10 Ways To Get A Better Nights

by: Aleksandr Nasteka

Sleep. Everyone knows what it is, but nowadays, nobody gets enough: school, work, kids, sleep disorders, and more, all keep us from getting those precious hours of sleep our bodies so desperately need. 70 million Americans are affected with sleep disorders, and because of the economy a third of Americans are losing sleep. So in this troubled time of laying in bed trying to go to sleep, let’s shed some light on how to sleep better.

1. Make sure your bed is right for you.

Ah, the bed. The place our enchanted rest takes place. First of all you need to make sure your mattress is nice and soft, but firm. If you feel the springs, or fall into the middle of the bed, hey you get to buy a new mattress. Second, make sure your pillow is just right, not too high so that your neck hurts, but not too flat, so that your head is flat. Make sure you have blankets in layers, so if you get hot you can take a blanket off, or if you’re too cold you can add one.

2. Make sure your room is in good condition for you to sleep.

To be able to sleep in your room you have to make sure that the temperature is good, cool would be your best option, 65-72 degrees Fahrenheit, but it really depends on the person. Also, make sure there are no lights on, including those from LED lights.

3. Don’t eat too much before sleep.

If you eat too much before you sleep not only will your stomach work and make you more awake, It may also give you indigestion, since you’re laying down after eating.

4. No social or recreational drugs.

This means no alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine. Caffeine, which can stay in your system as long as 14 hours, increases the number of times you awaken at night and decreases the total amount of sleep time. This may subsequently affect daytime anxiety and performance. The effects of nicotine are similar to those of caffeine, with a difference being that at low doses, nicotine tends to act as a sedative, while at high doses it causes arousals during sleep. Alcohol may initially sedate you, making it easier to fall asleep; however, as it is metabolized and cleared from your system during sleep, it causes arousals that can last as long as two to three hours after it has been eliminated. These arousals disturb sleep, often causing intense dreaming, sweating, and headache. Smoking while drinking caffeine and alcohol can interact to affect your sleep dramatically. These sleep disturbances may be most apparent upon awakening, feeling unrefreshed, groggy, or hungover.

5. Eating or drinking certain kinds of food or liquids can help you go to sleep.

If you have a little milk, yogurt, turkey, chamomile tea, ice cream, soy beans, tuna or peanuts before bed it’ll help you go to sleep. How? All these food have a good amount of Tryptophan, which helps the body produce Serotonin, and that helps the body relax.

6. Set up a “sleep schedule”.

If you go to sleep everyday at the same time your body will know when it’s bedtime and will get tired around the time that you go to sleep, it also helps to wake up at the same time.

7. Your bedroom is for sleep and sex only.

If you watch tv, read books, balance the checkbook, or do anything other than sleep or sex on the bed then your body might be confused as to what you’re doing.

8. No screen time before bed.

If you watch tv or sit in front of the computer before bed, your brain puts you into a state of alertness, which makes it hard to go to sleep.

9. If you wake up during the night and can’t fall asleep don’t worry.

If you find you can’t go to sleep going to the bathroom or just waking up, don’t lay in bed, get out of the bedroom, sit on the couch, go into a room with a dim light, read the warranty on your fridge, these will all make you tired and won’t make you frustrated. The reason is, if you stay in bed, you’ll start worrying about falling asleep, which will make going to sleep harder.

10. If all else fails try a sleep aid.

Nobody’s perfect, we all have trouble falling asleep. Unfortunately some of us have a lot of trouble falling asleep. Luckily there are sleep aids, not sleeping pills; those usually do more harm than good. You can try many things, try a soft fountain in the room, headphones with the gentle sound of nature, and there’s even an aroma that’s proven to help you go to sleep.

If you have trouble falling asleep or you haven’t really had a good night’s rest lately, try one of these out and you’ll be surprised how much easier it is to sleep well.

http://www.articlecity.com/articles/health/article_7885.shtml

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4 Healthy Tips On How To Have A High Quality Life...

by: William Winch

The quality and the length of your life is vastly influenced by how you live. If you stuff your face with junk food at every meal, you will probably live a shortened, lower quality life. Lots of doctor visits, medications and problems. Conversely, if you live like a health nut, you will probably live a high quality life with lots of energy and optimism. 

For people who are obese, living a high quality life seems unattainable. So much work is involved that most people just can not find the courage to re-invent themselves...so they give up. What they may not realize is that there is a safe middle ground where they can be healthy without spending all day exercising and eating fruits and vegetables. 

It is not about how many crunches you can do, or how fast you can run a mile. It is not about eating rice cakes instead of chocolate bars and it is not about starving yourself to the point where you almost pass out from trying to function on an empty tank of gas. It is about making small changes that make the most difference in your lifestyle. 

Healthy Tips #1: Diet And Nutrition 

Having had chronic asthma my entire life, I could not exercise. Most people take for granted the one thing I would have loved to physically be able to do. Once I began providing my body with proper nutrition, however, miracles began to happen. Not only did I lose 70 pounds (and have kept if off for over 15 years now), but I am now medication free, I can exercise and have a high quality life. 

The key here though is that I lost weight and got healthy without exercise. I still eat, but I modified my diet to include a soy-based meal replacement shake once or even twice a day. I know what you are thinking. How can I enjoy a bland shake instead of yummy meal? Because the shake is delicious and it makes me feel good afterwards...not only physically but mentally. 

Healthy Tips #2: Exercise 

You do not have to be one of these power lifters who spend 10 hours a day at the gym to achieve healthy weight loss. You do not even need to work out for an hour. Simply move more. Park at the back of the parking lot instead of driving around waiting to get a space up close to the door. Exercise is not necessary but if a little bit is added to your day, it can accellerate your weight loss efforts and allow you to live a healthier life. 

Remember sit-ups and push-ups? Haven't heard those scary words in a long time I bet. Words cannot describe how much better I look and feel since I began doing these two exercise before going to sleep and when I wake up in the morning. I'm not talking about 100 each here. 20 each. That is it. It does not even take 5 minutes. Now I can not even think of resting until I do them. Why? Because I made a small lifestyle change for the better. 

Healthy Tips #3: Smoking And Drinking 

Make a decision now to eliminate one of these (or both if you are smart) and you will be well on your way to not only losing weight but promoting a high qualify life. Everyone knows it is not OK to smoke. You were not born with a need to pollute your lungs with tar or dehydrate your brain until it is shriveled up like a styrophoam peanut. People do it to fit in while other people and all it does is bring you down to their level. You are better than that. 

Healthy Tips #4: Stress 

When you reduce the amount of stress in your life, you will be amazed at how easy it is to lose weight in a healthy way. Write down eveything that you think is giving you stress on a daily basis. No, you should not go out and quit your job..but you can always look for a different job that is less stressful. Do not let other people think they can tie you down and control you. This is America and you are free to live without stress and have a high quality life. 

The more people are stressed out, the more they seek out comfort foods that are no good for them. Want to feel better? Have your favorite cookie! Then regret it afterwards and feel even worse that you did before! Had a bad day at work? You deserve a fatty meal at the Cheesecake Factory! Then you can walk into work the next day weighing even more and feeling worse about yourself. See how this is a vicious cycle that can be broken by simply avoiding stressful situations? 

The conservative American Medical Association has stated that 60% of deaths before age 65 are preventable, usually by simple life style changes. I have listed four of the most important ones above. Start making small changes in each of these areas and you will begin to become the person you always wanted to be. It does not have to be a mountain you must climb to achieve your dreams but rather a few small hills to walk over for a high quality life. 

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