And So Aids Restful Sleep... (Sleep Aids in general)

Member Name: skittle

Product:	Sleep Aids in general
Date:	17/06/04 (857 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: should help you sleep

Disadvantages: might not!

Insomnia? It?s no fun, is it? Only last night I was up until almost two o?clock as I just couldn?t sleep, and as I?ve tried some bizarre methods to get some shut eye in the past, I thought I probably ought to write an opinion on the subject.

Of course, most people will have heard the old chestnut that counting sheep will send you to sleep, but believe me, it just aint true. Counting those fluffy little bodies (mine are usually jumping in and out of a sheep pen) takes far too much effort and concentration, resulting in your mind being far too active for sleep? The theory is good, that thinking about a boring subject will send you off to sleep, but in practice counting sheep is unlikely to work for the majority of people.

Lets face it, we might joke about the odd sleepless night, but if you?ve gone for any length of time without getting enough sleep you?ll know how completely debilitating it can be (I?ll bet all of you new parents are nodding your heads right now!) It?s tempting to take a trip to the doctor for some sleeping pills, but I?d recommend exploring every other avenue first, before relying on chemicals to knock you unconscious at night! For instance, you could always try Nytol?

Nytol is, in fact, actually an antihistamine that has been allowed to be marketed for its sedative side effects. Personally, I?ve used Nytol in the past when I?ve been absolutely desperate to sleep, only it didn?t help me to get to sleep any more quickly or easily at all. Perhaps it?s just me, maybe Nytol knocks you out in seconds, but the only effect that I found from using it is that I feel even more like death the morning after, a little like somebody had replaced my brain with used cat litter during the night?

Of course, whilst we?re on the subject of artificially assisted sleep, you might remember a product that used to be advertised
quite heavily on TV several years ago, called Night Nurse. Though not advertised as such, many people were aware that this product, and similar brands, also had a sedative affect and could help you off to sleep, whether you have a cold or not! If you?re absolutely desperate for a good night?s sleep, you could always give it a try. However, I would advise strong caution in using cough medicines as a sleep aid. The reason for this is that I used to work in a company with a 24 hour shift structure. My boss at the time was marvellous, best boss I?ve ever had, but she really struggled to sleep during the daylight hours when we were on night shift. Eventually, she discovered the joys of cough medicine as a sleep-aid? Eventually it transpired that she came to depend on the cough medicine so much that she couldn?t get to sleep without it? The problem sorted itself out when she started working 9 to 5 again, but if she?d continued working shifts for much longer, well, I dread to think what might have happened.

Of course, Lavender is said to possess similar sedative properties (though you?re supposed to smell it, not ingest it!) You can buy all kinds of lavender sleep aids, such as pillows, cushions, wheat heat packs with lavender, and lavender essential oils to dab on your pillow. Personally, I?ve never noticed any significant difference when using lavender, but it can?t hurt to try, and it sure does smell good!

If relaxation is key to restful sleep, then products that aid relaxation should work wonders, shouldn?t they? Personally, I?ve never tried listening to whale music or sounds of the rain forest to help me sleep, but I should imagine that they?d be pretty effective in helping you to sleep. I?ve listened to them in our local book shop, and the sounds are non-intrusive, backgrounds noise, certainly worth a try! However, any calm and relaxing musi
c should have the same effect, and my husband absolutely swears by comedy to sleep to, it takes his mind off his problems and allows him to go to sleep smiling? He listens to ?I?m Sorry I Haven?t a Clue? on his CD player every single night!

Other ways you could try of relaxing are taking a warm (not hot) bath just before bedtime, use a lavender bath product for extra sleep-inducing power!

A warm, milky drink is also said to aid restful sleep, but be careful to avoid tea and coffee (also Cola) at bedtime, as the caffeine will certainly hinder sleepiness. But if it?s hunger pangs that are keeping you awake at night, for heavens sake don?t suffer with them! Getting up to eat a light snack could be just what you need to help you sleep, just make sure that you don?t choose something too heavy to munch on? Cheese might not give you nightmares (as my mum used to assure me it would) but it will lie heavy on your stomach, which won?t help in your quest for sleep.

A girl I used to know, a dancer, swore by gentle exercise as the perfect means of winding down for sleep. I asked her if she was referring to sex? She assured me that this would probably work perfectly (especially for you blokes out there!) but wasn?t actually what she meant. She demonstrated a series of stretches for the back, shoulders and neck that I tried myself that very night, and had the best sleep I?d had in ages! Basically, she advised me to find something to lean on that?s just over waist height, I use my banister, but a desk, chair back or table top would work just as well. Then she showed me how to lean forward (with my hands supported on the banister) and arch my back like a cat (you should be looking at your legs at this point), hold the position for a slow count of five, before allowing my back to flatten out until it?s stretched flat like a table top, and I?m facing forwar
ds, with my neck flexed very slightly back. You should hear my back and shoulders click when I do this one!!!

