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Excerpt from “How to sleep without pills”

Mr. S. was the account executive of a big advertising agency. His day consisted largely of a series of conferences, all of which both he and the agency considered at least as important as a convocation of the United Nations. At night there was a client to entertain or a client’s radio or television show to listen to and worry over. By the time Mr. S. was in bed he was so tense that he tossed half the night, rehashing the day’s work, reconsidering his decisions, and in general, making himself as unfit as possible to do a good day’s work the next day.

Thousands of business executives take their work to bed with them, believing that with a little midnignt mulling, difficult problems will suddenly solve themselves. Occasionally this may happen, but it can’t happen if you make a habit of taking your work to bed with you, if you toss and turn, fruitlessly considering decisions in a state of tension, and finally become panicky and fail to get enough sleep.

SOLUTION

Worrying over your work night and day won’t make you richer, but it may make you die sooner. It’s even bad economics. For example, a $100,000-a-year executive who dies fifteen years prematurely has lost $1,500,000. Isn’t it good business for such a man to ask himself whether his nightly wrestling with his work is going to net him an extra $1,500,000?

Mr. S. once believed that taking his work to bed was necessary to his career. By the time he came to me he wanted to break this habit, but couldn’t.

His first step was to learn that sleep really begins at 8:00 a.m. If you are tense all day, you will be tense at night and pay the penalty of being unable to sleep. Mr. S. had to be taught to relax during the day.

At first he protested that this was impossible. But he had been thinking in terms of free hours, when all he needed was free minutes. I taught him the ABC Round Robin, and later the Sleep Exercise. It took him three weeks to master the Round Robin to the point where he could feel himself relaxing physically.

When a conference was over, instead of rehashing the discussion with his secretary and his colleagues at the water cooler, he closed his office door and consciously relaxed with the Round Robin. He did this right in his swivel chair, making himself comfortable by propping his feet up on the desk. After the Robin he did the Sleep Exercise. Just before he went to sleep (right at his desk) he said to himself, “I will awaken in exactly fifteen minutes. When I awaken in fifteen minutes, I will feel completely relaxed and refreshed.” Mr. S. found that he could learn to sleep in a matter of seconds and wake up at exactly the time he set for himself.

Once he could make himself relax consciously during the day, he found he hardly needed the Round Robin and the Sleep Exercise to put him to sleep at night. Not only will Mr. S. live longer now that he has learned to relax and sleep at night, but he is doing better in his business and getting more out of life.

SUMMARY

To sleep when your work is on your mind:

Learn and master the Round Robin and the Sleep Exercise.

Make it a definite point to relax during intermissions in your day’s work. Make yourself comfortable at your desk and then put yourself to sleep with the Round Robin and the Sleep Exercise. If before you drop off to sleep, you give yourself a set time to sleep—say fifteen minutes—you will find that you will awaken in that exact time. So don’t be afraid of oversleeping.

When you have mastered the Round Robin and the Sleep Exercise and made a habit of relaxing during the day, you will sleep well at night. Not only that, but there will be little likelihood of your dropping dead from hypertension when you are in your fifties, as do many men who have never learned to make themselves relax.

From Lost Manuscripts Library

http://www.sleepsecrets.info

About The Author

ABC Round Robin and Sleep Exercise and more are included in “How To Sleep Without Pills”

http://www.sleepsecrets.info

To Download 2 Free Chapters from “Learn While You Sleep” just send blank email to sleepexit@film.par32.com

Mike Slawomir Cecotka – Publisher

Click Here To Find Out How you can finally wave insomnia goodnight without resorting to sleeping pills!

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Once you detect the early signs of insomnia like “not being able to sleep”, you need to look further and take extra precautionary measures to avoid the worsening of the problem. You can completely complicate your system by neglecting it and, although insomnia may start with very simple symptoms, it may progress into a deadly situation very quickly.

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, however. There are still some very simple and minor symptoms of insomnia which can definitely be treated fast without taking any drug medications. Oftentimes we find there is nothing to worry about. Still, this is something that must be determined according to the other possible symptoms that would indicate a more serious problem.

Here’s how to determine if your problem with “not being able to sleep” is actually more serious than you thought. Have somebody watch you at night when you are sleeping. Have them examine your breathing patterns and look to see if you seem to be struggling at night to get a good, full breath. Are you snoring at night or having any strange sounds coming from your nose? This could indicate a problem with your breathing which is the cause of a more serious disorder known as sleep apnea. Similarly, are you having a prolonged period of days or even weeks where you generally seem sluggish and in a bad mood? Are you without energy almost all the time? Prolonged periods that stretch beyond two or three weeks can also indicate a more serious disorder that should be examined by a professional.

