Some Information to Help You Sleep
(From Rod Corban (PhD) New Zealand Academy
of Sport North Island)
Tips for a better sleep environment
• Make sure your bed is large enough and
comfortable. If you are disturbed by a
restless bedmate, switch to a queen- or
king-size bed. Test different types of
mattresses. Try therapeutic shaped foam
pillows that cradle your neck or extra
pillows that help you sleep on your side.
Get comfortable cotton sheets.
• Make your bedroom primarily a place
for sleeping. It is not a good idea to use
your bed for paying bills, doing work,
etc. Help your body recognize that this is
a place for rest or intimacy.
• Keep your bedroom peaceful and
comfortable. Make sure your room is well
ventilated and the temperature consistent.
And try to keep it quiet. You could use a
fan or a "white noise" machine to help
block outside noises.
• Hide your clock. A big, illuminated
digital clock may cause you to focus on
the time and make you feel stressed and
anxious. Place your clock so you can't see
the time when you are in bed.
Tips for a better pre-sleep ritual
• Keep a regular schedule. Try to go to
bed and wake up at the same time everyday,
even on the weekends. Keeping a regular
schedule will help your body expect sleep
at the same time each day. Don’t
oversleep to make up for a poor night’s
sleep – doing that for even a couple of
days can reset your body clock and make it
hard for you to get to sleep at night.
• Incorporate bedtime rituals. Listening
to soft music, sipping a cup of herbal
tea, etc., cues your body that it's time
to slow down and begin to prepare for
sleep.
• Relax for a while before going to bed.
Spending quiet time can make falling
asleep easier. This may include
meditation, relaxation and/or breathing
exercises, or taking a warm bath. Try
listening to recorded relaxation or guided
imagery programs.
• Don’t eat a large, heavy meal before
bed. This can cause indigestion and
interfere with your normal sleep cycle.
Drinking too much fluid before bed can
cause you to get up to urinate. Try to eat
your dinner at least two hours before
bedtime.
• Bedtime snacks can help. An amino acid
called tryptophan, found in milk, turkey,
and peanuts, helps the brain produce
serotonin, a chemical that helps you
relax. Try drinking warm milk or eat a
slice of toast with peanut butter or a
bowl of cereal before bedtime. Plus, the
warmth may temporarily increase your body
temperature and the subsequent drop may
hasten sleep.
• Jot down all of your concerns and
worries. Anxiety excites the nervous
system, so your brain sends messages to
the adrenal glands, making you more alert.
Write down your worries and possible
solutions before you go to bed, so you
don't need to ruminate in the middle of
the night. A journal or "to do" list may
be very helpful in letting you put away
these concerns until the next day when you
are fresh.
• Go to sleep when you are sleepy. When
you feel tired, go to bed.
• Avoid "over-the-counter" sleep aids,
and make sure that your prescribed
medications do not cause insomnia. There
is little evidence that supplements and
other over-the-counter "sleep aids" are
effective. In some cases, there are safety
concerns. Antihistamine sleep aids, in
particular, have a long duration of action
and can cause daytime drowsiness. Always
talk to your doctor or healthcare
practitioner about your concerns!
Tips for getting back to sleep
• Do visualization. Focus all your
attention on your toes or visualize
walking down an endless stairwell.
Thinking about repetitive or mindless
things will help your brain to shut down
and adjust to sleep.
• Get out of bed if unable to sleep.
Don’t lie in bed awake. Go into another
room and do something relaxing until you
feel sleepy. Worrying about falling asleep
actually keeps many people awake.
• Don't do anything stimulating. Don't
read anything job related or watch a
stimulating TV program (commercials and
news shows tend to be alerting). Don't
expose yourself to bright light. The light
gives cues to your brain that it is time
to wake up.
• Get up and eat something containing
tryptophan. Tryptophan, a major building
block for making serotonin, is a
neurotransmitter, which sends messages
between nerve cells and causes feelings of
sleepiness. Eating foods containing
tryptophan raise the levels of serotonin
produced in the body, which in turn
increase a person's feeling of sleepiness.
It is best to eat tryptophan on an empty
stomach. Foods that contain a notable
amount of tryptophan are: milk, cottage
cheese, yogurt, ice cream, chicken,
cashews, soy beans, tuna and turkey.
• Consider changing your bedtime. If you
are experiencing sleeplessness or insomnia
consistently, think about going to bed
later so that the time you spend in bed is
spent sleeping. If you are only getting
five hours of sleep at night, figure out
what time you need to get up and subtract
five hours (for example, if you want to
get up at 6:00 am, go to bed at 1:00 am).
This may seem counterproductive and, at
first, you may be depriving yourself of
some sleep, but it can help train your
body to sleep consistently while in bed.
When you are spending all of your time in
bed sleeping, you can gradually sleep
more, by adding 15 minutes at a time.
Tips for better daytime habits
• Do not nap during the day. If you are
having trouble sleeping at night, try not
to nap during the day because you will
throw off your body clock and make it even
more difficult to sleep at night. If you
are feeling especially tired, and feel as
if you absolutely must nap, be sure to
sleep for less than 30 minutes, early in
the day.
• Limit caffeine and alcohol. Avoid
drinking caffeinated or alcoholic
beverages for several hours before
bedtime. Although alcohol may initially
act as a sedative, it can interrupt normal
sleep patterns.
• Don't smoke. Nicotine is a stimulant
and can make it difficult to fall asleep
and stay asleep. Many over-the-counter and
prescription drugs disrupt sleep.
• Expose yourself to bright
light/sunlight soon after awakening. This
will help to regulate your body's natural
biological clock. Likewise, try to keep
your bedroom dark while you are sleeping
so that the light will not interfere with
your rest.
• Exercise early in the day. Twenty to
thirty minutes of exercise every day can
help you sleep, but be sure to exercise in
the morning or afternoon. Exercise
stimulates the body and aerobic activity
before bedtime may make falling asleep
more difficult.
• Check your iron level. Iron deficient
women tend to have more problems sleeping
so if your blood is iron poor, a
supplement might help your health and your
ability to sleep.
Taking care of you naturally, the way life
was meant to be.
http://www.allnaturalways.com
it normally works
for me to have this king of dinners, light
things, but not exciting things. 
