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Main Section => Spiritual influence on Lifestyle => Topic started by: fatima on July 07, 2008, 02:51:00 AM

Title: 4 Steps Toward A Good Night's Sleep
Post by: fatima on July 07, 2008, 02:51:00 AM

Slow release This simple technique, known as progressive relaxation, helps relax your muscles, one body part at a time.

As you're lying in bed, clench your right fist as tightly as you can. Hold for about 10 seconds, then release the tension immediately and completely, as though you were turning off a switch. All the tension will drain out of your body. Feel the looseness in your right hand and notice how relaxed it feels. Now do the same thing with your left hand; then clench both fists simultaneously and slowly relax them.

Next, bend your elbows and tense your arms. Hold a moment. Then relax your muscles and let your arms sink into the mattress. Continue by tensing and relaxing your head and brows. Then squeeze your eyes and clench your jaw. Finally, tense and then relax your stomach, lower back, buttocks, thighs, calves and feet. By the time you're finished, your whole body should feel limp, relaxed and ready for sleep.

Take a bite of the forbidden fruit Chocolate is never more seductive than when you're on a diet, and no lover is more appealing than one who's unavailable. Sleep, too, becomes terribly tempting when you can't have it.

So if you have trouble falling asleep, imagine a time when you had to stay awake but didn't want to – for example, when studying for an exam. Picture yourself struggling to stay awake. Imagine the weariness overtaking your whole body as you struggle to keep your eyes open. Finally, you will just give in to the urge to fall asleep. Practice this imagery as you lie in bed at night.

Take steps to end insomnia Instead of tiptoeing around the kitchen looking for a midnight snack, try taking a hot bath. If you'd like nothing better than to drift off to sleep surrounded by the aroma of fresh flowers, try adding some pure essential oils to a hot bath before retiring for the night.

Do some exercise Exercise can be a big help in getting a good night's sleep. But exercising late in the day can put your body into overdrive, making it a lot harder to drop off. How late is too late for an exercise? Well, that depends on your body, but experts recommend that ideally a workout should be finished before 7 p.m.
Title: New Ways For You To Relax
Post by: fatima on July 07, 2008, 03:07:09 AM
To wind down at night, do something that calls on skills and energies you don't use during the day.

If during the day, you run errands and drive car pools, try something like sewing, doing a puzzle or playing solitaire to relax. Slow and methodical activities will help ease you into a calm evening.

If on the other hand, you sit at a desk all day doing repetitive tasks, try your hand at cooking, gardening or take a nice long walk. Any pleasurable activity that uses your senses and gets you moving around will relieve the stress that stems from boredom.

If you spend your day making important decisions and leading others, writing in a journal, painting or drawing is the ideal way to relax. You need some quiet time to express yourself and focus on your needs, after all!
Title: Sleep-Better Strategies
Post by: fatima on July 07, 2008, 03:09:01 AM
Try to fit in at least 30 minutes of exercise a day (walking is fine). Stress keeps us tossing and turning, but exercise helps to prevent the build up of stress in the system.


Mineral deficiency can lead to insomnia. So get your required doses of calcium, magnesium, zinc and potassium.


Dine early or eat light – if you go to bed on a full stomach you'll find it hard to drift off.


Give up all caffeine after 2 p.m. – avoid decaffeinated coffee, too, which still contains a percentage of caffeine.


It's a myth that alcohol will help you sleep. If you have more than half a glass, you'll find yourself wide awake at 2 a.m. as your kidneys whir into overdrive.


Experts say a warm brain aids relaxation and suggest a late-night bath to raise the brain temperature. Adding a few drops of certain aromatherapy oils will enhance the effect: try sandalwood or lavender, which are stress busters.


Alternative therapists suggest that sleeping with a head facing magnetic north will enhance sleep.


