subject: End Sleepless Nights - Five Use Tonight Tips [print this page] End Sleepless Nights - Five Use Tonight Tips
Restless nights, insomnia and disturbed sleep claim over 60 million victims every night in the US. So if you experience problems sleeping you are are in good company. However, often sleep problems are the symptom of a deeper problem, a problem that you may be able to begin to change by using one or more of these five 'use tonight' techniques. They will not remove the root cause of your insomnia but they can well reduce its effects, enabling you to grab some well deserved rest.
1. Avoid caffeinated drinks in the evening. To avoid sleep problems it is good to remove the caffeine out of your body prior to sleeping. In reality it is right to avoid all caffeine from about six in the evening onwards. And because some teas and chocolate contain caffeine you should be careful of any 'hidden' sources of caffeine.
2. Get in the sleep habit. Begin a distinct and systematic bedtime routine. Start the relaxation process some time before you actually get into bed. Do the things that feel right for you, for example you could make yourself a hot drink, and relax with a good book. The secret is to do things that don't need lots of movement and ideally avoid spending time on the computer or being glued to the television as both can keep you awake.
3. Avoid alcohol. It is a misconception that a late night 'toddy' could help you loosen up; alcohol is known to inhibit or in some cases prohibit deep, relaxing sleep. Although the occasional glass of wine should not make a significant difference, it is right to avoid all alcohol whist you attempt a routine to prompt healthy sleeping patterns.
4. Make your rest regular. Most insomnia professionals agree that having a planned and consistent time to go to bed is an aid to sleeping well. Initially, if you have trouble sleeping your usual instinct is to go to bed early, when the most useful way to get a good night's sleep is to go to bed later. Whilst you may sleep for less you will be more rested. Then once your rest patterns have stabilised and you body readjusted you could then start to go to bed earlier and rest for longer.
5. Relax to calming music. To aid your journey to peaceful sleep consider listening to relaxing music, natural sounds, self-hypnosis or suggestion audio for a deeper more untroubled sleep. Many of these treatments are actually developed to help you relax and calm down. A few are even based on successful therapy practices and designed to tackle the root cause of your sleep insomnia. When created by real therapists rather than marketing people out for a quick profit, these subliminal sleep therapies have been shown to be remarkably effective.
Decide to try any of these five techniques and they can give you a good night's rest. My goal with these quick fire techniques is to help you find some respite from the problem so that you can then begin to tackle the real cause or the specific underlying issue that is the true cause of your insomnia. To eliminate the problem forever you'll first need to solve this real cause, then the sleepless nights will quickly dissapear.
If you try any of the tips and still find no change with your sleeplessness, perhaps you should seek some help from a sleep specialist. Wherever possible you have to try to avoid sleep medication, whilst this may well give short term, temporary respite it only masks the symptom, the insomnia instead of the underlying cause. Without dealing with the root cause of the sleeplessness any kind of medication might make the insomnia worse.