Some sleep problems are just due to certain changes in the body, including hormonal changes that affect the pattern of an individuals sleep. Oftentimes medications can complicate these problems and compromise the sleep activity of a person. The daily routine and the food that a person eats are also things that can contribute to more mild cases of insomnia but these conditions should also be watched because, in combination with a personal tragedy or other psychological problem, they can lead to more serious cases of stress or depression that bring about a more serious case of insomnia.

Once the simpler symptoms begin to occur on a regular basis or begin to build up and overtake the person, it is time to see a doctor. These symptoms may build up so that you experience total difficulty in falling asleep almost everyday and early morning awakenings with a constant desire to sleep during the day. It may also take you a couple of hours to get back to sleep and you may be feeling a bit irritated and full of anxiety most of the time. These compounding symptoms deserve a little bit of extra attention and may indicate a more serious case of insomnia.

Although it is very normal for individuals to have any one or two of these symptoms, experiencing all of them constantly may indicate a more serious disorder. The disorder can be fatal because it can lead to accidents in traffic or just around the house, such as in the case of household appliances that are left “on” and wouldn’t normally be neglected if a person were fully alert and aware of their surroundings.

When you are experiencing even some little signs, take some quality time to think whether you are having a normal case of sleeplessness or not. You might be suffering from insomnia and need to go discuss it with your doctor. It’s better to be safe than sorry and then you can rest assured that everything is going to be just fine.

About The Author

Gary M. Miller

Over 70 Million people in the USA suffer from some kind of Sleep Disorder! There are actually hundreds of ways to improve your sleep but the first thing that is needed is to raise more awareness! If you want to sleep better tonight , you can visit this information Sleep Aid Web Site that is packed with FREE information: http://www.Sleep-Aid-Solutions.com

Click Here To Find Out How you can finally wave insomnia goodnight without resorting to sleeping pills!

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Westchester, Ill. –A study in the April 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine suggests that sleep problems lead to increased pain and fatigue in cancer patients. The results indicate that interventions aimed at trouble sleeping would be expected to improve both pain and fatigue in this patient population.

Results show that more than half the sample reported having trouble sleeping, with 26 percent reporting moderate or severe trouble sleeping. Compared with patients who reported no trouble sleeping, patients with moderate to severe trouble sleeping reported significantly more fatigue, pain and depressed mood. Using structural equation modeling analysis to evaluate causal relations and directions of effect, the best-fitting model indicates that trouble sleeping led to increased ratings of pain.

According to the authors, the relationship between pain and sleep often has been assumed to be reciprocal. In the present study, however, a model of reciprocal causation could not be fit to the data, and models in which pain caused trouble sleeping did not fit as well as the model in which trouble sleeping caused pain.

“We believed we would find a bi-directional relationship between insomnia and pain, but instead found that trouble sleeping was more likely a cause, rather than a consequence, of pain in patients with cancer,” said lead author Edward J. Stepanski, chief operational officer at the Accelerated Community Oncology Research Network in Memphis, Tenn.

The study included demographic, clinical and patient-reported outcomes data from 11,445 cancer patients undergoing treatment at the West Clinic, a large community oncology practice in Memphis. Participants had an average age of 61.5 years, and 74 percent were female. Breast cancer was the most common form of cancer, and about 25 percent of study subjects had received chemotherapy in the last 30 days. Increases in depressed mood also led to increased ratings of pain.

Younger age and recent administration of chemotherapy were both associated with increased trouble sleeping. According to the authors, younger patients often receive more aggressive chemotherapy than older patients; therefore, younger patients may be exposed to more treatment-related toxicity.

Stepanski stated that several studies have shown that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) improves sleep in cancer patients who have insomnia. He believes that this type of intervention may decrease patients’ pain and fatigue by improving their sleep.

More information is available from the AASM about sleep and breast cancer at http://www.sleepeducation.com/Article.aspx?id=1076 and about cognitive behavioral therapy at http://www.sleepeducation.com/Treatment.aspx?id=5.

The Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine (JCSM) contains published papers related to the clinical practice of sleep medicine, including original manuscripts such as clinical trials, clinical reviews, clinical commentary and debate, medical economic/practice perspectives, case series and novel/interesting case reports. In addition, the JCSM publishes proceedings from conferences, workshops and symposia sponsored by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine or other organizations related to improving the practice of sleep medicine

For a copy of the study, “The Relation of Trouble Sleeping, Depressed Mood, Pain, and Fatigue in Patients with Cancer,” or to arrange an interview with an AASM spokesperson, please contact Kelly Wagner, AASM public relations coordinator, at (708) 492-0930, ext. 9331, or kwagner@aasmnet.org.

