Health Care Basics

A power nap can really help you get that extra boost of energy that you need in order to make it through the day. In fact, this is one of the most effective Natural Sleep Aids that your body can get, and so when you combine power napping with healthy Natural Sleep Remedies, there is no reason why your brain won’t be able to function at its optimum state. However, in order to make the most from your power nap, it is important that you follow these few tips:

Limit Your Naps to Less Than 30 Minutes

In order to get the best effects from a power nap, you have to train yourself to fall into the beginning stages of your sleep cycle. This will generally be sleep stages 1 and 2. What you do not want to do is to go into a deep sleep, because all it will do is make you feel groggy and disorientated when you are woken up. Keep in mind that every person is different when it comes to the amount of minutes needed in order to fall into the first and second stage of sleep, so it will take a bit of tweaking until you find the right amount of time in order to get an effective power nap. In most cases, it will be between 15 and 30 minutes.

Try the Caffeine Nap

If you are looking to push your power naps to a whole new level of effectiveness, then you will find that the best way to do this is by having a cup of coffee prior to your 15 to 20 minute nap. Studies have shown that this is one of the most effective ways to wake up extremely alert and full of energy, because the caffeine inside the coffee will usually take around 30 minutes before it has an effect. So, not only will you be getting that fresh boost of energy from your power nap, but you will also be getting an added amount of alertness from the caffeine as you wake up; and let’s not forget the extra boost that will be coming from those healthy Natural Sleep Aid supplements as well.

Keep in mind that your power naps can only be truly effective if you get enough sleep in the night as well. Add this with a good dose of exercises on a daily basis in a healthy diet, and then combine all of this with Natural Sleeping Remedies, and you will find yourself being the master of your own destiny, because the amount of energy you will have will allow your brain to function at its optimum state.

If you’re having difficulty sleeping, your biggest question is, “What will help me sleep?” You may not know that there are quite a few foods that make you sleepy. Wouldn’t it be great if one of the best home remedies for sleeplessness was sitting on your kitchen counter right now?

The idea is to boost the levels of serotonin in your body. This substance regulates your moods, and also helps you feel sleepy. Your body makes serotonin from tryptophan, an amino acid found in proteins.

You also need to eat some carbs, too. Here’s why. Eating carbs raises the level of insulin in your system. Insulin causes your body to store glucose and amino acids for use later on. The only amino acid that glucose doesn’t put into storage is tryptothan.

So, about an hour before bedtime, you should eat a light snack that’s low in protein and that contains a few carbs as well. Here are five foods that fit the bill perfectly.

1. Hummus

Hummus is made from chickpeas, which contain both protein and carbs. This yummy snack comes in a multitude of flavors, and is readily available at any grocery store. It’s very easy to make yourself, too. So be sure to keep some on hand.

2. A Glass Of Warm Milk

This old standby is loaded with tryptothan. However, warm milk just doesn’t cut it for a lot of people. What else would work? Try a cup of yogurt instead. Flavored yogurt can be loaded with sugar, so try eating it unflavored, or look for a low-sugar variety to keep the calorie count down.

3. Oatmeal With Milk And Almonds

Oatmeal’s not just for breakfast anymore. Oats and milk make a great combination of carbs and protein. Almonds contain tryptothan and magnesium, which can help to relax your muscles. Or slice a banana over your oatmeal. Bananas are loaded with tryptophan, melatonin, serotonin, and magnesium, which is just the ticket for anyone who’s having difficulty sleeping.

4. Turkey

Turkey is just bursting with tryptothan, but did you know that chicken works just as well? Try half a turkey or chicken sandwich, and you’ll likely be sawing logs before you know it.

5. Tart Cherries

Bet you didn’t know these delicious little morsels are chock-full of the goodness of melatonin. This hormone is essential for regulating your circadian rhythm, which is your internal clock that tells you when to go to sleep. Make sure you get tart cherries, not the sweet Bings.

Load up with some of these foods that make you sleepy the next time you go shopping, and the chances are that you won’t be asking “what will help me sleep” anymore.

