Sleep Sanctuary

Chapter 2: But I Am Not Tired… I Won’t Sleep!

by

 

 


A very important aspect of sleep deprivation that the world is facing
today, and probably a contributor to that as well, is our own
unwillingness to sleep.

We know that sleep is important; we even
know that if we do not sleep adequately, then it will create a lot of
problems for us in future, but we are still in denial and we do not give
this very essential part of our lives its due importance.

 

What is it that is making us not sleep? There are so many people who
are burning the midnight lamp for various reasons, but to what avail?
Are deadlines so important that we should lose sleep over them?

What effects can such a hazardous lifestyle have on our health?
In this chapter, we are going to see what makes people lose sleep.

We learn, through the concept of Circadian Rhythms, that our body is
made to behave in a particular way. The mechanism of our body
ordains that it should sleep, and the amount of sleep it gets should be
adequate.

But I Am Not Tired… I Won’t Sleep!

 

We all know if we are “morning” people or “evening” people. Many
people can jump out of bed easily in the morning, often without the
need for an alarm clock. At 9 pm in the evening they are ready to
sleep, their ability to focus and think clearly severely diminished.

Yet they may be married to someone who finds it extremely difficult to
get out of bed in the mornings, but at 9 pm at night they are awake
and produce their best quality work.

 

The difference between this pair is their biological clock that affects
what are called the Circadian Rhythms.

The hormone melatonin,which is produced in the brain in response to darkness, increases at night and is decreased during the day. Melatonin makes you feel
drowsy and reduces your body temperature.

Blood levels of the hormone are highest around midnight and levels gradually reduce in
the second half of the night.

 

Every individual has his or her own minor variation to this hormonal
response. This variation is the reason why some people feel sleepy
earlier than others. Age is also a contributing factor to our sleep
needs. 

 

The area that controls the production of melatonin also controls other
body functions such as blood pressure and urine production which
are reduced at night.

 

The wake sleep cycle is the rise and fall of melatonin and the response
of our body to its production or lack of production are the symptoms
we feel when we are tired and the alert feelings we have when we are.

Chapter 1: What’s So Good about Sleep Anyway?

by

 

It is best to understand why sleep is so important to us, especially in today’s day and age.

Our general health, has degenerated in recent times; that’s a fact no one can detract. Now, there are several reasons why, our health has taken a tumble.

We are moving away from nature and our own natural body patterns each day that we live.

Our food has become synthetic for its most part, the clothes that we wear, and most of the things that we use are not natural, at all, even our civilization itself, is completely away from, the rule book of nature.

It is for this reason that we are facing, so many health perils today. And, one of the most profound elements that is sordidly missing from our lifestyle, is a healthy sleep pattern.

In this chapter, we shall see why sleep is important to us.

Why is it important for us, to devote at least 7 to 9 hours of our day, to sleep? How does, sleeplessness or sleep deprivation, affect our lives? These are important questions to answer before we move along.

What’s So Good about Sleep Anyway?

Finding time to sleep in our busy schedules is extremely important for our health, and wellbeing.

Most people push the boundaries when it comes to sleep. We restrict the time, we allow, for sleep by going to bed progressively late, as we try to fit in the many different jobs that needs completion, each day.

We underestimate the importance of sleep. Without adequate sleep our bodies will react, and will be affected eventually.

It’s only recently, that we have begun to fully understand just how much our body needs sleep to function properly.

Most of the body’s normal activities rely on us having regular sleep, and an interrupted sleep pattern, can cause a significant stress, on our bodies.

Our nervous system, our digestive system, and the ability of our body to repair itself, are all dependent, on our sleep cycles being consistent and regular.

When we deprive our body of sleep, we inhibit, our brains ability to make decisions, our emotional responses to situations may be compromised, and even how we interact socially, may be affected.

Sleep is as necessary for our health, as eating and drinking. It has long been recognized that sleep deprivation, is an effective, torture tool.

