What Is Sleep? - Keeping It Very Simple
Typically, an average person will spend around 3000 hours a year sleeping and unfortunately, some people have a lot of trouble sleeping and continuously seek out the best sleep aids available to help them. However, you may often ask, “what is sleep and why do we need it”?
So, what is sleep? Our sleep patterns tend to follow a set cycle every time we try to go to sleep; that of REM (rapid eye movement) that is when most dreaming occurs and non-rapid REM. While an average person will spend around 3000 hours a year asleep, unfortunately, a lot of people have trouble sleeping at all and tend to continuously seek out the best sleep aids they can find. An infant spends roughly half their sleep pattern in REM and the other half non-REM while the average adult will spend only 20% of their sleeptime in a REM sleep pattern.
Research has suggested that non-REM sleep consists of four stages prior to reaching REM sleep. Stage one is the time our muscles begin to relax and when we feel half asleep and half awake at the same time. After about ten minutes, we reach Stage two that lasts for around twenty minutes. During this time, we are fully asleep and our heart rate and breathing slows down. While Stage two will last the longest, during Stage three our deep sleep pattern will begin to alter our heart rate and breathing levels to their lowest. Eventually, we reach Stage four where it is more difficult to be woken and if we are, we are often pretty grumpy! All these stages of non-REM typically last up to 90 minutes before REM sleep begins.
During REM sleep and although we are not aware, our brain is particularly active and our eyes move rapidly (hence the term, rapid eye movement). Although your body is resting when you are asleep, your brain is certainly not. Scientists now use expensive equipment to record brain activity and have found that areas of the brain can be very active. The time when we may dream and sleepwalk is when we are in REM sleep. This is also the time our breathing rate and blood pressure begins to rise although the body will not respond to this. It is often suggested that this could be nature’s way of protecting us from harming ourselves when we dream.
As we are all individuals, the amount of sleep we require to function properly differs. As a rule of thumb, if you don’t feel sleepy during the day you are probably getting sufficient sleep. Sadly, many of us either do not get the opportunity for enough sleep or, when the opportunity arises we find we can’t sleep anyway and continuously look for how to get a good nights sleep!
Hopefully this quick what is sleep overview will have been of help to you. If you feel you body has become ‘out of sync’ with your normal sleep patterns, try some of the all natural sleep aids that are available today.
October 22, 2009
Trouble Getting To Sleep: Is Ambien Right for Me?
Prescription Sleeping Pill:
Ambien is a prescription sedative, also called a hypnotic. It has an effect on the chemicals in your brain that may become unbalanced and cause difficulty falling or staying asleep. Ambien is used for the short-term treatment of insomnia. This medication triggers relaxation to help you fall asleep.
Ambien can cause side effects that may impair your thinking or reactions. You may still feel sleepy the morning after taking a dose of the medication.
Do not use this medication if you are allergic to zolpidem. Ambien tablets possibly contain lactose. Proceed cautiously if you are sensitive to lactose.
Other Prescription Remedies:
Lunesta, and Sonata
Side Effects from Prescription Sleeping Pills:
There are numerous side effects besides the common headache, dizziness, gastrointestinal system and diarrhea that you should be aware of before considering a prescription sleeping aid. They include:
Hangover:
Feeling tired, fuzzy-headed, or dizzy; experience headaches or nausea; or have trouble waking up the morning after.
Dependence or addiction:
This medication may be habit-forming and should be used only by the person it was prescribed for.
Rebound insomnia:
Abruptly stopping the use of a sleep aid can cause rebound insomnia, meaning you may experience the same or even worse symptoms of your sleep disorder without medication.
Chemical taste:
A common side effect: a bitter or chemical taste in the mouth or dry mouth.
Sexual side effects:
This increase in melatonin will put you to sleep, but could also alter testosterone levels. You could experience changes in your sex drive as well as your menstrual cycle
Automatic behaviors:
All sedative-hypnotic drug products carry a warning about the potential for sleepwalking and similar behaviors.
Compulsive behaviors:
These medications have also been linked to compulsive gambling, eating, and sexual habits.
Cost:
Getting a good night’s sleep can cost a pretty penny. It’s not exactly a side effect, but the high price of sleeping pills is most definitely a downside. Insurance typically picks up part of the tab for prescription sleep drugs
Natural Alternatives for Sleep Aid:
Ambiatol is one of the best non prescription medications for insomnia relief. Formulated with Melatonin and Valerian, Ambiatol offers the insomnia relief potential found in many prescription medications without the significant damaging side effects. Consumer testimonials for Ambiatol have been encouraging.
October 21, 2009
Are The Ancient Healing Ways Still Valid?
There is a balance between industries and common every day folks across all walks and aspects of life. There is no doubt about it, big corporations have become very powerful. They have developed influence in the political arena as part of their power structures.
