Archive for the ‘Sleep Mask Articles’ Category

Fatal Effects of Lack of Sleep

Friday, August 27th, 2010


It is not a good idea to stay up all night surfing the net, reading books, studying, playing etc. An average man needs to have at least 7.5 hours of sleep. If you have been sleeping less than 6 hours every night or you have not been sleeping for nights, you would want to sleep right after reading this list.

1. Obesity – Lack of sleep does make you gain more weight. According to research, human body burns 60-65% calories while sleeping. Lack of sleep causes us to have more appetite but also causes our metabolism to slow down. Slow metabolism causes our body to slow down the conversion of calories into energy, thus resulting to weight gain. Michael Breus (the Director of the Sleepdan Beauty Sleep Issues in Health Arrowhead, Glendale, Ariz) explained the relationship of Weight Gain and Sleep through 2 hormones – Ghrelin and Leptin. “Ghrelin is a hormone that serves to inform you when the time to eat. And if lack of sleep, you’ll have a lot of ghrelin. As leptin is a hormone that tells you to stop eating. And when you lack sleep, leptin in your body just a little, “he explained. If the hormone ghrelin in the body more than leptin, it would be related to weight. “You’ll eat more, but that the metabolism will slow when you lack sleep,” -Breus.

2. Diabetes – Yes, sleep deprivation causes Diabetes. The main reason here is our body would have more insulin resistance due to lack of sleep. Our body needs insulin to maintain low glucose content in our body. Sleeping for only 7.5 hours or less makes our body slow or even non-responsive. So, after eating our meals/snacks, our sugar level increases but there is not enough insulin to lower it down. Worse, we tend to eat more because lack of sleep makes us hungry as I’ve stated in number 1. (based from scientists’ research)

3. Heart Disease – Sleeping less than 7.5 hours every night provides 33% higher rate of cardiovascular diseases. Lack of sleep raises Cortisol levels that causes inflammation resulting to plaques to be dislocated. Once these dislocated plaques ruptures, they can block blood vessels in the heart or brain leading to stroke or heart attack. Sleeping less than 7.5 hours every night provides 33% higher rate of cardiovascular diseases.

4. Stress – People who lacks sleep produces more cortisol or stress hormones. Thus, lack of sleep affects the way you think resulting small problems to be more stressful and you tend to panic a lot which is really deadly. Stress is, indeed, one of the top killers on earth and should really be avoided.

5. Mental Disorder – Study shows that the activity of the part of the brain that is responsible for emotional reaction called Amygdala is 60% higher than the people having enough sleep. “It’s almost as though, without sleep, the brain had reverted back to more primitive patterns of activity, in that it was unable to put emotional experiences into context and produce controlled, appropriate responses,” said Matthew Walker of the University of California Berkeley, who led the study.

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How to Stop Coughing During Your Sleep

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010


Seasons are changing and the allergens are filling the air. Many people that suffer from seasonal allergies are starting to experience the uncomfortable and annoying coughing and sneezing that comes with each change of season. While coughing and sneezing during the day when they are awake is annoying, coughing when they are trying to sleep can cause much more than a slight irritation.

It is recommended that we get between seven and ten hours of sleep each night to completely recharge our minds and bodies. If that sleep is interrupted by an irritating cough then we wake feeling like we didn’t get enough rest or that we did not sleep at all. The good thing is that there are some proven remedies that can help with that annoying cough.

One remedy is one that has been passed down from generation to generation. It requires that you prop your head up higher than your body when you sleep. Sometimes the cough is caused by the sinuses draining down your throat as you try to sleep. If you head is elevated then the drainage does not pool in the back of your throat as much and it reduces the amount of coughing that is necessary. Your body is simply trying to remove the blockage that has formed in your throat.

Using a humidifier in your bedroom is also a great solution. For some people, the coughing at night comes from having a dried out throat. If you use a humidifier in the bedroom as you try to sleep, the air will be moister and you will have a much easier time reducing the cough as you try to sleep. If you have congestion as well, find a humidifier that has a cup or container attached to put some menthol gel. The smell of the menthol is really effective to help with congestion.

You may find that you do not cough as much during your sleep if you are lying on your sides, versus your back. When you lay on your back you are putting additional pressure on your lungs and it often times makes it more difficult to breath. If you are able to take deeper breaths then you are sure to get a more restful night of sleep.

One last tip would be to keep a glass of water next to your bed as you sleep. If you are having trouble sleeping due to a cough, getting a cool drink of water may just do the trick. Be sure that you are using water for your mid night drink. If you use a liquid that is full of sugar, like tea or soda, you will likely be compounding the problem and will find that you have an even more difficult time sleeping.

