Improve Your Sleep With One Simple Step

Believe or not, one of the major reasons why people are not getting enough sleep is technology. Video games, emails, internet, and television all play a major role in disturbing our sleeping habits. Many of us will even get up in the middle of the night to check our email. Not only do these bad habits lead to loss of sleep but they also diminish the quality of our sleep.

Cognitive stimulation is one way that your brain reacts to technology. When your brain revs up its electrical activity increases and neurons start to race. This is something that you do not want to happen before you go to bed. It is nearly impossible to fall asleep in that situation. And it's not just your mind that has a negative response to technology at night; your body does as well. Even the simple task of checking email can make your body tense. When your body is tense it releases stress hormones. These stress hormones increase your hyperactivity and prevent you from reaching a peaceful state of mind which is crucial for adequate sleep.

Last but not least, the glow from electronics also acts against good quality sleep. Many people are surprised by this fact. Especially those people who tend to leave the television on in the bedroom all night long. What happens is that the glow from the television passes through the retina and into a part of the brain known as hypothalamus. This particular part of the brain controls our sleep activity. When the glow from the television reaches that part of the brain it delays the release of sleep inducing hormones. This is why people who leave their TV's on all night still wake up tired after eight hours of sleep. So if you are a technology junkie and you feel like your sleeping habits have gone south, try avoiding electrical evils at least an hour before bed.

Lauren S. Johnson writes health articles about fitness and nutrition.

Some of her favorite passions include studying the medicinal benefits of herbal remedies, diet pills and hoodia gordonii.

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Sleep Health - Sleep - 5 Essential Benefits to Your Good Health!

It is true: You feel BETTER when you get a good night's sleep! Lying down comfortably, falling asleep easily and sleeping through the night is a pattern that allows you to awaken refreshed and be more alert throughout the day. It improves your mood significantly.

And this is only the beginning! Here are additional benefits of good sleep on your health:

Benefit #1 -- Relieve Stress: Sleep is a natural stress reducer. Sleep allows all of your systems -- physical, mental, emotional and spiritual -- the time and opportunity to begin repair on the damage that stress may have created in your being. When you sleep, your body is free to focus on assessment and self-healing, including creating new cells to replace damaged ones and fighting disease and infection.

Benefit #2 -- Better Memory: Sleep is the normal time when long-term memories are embedded in the mind. During the time you are asleep, your mind stores information. It then organizes it for easier retrieval later on.

Benefit #3 -- Maintain Weight: Sleep -- in adequate amounts -- helps to maintain a healthy weight. When you are fatigued, your body tries to deal with this, seeking out energy in whatever ways are available. One common source of this energy is by-mouth in the form of additional calories.

Benefit #4 -- Improve Mood: Sleep helps to improve your mood and ward off depression. Adequate sleep can help ward off serotonin deficiency, which is believed to be a contributing factor in depression.

Benefit #5 -- Enhance Life Quality: Sleep helps to increase your quality of life. It makes even-ordinary experiences and tasks much more enjoyable.

So, the next time you are tempted to think of sleep as just a waste of time, think again! Far from wasting your time "doing nothing", sleep is a time of intense productivity for the health of your body, mind and emotions. You can honestly tell yourself, "I'm going to do something really productive now -- I'm going to sleep!"

To create any/all of these Benefits in your own life, I urge you to get to sleep early and sleep well! When you want to be highly productive and get a LOT done, get to sleep early and sleep well! When you wish to relieve stress and re-balance your life, get to sleep early and sleep well.

And I encourage you to learn more about how to re-balance your life by visiting our blog at http://www.mentalhealth-online.com/mentalhealth or Click Here Join our list by entering your name and email address, or click on "RSS" to add yourself to our the RSS-feed -- you will be informed right away about new additions and information that can benefit your life! Get Practical Ideas & Tips that You can Use to CHANGE your Life ... for Good!

Presented by Dr. Marlene Shiple, the Life Coach Pro, & the Life Coach Network.

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Deep Asleep - Abruptly Waking Up Can Have You Feeling Like a Zombie

If you are truly deep asleep, you are probably in either the third or the fourth stage of the five sleep stages. Deep sleep takes place during these two stages. They are essential in order for you to gain the most from your sleeping, as they are the stages that contribute the most to your ability to feel completely rested and invigorated when you eventually awaken.

Not only is it difficult to awaken a person who is deep asleep in these two stages of sleep, it is also unwise. One reason for this is that when someone is awakened from the deep sleep stages he will not be at his best, either physically or mentally.

Although this is important, it is not nearly as important as the need for restful sleep itself. Disrupting a person's sleep is more than annoying, it is unhealthy. In many cases, once a person has been awakened from deep sleep he will find it difficult or even impossible to fall back asleep again. Even if the night is not over, his sleep is finished for the night. Nobody enjoys that!

In these instances, the person is not getting the proper amount of sleep that he needs, which can impair his basic functioning throughout the day. Have you walked into the office and tripped on a paper clip because you are tired. Or, talked babble at people because you could not get your words right. You head for the kitchen or break room to get coffee only to see other zombies who could not sleep. You practically fight over the coffee pot. Not good.

Now, in the event that you might be able to fall back asleep, the quality of sleep may be diminished. Attempting to pick up where you left off does not usually work very well for sleeping. As no one wants to begin a day feeling drained, grouchy, or unwell, not interrupting these stages of sleep is an easy way to avoid these unnecessary feelings.

While all of the stages of sleep play an important role in attaining a good night's sleep, the stages in which you are deep asleep contribute the most to the fully rested and refreshed state you want to have when you begin your day.

Ensuring that you not be awakened during the third or fourth stages is a positive step in getting the good night's sleep that you need, and the best feelings with which to start the new day ahead.

Sherry Harris is the author of the successful e-book "101 Amazingly Simple Ways to Beat Insomnia". Get the FREE e-book at http://www.ScentToSleep.com - Hope you enjoyed the article topic Deep Asleep. Knock-out insomnia with aromatherapy sleep mist, so you can wake up refreshed and energized visit us now.

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