In ancient terms it is the tension and conflict that exists between the mechanists and the vitalists. Perhaps now the mechanists have become a bit too powerful. Some speculate that they have control even over government agencies that are designed to regulate such things. With such power, even questionable things can be officially ‘approved’. But is the research all that solid in the end?
Yet, the natural remedies that currently exist have no such champion with big purse strings. In fact, many of the big prescription drug remedies are nothing more than concentrated, synthetic copies of compounds that naturally exist in nature.
As a result of this crazy power structure, the every day remedies that grow in the desert or the forest or maybe even one’s own backyard can’t get the coveted government stamp of approval as a substance that really works. These natural ways may not even have the long list of side effects that today’s pharmaceuticals may have. It’s a bit ironic when you think about it. On the other hand, mother nature was there long before the current government / corporation power structure that we know today. It seems that mother nature will be there long after the status quo disappears too. Mother nature never needed government approval. But even today, mankind and governments need mother nature.
The pendulum is due or getting close to the point where it has to swing back. As a result, those who have preserved and conserved the ancient healing methods passed down to us persist. They are there. The knowledge is there. One merely has to look. Now days, that looking is getting easier and easier all of the time. The more greedy the current power structure’s components get, the more the old, natural ways of healing will rise again. In the end, people will turn to them as the cost of ‘modern’ treatment spirals beyond the reach of the majority of human beings.
On the other hand, there are folks who plain don’t realy care about the current power structure, they just plain believe in the old and natural way of doing things. Some are extremely well versed in these natural methods. They follow that way because it just makes sense to them!
Disclaimer: This article is for information and entertainment purposes only. It does not intend to render advice, diagnosis or treatment. If you have or think you might have any health problem whatsoever, visit your physician for advice, diagnosis and treatment. The USFDA has not evaluated statements about products in this article.
October 20, 2009
At Home Remedies To Try In Addition to Anti Snoring Devices
With many anti snoring devices and other snoring aids on the market, one wonders which one is the best. By changing a couple of habits you may find that you can stop snoring sooner rather than later.I will share some effective snoring solutions with you.
Disregarding its portrayal in the movies, people who suffer with snoring do not see it as something to laugh at.This applies to the person that snores plus the people who sleep with that person.You can certainly identify many problems and conflicts that originate with the issue of snoring.
Amazingly, nearly half of all adults snore. For most, it is only occasionally, but for approximately 25% of adults it is a common, every day occurrence.Basically, if they are asleep, then they will be snoring. Of course nobody chooses to snore. At least I can’t imagine that anyone would.Due to genetics, body type, and other factors that are more in their control, such as lifestyle and sleeping patterns, they continue to suffer from this affliction.
Driven by the desire to relieve themselves and others from the effects of snoring, many of these people invest in various snoring devices and snoring aids.Most of these snoring solution work for most people, but remember that everyone is different.You may have some trial and error while trying to find the anti snoring device that is just right for you.
In the meantime let’s look out how you and your loved ones can achieve a bit of nighttime peace. Some of these tips are harder to implement than an effective anti snoring device because they may involve trying to change long-standing habits.Depends, of course, on how badly you want to find the complete snoring solution for yourself.
Experiment with different sleeping positions.Hear me out before you make a judgement about this recommendation. Why would a change in sleep position help to stop snoring?This recommendation makes sense if you understand why a person snores.
Basically, snoring results from the obstruction of the air passages by the loose tissue in the back of the mouth and throat. Sleeping on your back allows the throat to be somewhat obstructed by the relaxed muscles. When flipping over on your side, you may be able to eliminate or reduce the restricted air passages.A side sleeping position makes it less likely your jaw will drop open, which contributes to snoring.
Changing the position that you sleep in may be more effective the younger you are as snoring tends to get worse as we get older.There are plenty more tips to come.
Changing your lifestyle is easier with the help of others and when envisioning how happy you will be when you stop snoring?Two things that contribute to snoring are smoking and alcohol.Alcohol is a known depressant and can contribute to the throat muscles relaxing. Cigarettes can change or damage the tissue or cells in the esophagus, which could result in conditions that make it more likely that you will snore or that your snoring will be more severe.So, making these lifestyle changes to stop snoring may also result in a longer and healthier life.
Dropping a few pounds is something that many of us need to do, but it may not be obvious that weight loss could have a positive impact on snoring.Losing weight reduces bulky necks and other fatty tissues, which contribute to the severity of snoring.
The last tip is to set up a consistent sleeping pattern. This is cheating a little bit because simply going to bed and getting up at the same time every night is not likely to affect your snoring one bit.But it probably will result in deeper sleep and more rest.A deeper level of sleep lessens the likelihood of waking yourself up with your own snoring.Your sleeping partner and other members of your household can benefit in the same way.
So, go ahead and try some of these tips while you continue your search for the ultimate snoring solution.Here’s to your success!
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