and melatonin - flowing.

The following foods can make getting a good night’s sleep a dream come true:

1. Warm milk. It is not a myth. Milk has some tryptophan - an amino acid that has a sedative - like effect - and calcium, which helps the brain use tryptophan. In addition, there is the psychological throwback to infancy, when a warm bottle meant, “relax, everything’s fine.”

2. Turkey. Turkey contains tryptophan. To get the most from the tryptophan in turkey, eat a slice of white turkey meat on a slice of whole-wheat bread in the middle of the evening.

3. Honey. Drizzle a little in your warm milk or herb tea. Lots of sugar is stimulating, but a little glucose tells your brain to turn off orexin, a recently discovered neurotransmitter that’s linked to alertness.

4. Chamomile tea. Chamomile tea’s mild sedating effect has helped many restless people fall asleep - it is the perfect natural antidote for restless minds/bodies. Read The Full Story…

Between 20 to 40 percent of adults snore. It is a problem if you are disturbing yourself or your sleep partner. Snoring stops sleep patterns, which can cause to sleep deficit. The effects of sleep deficit can include low energy, foggy thinking and daytime sleepiness. The absence of oxygen flowing to the brain that occurs when someone snores can lead to diabetes, high blood pressure and stroke. Here are a few tips on how to help to get liberate of snoring problems that may help get free of the problem: It is important to remember that different remedies will have varying success depending on the individual.

• Tips1: Eliminate alcohol, tobacco from your diet. These elements relax the throat, enlarging and inflaming the muscles that contribute to snoring. If this is not possible, avoid those 2 hours before going to bed.

• Tips2: Try to maintain a healthy diet. Eat a variety of food, keeping a low eating of fat. You should aim to eat five servings of fresh, frozen or canned fruits and vegetables in your daily diet.

• Tips3: Make a regular sleeping pattern. Follow a regular sleep routine so that your body sticks to it. Moreover, sleeping on your side instead of your back will definitely stop snoring for you as it positions the body for a good sleep. Prepare the surroundings clean without any congestion while you are asleep.

Read The Full Story…