Getting a good night of sleep is very important in both our work lives and our home lives. Being grumpy because you spend the entire night trying not to cough long enough to just get a few minutes of sleep can lead to a very grumpy mood or even an inability to concentrate. Take all the precautions necessary to reduce the coughing while you sleep. You will surely be better off in the morning if you are able to control it.

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Thousands of Others Have Learned to Sleep Better Using Meditation – Why Not Join Them?

Monday, August 23rd, 2010


For thousands of years meditation has settled the minds of countless people, you can get a huge range of benefits, reduce your stress and sleep better. Here’s a few tips to get you started:

1. Find a method that works for you

So, lots of people out there tend to get a bit confused by all the options when it comes to meditating. Is transcendental better then vipasana. Or would a guided meditation on tape be better than a class where you get in touch with your spirit guide!!!

It’s all a bit confusing, especially if you’ve never done any sort of meditation before, so the best place to start is somewhere that you’re comfortable. If you don’t feel completely comfortable with what you’re doing then, it’s going to limit the benefit that you get.

Have a look around and do a bit of research and see what fits for you. But don’t use this as an excuse not to do anything! The health and psychological benefits of meditation are undeniable so keep in mind that any type will give you most if not all of the benefits that you’re after

2. Make a specific time and place

This is something that many people overlook and it makes a really big difference to your meditation practice. By having a time and a place you make it much easier to develop a habit of doing it daily and you can find a time that is unlikely to be interrupted and a place that you shouldn’t be disturbed. After all not many people can see someone sitting quietly with their eyes closed without coming up and asking what on earth you’re doing!

And it’s not like you need to have a whole room set aside to meditate in (although that’s great if it’s possible) often a good compromise is to have a corner of a generally quiet room and if you have a mat or something like that to meditate on, have it set up there. Even if you can only use the space while you’re actually meditating and can’t stake a claim to it all day, just having a spot makes it easier to meditate and will help to put you in a relaxed state as your mind knows what is going to happen when you sit down here.

A good time to meditate is early in the morning, it’s quiet and there’s not so many interruptions. Also it’s a great way to start your day with a nice calm outlook, making it easier to deal with the stresses of the day. On the other hand, mediation just before going to sleep is a great way to relax and unwind, and drop off in no time. About the only place you really don’t want to have your meditation space is in your lazy boy, in front of the TV – that’s just asking for trouble!

3. Some physical exercise before it

This one isn’t essential but it can really help. If you’ve ever done a yoga session and meditated at the end of it you’ve probably noticed that your mind tends to be much quieter than normal. Part of this effect is simply that you’ve been focusing on your body, not thinking random thoughts. Going for a jog before you meditate can help to give you a greater calm and make a space for your meditation.

4. Don’t get frustrated by an apparent lack of progress

Often we start meditating and it feels great for a little while, but then we feel that we’ve stopped and aren’t moving. This is a very common and normal experience and the trick is to be aware of what it is and that it doesn’t matter. Every time you meditate from the very first time, you’re doing good things. Your mind is stilling and your body is relaxing. Even if you’ve had a horrible day, a session of meditation will do wonders for you.

Progress in terms of calming your mind and spiritual awakening is a subtle process and often has plateaus followed by bursts of rapid unfolding. IT seems like the work is often happening far below the level of your awareness and then a great bubble just pops up and you realize that the consistent effort has been paying enormous dividends even if you weren’t aware of it

5. Utilize technology with binaural audios

Now many purists would have an issue with bringing technology into something as low tech as meditation, but each to his own I say. Why not take advantage of the availability of advanced brainwave research to combat the onslaught of stressful situations that are also present in our every day lives. The world has changed and we can’t all spend our lives as a hermit and spend 5 hours a day meditating. Although this would be great, few people have the slightest chance of doing that in our modern world.

So if you can only spend half an hour in the evening after the kids are in bed, wouldn’t it make sense to get the most that you possibly can out of that time? And a little trick that has been researched and is obvious from personal experience is that when you use these technologies, your unassisted meditations are improved!

The brain gets used to a being at a certain level of activity and when you are mediating in the normal sense it is easier to reach a state of deep meditation if you’ve been at that level before. So apart from philosophical arguments, there’s no denying that using binaural audio’s to give you a deeper meditative experience has no real down sides at all

Settling your mind with meditation is an incredibly effective way to sleep better. Stop the thoughts that keep you awake at night and find peace in your everyday life. I hope these tips help you sleep soundly from now on.

If you want to sleep better, then meditation could be the answer you’ve been looking for. Using binaural technology, you can get all the benefits of years of meditation at the press of a button, check out this site for more information http://www.howtomeditate.biz