AASM is a professional membership organization dedicated to the advancement of sleep medicine and sleep-related research. As the national accrediting body for sleep disorders centers and laboratories for sleep related breathing disorders, the AASM promotes the highest standards of patient care. The organization serves its members and advances the field of sleep health care by setting the clinical standards for the field of sleep medicine, advocating for recognition, diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders, educating professionals dedicated to providing optimal sleep health care and fostering the development and application of scientific knowledge.

Technorati Tags: insomnia, insomnia help, insomnia treatment, stop insomnia

If you are someone who regularly takes sleeping pills to get a good night’s sleep, here’s a question for you – have you ever considered trying natural cures for insomnia? If you haven’t, you should definitely consider trying them. There are some very good homeopathic remedies available to treat insomnia and you’ll be surprised to know that they are far more effective and safer than the sleeping pills you take.

First of all, you should know that insomnia is not as bad as you think. It is not a disease, but a symptom of a sleeping disorder. Usually, people do not get a good night’s sleep when their mind is preoccupied with something. It’s a psychological, rather than a physical problem. The leading causes of insomnia are anxiety, stress and depression. Physical exhaustion can be another reason, but this is usually only temporary. When your physical system heals itself and you are fully rested, your natural sleep rhythm will re-establish itself. So, basically, the reason for insomnia is a psychological one. There are perfectly good natural insomnia cures available to treat this problem.

Natural homeopathic blends are completely non habit forming, unlike sleeping pills. You can take them over the long term or until your sleep pattern returns to normal – wake pattern. These cures usually contain herbal extracts which can relax your body and mind and help you get a good night’s sleep. Homeopathic remedies can be safely taken over the longer term as they have no side effects. If you take sleeping pills on a regular basis for any length of time, you’ll experience withdrawal symptom when you try and stop. With these natural cures for insomnia, you do not have to worry about all these problems.

The biggest difference between natural remedies and sleeping drugs is the way they work in the body. While the pills have a sedative action, the natural remedies actually calm the mind and provides a permanent solution. In short – natural insomnia cures are typically better and, more importantly, safer than sleeping pills.

Now, you might have a question – why homeopathy in particular? It’s a good question. There is a significant reason for choosing homeopathic remedies. To start with they are safe, being almost completely free from side effects. You cannot say the same about other types of natural remedies. Even herbal remedies are not quite as safe as homeopathy.

Herbal remedies tend to react with other medications and can cause some serious side effects. However homeopathic medications may safely be taken with any other type of medication. They do not interact or react in any way. This is why homeopathy is widely considered to be the correct option when treating insomnia.

Sleep is one of the most important factors that determine your health. But what is even more important is that you should make sure you sleep normally without seeking the help of sleeping pills. Natural medications are safer and more effective. The results speak for themselves. So consider relaxing your body and mind by changing to natural cures for insomnia. You’ll sleep better and, above all, stay healthier.

By: Wendy Owen

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Are you having trouble sleeping, but don’t want to take sleeping pills? Pills are not a cure for insomnia and may even make it worse. Reclaim your natural sleep pattern and you health at Rebound Insomnia Wendy Owen (HH Dip) is a holistic health therapist and sleep researcher with an extensive knowledge in homeopathic and herbal remedies

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Vedic description of insomnia

The best description of the causes and treatment of insomnia comes from Vidura Niti a dialogue between Vidura and Dhritasashtra, said Dr KK Aggarwal President Heart Care Foundation of India and Director IMAAKN Sinha Institute. .

Vidura said: “Sleeplessness overtakes thief, a lustful person, him that has lost all his wealth, him that has failed to achieve success and him also that is weak and has been attacked by a strong person”.

He therefore described five basic reasons for insomnia and even in today’s science they are true. No new cause has been added in this list of stress induced insomnia.

The situations are:

1. A thief

2. A lustful person

3. A person who has lost all his wealth

4. A person who has failed to achieve success

5. A person who is weak and has been attacked by a strong person.

Ayurveda describes sleeplessness as an aggravation of vata & pitta dosha. The number one cause of the same is mental tension; suppressed feelings & acute bitterness. The above five situations again hold true to this effect.

Apart in allopathy other causes of insomnia mentioned are constipation; dyspepsia; excessive intake of tea, coffee & alcohol and environment Factors-excessive cold, heat or change of environment. They are in most of the situations the effect and not the cause of insomnia.

