Facts About Insomnia
Your guide to insomnia - its causes, symptoms and treatments.

Archive for: June 2009



June 30, 2009

Insomnia Cures – 5 Tips to Beating Insomnia for Good

Filed under: General Information - 30 Jun 2009

If you’re searching for information on insomnia cures, here are 5 tried and tested tips to help you get the deep, restful sleep you need:

Sleep in complete darkness – Your body receives a signal that it is time to sleep from the hormone melatonin. This hormone is produced by the pineal gland in your brain. Melatonin is produced at night, as soon as it starts to get dark outside. Any light in your bedroom will reduce the amount of melatonin produced by your pineal gland. In fact, even the smallest amount of light can seriously reduce melatonin production or even worse, it can cease production completely. If you go to the bathroom at night, it is important to keep the light off. You will find it very hard to get back to sleep if you switch the light on, as the light will cause melatonin production to shut down. Balancing your body’s melatonin production is one of the most effective insomnia cures. You will drift off into deep sleep quickly and easily when your body is producing sufficient levels of melatonin at night. 

Listen to a brain training sleep inducing CD/ MP3 – A brain training audio soundtrack is one of the best insomnia cures. It gently trains your brain how to sleep normally again, thereby returning your sleep/ wake cycle to a healthy pattern. The audio soundtrack contains no words or suggestions, just scientifically produced rhythmic pulses. The pulses calm your mind toward sound, optimal sleep… without you actually having to do anything. Using an insomnia busting audio soundtrack at bedtime, will gradually train your brain to fall asleep more quickly. Your brain will gradually learn to fall asleep within just ten minutes of getting into bed. This literally takes only weeks to happen, after which time you will no longer need to use the soundtrack in order to fall into a deep sleep.

I have found an extremely effective program which comes with a number of brain training audio tracks. This amazing product ended my Dad’s fifteen year insomnia problem. To find out more go here now: Insomnia Cures Info

Keep a ‘My Thoughts’ diary – People suffering with insomnia, often find their mind racing with all sorts of thoughts going round in their head. Keep a notebook by your bed and jot down thoughts as they come into your mind – this can be looked at as emptying your mind out onto paper. In doing so, you are much more likely to stop the continual merry-go-round of thoughts, which will ultimately lead to a far calmer mind and a much greater likelihood of falling asleep.

Put away all work at least an hour before bedtime - By doing this, you give your mind an opportunity to wind down and relax, thereby optimizing your chances of going to bed feeling calm, and falling asleep quickly. Relaxing your mind before bedtime is a potent insomnia remedy, and will encourage a peaceful night’s sleep.

Avoid alcohol – If you’re looking for insomnia cures, you may have tried taking an alcoholic drink at bedtime. Although alcohol will cause you to feel drowsy at the time of having the drink, you will almost certainly find yourself waking again during the night. This is because alcohol disrupts normal sleep patterns, preventing you from falling into the deepest, most critical stages of sleep needed for healing, repair and rejuvenation.

To learn more about curing insomnia, including how to get access to the most effective brain training audio soundtracks, click here: Insomnia Cures Information

 

 

 

 

 


June 29, 2009

Snoring: Facts and Information

Filed under: General Information - 29 Jun 2009

Snoring is an extremely common health difficulty.The snoring sound occurs because of loud breathing through the mouth and nose while a person is asleep.Snoring happens as a result of the vibration of soft tissues that line the air passages.  As the air passages are blocked, this causes noise.

With snoring being a main concern for a large number of people it is also a challenge as they find a solution to put an end to it. The number of people affected by snoring worldwide is huge, about 700 million, but that doesn’t include the partners of people who are also affected. It often (unfortunately), goes uninvestigated and undiagnosed or gets treated as a minor situation.

Some sufferers may in fact be unaware that they could be causing more harm to their health by not seeking treatment and finding ways to stop snoring.This could be very relevant if ones’ snoring is associated with sleep aponea a serious and potentially life threatening concern.

Snoring is more widespread in men due to lifestyle, smoking, drinking, weight and lack of exercise. Some studies found that 34% of men are habitual snorers, with up to 50% reporting the symptoms of snoring.

Causes of Snoring

There are many causes of snoring, all resulting in the same thing, a restless night.But if you can indentify the reason you have a much higher chance of stopping the problem and finding a permanent solution to stop snoring.Snoring can result from anything that causes restricted air flow to the nasal passages.

Five of the most widespread reasons for snoring include: Being overweight, blocked nasal passages, drinking too much alcohol, the use of antihistaimines and sleeping pills and sleeping on your back.

A deviated septum which is when the cartilage that separates the two sides of the nasal cavity leans   more to the right or left resulting in obstruction of the nasal passage, can also cause snoring. In children, snoring is often caused by enlarged tonsils and adenoids.

Sometimes snoring might be the result of something more concerning therefore you should consult with your health professional to investigate other possible causes.

How to Stop Snoring

Ways to stop snoring are countless and varied.   What works for one person will not work for another but it is worth pursuing to give yourself and your partner a better nights sleep.

There are a number of stop snoring treatments available such as medicine and surgery, dental implants and over the counter remedies.Irrespective of the treatment you select, safety shoulld be your first concern.

  • Lead a healthy lifestyle.Get active and eat healthier.
  • Before going to bed ensure your nose is clear.Nasal strips, decongestants and breathing steam can be beneficial.
  • Try not to sleep on your back but rather on your side.  Sleeping on your back can allow the lower jaw to drop which results in snoring
  • Reduce your Alcohol intake.  Too much Alcohol can irritate the nasal airways.In addition it acts as a sedative which results in the muscles possibly relaxing more than normal.
  • Lose weight.For people who are overweight the flow of air gets restricted because of the amount of fat around the face and throat and therefore this will vibrate more during sleep.
  • Stop Smoking.   Apart from affecting every part of the respiratory system the throat is weakened and gets obstructed with phlegm.

