Many people with insomnia have no trouble getting to sleep initially but they tend to wake up in the night and cannot get back to sleep again. This kind of sleep problem  is called “sleep maintenance insomnia” and it is a most frustrating type of insomnia to suffer from.

If you have sleep maintenance insomnia the first thing to do is to eliminate anything you are doing that might be causing your sleep problem. Sleep maintenance insomnia can be caused by smoking or  nicotine replacement therapy, by drinking coffee or by a few too many alcoholic beverages.  Another, rather surprising cause is insomnia medication. Yes, prescription sleeping pills can actually cause sleep maintenance insomnia!

But if none of this applies and yet you suffer from sleep maintenance insomnia these tips may help you to overcome your insomnia problem.

1. Consider how many hours sleep you have already had. Is it possible that you have had enough sleep? If you went to bed early it is quite possible you have already had all the sleep you need and are simply not tired.  If you think this could be your problem try going to bed later bed later and see what happens.

2. When you wake in the night and after 20 minutes or so can’t get back to sleep, get up and read a book.  It is important not to use a bright for reading as that could be a signal to your body that morning has arrived.

3.  Sometimes you may wake and feel hungry. If so do get yourself a small snack. You won’t be able to sleep if you are feeling staved.  A glass of milk, a cookie or small sandwich is the ideal snack. Milk will encourage your body to produce tryptophan to help you get back to sleep and anything containing carbohydrates will make you feel sleepy.

4. Another thing that is important in overcoming insomnia  is to make sure your bedroom is conducive to sleep. Is the temperature comfortable? What about your bedding? A mattress with a dip in it can easily be the cause of interrupted sleep.

5.  While lying in bed use relaxation techniques. There are various well known relaxation exercises that can help. Try this: take a deep breath down into the base of your lungs. Hold for a moment then very slowly exhale while saying in your mind "Relax" or "I feel sleepy" or "I am falling asleep”, or make a phrase up for yourself that feels right for you.

If none of this helps then I do have another really solution for your insomnia. Actually this is a fantastic answer to any kind of insomnia. Its called brainwave entrainment. Brainwave entrainment is an amazing sound technology that has the ability to send you to sleep quite fast.  This sound technology uses a particular beat or tone to coax your brain to slow down its activity and sink into a relaxed mode.

Brainwave entrainment can be purchased on a CD that you listen to as you lie in bed.  After several minutes of listening while relaxing in bed this sound will send you off to sleep.

There are several audios that use brainwave entrainment and its a fascinating field to explore.  Brainwave entrainment can be used for more than just insomnia but if you do have trouble sleeping you may want to start there.

Click here for more on brainwave entrainment for insomnia

Twelve Tips to Get You Sleeping Like A Toddler Every Night (Not like a baby- babies cry and keep you awake!) 

Want to put an end to the misery of sleepless nights and weary days? You can! Sleep is  natural and necessary so, barring disturbances such as new babies and snoring partners, we can all get the sleep we need. That is unless we are doing something to prevent it. Are you willing to make some changes?

How did you sleep when your were a little child? Maybe your Mom gave you a sleeping pill to get you off to sleep at night? No? So what do little kids do that lets them sleep so well? For a start they go to bed when they are tired and they don't lie there worrying about the day.

Alarm clocks are not needed, little kids wake when they have had enough sleep, even if Mom hasn't. Oh yes, they don't have to work long hours and mostly they don't smoke or drink coffee. What about exercise? Have you ever tried to keep up with a two year old?

Can you see a few problems with our grown up lifestyles? Ever since Edison invented the light bulb its been downhill all the way. He and his successors made it possible for us to keep going 24 hours a day. Night and day make no impact when we can simply turn on the lights. Its not realistic to think we can go back to the days before electric lights, computers, mobile phones and all the rest, but we can take a few pointers from our past.

Ok so here is your Sleep Like A Toddler Plan to End Sleepless Nights.

