Asleep

Rose knows that sometimes it takes hours to fall asleep every night. Can you remember the last time you had fallen asleep without tossing and turning? Not being able to go to sleep quickly is very wearisome only to leave you tired and restless the next day. The next day, if at all possible, you take a nap only to fall sleep for 2-3 hours and therefore staying up later at night because you’re not tired. Or not napping and becoming so overtired that it affects your daily activities such as having thoughts of falling asleep at the wheel while driving. The more you have trouble falling asleep, the longer it takes you. You need to establish a regular sleep pattern or routine to help you to fall asleep naturally.

If you can’t fall asleep I am sure you have felt how it affects you both mentally and physically. Indecisiveness or total lack of concentration on the job or being short of energy to run errands or take care/play with your children. There are also other side effect if you have a sleeping problem; depression, negativity, laziness, on edge and frustrated easily just to name a few.
It may be as simple as just turning off your mind and relaxing in order to fall asleep faster. If you cannot fall asleep because your mind is racing over pressures of everyday life

It may be that at the moment the pressures of everyday life for instance stressing about work or family problems. All of these emotions can easily get in the way with your ability to relax and therefore upset your sleep routine.

Other reasons you may have trouble falling asleep are; the temperature of your environment is too hot, you drank/ate something hot or spicy causing acid reflux or heartburn, noises around you, not dark enough, bed uncomfortable, worked odd hours, children in your bed and you had a caffeinated beverage right before you retired. All of these reasons not only can prohibit you to fall asleep quickly they also affect the quality of your sleep. Drinking any kind of liquid before bed may cause you to have trouble staying asleep, because you’ll wake up having to go to the bathroom.

Most of these reason can be remedied by making lifestyle adjustments:

1. The best temperature for sleeping is 65 degrees

2. Eliminate caffeine at least one to two hours before retiring

3. Eliminate hot/spicy foods or beverages from your diet for at least two weeks. Then reintroduce them back into your diet one by one to see if any or all of them are causing you to have acid reflux or heartburn. Once introduced try not to eat after 7pm.

4. Eliminate noise and light as much as possible. If you are traveling take ear plugs or an eye mask.

5. Your bed is lumpy or you roll to the middle. Try a Memory Foam Mattress Topper.

6. I know this one may be difficult, because my sister Apnea has trouble keeping her son, Batboy from joining them in the middle of the day…but children need to sleep in their own bed.

7. You don’t have much control over your work schedule when you are required to work a split shift or a night shift at hotel, sheriff’s office or a 24 hour restaurant to name a few. But to fall asleep naturally you need to stick to a routine so your body adjusts to your working schedule.

Some people find ways to fall asleep not by making changes to their lifestyle but by taking sedatives or sleeping pills. These medications may be a quick fix especially if you have worked odd hours or overtime, but you will not feel better the next day. Medication usually robs you of the deep sleep you require. Also these drugs maybe addictive. Please ask your doctor the risks if you are getting a prescription, otherwise read the label for any over-the-counter-medication.

Making adjustments to your lifestyle, even stressful ones, can help you fall asleep easier and faster. In order for natural ways to fall asleep to let your mind and body need to relax.

One way to get help falling asleep is the use of self-hypnosis. Training your body and mind to relax will gently ease you to sleep naturally. Listening to self-hypnotic tapes will help your mind clear itself of thoughts and put you into a pre-sleep phase to fall asleep easily.

Enjoy a cup of sleepy time tea or warm glass of milk before retiring. Turn down the temperature, turn off the lights, tuck your children in their beds and clear your mind. The relaxation technique you will hear will make it possible for you to have a good night’s sleep and not before long you will fall asleep on your own because you’ve trained yourself to relax.

Now imagine how wonderful it would be to have a long, peaceful night’s sleep, just like you used to be able to. Wake up feeling ready to handle anything the day may bring, feeling better than you have in a long time.
Good Day,
Rose Sheepskill

Nights Sweats in Men

Good Evening Rose here, tonight I want to discuss night sweats in men. Sweating at night for men isn’t really a sleep disorder, but waking up soaked with perspiration can disturb your sleep.
There are many causes of night sweats; one being heartburn or acid reflux from eating hot spicy food or a hot drink. Another may be that your bedroom is too hot or that you have too many blankets on.

Night sweats could be caused by the sleep disorder obstructive sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea is a condition when you have constant repetitive episodes of cessation of breath which causes snoring and daytime restlessness. Also if you are overweight you can suffer from night sweats.

Night sweats are usually a symptom of another condition. Another condition could be an infection; including a bone infections, TB, HIV or cancer. Even some medications can cause night sweats; anti-depressants, corticosteroids including prednisone and if you have a fever and take aspirin, bring your temperature down usually causes night sweats.

If you are a man that suffers from night sweats the primary thing to do is try to determine the cause. Talk to you physician and review the medication you are taking and have an examination. Also make some lifestyle changes like no food or alcohol before you go to bed.

Summing it up here are 15 ideas that might help you eliminate your night sweats.