The treatment of insomnia involves either suppressing the emotions with drugs or root level eradication of stress with proper counseling.

Bhagwad Gita, Chanakya Nitiu and Vidu Noti are all the high level counseling books of ancient era and provide texts and sutras even true today. Bhagwad Gita was a counseling when Arjuna went in an acute anxiety state and was not being able to decide whether or not he should fight with his near ones. He said: my legs are trembling, my bows are leaving me, by body is shaking, what should I do”. The principles of Gita today are incorporated as the principles of Bhagwad Gita and they are minimal 18 counseling sessions, second and last session the longest, in the first session only listen, reassure the person repeatedly.

Chanakya again gave principles of how to manage conflicts and win over others by way of different principles. One of his main teachings was that money earned by unfair means can only last for eight years.

Here are some of the sutras of Vidura Niti

Do not inhabit a surrounding where you are not respected, cannot earn your livelihood, have no friends, or cannot acquire knowledge. (1.8)

Do not reveal what you have thought upon doing, but by wise counsel keep it secret, being determined to carry it into execution. (2.7)

Consider again and again the following: the right time, the right friends, the right place, the right means of income, the right ways of spending, and from whom you derive your power. (4.18)

A wise man should not reveal his loss of wealth, the vexation of his mind, the misconduct of his own wife, base words spoken by others, and disgrace that has befallen him. (7.1)

One of the answers to insomnia is learning meditation as described in Patanjali Yoga Sutra or Yoga Vashistha. It is based on the principle of concentrating on the present, which shifts the inner environment from sympathetic to para sympathetic mode. 20 minutes of meditation morning and evening provides the same biochemical benefit as gathered from 7 hours of deep sleep

Technorati Tags: insomnia, insomnia help, insomnia solutions, insomnia tips, vedic solution for insomnia

By Joe and Teresa Graedon King Features Syndicate
March 29, 2009, 5:32PM

The old wives have just been proven right again. They always claimed that if you wanted to stay healthy, you needed to get a good night’s sleep. That was usually defined as about eight hours.

In our modern, fast-paced lives, many of us act as if this advice were a quaint relic of a bygone era. And with the downturn in the economy, money worries have many people tossing and turning. A recent survey by the National Sleep Foundation found that one in five Americans gets less than six hours of sleep a night.

Only about one-fourth of us follow grandmother’s advice to get at least eight hours of shut-eye. Scientists are confirming, though, that ignoring the old wives’ wisdom may have negative consequences for our health.

Researchers at the University at Buffalo recently reported to a conference of the American Heart Association that people who habitually get less than six hours of sleep nightly are at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

The investigators measured fasting blood glucose levels in volunteers. The participants were queried about their workweek sleep habits. After six years, fasting blood glucose was measured again. Those who got less than six hours of sleep daily were more likely to have higher levels of blood sugar, a condition that can lead to diabetes.

This isn’t the first study suggesting that inadequate sleep might be linked to a higher risk of blood sugar problems. In 2005, researchers reported that either too little or too much sleep was associated with diabetes (Archives of Internal Medicine, Apr. 25, 2005).

Blood sugar control isn’t the only problem associated with sleep disturbances. Other research has shown that cardiovascular complications are more common when people don’t sleep well.

But wait, there’s more. The immune system also seems to be sensitive to sleep time. A recent study revealed that subjects who averaged less than seven hours of sleep a night were roughly three times “more likely to develop a cold than those with eight hours or more of sleep” (Archives of Internal Medicine, Jan. 12, 2009).

Other health hazards associated with too little sleep include depression, heart disease and weight gain. This may be part of a vicious cycle, since obesity can contribute to sleep apnea, which in turn contributes to insomnia and heart disease.

With so many people sleeping poorly, it is hardly any wonder that the pharmaceutical industry promotes pills for insomnia. Drugs like Ambien (zolpidem) and Lunesta (eszopiclone) are very popular, but they do have side effects.

To learn more about the pros and cons of sleeping pills and many nondrug approaches to overcoming insomnia, readers of this column may wish to review our new Guide to Getting a Good Night’s Sleep. Anyone who would like a copy, please send $3 in check or money order with a long (No. 10), stamped (59 cents), self-addressed envelope to: Graedons’ People’s Pharmacy, No. I-70, P.O. Box 52027, Durham, NC 27717-2027. It also can be downloaded for $2 from our Web site: www.peoplespharmacy.com.

Exercise during the day, a hot bath an hour before bedtime and dietary supplements such as melatonin or magnesium may help many people relax and get the sleep they need to stay healthy.