For many people, a body pillow is simply a longer version of the standard, rectangular bed pillow. This may be true in the past, but there has been an evolution when it comes to body pillows. Recent developments have changed how they are shaped and used. Depending on a person’s sleep position or degree of support, new designs range from a variation of shapes including “J” shapes, “C” shapes and “U” shapes.

• The “J” shaped pillow is ergonomically designed to accommodate the natural contours of the human body during rest. It provides support in all four basic sleep positions and combines the support of three pillows in one. This design results in less pillow repositioning and allows the sleep position changes without having to hoard several pillows back into position with every movement. Using the “J” shape pillow can improve spinal alignment, muscular relaxation, circulation, back pain and is optimal for pregnancy support.
• The “C” shaped pillow is designed to conform to the natural side sleeper’s position. It can be difficult to maintain a proper alignment for the spine when sleeping on your side. These pillows have two sides on each end that are curved. This allows for head and leg support. They are designed to be tucked between the legs to allow the spin to relax in a neutral position while the body is at rest. Expecting mothers can take advantage of the “C” shape and help improve their quality of sleep. Because of the shape, one’s belly can get support during the later stages of pregnancy and provide full support for a woman’s hips, back and tummy.

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• The “U” shaped pillow cradles your body from the front to the back. It can be shaped to fit your needs whether lying on your side, back or stomach. Like the “J” shaped and “C” shaped body pillows the “U” shape offers similar health benefits. It is perfect for more sedentary individuals requiring additional support, providing head, neck, back, and leg comfort. It eliminates the need for extra pillows and offers therapeutic comfort for the entire body. Many people use them as an additional piece of furniture when reading, resting or watching TV. Its works for the entire family and can easily molded to support just about any size or weight.

Evolving from the long straight design the body pillow comes in many shapes and designs. The “J” shaped provides support in all four basic sleep positions, the “C” shaped pillow is designed to conform to the natural side sleeper’s position and the “U” shaped pillow cradles your body from the front to the back. Each provides extra support for the human body while at rest and offers numerous health benefits.

One of the questions that we often ask ourselves is, “how can I get a better night’s rest?” It is hard for us to understand that even though we are dead tired and exhausted, we cannot seem to get a good nights sleep. A large majority of people are workaholics who work their 9 to 5 jobs everyday and when they do go to bed, their mind is consumed with things such as the next day’s job assignments and other distractions that keep them awake for long periods of time and prevent them from getting proper rest. If you are one of the individuals who fall into this category, you need to know that you need to develop a good sleeping pattern in order to overcome these obstacles. Here are a few suggestions that will hopefully help you to sleep better.

If you are thinking about things in your mind that are keeping you awake, you need to find a way to divert your mind away from them.

1. One of the ways to distract your mind is to try sleeping on your favorite couch or perhaps one of the best ways is to read a book before you go to bed as reading will give your mind a state of peace and put it more at ease. Make sure that you do not read any newspapers or magazines as they will only get your mind wandering once again on conflicting things. You can also improve your sleeping pattern by watching a relaxing video or listening to a gentle tape before you go to bed.
2. Be careful that you do not spend a lot of time in your bed before you actually try to fall asleep as that can make it much more difficult for you when you want to sleep. Try to stay out of bed until your body tells you that it is time for rest and then go to bed.
3. Another problem that we all face in our daily lives and inhibits us from getting the proper rest that we require is stress. We cannot get away from stress, but there are things that we can do to reduce the effects of it on our sleeping patterns. You might want to try some form of exercise or some other activity before you go to bed and this is a great way to cope with stress and relieve some of the tensions involved with it and hopefully this will allow you to get much healthier sleep.
4. Make sure that you eat your dinner a few hours before bedtime. Include plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet. Avoid drinking alcohol as this will have an impact on your quality of sleep.

If you put these suggestions to work for you, you should be able to strengthen your sleeping patterns and hopefully gain a better night’s rest.

I hope that you found this information useful and if you would like more information on ways to live healthy, then please visit my healthy living web site where you will find great information to help you live a long and healthy life.