1. Cut out all coffee and other caffeinated food and beverages from late afternoon

2. No smoking or nicotine replacements in the late evening.

3. Have a small carbohydrate snack such as a sandwich, plus a milky drink at bedtime.

4. Try to include 30 minutes exercise every day, but don't do it in the evening.

5. Stop working at least an hour before bedtime and never take work to bed.

6. Minimize light an hour before bedtime, this includes closing down your computer.

7. Relax in bed and don't allow yourself to think about problems.

8. Learn some relaxation techniques such as PMR or meditation and do them daily.

9. Stick to going to bed at the same time each night and allow 8 hours for sleep.

10. At the weekend and go to bed and get up at the same time as you do during the week.

11. Come home from social occasions in time to stick to your bedtime routine.

12. Don't use sleeping pills, they impair you more than tiredness does.

If you carry out these tips you will surely be sleeping a lot more like a toddler than you are right now.

If you need a little more help you might like to try something new. There is a breakthrough in sound technology that has been shown to help with sleep. In fact it can send you to sleep fast and quite naturally. To discover what that is simply click on one of the links in the box below.

Article kindly provided by <a xhref='http://www.healthlifestyleforever.com'>Healthy Lifestyle</a>

Still can't sleep? Go to sleep easily and naturally and stay asleep until morning, just like a little child. With the <a xhref="http://www.sleep-sound.com/">Sleep CD</a> success is guaranteed.

What Problems Can Sleep Deprivation Cause ? 

We don't want to scare you but the effects of insomnia are many and they aren't good.

Here are some of the side effects of insomnia discussed in recent studies.

• Inflammation of the arteries can be the result of even mild sleep loss.
• Heart Attack -see below¹
• High blood pressure another deadly effect of insomnia or sleep deprivation
• Stroke yet another deadly effect of insomnia  and sleep deprivation
• Diabetes due to insulin resistance another effect
• Accelerated Aging from lack of sleep
• Obesity due to suppression of growth hormone, reduced leptin secretion, and insulin resistance.
• Driving, occupational and other accidents
• Accidents in general

¹ A recent study showed that women sleeping less than 6 hours a night had a 39 % higher risk of heart attack than those who slept for 8 hours. (University of British Columbia). Heart disease in men too has been linked to side effects of insomnia and sleep deprivation.

It has been suggested that the Exon Valdize accident was caused by tiredness rather than the captain being asleep and too drunk to command the ship. The second in command who was on the bridge had been on duty for two shifts.

Also it has also been suggested that the Challenger disaster was caused by tired NASA ground staff who made the decision that the take off could proceed when too tired to make a sound appraisal of the situation.

What affect does your tiredness have on your decisions and work performance?

The Sleep Sound Program can help you to get a good night's sleep again.

Have you heard of brainwave entrainment for sleep? It is an innovative way to go to sleep. (It can do more than induce sleep but for now let's stick to sleep induction.) This article explains what it is all about.

Your brain uses electrical signals to communicate with all the systems in your body. The electrical pulses vary in the their rhythm depending on what you are doing. When you are wide awake your brain waves pulse faster than when you are relaxed.

The rate of these electrical pulses can be measured using an EEG (electroencephalograph) machine. They are called brainwaves because that is how they appear.

When we are alert and busy the activity in our brains is faster and the waves are closer together. When we are relaxed the wave pattern is much slower and when we first drop off to sleep it is slower still.

If, when you go to bed you are tense and anxious, or perhaps trying to solve the problems of the day, your brain waves will be running quite fast. The waves captured on an EEG will show waves that are close together and spiky. They are known as beta waves.

Relaxation causes your brain waves to pulse more slowly and the waves associated with relaxation are usually alpha waves.

You need to be relaxed for sleep to come, and yet relaxation can be very hard to achieve at times.
Brainwave entrainment for insomnia uses sound to change the rhythm of your brain waves to the rhythm of sleep.

