35min Cure For Insomnia II
2. Changing diet and exercise routine
Although it is nice to blame the insomnia subjects we can not control (such as jet lag, stress or financial difficulties), many cases are due to lifestyle habits such as caffeine, alcohol, food, smoking and exercise.
a) Caffeine: It is the most widely known cause of insomnia, if it stops moving in bed at night, start decreasing the caffeine. It is an ingredient in coffee, tea, colas, chocolate and some medications such as pills for headaches. It is a stimulant and a nightmare for those who have difficulty sleeping. Especially for sensitive, it can last up to 20 hours. Consider if this is your problem.
b) Alcohol: Alcohol is misleading. You can assume that the liquor acts as a sedative and in principle can help induce sleep. However, alcohol lightens and fragments sleep, causing you to wake up when your body metabolizes it. You may believe you have completely lost consciousness, but not getting the real rest you need. If you have trouble sleeping, try to limit your intake of drinks around the time of sleep.
c) Food: Yes, we all tend to feel sleepy after a heavy meal, but this too is misleading: heavy meals actually keep us awake while your digestive system work overtime. Also, avoid spicy and fatty foods that cause heartburn, MSG (Chinese food commonly found), and all those ingredients that cause gas. In return, good nutrition can improve sleep quality. Milk – except for those with lactose intolerance -, meanwhile, has an amino acid that the body converts into a component that improves sleep in the brain. Calcium is a natural relaxing agent along with many other vitamins such as group B and magnesium.
If you’re bothered by hunger in the evening, take a small meal before bed. Some foods in particular promote the production of melatonin, a hormone associated with the onset of sleep. Among these is the cottage cheese, soy nuts, chicken, pumpkin seeds and turkey.
Finally, foods high in carbohydrates such as bread act upon another essential hormone, serotonin, which reduces anxiety and contributes to a refreshing sleep.
d) Smoking: For those with a light sleep, nicotine is a real problem. It is a stimulant that raises blood pressure, increases heart rate and stimulates brain activity. However, if you stop smoking will cause an uncontrolled anxiety, consider that this strategy will not serve its purpose, and try to decrease only slightly the number of cigarettes smoked daily.
e) Exercise: Regular exercise is a sleep promoter. But if you exercise too close to the sleep schedule, increasing your heart rate and metabolism will make your body too excited to sleep. So, exercise towards the end of the afternoon is ideal, there is still time until the evening to relax.
The exercise has the same sleep-inducing effect that a warm bath. Both activities help increase body temperature, and the body reacts by producing melatonin, to lower its temperature naturally.
3. Improve your sleep environment
It may seem obvious, but make the bed as comfortable as possible. Experiment with what works best for you, any change in hardness or type of mattress, the / s pillow / s, shelter, etc.
Choose a position conducive to sleep. This is often the position it was in when he wakes up. If your spouse is a cause of your difficulty sleeping (for snoring, or kick, for example), consider the possibility of buying a bigger bed, put a pillow in between, or use earplugs. If your partner goes to the bathroom often at night, let him use the side of the bed is closer to there.
Protect yourself from large luminous watch. This not only produces a light distraction, but a stressful reminder that has not been asleep. The act of worrying about not sleeping is, in itself, a sufficient factor to keep you awake.
Controls the amount of light in your bedroom. Excessive illumination not only affects your eyes, but also influences hormone production that helps establish a healthy sleep cycle. Use a sleep mask if necessary.
When it comes to noise, some people find repetitive sounds are easier to sleep than intermittent and abrupt. Earplugs or a background sound such as a fan can help hide the ambient noise (such as barking dogs, a house party next door, etc.).
Another option to consider are programs that play music or sounds that induce sleep.
Check the thermostat. Extreme temperatures, whether hot or cold, do not cooperate at all with the dream. Be sure to always keep the room ventilated and heated.
4. Rearrange your sleep schedule
Try to maintain a similar sleep schedule every night. It is certainly difficult for those who have to meet shifts, but for those who can, keeping the same bedtime and wake up each day (including weekends), beyond the effective time of sleep achieved, will help establish a regular rhythm of rest.
No more naps. Although chances are refreshing, a good nap can not replace a full night’s rest of REM, and perpetuates the cycle of poor sleep.
Do not see your debt, fix your nails, lead a game, eat food, etc.. In bed. You should associate your bed only with privacy and relaxation.
So, go to bed when you feel sleepy and if you can not fall asleep within half an hour, get out of bed.
If you can not sleep, will not wear out or complain. This only increases the anxiety and less likely to get rest. In this case, do something quiet, like taking a warm bath or reading, and return to bed as soon as you feel sleepy again.
Once you start using these tips, keep a sleep diary for a week or two. Find which of the techniques used has worked better to keep repeating it.
5. Consider medical and behavioral techniques
While some prefer the natural suggestions we have given above, there is a good portion of insomniacs who ask more strong and effective to achieve the desired break. Discuss your options:
a) Sleeping pills: As we said before, those with transient insomnia get benefit from these pills sleeping pills. As a general rule, you should use the shortest time and in the smallest dose possible. Must be extremely careful with these pills, because they are only effective for 2 or 3 weeks, at which point you develop a tolerance for addiction.
Moreover, these pills tend to have side effects such as hangovers, impaired motor coordination, memory loss and low levels of alert.
b) Melatonin: Some believe that melatonin is a more attractive alternative to sleeping pills because the pineal gland secretes naturally in the dark. Taking melatonin supplements became popular in the 90′s, when doctors found it useful in the onset of sleep.
As little as 0.1 mg may improve sleep, so I take 1 to 3 milligrams one hour before bedtime may be helpful. Supposedly, melatonin supplements do not interfere with the quality of sleep, memory or performance the next day. Moreover, do not lose their effectiveness over time. But remember that science is still being tested its effects. Melatonin is a hormone, and we all know you should not play with them.
c) Herbs: The following suggestion is the herb valerian. It is available in health food stores and improves sleep quality without causing hangover effects. Just marinate 300-400 mg. root in hot water to take half an hour before bedtime. Other popular herbs are: passion flower, California poppy and lemon balm.
Behavioral techniques
In conclusion we will say that sometimes the problem is purely mental. In such cases, there are some options:
Experiment with relaxation techniques before you try to reduce tension in the body and soothe the muscles. You can also ask your spouse to give you a gentle massage as a treatment for insomnia. Finally, sex can, if there are no tensions in this respect within their marriage, being a good relaxation factor.
Some more drastic techniques include sleep restriction or light therapy. To sleep restriction, limit yourself to sleep a few hours a night and gradually increases the time allowed. Basically, Weary until you can sleep naturally. Many people even for going against the “imposition”, solve your sleep problem.
Light therapy, on the other hand, operates under the premise that its internal clock is out of control and only needs to readjust to daytime. For example, if you wake up too early, should be exposed to bright light at night to “convince” your body to get tired later in the night, and power and sleep later in the morning. If you go to bed very late, the bright light in the morning serves the same purpose.
Cognitive therapy is another option. Many people have dysfunctional attitudes about sleep that can lead to a vicious circle. If you are nervous about the dream, can not relax enough to get to sleep. In these cases, a therapist can help you in your concerns, removing harmful attitudes to the surface and giving a new sense of control.
Following these steps, it is very likely soon have found a balance that will help to reconcile a restful sleep each night. Remember that the main thing is to take it calmly and psychology. Abused, altered or excessively concerned only serve to prevent what we love.