Sleep Better Tips.

The quality of sleep you get at night has an enormous impact on your daily life, since poor or disordered sleep can affect your work, concentration, and ability to interact with others. During sleep, both physical and mental restoration take place, allowing you to feel fresh and alert in the morning. The amount of sleep needed varies for each individual but the optimal average is about 7 to 9hours a day. You can judge whether or not you're getting the right amount of sleep by the way you feel the next day--too much or too little sleep can leave a person feeling tired and irritable. Because growth hormones are released during sleep so babies, children and adolescents require more sleep than adults do. Sleep researcher’s says that adult sleep pattern changes as because as we age we tend to have more sleep disorders due to stress or hormonal imbalance, but otherwise sleep pattern remains fairly constant. The degree of time spent in the deeper stages of sleep often lessens with age, and an older person is likely to awaken more frequently during the night. Eating too much or too little can cause wakeful sleep cycle--disturb sleep pattern.
Insomnia can be caused by anxiety, depression, stress or health problems. Insomnia is very common during the last weeks of pregnancy when finding a comfortable sleeping position is difficult. Needing to get up to urinate can disrupt a night’s sleep. Deficiencies of the B vitamins also may cause insomnia. The emotional changes that accompany pregnancy often contribute to sleep difficulties as well. Overcoming the underlying cause of these disorders is essential to improving the quality of sleep, Paying close attention to nutrition, sleep posture and sleep hygiene can also help. Obesity may interfere with sleep if it affects breathing. Note: (Sleep apnea is a potentially serious sleep disorder in which a pattern of loud snoring builds to a crescendo, after which the person stops breathing and awakens briefly). Muscle cramps and restless mind, back or tooth pain could affect sleep.

• Alcohol can cause Insomnia over long term usage: small amounts of alcohol can help you fall asleep. However, as the body metabolizes the alcohol, your sleep may become fragmented. It can dehydrate you, over work your liver, and lower your energy levels. It can disrupt REM sleep cycle (REM is when your body restores itself).
• Avoid stimulants like coffee, bitter chocolate, African kola or teas with caffeine before bedtime. Caffeine can disturb sleep
• Do not eat late at night
• Drinking fluids too close to bedtime can cause problems
• Do not eat heavy meals before bedtime. Eating high fat food at night takes a longer time to digest and can lead to wakefulness or no sleep.
• If your pillow is too hard on neck or hard, try YUBISAKI pillow or herb filled pillow to help you sleep better.Also the type of mattress you rest on can impact your sleep--make sure your are sleeping on a bed bug free mattress or organic wool mattress because bed bugs are number sleep disturbers---makes you itch a lot while asleep. 
• Take a warm (not hot) bath with a pure soothing essential oil such as lavender, ylang-ylang, jasmine, chamomile, sweet-orange oil, geranium rose oil etc
• Increase your intake of foods rich in the B vitamins. Oatmeal helps you sleep well--deep.
• A hormone called Melatonin produced by the brain regulates the sleep-wake cycle. People who have balanced level of melatonin tend to sleep better. 
• Consider learning some form of Yoga or Exercise relaxes the body and mind as well as being good for your health and helping with weight loss. Even walking exercise just 30 minutes a day helps you sleep better.
• Bio-feedback helps you sleep better.
• Playing games like Bejeweled before bed-time can help you fall asleep faster.
• Listening to meditative or classical music can help ease your mind and put you to sleep. The work like lullaby songs....very soothing. Do not force yourself to sleep if you are not really tired, read a magazine, meditate, or do something fun that requires lazy energy until you feel sleepy.
• While reading your magazine or a blog, sip on a cup of tea with honey and lemon before bed or in the middle of the night. Herbal teas such as Hops, chamomile, marjoram, lemon balm, passion flower are known to have sleep inducing tranquil properties.
• St john's wort, valerian herbal supplement has been used to treat sleep disorders, this one really works for me, it may be useful to you if you're experiencing insomnia due to some stress in your life.

Other Things that can help you sleep Better:
 

Keep a sleep diary

Keeping a sleep diary will help you figure out what is it that keeps you up late at night and help you fix your sleep pattern once you figure out that which is depriving you of sleep and eliminate the main cause. Make it a fun, for example I keep a dairy called Sleep fairy Dairy so when I start feeling tired of chatting or talking with loved ones I would say sleep fairy calls or let me put this bug fairy to sleep.

You should consider jotting the following down before bed time for 2weeks:

• What you had for dinner.
• What drinks you consumed after dinner
• Any naps taken during the day
• What time you started feeling tired---when you get sleepy before you actually fall into deep sleep.
• How long it took you to fall asleep
• If you woke during the night and why
• What time you woke up in the morning and how you felt throughout the day.
• Any further observations?

If you do this every day you should see a pattern emerging. This will provide you an insight to your personal sleep habits and patterns. Give it a try if you really don’t get why you can’t stop but want to sleep.

Develop an evening ritual

Do the same things at the same time each night. This programs your subconscious mind that you are preparing for sleep. Lock your doors, Turn off some lights, Brush your teeth, put the baby or cat/puppy to bed, check the locks on the doors again, turn on smooth jazz, classical or meditative music. Do this in the same order each day. It may sound simplistic but it quite effective.

 

Once you are ready to sleep turn off your computer--computer screen tend to keep your mind eye alert and keep you up.
A good night sleep, restores, heals and reduces signs of aging.