Experiments using rats have revealed, that they their life expectancy is significantly reduced when, they are sleep deprived, under experimental conditions.

How much sleep a person needs, is dependent on, factors such as, age, and gender.

A pregnant women for example, may require more sleep than a non pregnant, woman of the same age group. and Children may require more sleep than, older adults, however, older adults, generally requires less sleep, than a younger adults.

The amount of sleep an individual needs is fairly consistent with their age group. A typical adult will require approximately 7-9 hours of sleep a night, to maintain optimum health and performance.

If we reduce that amount of sleep time over a series of nights, our body will eventually react, and we need to make up that time, usually in what is termed as, a “sleep in”.

However, even though, we know, we will sleep in on the weekend, our performance, during the working week, may be severely affected by our lack of sleep.

 

If we find ourselves excessively yawning, during the day, or finding it difficult to remember simple details, or make simple judgment calls correctly, it is possible we are suffering from sleep deprivation.

People take micro sleeps where they lose consciousness, for very short periods of time, without realizing it, leading to potentially dangerous situations.

Many road deaths, and, incidents at work have been directly traced, to insufficient sleep, the night before. With so many serious side effects, and consequences, of not sleeping, we should all be ensuring we schedule adequate sleep, into our daily lives.

 

http://sleepaid.easyabc.info/
http://www.storybook.jointventurebookpublishing.com/sleep/

111

by 4 Comments

Thanks. I am very glad that you have this support – it helps me a lot making this site.

It looks like it now is Arial, but I would like to ask you, if there is anywhere I can check which font is used in a specific element?

I miss a function in the visual composer where I can change font, fontsize and color (like text editing programs have and like the customizer) for each element I put on the page. Is it there in visual composer and I have missed it? Or do I have to change this with a custom CSS rule every time I want to change size, font and color? Right now I need to change those things in an ordinary text element.

Chapter 3: Does Counting Sheep Really Work?

by

 

A lot of people around us, people walking the face of the earth just as
we do, are deprived. They are deprived of sleep. Sleep is a natural gift,
but these people have taken their lives so far away from the rule of
nature that they have quite literally lost sleep.

However, sleep is something that we just cannot do without, isn’t it?

Even if people have been walking on the wild side where sleep is
concerned, a time comes when they try to call it back.

They want a healthy sleeping pattern to be formulated in their lives once again,
and most of these people are prepared to do several logical and
illogical things for it.

People try everything from meditation to medication; they try to

improve their breathing patterns, they try to imbibe new relaxation
methods within themselves… all this is an unending quest to call
sleep back into their nocturnal, and sometimes even diurnal, lives.

But, do these methods work? Can lost sleep be regained? This chapter
delves into such methods and reveals which of these sleep-inducing
methods work and which do not.

And, yes, also keep your eyes out to read about whether old wives’
tales like counting sheep work if you are looking for good sleep.

Does Counting Sheep Really Work?

Have you ever tried counting sheep in the hope it will help you sleep?
When you are feeling tired but you can’t sleep, it can be very
frustrating.

Approximately half of all people in the USA experience
trouble sleeping. In desperation, many of them try medications,
meditations; in fact, anything they can think of, to help them relax
and sleep. Do these techniques work and end the insomnia (inability
to sleep)?

Counting sheep sounds like “an old wives tale”. It can work, and
psychologists have shown that it probably works by focusing both
sides of your brain on the one subject, not giving you chance to think
about other things that keep your brain active.

Other people try medications. Most are supplied on prescription with
medical supervisions. There are two main types of “sleeping” tablets;
the tablets to help you fall asleep and others that will help you to stay
asleep.

Many people do notice an immediate improvement in their
sleeping patterns when they take medications, however the body
quickly develops a tolerance to them and they have a rebound effect
that has the opposite reaction to their intended use.

In other words, if you take sleeping tablets over a long period of time, it is probable you
will start to have insomnia problems even though you are taking the
medications.

http://sleepaid.easyabc.info/
http://www.storybook.jointventurebookpublishing.com/sleep/