Tag: Hard Time

Helping teenagers to get better sleep

With so many gadgets to play with and use and with so many parties to attend who would want to sleep? With so many distractions today, peopleespecially the younger ones or the teenagersare having a hard time to get better sleep. This should not be a problem but it goes to show how poor the quality of young people is today. Many of them do not perform well in school because they rarely get sleep due to all these distractions.

If you are one of those parents who are having problems that their teeners are not getting the right amount of sleep that they should have, here are some tips that you can share to them.

1. Ask them to cut out on too many caffeine intakes. If you are doing the grocery, then you should be the one who have taken out of the list the foods and drinks that contain caffeine such as coffee, chocolates, sodas and teas. But since you cannot monitor their routines outside your home, it is a must to remind them to cut out on these foods and drinks. You can do this by telling them the bad effects of caffeine not only in sleeping but in their overall health as well.

2. Tell them not to resort to alcohol as a “sleeping aid”. Many adults resort to alcohol to sleep fast. Since their bodies are much older, they can tolerate the effects of alcohol but this should not be the case among the younger ones. If you are a parent, try to tell your child that although alcohol may help him or her to fall asleep, it may cause disturbances that may lead to lesser quality of sleep. Aside from not really helping them to get better sleep, it may also affect their overall health and physical appearance since alcohol may cause early aging.

3. Teach them how to relax before their bedtime. Although this is much easier to do when they are toddler, parents should still try to teach their youngsters how to relax a bit when they are about to go to sleep. You can do this by spending time with the teener and talk about how he or she should handle the everyday stress either in school or in growing up. If the child is able to talk about these things before bedtime, he or she will have a peaceful sleep without thinking of so many things. You can also ask her or him to do relaxing activities such as reading a book or practicing yoga if you are not around to talk to.

4. Ask them to have regular exercise. If regular exercise helps older people to get better sleep at night, what more to the younger ones? Explain to your child the importance of having just the right amount of exercise in getting better sleep and achieving optimum health. To make it more effective, join your teener in doing regular exercises such as light jogging or brisk walking. If he or she sees that you are “walking your talk” there is greater chances for him or her to obey you.

5. Give enough hours for television or for Internet. For a teener to get better sleep, there should be less hours for him or her to spend watching TV programs or browsing the Internet. Since these two are major distractions, it is a must that parents restrict them with too much time on these activities so can sleep better at night.

Get better sleep the natural way

Some people are really born to have a hard time to get better sleep. While there are those who were able to develop this problem because of unhealthy practice. Either way, the problem still lies that one is having a hard time lulling into that good slumber.

The best way to go about it is that first, one needs to address the problem of sleeping. These include knowing the reasons why that person is having a hard time sleeping. The focus areas should include the personal issues, status at work, health conditions, and sleeping environment.

1. Personal issues. The may include stress factors that affect the overall emotional state of a person. If one if stressed by personal issues, it will be harder for him or her to get better sleep because that person is thinking too much. If it’s possible to address these problems and problems immediately, it would really help a person to get better sleep. If not, one should seek help from professionals so he or she can cope with the issues and will have better chance of getting sleep at night.

2. Status at work. Studies show that more and more people are having a hard time sleeping because of their status in work. With the overall global crisis that the world experiences now, it is only common for people to worry about their security. If you think that this is one factor that won’t let you get better sleep at night, then now is the right time to face it and be prepared for the worse. If you are prepared that no matter what happens, you will still have your job or you are confident that you can easily find one, then you will have peace of mind and will lead you to sleep better at night.

3. Health conditions. Some people are able to develop sleeping disorders without them knowing. These sleeping disorders are usually caused and triggered by so many factors. If you are having hard time sleeping and you think that the reasons are something that you can no longer control, then it is best to seek professional help.

4. Sleeping environment. This is also among the things that affect the overall sleeping state of a person. If you have bad sleeping environment, then the tendency of your body is to resist sleeping.

The natural way

In the market today, there are so many products and even medication that promise to help one get better sleep. But, these artificial substitutes may have a side effect. To avoid further complications, it is best to try sleeping techniques the natural way. Some may include routines that will only help you get better sleep but help improve your overall health as well.

The first thing that you could do is to develop and practice good sleep hygiene. These include eating the right foods that can help you sleep better and avoid those that affect sleeping patterns. It also includes having regular exercise and avoiding napping in the afternoon so you will sleep well at night. You may also want to develop a routine that will help you sleep better such as doing relaxing activities before your bedtime such as taking a warm bath, reading, or writing in your personal journal.

To get better sleep, you can also try soundproofing your room to avoid unnecessary noises, adjusting the lights so you will be more comfortable, getting into a comfortable sleeping position and practicing deep breathing to relax your senses.