Sleep deprivation inflicts a heavy toll on your body, your mental acuity, and health in general. Just how much effect not getting enough sleep can have may well surprise you.

Recent medical studies indicate that people who suffer from a chronic lack of sleep are much more susceptible to suffer from a large number of other health issues including diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. The corollary is: does restful, uninterrupted sleep help prevent these and other illnesses? And the answer is yes, it does.

It is during the sleep period that the body does a lot of repair work on the cellular level, much like road crews working on the busy interstate highways at night. When we are asleep, our hormones and our immune systems both act in different ways than when we are awake to perform the required cellular repairs to be able to function well during the day time. In other words, if your immune system doesn’t get the necessary time to repair itself, it isn’t going to do a very good job of fighting off diseases.

What follows are five health issues that current research has shown to be made worse by a lack of sleep. These same studies also show that all of these issues may be improved when you are able to consistently sleep for at least seven hours a night.

• Common – Colds and Flu Both ailments are around all the time and an immune system weakened by a lack of sleep is less able to these very common infectious diseases
• Heart Disease – One of the findings of recent research is that the cardiovascular system becomes inflamed when sleep deprived. This is the same reaction that occurs in cases of hypertension. If sleep deprivation continues over time, this inflammatory response has been linked to stroke and heart attacks.
  

• Diabetes – When you become sleep deprived, the body develops conditions resembling insulin resistance of diabetes. This is so pronounced that one study of persons in their late twenties who slept less than 7 hours a night exhibited the insulin sensitivity of persons more than sixty years old.
  

• Mental Functions – Many different sleep studies have shown that those who drive when sleep deprived are as functionally impaired as those who drive drunk.
• Obesity – Some research in the last ten years indicate a linkage between sleep deprivation and obesity in both adults and children as well. So far, the exact reasons why are not known but it may be an imbalance of hormones may be the reason.

Of course the good news is that you can easily take steps to repair any damage that may be been caused by sleep deprivation just by scheduling yourself for at least seven and preferably 8 hours of rest each night.

If you have not permanently damaged your health from a lack of sleep, almost all of these conditions will repair themselves quickly and the others will continue to improve with time.

Here are some great tips and pointers to make you sleep better every night! Getting a good night’s sleep is a challenge for many of us. Many people resort to medications! Indeed, some people “self-medicate” with alcohol!

Medications like Ambien are not good for you. And you can become over-dependent on them, if not addicted. Also, some of the ingredients tend to distort your perception of time, so even though you think you fell asleep faster that may not be the case. Personally, I hate to use medications for sleep. I always wonder what would happen if there was an emergency at home with one of the kids, or a fire or earthquake. I don’t want to be in a drugged state when dealing with something like that!

And for those who claim that they get a great night’s sleep after alcohol, that is not the case. You may wake up feeling like you slept deeply but it’s the wrong kind of rest. Do you really feel refreshed and full of energy the next day? I don’t think so!

If you want to sleep better there are certain things you need to address.

Tips For How To Sleep Better

1. You cannot make yourself go to sleep. Your brain will go to sleep when it wants to. So lying there trying to fall asleep is a fool’s game. If you find that you are not falling asleep, get up and do some menial chores. Wash the dishes or sort through the mail. Even try some light reading, but not in bed. If you are not falling asleep you should not be in the bedroom. You need your brain to associate the bedroom only with sleep!
2. You need to realize that for a normal person the body temperature drops by about four degrees when they are sleeping. That is one of the reasons why sleep is associated with night time. It’s cooler then usually. People with insomnia do not experience the same body temperature swings. Because their body temperature doesn’t rise as much, they don’t feel invigorated in the morning and they don’t fall asleep in the evening.
   There are natural strategies for getting your body temperature to rise. Take a brink walk in the morning for 30 minutes or so. This will raise your body temperature and you will be energized during the day. Raising the body temperature during the day and causing it to fall in the evening is a great strategy for how to sleep better.
3. The most important tip is not to focus on your insomnia. It’s a case of being careful what you ask for. If you constantly tell yourself that you are an insomniac and can’t sleep what do you think is going to happen. It certainly is not a good strategy for how to sleep better!