Technorati Tags: better night sleep stop insomnia, insomnia, insomnia help

March 25, 2009

From Submitted Reports

One-third of Americans are losing sleep over the state of the U.S. economy and other personal financial concerns, according to a new by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) and Cardinal Sleep Disorder Centers of America. The poll suggests that inadequate sleep leads to unhealthy lifestyles and negatively impacts health and safety.

NSF’s Sleep in America poll reveals striking disparities in the sleep patterns, health habits and quality of life between healthy and unhealthy Americans. Those in good health are two-times more likely than those in poor health to work efficiently, exercise or eat healthy because they are getting enough sleep.

The number of people reporting sleep problems has increased 13 percent since 2001. In the past eight years, the number of Americans who sleep less than six hours a night jumped from 13 percent to 20 percent, and those who reported sleeping eight hours or more dropped from 38 percent to 28 percent.

"The results of the poll point out that it is more important than ever for people to make sleep a priority, as it affects health and daytime functioning," said Dr. Robert Aronson, medical director at Cardinal Sleep Centers. "Sleep is not expendable, and Americans should focus on keeping a regular schedule and allowing enough hours for sleep."

About 40 percent of Americans agree that sleep is as important as diet and exercise to overall health and well-being, yet only 32 percent of Americans who report sleep problems discuss them with their doctor.

"Sleep is so obvious that it is often overlooked, even by physicians," said Dr. Woodie Kessel, assistant surgeon general and a member of the 2009 Sleep in America poll task force. "Sleep is as fundamental as diet and exercise to human health."

Lack of sleep is creating a major public safety problem as well — drowsy driving. The 2009 poll finds that more than one-half of adults (54 percent) — potentially 110 million licensed drivers — have driven when drowsy at least once in the past year. Nearly one-third of drivers polled (28 percent) say that they have nodded off or fallen asleep while driving a vehicle.

Two out of every 10 Americans sleep less than six hours a night. People sleeping too few hours report being too tired to work efficiently, to exercise or to eat healthy. Nearly 40 percent of these Americans sleeping too few hours have driven when drowsy at least once a month in the past year, and nearly 90 percent report symptoms of insomnia at least a few nights a week in the past month.

Daytime sleepiness and drowsy driving are often signs of a potentially dangerous sleep disorder. According to Aronson, "people who snore loudly and who are witnessed to stop breathing at night, and who are obese, could be suffering from underlying sleep apnea."

As experts predict that the U.S. economic situation may worsen, the National Sleep Foundation encourages Americans to maintain good sleep, exercise and diet routines to help combat anxiety and improve health and productivity. People should speak with their doctor if they are experiencing sleep problems or call Cardinal Sleep Centers at (888) 740-5700 for more information.

The 2009 Sleep in America poll was conducted for the National Sleep Foundation by WB&A Market Research using a random sample of 1,000 adults at least 18 years of age who were interviewed by telephone between Sept. 22, 2008, and Oct. 30, 2008. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percent.

Technorati Tags: insomnia, insomnia help, Insomnia's negative effects

By Cindy Pan and Leah Hechtman

March 22, 2009 12:00am

DIFFICULTY in falling asleep is a fairly common problem with around one in five people suffering from poor quality or quantity of sleep at some point in their lives.

To re-establish healthy sleep habits try to wake up at the same time each morning, avoid napping and go to bed around the same time every night. Minimise caffeine intake, especially after 4pm.

Excessive alcohol can also cause sleep disruption and decreased deep sleep.

Avoid exercising or eating large meals in the hours before bed and try to establish a regular bedtime routine that helps you wind down, such as having a bath or listening to soothing music.

Sleeping pills should be avoided as far as possible, so talk to your doctor first about whether short term or occasional use of sleeping medication would be appropriate in your case. – Dr Cindy Pan

The vicious cycle of insomnia is awful. Insomnia is often the end stage of longstanding exhaustion and stress, and indicates the body needs repair.

The first priority is to establish a regular sleeping routine. Literally forcing yourself to wake at the same time each day will promote regulation of your sleep-wake cycle.

Even though it is hard at first, get up at sunrise and go for a walk!

Avoid foods that contain tyramine, such as citrus fruits, red wine, cheese and chocolate, as well as alcohol, caffeine and tobacco.

Foods rich in the amino acid tryptophan, such as turkey and tuna, help induce sleep. Useful herbal remedies include chamomile, valerian and passionflower. – Leah Hechtman

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WELLINGTON: Can’t get to sleep? Well, then stay up, say researchers at Auckland University who have discovered a potential breakthrough treatment for insomnia

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