Stop Snoring Devices

There are many stop snoring devices on the market which work in different ways.These vary from being very basic to more detailed and concentrate on opening up the nasal airways.

A few of the devices available are snore pillows, snore balls, nasal strips, nasal separators, throat sprays and pills.  Many of these devices are available from your pharmacy.

Other stop snoring devices, like mouth pieces which keep the jaw aligned and prevent the tongue from blocking the windpipe are inserted into the oral cavity and aid in keeping   the air passages open as you sleep.

Although a lot of relief can be achieved by using snoring devices it is good to note that no anti snoring device will be 100% sucessfull all of the time.


June 28, 2009

Why Are Morning Headaches and Snoring Connected?

Filed under: General Information - 28 Jun 2009

If you’re very tired when you first wake up, of course there could be many reasons for this.  Persons with hypoglycemia or other blood sugar problems may need some protein to get their blood sugar back to normal after having not eaten for eight or more hours. You could be a night person who just doesn’t enjoy the mornings.  But for many, it’s more than just being tired, they experience sometimes severe morning headaches, and snoring is sometimes to blame.  But why the connection between the two?  How to stop snoring which might be causing the problem?

One of the reasons that morning headaches and snoring are connected is because of a person snoring due to sleep apnea.  Sleep apnea is a very dangerous condition wherein someone actually stops breathing for a few moments because of restricted airflow.  They then wake up just long enough for the body to force itself to start breathing again, and are typically not awake long enough to even know that their sleep has been interrupted.While caused by sleep apnea, the connection between morning headaches and snoring is because the brain is literally starved of needed oxygen over and over again throughout the night.  If left unchecked, this condition can actually cause slight brain damage, so it’s no wonder that a person would get headaches from this!  Sleep apnea is very common in persons who are overweight and especially obese, as this excess body fat puts undue pressure on the neck and cuts off the airway.  Many persons however do not even know that they have sleep apnea.  Considering how dangerous it is, if you have morning headaches and snoring problems, and especially if you are overweight, you may want to talk to your doctor immediately about medical intervention or treatment options to help stop snoring.

Another reason that morning headaches and snoring are connected is because if a person snores very loudly or deeply, they are actually hurting their own head.  That constant vibration of the dry tissue of the throat can cause damage to the entire back of the neck and head, giving a person a headache.

And of course chronic sleeplessness is another cause for morning headaches, and snoring is a big cause of sleeplessness.  If you’re trying to sleep next to someone that is a chronic snorer, you are probably very sleep deprived, whether you know it or not.Exhaustion, irritability, restlessness, inability to concentrate, and falling asleep at inappropriate times are just other symptoms of insomnia, much like morning headaches.  And snoring is a leading interrupter of sleep, not for the snorer, but for those next to him or her, help them stop snoring

If you’re experiencing constant morning headaches, you should consult with your doctor.There possibly will be other health concerns and issues that are causing them of course, however, morning headaches and snoring are very common.These headaches may just be part of other grave health problems that you may be having, or may be at risk of having, if you do not address your snoring issues right away.


June 27, 2009

Help Prevent Snoring With Pillows

Filed under: General Information - 27 Jun 2009

Shopping the market for snoring products will bring you an overwhelming choice of options.  There are throat sprays, syrups to take before going to bed, pills that supposedly open airways, and all sorts of devices to be worn on the face.  Nasal strips are a popular choice for many, and actually seem to work in some cases.  And of course there are many, many different types of pillows to help stop snoring.  To really decide which product is right for you, consider how they work and what would be best in your particular case.

Medicines

The throat sprays, syrups and pills all seem to work by coating the back of your throat with something thick that will keep the tissues and membranes from vibrating and making the sound we call snoring.  These work in most minor cases.A few people have found that using these in conjunction with pillows to help prevent snoring can be most effective, as your throat is coated and relaxed and your head is supported properly.

Some shy away from these products however because they are medicines, even though their ingredients are very mild and not invasive in any way.Some people might be a bit sensitive to the common ingredients of menthol and eucalyptus, and children especially can find these products a bit daunting.  One of the nice things about pillows to help how to stop snoring versus these medicines is that you don’t have these concerns with safety or with irritation to your nose and throat.  Also, children who have a problem in this area are not as embarrassed by pillows to help prevent snoring as they are with having to take these medicines, especially if it’s time for a sleepover at grandma’s or a friend’s house.

Nasal Strips

Nasal strips typically do not contain any medicines, although some brands may have a coating of menthol.A large amount just work by pulling the outer corners of your nose open to allow better breathing.  Again, some have found that using these along with pillows to help stop snoring can be very beneficial.  Others too find these somewhat embarrassing to use, and children especially may shy away from them.

Using Pillows to Help Prevent Snoring

If you are looking for some type of product that contains no medicine, does not require any special bedtime routine, and is not embarrassing to use, then consider some pillows to help prevent snoring.  Most of these models are made of thicker foam that cradles your head and neck to keep it in proper alignment so that your mouth does not fall open and you do not start breathing through your mouth, which is a common cause of snoring.Pillows to aid with prevent snoring are very prudent and easy for anyone to use without anyone else’s knowledge, and this can be welcome news for children who snore and who may already be very self-conscious.  Most are very affordable, usually starting at less than thirty dollars, and are many snorers first choice of treatment.


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