The idea is to get the brain waves to slow right down to alpha and then slower still to theta and then delta waves. Gradually the brain's rhythm synchronizes with the beat or tone that you are listening to. As your brainwaves slow down your body and mind relax and you drift down into a natural sleep. This can be seen in this image showing the brain matching the rhythm it hears which in this case is a 10hz pulse.

This process is backed by a mountain of scientific research conducted over the past 70 years. Much has been discovered since the initial work in the 1930s and work continues today. Let me quote from just one of the scientists working in the field:

"Its difficult to try to responsibly convey some sense of excitement about what is going on…the field is wild and intriguing… We are at a frontier, and its a terribly exciting time to be in this line of work" John Kiebeskind, UCLA neurophysiologist.

The Sleep Sound CD uses this technology to slow your brain waves into relaxation and then to sleep. As your brain waves are slowed into a normal sleep rhythm your body begins to follow suit and you drift off to sleep easily and naturally. All without having to knock yourself out with pills.

Why not check it out for yourself?

Sleep Sounds Brainwave Entrainment Audio

I know you are here reading an insomnia blog so I could assume that you have insomnia. But it is possible that you are looking for help for a partner or other family member. If so you may be wondering what you can do to help them. You may also be a bit desperate for some sleep yourself if your partner's sleeplessness disturbs you. I know someone who turns on the radio when she can't sleep!

It is never easy trying to find solutions for others. I have often done that for my husband and then I have to try and persuade him that what I have found is worth a try. You don't want to do it too often do you?

If I were looking for help with insomnia for a partner I think that I would go to Amazon.com and check out  books about sleep. I'd see what was recommended by readers too. I think their review service is fantastic. even if you are going to buy your book at the local bookshop, because of course you want to keep it in business, you can still use the Amazon reviews.

After finding a book I would read it myself then I would be able to innocently advise my partner about how to solve his problem.

Another thing that might help is the free PMR audio I am still giving away here. This will help if he/she is not able to sleep because they can't relax. Worth a try.

You could also sign up for my free email course about sleep, as it has a whole heap of free information in it on how to sleep. You can sign up on the right.

 

Hi all

Well today I made a drastic change to the the Sleep Sound Program. I have taken the downloadable audios version off the market. It is a shame but it was causing me too many hassles. The audio files are very large, 54,000 MB for one then the second one 48,000 MB. So although I warned people that they might be better off getting the CD unless their internet connection was fast, people still tried to download. This meant that they sometimes would end up downloading a corrupted file, getting very frustrated and firing off at me. It was taking me so much time trying to sort things out and really I haven't got that time available. So I just decided to cull it.

There is a brand new Sleep Sound audio out. It has been completely re-recorded and is not at all the same as the original Sleep sound audio. So I have just called it "Sleep" so that there would not be any confusion. If you want to check it out the go to Sleep Sound.

You also get the "Go To Sleep Secrets" ebook as part of your purchase. I think it is very important to have the information that will help you get a good sleep every night. A lot of the sleep problem is caused by things we do, or don't do, during the day or evening. The ebook gives all that information and an action plan. The Sleep CD is going to work so much better if you give your lifestyle factors an overhaul at the same time.

 The other audios from the old Sleep sound program will reappear in due time. I plan to add them to the audios on my Magnetic Sounds site. There are quite a few there already if you are interested take a look. It isn't nearly finished yet as I need to write more info about each audio. It is here if you want to check it out; Amazing brainwave entrainment audios

Have you heard that lack of sleep can result in obesity? Well a recent study claims to have teased out why this may be. It seems that sleeping too little encourages snacking. 

In this  2008 study, headed by Plamen Penev, MD, PhD, of the University of Chicago, 11 men and women agreed to spend two 14 day periods in the sleep lab. On the first occasion they were restricted to 5.5 hours of sleep and on the second they were allowed 8.5 hours. On each occasion they were able to eat whatever they liked.

Results showed that when they were restricted to 5.5 hours of sleep they ate an average of 1,087 calories in snacks. On the days after  8.5 hours sleep their snacks averaged only 866 calories.

