| Sleeping patterns |
| It's strange, some of us can go to sleep persistently every night at a relatively early time taking about 5-10 minutes to go from perfectly awake to the first stage of sleep. Not only this, they tend to be the people who can wake up very smoothly and at an early time. |
| I myself, do not have this gift. I say 'gift' because sleep is very important. If you don't get enough sleep, expect the following: |
| There have been studies done that suggest that sleep deprivation can be detrimental to or decrease the function of our immune systems. Just think, how often was it that after many days of continual sleep deprivation did you start to think that you had a cold? Sleep deprivation can also result in a decrease in core body temperature, decrease in the release of growth hormone, and possible cause an increase in heart rate variability. Sleep also seems to be important in order for our nervous system to work properly. Without sufficient amount of sleep, our behaviour and our ability to do things are impaired. We feel drowsy and are unable to concentrate after not getting enough sleep. With enough sleep deprivation, it has been found that some begin to hallucinate and develop mood swings. Higher-ordered cognitive task become more difficult to do where it has been shown that tests that require speed and accuracy have lower results compared to those that are not sleep deprived. Judgment is also impaired; it has been tested that riskier behaviour is more likely to occur when sleep deprived. This is part of the reason why you should not drive when you are sleep deprived. Aside from the risk of falling asleep at the wheel, since judgment is impaired, you may make the wrong decision when driving that could cause an accident. |
| (experts recommend a minimum of 8 hours for under 16s and 6 for over 16s and) |
| But it's hard for me! |
| No-one is perfectly alike in this world. I myself, used to have to lay in bed for nearly 2 and a half hours average before I fell asleep. Most people however, aren't like that; though some are even worse (). |
| But why me! |
| Why? Well it can be for a very large number of different reasons. Maybe your going through a big emotional time (splitting up with your partner, moving house, a death of a close relative); maybe your just someone who likes to think allot and these thoughts keep you up more; maybe you keep taking naps earlier on in the day so your less susceptible to sleep; jet lag; physical discomfort in bed; stress; etc. |
| However, back then in my bad sleeping days, I was about 15-16 years old. The moment I'm typing this text I am 18. I now usually take just over 30 minutes - this is clearly much much better. |
| What's changed? |
| A lot of things to be honest. |
| I make my bed before I sleep in it. Heh, this may sound like your normal thing to do, but before I was sleeping in a big pile of sheets (to exaggerate slightly). This was uncomfortable and it distracted me from sleep more so. |
| When I was 15-16, I was under more of a distressing time than now. I was in a crappy little messy house (now I have moved into a much nicer one :)), my parents and sister were all more erratic than now, teachers at school treated me worse than they now do (as I'm not in compulsory education anymore, hence treated like more of an adult), people in school were nastier and I was being bullied to some extent by some (now that hardly exists), back then the relationship to the girlfriend I had was somewhat grievous (now I'm with someone else who I get along with a lot more), I was under less control over my own life then (before I was aching for more independence and now being over 18, I have this). |
| You could say, having a generally better life allows sleep to come more naturally. |
| Anything else? |
| Actually yes. I still am a person who is crap at falling asleep. The changes in my life have made it easier for me to fall asleep, but to fall asleep to a degree of ease, I needed some method to help me sleep. |
| I searched the internet. I came across all kinds of material for this, as you do. |
| This is a particularly good webpage to visit: www.helpguide.org/life/sleep_tips.htm |
| What is the technique now? |
| I don't drink any caffeinated drinks after 8pm. about an hour before I go to sleep I have a nice hot shower. I stretch afterwards then drink some warm milk. I then lay in bed and try to focus a point in my wardrobe or wall for a couple of minutes to help push away any distracting thoughts from my mind. Whilst I'm doing this I relax and let my body go and think about thoughts that are flowing, pleasant, and try not to make any sense out them. |
| One last thing, I may sure I am in perfect darkness - close the curtains fully, turn my digital clock round facing the wall and turn my computer and television fully off, so there are no stand-by lights on. Perfect darkness helps a person fall asleep and also it is most beneficial to sleep in darkness. |
| Doesn't that take a lot of effort? |
| It takes more effort than just doing what I wanted before sleeping, going to sleep whenever I wanted, and letting stressful thoughts run wild in my brain late at night. |
| But no, it doesn't really take much effort and the rewards are fantastic, because I can wake up early in the morning and without having to force myself. I feel more awake throughout the day, I'm more rejuvenated, etc etc etc. |
