Sleep aid tips about sleep remedy for information and remedies for your better sleep which may also cure any mild sleep disorder you may want a natural remedy for.
Sleep remedy basics:
Behavioral sleep remedies
Modifying your behavior and taking sleeping pills are both commonly accepted measures used to minimize certain sleep disorders.
As mentioned, certain behaviors can help your body better adjust to new time zones and surroundings.
Although there are no guarantees to a fast and sound sleep, simple adjustments in your behavior when traveling may help you get the quality of rest needed to start the day refreshed.
Sleep Remedy Aids
According to NSF's 2002 Sleep in America poll, 15% of the respondents reported using either a prescription sleep medication (8%) and/ or an over- the- counter (OTC) sleep aid (10%) to help them sleep at least a few nights a month.
While pills do not resolve the biological imbalance caused by jet lag, they may help manage short-term insomnia brought on by travel.
Be sure to discuss the use of sleeping pills with your doctor before you try them. Sleep medication can cause side effects.
Melatonin as a sleep remedy
One OTC product receiving a lot of attention lately is melatonin. Melatonin is a naturally secreted hormone in humans that affects the body's circadian rhythms.
There is some evidence that when administered during the day, melatonin increases the tendency to sleep, but at night, the amount of sleep is unaffected.
Currently, melatonin is largely available only in health food stores and is not regulated.
Therefore, melatonin is, at present, an experimental approach to sleep problems and travelers should consult their physicians before using it.
The Sleep Environment as a remedy
The most common environmental elements affecting sleep are noise, sleep surface, temperature or climate, and altitude.
Your age and gender also play a part in determining the level of sleep disturbance caused by these factors.
One study found that women are more easily awakened than men by sonic booms and aircraft noise, while other research indicates that men may be more noise sensitive.
Children are generally insensitive to extreme noise levels. However, this high threshold declines with age.
Noise can create sleep disorders
We have all experienced that dripping faucet, the barking dog or that blaring stereo next door that has kept us awake. Indeed, experts say the intensity, abruptness, regularity, intrusiveness, familiarity and regularity of noises all affect sleep.
Noises at levels as low as 40 decibels or as high as 70 decibels generally keep us awake. Interestingly, however, the absence of a familiar noise can also disrupt sleep.
City dwellers may have trouble falling asleep without the familiar sounds of traffic. Or a traveler may find it difficult to sleep without the familiar tick, tick, tick of the alarm clock at home.
Some noises, although annoying at first, can gradually be ignored, allowing sleep to follow. Studies show people can get used to noises such as city traffic in about one week.
However, important noises, like a parent's baby crying, a smoke alarm or even one's own name being called, are not easily assimilated and generally snap us awake.
Experts are also studying the ability of certain sounds to induce sleep. "White noise," such as caused by a fan, air conditioner, or radio static, can often block out unwanted noise and encourage sleep.
A comfortable Sleep Surface
Little research is available and not surprisingly on how much sleeping surfaces affect our slumber. For the most part, we know people sleep better when horizontal and not cramped by space.
As with noise, however, women and more mature people appear more sensitive to variations in sleep surfaces.
Comfortable and humid Temperature/Climate
The point at which sleep is disturbed due to temperature or climate conditions varies from person to person. Generally, temperatures above 75 degrees Fahrenheit and below 54 degrees will awaken people.
Altitudes
The higher the altitude, the greater the sleep disruption. Generally, sleep disturbance becomes greater at altitudes of 13,200 feet or more.
The disturbance is thought to be caused by diminished oxygen levels and accompanying changes in respiration. Most people adjust to new altitudes in approximately two to three weeks.
Some sleep remedy basics
After a whole day’s work, our body needs to rest and be reenergized for the toils of the coming day.
So it is essential to have an adequate amount of sleep every night. But difficulty falling or staying asleep remains a common problem for most people.
According to National Sleep Foundation surveys, about half of Americans reports sleep difficulty at least occasionally.
This results to a negative impact on concentration, productivity and mood.
So, read on to learn more about improving your chances of having a successful good night’s sleep.
1. Establish a regular routine. Maintain a regular routine that includes going to bed and getting up at the same time every day, even on days off work and on weekends.
2. To to bed when you are sleepy. If you are unable to fall asleep or stay asleep, leave your bedroom and engage in a quiet activity elsewhere. Try to read a book or watch some TV.
Return to bed when - and only when - you are sleepy.
3. Avoid stress and worries at bedtime. Certain activities, such as listening to soft music, reading, or taking a warm bath, can help you wind down.
4. Use your bedroom only for sleep and sex. Avoid doing other activities in bed like watching TV, paying bills, or working only serve to initiate worries and concerns. Let your mind associate the bed with sleeping, relaxing, and pleasure.
5. Avoid heavy meals late in the evening. While a light snack before bedtime can help promote sound sleep, avoid large meals.
6. Reduce caffeine and nicotine intake. Coffee contains caffeine, as do many teas, chocolate and cola drinks. Caffeine is a stimulant, which means it has an alerting or wake-up effect. Avoid those four to six hours before going to sleep.
7. Avoid drinking alcohol as well. Alcohol, in contrast, is often thought of as a sedative, a calming drug. However, while alcohol may speed the beginning of sleep, it actually increases the number of times you awaken in the later half of the night.
8. Lay off on tomato products and spicy foods. These give many people heartburn (as does eating too fast). Lying down makes heartburn worse, and heartburn itself makes falling asleep more difficult.
Heartburn also awakens sleepers with middle-of-the-night discomfort.
9. Avoid napping during the daytime. Avoiding naps all together will ensure that you are tired at night. Longer naps disrupt the body’ ability to stay asleep.
10. Maintain a dark, quiet and cool room to sleep in. Most sleep scientists believe that a slightly cool room contributes to good sleep.
That's because it matches what occurs deep inside the body, when the body's internal temperature drops during the night to its lowest level.
Also, keep your bedroom dark. Light - strong light, like sunlight - is the most powerful regulator of our biological clock.
The biological clock influences when we feel sleepy and when we are alert.