How music helps you get better sleep

Music has been proven to improve a person’s life. For some, it is an outlet for their creative side. For others, it serves as a medium to express themselves. To some people, it serves as a source of their inspiration and hope while for others, music serve as their ultimate relaxing treat. But for people who battle out things just for them to get better sleep, music definitely is their best option.

People who are having problems to get better sleep are finding ways to get that most-coveted “treat”. Some try exercises while others resort to other alternative means such music. Why? because music itself can lull them into deep slumber when chosen properly.

The power of music

To be able to avoid the distraction brought by this simple sound, people who are having a hard time sleeping have found a way to fight it off using music. Of all the so many kinds of music out there, peopleespecially those who are just beginningare having a hard time choosing which one would suit the practice.

If you are one of those who would want to use music as a tool to get better sleep, here are some guidelines in choosing the music that may help you achieve that purpose:

– make sure that it doesn’t have lyrics. In choosing music that will help you get better sleep, it is always best to choose one that has no lyrics because it can only distract your concentration. If you find plain rhythm boring, try to play something that has lyrics that your dont understand so you dont have to think what the song is saying. Aside from distracting your thoughts through the words you understand, music with lyrics will also encourage you to sing along which will totally shatter your concentration.

– relaxing music with soft rhythm is always advisable. For starters, this type of music will do you good because it will help you clear your mind and focus on something. But, if want something better, you can choose music that have faster rhythm and beats or anything that your truly enjoy because this can no longer distract you.

– do some experiments. Although soft and relaxing music is always advisable, try to play other types of music. Who knows? You might find better concentration of you play something that you truly enjoy.

– try simple and soothing music is sure to focus your attention. If you dont have the luxury of time to experiment on types of music to be played during meditation, then try surefire hits, which are simple and soothing music. Some of these may include classical sounds, sounds from the nature such as clapping of thunder, sounds of big waves, sounds of insects, and the wind. Other alternative options may also include simple instruments including tibetan singing bowl, flute, sitar, and tamboura which are known to have meditative inducing qualities.

When choosing music that may help you get better sleep, it is very important to keep in mind that the type you should play must induce you to deep concentration and into deep sleep. You can download the music that you like from various sites in the Internet and burn in a CD. But if you burn have a portable MP3 player, it is best to upload the music there so you can listen to it anytime you to sleep.

How foods affect you to get better sleep

People who are busy with their work are usually the ones who are having problems in sleeping. This is because the exhaustion and their hectic schedule keeps them from getting better sleep on daily basis. If you are one of those who are having trouble sleeping due to too much work, it is now time to reflect what might be causing these and address it properly.

One of the things that hinder people from getting better sleep is the set of foods that they eat. This is because these foods might contain ingredients and other properties that can really affect the person’s chemical balance. If you think that the foods that you are eating affects you in getting better sleep, try assessing your food intake for one day.

What you can do is list down all the foodsincluding the drinksthat you have taken in for one day and make an assessment after that day. In this way, you can track down which are the foods and drinks you have taken affect your sleeping habits especially at night. The following are just some of the list of foods that might lead one to troublesome and uncomfortable sleeping at nighttime:

1. Too much food intake. This is considered as the major culprit why many peopleespecially those who dont have sleeping problems beforeare having a hard time sleeping all of a sudden. Experts say that if a person have overeaten, the tendency is that the stomach will have a hard time digesting it. Too much food may also affect the how the digestive system work and may even cause clinical conditions such as ulcer if done regularly.

2. Foods that contain too much fat. Experts say that people are eating foods that have too much fat are prone to not sleeping well at night because it creates a lot of digesting work for the stomach. If one wants to get better sleep, he or she should cut down on foods that are too rich or fatty so there will be lesser work for the stomach especially at nighttime.

3. Too much spicy or acidic foods. These sets of foods can very much affect one’s sleeping habits especially at nighttime. If one eats too many sets of spicy foods especially at night, it can lead to troubles in the stomach and even heartburn which makes it harder for you to lie down and get better sleep at night.

4. Too much alcohol intake. Some people say that alcohol may help one to get better sleep but on the contrary, it doesnt especially if he or she has taken too much of it.

5. Foods that contain caffeine. These are another set of culprits for people who are having trouble sleeping. If you are prone to not sleeping, it is best to avoid foods as well as drinks that have high caffeine content such as coffee, chocolates, sodas that are caffeinated as well as teas. To get better sleep, it is best to not consume these for a while. Or if you really cannot do without these, try minimizing your consumption even for a couple of days. Once you get your sleeping pattern back, you may go back to consuming these but only to limited content so you would not go back to having sleeping problems again.