The Chinese system of feng shui suggests that beds receive no direct sunlight and that you don't face mirrors or the door, while placing your beds. The Chinese also believe that the most rest-inducing colour scheme is pink
Title: Re: 4 Steps Toward A Good Night's Sleep------ Get Rid Of Insomnia
Post by: fatima on August 18, 2008, 08:15:57 AM
Insomnia is a sleep disorder that affects people of all ages without gender or age distinction. There are also different types of insomniacs – there are some who just can’t sleep even if it is night and all lights are off, some who simply keep getting up during the night and some who find it tough to go back to sleep once they get up really early in the morning. Whatever the reason, the result is that the person suffers due to lack of sufficient sleep and the body and mind become lethargic. This is because they are missing out on nature’s method of recharging and revitalizing the body.

Tried and tested method is of course that of proper diet and exercise. This is the absolutely natural method which you should try out first. This is not to say that you eat nothing but greens and sprouts and jump on to the treadmill. It is just that you take care of what you eat and also getting some exercise during the day. A few lifestyle adjustments and changes and you begin to sleep like a baby! A few weeks of this diet and exercise routine and lethargy is a thing of the past!
One important aspect of diet is reading food labels carefully. Most foods bought in the shop have hidden fats and trans fats that cause a lot of problems. Sugar, sodium and caffeine can also cause sleep related problems. Cut down consumption of these especially at night and see the dramatic improvement in your sleep patterns. This does not mean that you cut down totally on sweets or coffee and tea. Just that you take them in moderation and definitely avoid them before going to bed.
Exercise plays a very important part in getting rid of insomnia. A proper exercise session would see your heartbeat go up for at least 20 to 30 minutes. Importantly, you have to enjoy what you are doing, whatever form of exercise you decide upon or you might give up half way! You will become so spent that you will jump into bed and sleep immediately. You have expended your energy and this makes you tired at night. You have stopped consuming foods that interfere with your sleep and it is all making you feel so good because you have done it without the help of sleep inducing drugs.
Title: Re: TIPS FOR GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP~~~
Post by: tana on August 20, 2008, 12:06:37 AM
Om Sai Ram~~~

TIPS FOR GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP~~~

STICK TO A SCHEDULE~~
Irregular bed times do not allow for your body to align to the proper circadian rhythms.  Make sure you try to keep the same schedule on weekends too, otherwise the next morning, you would wake up later and feel overly tired.
 
SLEEP ONLY AT NIGHT~~
Avoid daytime sleep if possible. Daytime naps steal hours from nighttime slumber. Limit daytime sleep to 20-minute power naps.

DO EXERCISE~~
It helps you to sleep better. Your body uses the sleep period to recover its muscles and joints that have been exercised. Exercise in the morning or afternoon daily for about 20 to 30 minutes. Exercise stimulates the body. Aerobic activity before bedtime may make falling asleep more difficult.

TAKE A HOT SHOWER OR BATH~~
Shower or bath before bed helps bring on sleep because they can relax tense muscles.

AVOID EATING PRIOR TO BEDTIME~~
Avoid large meals or spicy foods before bedtime. Give yourself at least 2 hours from the time you eat before bedtime. This allows for digestion before you go to sleep so your body can rest well during the night, rather than churning away your food.

NO CAFFEINE~~
Caffeine keeps you awake and that’s not what you want for a good night's sleep.

READ A BOOK~~
It takes you to a whole new world if you really get into it. And then take some time to ponder over the book as you fall asleep. As you read more, you get more tired at night and makes you fall asleep faster.

KEEP ROOM COOLER~~
Turn off the heat and allow coolness to circulate in/out of the windows. If you get cold, wear warm clothes. It also saves you heating bills.
 
SLEEP IN QUIET ROOM~~
Sleep with no music or TV is more restful and without distractions is best to rest your mind.

AVOID ALCOHOL PRIOR TO BEDTIME~~
Alcohol is a depressant. It may make it easier to fall asleep but it causes you to wake up during the night that cause nighttime awakenings and nightmares for some people.

Jai Sai Ram~~~