Sleep disorders are common and have a disabling consequence in the daily life. For example, they cause fatigue, low performance, social unrest, low morale and may cause traffic accidents or at work.

Perhaps the best known sleep disorder is insomnia, which we have all experienced at some time. Insomnia can be common in specific stressful situations (exams, health problems, major life changes, etc.), but it can become chronic and is not directly related to the problem that caused it. For us to  talk about insomnia as a disease or disorder, it should be common (3 or more nights a week). Indicators that you may be suffering from insomnia are to wake up before being resting six and a half hours or so, waking up several times during the night unable to sleep again for half an hour or to take more than half an to an hour to fall asleep at bedtime.

People can adopt practices that help minimize the incidence of sleep problems and promote a normal sleep. First of all there are a number of factors that affect sleep quality, such as the environment, exercise, diet or use of substances:

• 1. Substance abuse: It is well known that caffeine affects sleep, as it is a stimulant.. In fact we all have coffee associated with the “waking up”, not “sleeping”. Nicotine has a similar effect of stimulation. Furthermore, the alcohol produces an effect that may go unnoticed to most. Although it is a depressant and can provide you to fall asleep, the quality of sleep is worse, so you must avoid its misuse.
• 2. Environment: Our bodies need certain environmental noise, light, temperature and humidity suitable for sleeping. The temperature should range between 18 and 22 º C and humidity between 40 and 70%. Of course the light should be dim and we must prevent excessive noise.
• 3. Exercise: Although this depends on the intensity of the activity, it is recognized that physical exercise promotes sleep when conducted in the morning or late afternoon, while it can be negative if we do at it bedtime.
• 4.Diet: A diet rich in carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals increases the quality of sleep, whereas proteins promote wakefulness. Las comidas fuertes antes del sueño disminuyen su calidad. Heavy meals before sleep diminish their quality.

From this, we can have a set of guidelines to facilitate sleep:

• 1. Not to abuse substances such as coffee, tobacco or alcohol, especially before sleeping, and do not take sleeping drugs without medical supervision.
• 2. Dine a reasonable time before bed (2 to 3 hours before) and make sure the dinners are neither too scarce nor too abundant. Reduce fat foods and sauces. Eat the following foods that exert a sedative action. Apricots, garlic, cabbage, lettuce, apples, peachs and honey. Consume foods rich in vitamins A, B1, B6, D.
• 3. Create a habit of sleeping, lying up and waking up always at the same hour.
• 4. The bedroom should have the appropriate environmental conditions. The bed should be comfortable (neither too soft nor too hard). The conditions of temperature, light, humidity and noise must be controlled.
• 5. Exercise often, this is healthy in general, not just for sleeping. It is better if you exercise in the morning and do not wait for the last minute.
• 6. Avoid spending too much time awake in your bed, because we must ensure that the body does not get used to it.
• 7. As bedtime approaches try to wind down your mental and physical activity. For example, read something easy  and listen to  relaxing music, but do not watch action movies or play videogames.
• 8. After dinner drink a herbal tea of orange, Lime or a glass of hot milk
• 9.Aromatherapy:get a massage with the following sssential oils: Basil, Lavender, Chamomile, Torojil.
• 10. Phytotherapy: Valerian tea, lime tea.

Think about the importance of this, we spend third of our lives sleeping, is it not worth doing it in the best possible conditions?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 5th, 2009 at 2:19 pm and is filed under Alternative Medicine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.