1. Nights sweats are not a sleep disorder and are usually a symptom of another medical condition. To reiterate; talk to your doctor and try to find the cause.
2. Cut down on your alcohol. If you have a drink, try not to drink an hour before bedtime to eliminate heartburn or acid reflux.
3. Avoid spicy foods for a period of time and see if this is the cause of your night sweats. Then introduce them back into your diet one at a time.
4. Sleep in a cool room. If weather permits, leave the window open, or try using a fan.
A room temperature of 65 degrees is best for a comfortable sleep.
5. Take a cool shower before bedtime.
6. Eliminate some blankets. If you wake up during the night remove all of your covers until your body cools down or
7. Clean up; change your bedding and nightwear. Have a glass of cold water, fruit juice or milk.
8. Take some preventative steps in the daytime. Don’t overdress.
9. Use antiperspirant, rubbing alcohol or body powder before bed.
10. Drink more water. If you do have night sweats you need to replace your fluids, especially one 12 oz. glass before bedtime.
11. Check and see if you are running a temperature. Taking an aspirin will break your fever and of course cause you to sweat.
12. If you exercise do it in the morning or afternoon. Exercising before bed only causes your internal temperature to rise.
13. No hot tubs, hot showers or saunas late at night.
14. No food before bed. Sleeping on a full stomach may cause night sweats.
15. Try not to drink hot drinks or have a cigarette. Cigarettes cause your pulse to raise, blood pressure to increase and therefore your body temperature to rise and cause night sweats.

A lot of these ideas are trial and error to eliminate an item to see if it is the cause. The best way to keep track is to keep a sleep journal or sleep log. Make a memo of anything that is relevant to your sleep, such as changing your eating habits or taking a cool shower before bed. Also record daytime activities, food and beverages or exercising. Can you see a pattern forming? Did you wake up during the night? If anything show your log to your physician. It may help him determine the cause of your night sweats.

Next time I want to talk about night sweats for women and menopause. What alternative methods women can do if they do not want to take hormone therapy (estrogen) to cure night sweats. My sister Apnea will be helping me write the article. She has just been to see her physician, Dr. Fangboner an expert in the field alternative therapies for women. Tell then.
Good Day
Rose Sheepskill

Sleep Problems

Hi Rose here….just talked to my sister Apnea. Her son Batboy has sleep problems, he is;

• Frequent awakening during the night
• Talking during sleep
• Difficulty falling asleep
• Waking up crying
• Feeling sleepy during the day
• Having nightmares; or
• Bedwetting
• Teeth grinding and clenching
• Waking early

Now we know that Batboy, like many other children, have sleeping problems that are related to poor sleeping habits or anxiety about going to bed and falling asleep. But we also found that persistent sleep problems may also be symptoms of emotional difficulties or growing pains in the extremities, especially in their legs causing them to wake up. Batboy also wakes up in the middle of the day and joins Apnea and her husband in their coffin, which is signs of ‘separation anxiety’. For all young children bedtime is a time of separation from their parents and some children will do anything to prevent this. (maybe even wet their coffin?)

Setting up a consistent regular sleep routine can minimize common sleep problems and parents often find that feeding or rocking a child will help them fall asleep. However, as the child gets older parents should be encouraged to get their children asleep without these methods; otherwise, they will have a hard time getting to sleep alone.

Sometimes a child will awaken from a nightmare. Nightmares usually involve scary images, being chased or any major threat to their well-being. Nightmares begin at various ages and often affect girls more than boys. As the child ages nightmares are remembered and can be serious, frequent and interfere with their sleep.

Nightmares that are not remembered are considered sleep terrors and along with sleepwalking and sleep talking constitutes a rare group of children sleep problems called ‘parasomnias’. Sleep terrors will cause the child to scream uncontrollably, appear to be awake, are confused and can’t communicate, while sleepwalking the child appears to be awake but isn’t and they are in danger of hurting themselves. So if your child suffers from this condition then the first thing that you should do is shift the room of your child to a safer place where there are no stairs. All windows and doors of the house should be firmly locked. Parents should never intervene sleepwalking by shaking, shouting or slapping the child.

Both sleep terrors and sleepwalking run in families and affect boys more than girls. Most often these child sleep problems are only on occasion, but when these episodes are more frequent and interfere with their sleep as well as the child’s daytime behavior treatment with an adolescent psychiatrist may be necessary.

Fortunately, as the child ages, they usually outgrow common sleep problems in children as well as the more serious parasomnias sleep disorders.

Other sleep problems in toddlers are bedwetting as in Batboys case, insomnia, snoring and even faking sleep. If you are considering taking your child to a doctor to solve your child’s sleep problems keep a diary of the time when he/she gets up and the reason why.

The doctor will diagnose the child’s sleep problem and treat it accordingly. There is a difference in diagnosing baby sleep problems and toddler sleep problems. Sleep problems in toddlers that are fewer concerns are bedwetting and sleepwalking, but those with obstructive sleep apnea, insomnia and narcolepsy need medical attention and testing. Untreated sleep disorders can impact the child’s lives, growth, learning, attention span, mood and daily activities.

A pediatrician should ask about the child’s sleep routine at during every well-child visit to see if there is a potential sleep problem. Since some infant sleep problems are never outgrown effective treatments are prescribed or even the removal of tonsils or adenoids for obstructive sleep apnea.

Some child will undergo a sleep study in which the brain waves are monitored during sleep as well as snoring, gasping and signs of apnea. The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that all children who show signs of snoring to be evaluated for obstructive sleep apnea.

Luckily for Batboy he will outgrow his sleep problems, but in the meantime my sister Apnea is keeping a sleep diary and keeping a consistent daytime routine which includes going to the bathroom before going to his coffin.