SLEEP RESTFULLY
There are many ways to help you sleep better -- not just longer, but better, more deeply. Your body repairs itself in deep sleep, Hypnosis is one of the primary tools, an energizer that helps all the others work better. You can change your programming around sleep. Using hypnosis, we can access states that allow the unwrapping of the habits and beliefs interfering with restorative sleep.
Here’s a list of non-hypnotic ways of helping yourself sleep better. I compiled it for people preparing for surgery, who need good sleep both before and after surgery in order to heal well. Use what you can.
A summary of many -- but not all -- known sleep tips
(Excerpted from The Surgery Coach)
I recommend that you choose the suggestions that work for you. All of these practices have helped some people sleep better, but nothing works for everybody. Some of these are so simple they take no time at all. The idea is to choose something that feels possible, maybe two somethings, make a few small changes in routine and allow them to work, which in turn might encourage you to try a few more.
Aerobic exercise in the afternoon. Participants in one study, all over the age of 67, were divided into two groups. One group did stretching exercises; the other did aerobic exercise three times a week for 45 minutes. The aerobics group got 33% more deep sleep than they did before the study began, and produced 30% more Human Growth Hormone. No one in the stretching group increased sleep or HGH levels. The conclusion is that producing heat in your body is an effective idea. Afternoon exercise raises body temperature slightly until bedtime, which in turn helps the body fall into deeper sleep. If in doubt, check with your doctor.
A hot bath an hour or two before bed brought about increased deep sleep in one study, for the same reason. The hotter the better, up to 105 degrees, the report says. Lukewarm didn’t work as well. Just before you get in, take a cup or so of Epsom salts and drop into it any of these essential oils, singly or in any combination: Lavender, Bergamot, and Frankincense, up to 10 drops total. The Epsom salt helps with dispersal. Pour the mix into the bath. Breathe well (If you have no bath, put a drop each of Lavender -- and one of the others -- on a tissue and breathe it in.).
Relax Combine this simple breathing routine with a bath: breathe in to a count of four, let your breath out to a count of eight – six is OK if eight is too long. Repeat 20 times. Or use your own method. The idea is to slow down your whole system before bedtime
Making love with caring, tenderness, and equal exchange of pleasure works well to aid good sleep. If you have no partner, love yourself.
Go to bed at a regular time, if you can. It helps set your body clock.
Lower stimulation after dark. Make an effort to reduce some of the many forms of stimulation we all have around us. A good start would be to avoid alcohol and caffeine for 3-4 hours before bedtime. Television is ridiculously stimulating, especially the news, violent material, and commercials. Just turning off the TV at night can make a noticeable difference. Start to turn the lights down a little earlier, especially in winter.
Natural teas: Have a nice cup of chamomile tea or one of the good herbal sleep teas in the evening (Celestial Seasons has one called Sleepy Time).
A pinch of salt on the tongue at bedtime followed by a small glass of water. An old folk remedy.
Stress-lowering, peaceful music. Go to Links for suggestions of music designed to heal. Listen by candlelight or by the fire, or in the bath. Make your own music. Sing or tone to yourself.
Listen to a good hypnosis or guided imagery tape or CD designed to bring deep sleep. My favorite sleep tape is from Glenn Harold. If you don’t mind a strong regional English accent, his sound work is fabulous, with cool multi-layered voice and sound moving around in your head. His voice, once you get into it, feels unusually caring. See Links for his and other recommended recordings.
Live session. If sleep has been an ongoing issue for you, I suggest you find a good hypnotherapist and have a live session, which I have found even more powerful than recordings.
Fresh air helps. Japanese sleep experts have discovered that Stage 3 and 4 sleep is maximized when your head is 7-10 degrees cooler than the rest of your body. That’s why they make special pillows that draw heat away from your head. Open a window. Maybe take a short walk outside before bed. Walk the dog.
No light at night. If you have to get up in the middle of the night, do not turn on the light. Sleep research shows that light in the middle of a sleep cycle throws off the biological clock for 3-4 days. The wakening brings an immediate lag to the body clock, delaying the release of hormones and sleep processes by an hour and a half or more. For a person needing more sleep right now, stress is added. And the sleep deprivation goes on for several days. Many illnesses are being linked to disruption of the body’s circadian rhythm. If you need light to get up in the night, do what the US Army does for its soldiers before night activity: use a dim red light. Put red cellophane over a flashlight near your bed.
Use a sleep mask. Even a little light, from a street light outside or a nightlight, for example, can change the quality of sleep. I use a sleep mask from Nikken that puts out a slight magnetic field around my eyes and pineal gland (where natural melatonin comes from). I found out how much I liked it one winter night when I was safely tucked in bed. I realized I had taken it to the living room to show someone and forgotten it. Yes, I got out of bed. I love it. Yours doesn’t have to be magnetic, just so it keeps light out.
Supplements. Calcium and Magnesium after supper act to comfort and relax. Our bodies take in these minerals best during sleep. I use an excellent Calcium-Magnesium formula called Restful Nightä , from Nikken, which also contains Valerian Root, Hops, and Chamomile, which all nudge the body to relax a bit more.
Some people do well with Vitamin B3, also known as Niacin, taken after supper. The first good advice I got was to start with a tiny amount and increase slowly until I got a mild reaction. Too much makes most people heat up and become rather flushed – uncomfortable for a few minutes. Drinking more water will make this go away soon, but I prefer to have a gentle warming on a small dose rather than a full flush.
Lecithin helps bring about sleep sooner, taken in the early evening. Two to four tablespoons of powder, found in health food stores, is a good amount. Lecithin is found in eggs and soy products.
Seafood, chicken, milk, cheese, yogurt, cashews and watermelon all contain the amino acid L-tryptophan. It is one of the amino acids that your body uses to make neurotransmitters such as serotonin. Neurotransmitters are chemical nerve messengers that help your brain to shut down for the night and be fully awake during the day. More of the L-tryptophan in dairy products gets to your brain when you have a carbohydrate along with it. That's why yogurt and fruit, or milk and a whole-grain cracker, are good before-bedtime snacks (at least an hour before bed).
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