But don't get too anxious about this because total calories consumed and total weight gain was not different. The short sleep and the normal sleep resulted in a similar average daily intake and weight increase. The only difference was that they ate more of their calories as snacks when they were sleep deprived.

Of course this was a small and vey short study so I wouldn't put too much weight on it! 

SOURCES:

SLEEP 2008, the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, Baltimore June 7-12, 2008.

Plamen Penev, MD, PhD, University of Chicago.

Sanjeev Kothare, MD, spokesman, American Academy of Sleep Medicine; department of neurology, Harvard Medical School.

I find exercise very difficult to do on a regular basis. I feel great when I have exercised, both mentally and physically,so why don't I just do it? You tell me! I even know that it helps insomnia. Here is a bit from my ebook, "Go To Sleep Secrets", which you can get for free with my Sleep Sound Audio Program.

"The amount of physical activity that you expend during the day is a key ingredient in helping you to sleep at night. The more active you are the more likely it is that you will be able to relax fully at night and fall asleep easily.

With regular exercise your sleep quality is improved and the transition between the cycles and phases of sleep becomes smoother and more regular. Keeping up your physical activity during the day may also help you deal with the stress and worry in your life.

If you are serious about curing your insomnia you will make the effort to do it. Once you get into a routine of exercising you will find it much easier to keep it up than if you only do it once in a while when you feel like it.

Studies have shown that there are beneficial changes in our brain chemistry when we exercise regularly. There is a direct correlation between how much exercise we take and how we feel, both emotionally and physically. The goal here is to give your body enough stimulation during the day so that you are not restless a night.

Adding regular exercise to your daily schedule will also improve your overall health and benefit you emotionally, which can be a natural remedy for your sleeplessness."

I have no excuse, I know that exercise helps.

Today I read that another study has found that exercise helps you to overcome insomnia. This study, from the University of Sao Paulo, found that moderate aerobic exercise improved chronic insomnia. It was a rather small study in which 28 women and 8 men, who all suffered from chronic insomnia, were divided into four groups; moderate aerobic, heavy aerobic, and moderate strength plus a control group. The results showed that moderate aerobic exercise reduced the time it took to fall asleep, reduced poor sleep and increased total sleep time. It also reduced anxiety levels.

Challenge: See If Exercise Helps Your Insomnia

Let's try it the exercise cure. It is easy enough to give this a try and see what happens. Are you game to give it a go? I have an exercise machine and I will do 30 minutes on it each day this week and come back here and report the results. Don't be put off if you do not have an exercise machine, you don't need one to get some decent exercise. Go for a brisk walk instead. Brisk means it makes you a little out of breath but not so out of breath that you can't talk. 

 OK? I will report back each day and you are welcome to do so as well.

  PS This very minute my DH came in and asked me if I would like to go for a walk on the beach with him! Bye Bye.

Here is a Poll For You 

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I just want to let you know that I have made a Progressive Muscle Relaxation audio for you and its free.

Progressive muscle relaxation, or PMR for short is a relaxation  technique. It helps you to learn what a completely relaxed muscle feels like. The audio guides you through this exercise and helps you to become less tense. I recommend this basic pmr relaxation exercise for anyone who is feeling a bit stressed. Stress and muscle tension can cause insomnia.

So if you think it might help you go to this url and download it right now.

Magnetic Sounds

If you like it all I ask is that you come back to this blog or to the magneticsounds.com blog and leave feedback about it. Also would be great if you could social bookmark this page!

Social bookmark means click on "Share this" and then go to one of the sites in that list and bookmark this site.

Thanks

I have just finished making a new brain wave entrainment audio for sleep induction. So far only one person has tried it out, apart from me, and I need more testers. This audio uses isochronic beats which means you can listen without using headphones. The sound you will hear is the ocean. If you would like to be a beta tester for my audios read all about it here: Magnetic Sounds

Sorry not to have written here lately but I have been really busy making new audios etc. I do plan to be more regular here.  

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