SLEEP HACKS - HOW TO GET A GOOD NIGHTS SLEEP

When someone said that we spend almost half our lives sleeping, I was almost offended and immediately started to defend that - no, we don't. But later, when I started to really think and reflect on it, it seemed somewhat true. I counted my own hours of sleep - 10-11 hours ( I used to sleep much less earlier ); that'd be almost half the day of 24 hrs. So, if I'm a certain age now, then, yes indeed - almost half that age I've spent sleeping. Not just me, every creature in this world sleeps. A baby would sleep whole day infact baring the little time it wails for its feed. As it grows slowly, only then the sleep time reduces as it starts activities like play and interactions with other humans. As it becomes a child going to school, further, it's sleep reduces - but still average would be around 10-11 hours ( or maybe even more ), that he'd sleep. So, why do we sleep at all, when we've come to this world. Its like God designed it intentionally - and those who doesn't believe in God - lets say our body was designed to sleep. During day time, when sun is up - wake and do things; and once its night time, and sun disappears, we too need to retire for the day. But question remains - why sleep at all? Whats the greater purpose behind it. Is there anything related to health? Many science studies have said that proper sleep is important and have its benefits - and there's definately a purpose behind it; although, the whole process still remains somewhat a mystery and nobody has clear answers.


However, intense observation, research and studies show that sleep is important because it -

It rests your body and also, brain.

It freshens you up.

It rejuvenates you.

It heals you.

It repairs you internally.

It obliterates your bad memories or experiences.

It reduces your pain.

It conserves your energy.

It boosts metabolism.

It helps in new cell generation.

On the other hand, lack of sleep is dangerous to your body - it can lead to cell-degeneration, feeling bad/tired/fatigued/irritated the whole day, can lead to heart attack and escalate diseases like diebetes/cancer, and sometimes even death. Its said, when you don't sleep properly and new cell doesn't get generated then the existing cells in brains starts attacking each other which can result in ill-health and other cognitive problems. Over-sleep too however can have its drawbacks - affects metabolism and increase diseases.


Sleep Types : There are two types of sleep - rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and non-REM sleep, and we experience both in our entire sleep cycle several times through the night :

1. Non-REM sleep has two stages where in first stage its the zone between being awake and falling asleep. We may or may not see dreams in this time and most sleep paralysis or occult experiences happen in the light sleep that follows, when our breathing and heart rate regulates and body temperature drops. This is followed by deep sleep, when we don't see any dreams and it is when the body actually heals and is most important part of sleep cycle. The NREM lasts about two hours overall.

2 REM sleep is after the deep sleep state, and lasts about an hour or so and the eyes move rapidly behind closed eyelids. The breathing becomes irregular, and the body temporarily paralyzes to prevent acting out dreams. Both NREM and REM together is a sleep cycle that can last 2-3 hours each.



Try some of my tried and tested sleep hacks for a good nights sleep. They really work :-)

¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸ Avoid caffeine like coffee and tea in the evenings; also, strong drinks like alchohol. Instead, one can drink sleep inducing warm Chamolie tea or have a banana an hour before sleep. There's melatonin food or supplements to help if you have extreme sleep disorders. Avoid the blue light ( mobile/tv ) atleast 1 hour before sleeping. Take a light warm shower before going to bed, avoid cold baths. Don't keep any strong lights on. Dim light in a corridor is perfect. Dark is best. Use soothing soft sleep music or white noise ( optional ). You can take foam ear plugs if you don't like any noise. Relax your body when going to sleep. Drop your shoulders, hands on the sides, legs - all parts from tip to toe. Close your eyes and gently lift your eyebrows - it'll instantly lessen any tension. Don't do it forcefully. Slowly drop them. Relax your face. Take long breathes and take pauses of 5 secs between each. Try not to think of anything. If any thought comes just try to imagine a blank slate. Try counting mentally the numbers 1-7 slowly, and then backwards, taking pauses between each. Visualise a picture of nature, water body, hill, clouds or anything serene; and then, slowly try to blur it mentally ( its possible ). IMP Note : Never sleep with your head in north direction; also avoid west - north's magnetic pull can be dangerous and west sleep is not wholesome and you feel irritable and it takes longer to heal. Try south, and east is best to make you feel healthy and refreshed. Avoid alarm clocks. Try to wake up naturally. -: I try these often, and sleep like a log :-