Trouble Falling Asleep?
If you are having problems falling fast asleep or staying fast asleep all night, you are not alone. Most of us live through periods of insomnia at some point in our lives due to fatigue and hassle and a whole overload of work. Just put; we pack too much into each and every day.
Sleeping medications are the simplest cure for restlessness but not continually the best. This requires a visit with your medical doctor and a prescription; thus adding added tension to your previously busy agenda.
Today, the growing trend is to stay in touch and knowledgeable about all and by means of everyone all the time through mobile phones, the internet, TV etc. Centuries ago peoples lives were ruled by the seasons — thus less tension and less insomnia!
In those days, as the sun went downward, got dark, you basically couldn’t do something that necessitated light so you went to rest. By being able to watch television all night it is far too easy to stay up. Waking up becomes added difficult and you long for another hour or two in bed! How much slumber is adequate? What can advanced study tell us about the mysteries of sleep? Can rest be replaced by resting on the chaise longue?
Practically everyone, at some time or other, finds it intricate to fall asleep or to remain asleep through the whole night. A large amount of us overcome these bouts of wakefulness and are able to work normally again in a few of days. Regrettably, for others the difficulty can develop into severe restlessness. If this is you — there is help!
There are unlike types of cures for restlessness. First, however, you must understand what slumber is and also that wakefulness is not an illness in itself (using few exceptions). External factors:-
a) External — like drinking too much coffee (caffine).
b) Mental — focusing on anything too much so whilst not to be able to calm down.
First you have to determine what is causing the slumber blockage.
Rest Cycles, identified by up-to-the-minute sleep researchers, consist of several stages.
Stage 1: Light Sleep — The electrical goings-on in the brain slows down and the muscles commence to unwind. This generally lasts a few minutes and it is easy to arouse up.
Stage 2: Rapid Activity — The brain experiences rapid bursts of action.
Stage 3: Deep Slumber — The brain is experiencing slow wave activity.
Stage 4: Deeper Rest — The brain shows further slowing down of brain goings-on.
Stage 5: REM (Rapid Eye Movement) Slumber — Dreaming Sleep — The corpse experiences rapid eye actions under closed eyelids, increased brain activity and deep muscle relaxation.
After Stage 5 sleep we gradually drift into a light sleep again and the Rest Cycles repeat. One such Rest Cycle usually lasts about 90 minutes. It is quite difficult to awaken someone from a Deep Slumber and this Rest Cycle seems to be the single most vital.
There seem to be contradictory ideas on how much rest we actually need using the researchers coming to the conclusion that somewhere between 6 and 8 hours of slumber is normal; but there is quite a difference between individuals.
Also, as we change with age so do our requirements for slumber. So, the rule of thumb would seem to be that if you arouse up refreshed, you have had enough sleep! So have the remedies changed — some of the modern techniques include headphones and rhythmic sounds to synchronize the brain waves. Older remedies include ancient mind relaxation techniques such as meditation and yoga. It is thought that you can induce some very characteristic electrical brain wave activity by meditating your mind into relaxation.
Christiaan Janssens
CRO Akwa Wellness