Another friend, a masseuse this time, showed me some neck exercises, including rotating my head from my right shoulder, letting it fall back (gently, please, don?t fling your head about, control it) continuing onto my left shoulder before letting it fall forward onto my chest? and repeat! This should be done slowly and in a controlled manner (can?t stress that enough, don?t want you to hurt yourselves!) Then to make sure that you?re as relaxed as possible, she recommends scrunching your shoulders up to your ears a few times. Disclaimer time ? I?m not recommending that you try these exercises, just telling you what I do! And if you do decide to try them, go gently, don?t injure yourself for heavens sake, coz that?ll stop you from sleeping if nothing else does!

There are various other relaxation techniques that might help. An old boss of mine once taught my whole team a technique that I?ve found effective in the past. You need to lie flat on your back in bed, then imagine yourself at the top of an escalator, going downwards (if your scared of escalators, imagine that you?re floating effortlessly down a long staircase!) Whilst you?re imaging this, start tensing each of your muscles for a few seconds at a time, starting with the top of your head, before releasing, then moving on to the muscles in your face, moving down to your jaw, neck, shoulders, arms, hands, etc, etc, etc, until you?ve tensed and released every muscle in your body, then repeat! Eventually, as your mind begins to drift, allow yourself to reach the bottom of the escalator (or stairs for you scaredy cats) and step off into the most perfectly relaxing place you can possibly imagine. Personally, my perfect place is a gorgeous, green meadow with a stream running through it, a wood off to one side, and mountains in t
he background, shrouded in mist? You might prefer a secluded beach, a woodland glade or mountain retreat, hell, your perfect place might even be the gents toilets at Heathrow airport, it doesn?t matter, so long as you?re imagining somewhere that feels relaxing, as spending time in your ?perfect place? really does help you to drift pleasantly into sleep!

Of course, if it?s a snoring partner that?s stopping you from sleeping, then no amount of stretching or relaxation tapes is going to help you. You could always try separate bedrooms! But if that?s too much for you, there are still solutions that might work for your snorer. Personally, as my husband and I could both snore for England, we?ve tried pretty much everything going in an effort to cure the problem. Sometimes rolling a snorer into a different position will help, my husband snores less on his side, but he swears that the only thing that stops me snoring is if he rolls me over so that I?m laying face down in the pillow? think he might be trying to stop me snoring permanently! We?ve tried Snoreeze, a herbal spray you squirt down the back of your throat, with moderate success? It does cut down on the snoring, but it?s expensive (at nearly £15 for a months supply) and to be honest it makes me feel sick, I can?t stand the taste, or the odd sensation of tightness it leaves in my throat! I?ve also bought some snore-retarders from betterware (£5 for two) which are worn up the nose? Seriously? They?re little U shaped rubber objects with soft rubber balls at the ends which are supposed to press on the septum, thus clearing the airways and alleviating snoring. They?re reasonably easy to use, though uncomfortable until you get used to them, and they do help to cut down the snoring, but the main problem I?ve found with these is that because I?m a relatively restless sleeper, they tend to fall out during the night? Not too plea
sant when you wake up with one of these covered in bogey?s stuck to your forehead first thing in the morning, I can tell you! As a last resort, there is an operation available that removes some of the soft tissue at the back of the throat, that vibrates, resulting in snoring. However, this is said to be pretty painful, and not always effective. You have been warned!

Although it can be tempting to take a siesta during the afternoon when lunch has made you lethargic, this should be avoided if you?re having trouble sleeping at night, as it will make you less tired, and more likely to have another sleepless night later. Instead, try struggling to stay awake during the day, but going to bed in the evening as soon as you begin to feel sleepy? Don?t fight it, even if it?s eight o?clock and Eastenders is about to start! If you force yourself to stay awake when your body tells you that it?s time to sleep, it will respond by agreeing with you! You?ll stop feeling sleepy, then later when you try to get to sleep you won?t be able to! Tiredness comes in cycles, if you miss one you'll have to wait for the next one to come round.

Is your bedroom too cluttered? You might find that all of that clutter is clogging up your thoughts, too, making sleep difficult? Trying dejunking your bedroom and see if that helps. Some reports suggest that electrical equipment produces negative ions that inhibit sleep, so if possible remove as many electrical items from the bedroom as possible (though I?m not suggesting you use that as an excuse to throw the alarm clock out of the nearest window!) It?s still worth a thought, even if you?re sceptical about the ions! Many experts claim that the bedroom should be a sanctuary, used only for sex and sleeping, as anything else (especially watching TV or studying) keeps the mind too active for sleep. Having said that, keeping a slightly dull book on you
r bedside table might be just the sedative you need to help you nod off at night!

Feng Shui experts claim that a mirror directly reflecting the bed contributes to disturbed nights, so if your dressing table is facing the bed try removing it, or covering the mirror at bedtime. If your bedroom walls are covered in busy wallpaper, try redecorating in restful, neutral tones. Colour therapists claim that green is good for mental strain and tiredness, creating a feeling of comfort, laziness and relaxation, so perhaps it?s time to redecorate you room in shades of lime, kiwi and apple!

I?ve read recently that because the body temperature drops when you fall asleep that you should fill a hot water bottle with cold water and slip it into your pillowcase (on top of your pillow). Sleeping with your head resting on the cold-hot water bottle is said to bring your body temperature down, fooling your body into feeling sleepier quicker, and helping you to drop off in record time. Though I can?t say that I particularly fancy this idea and personally I?m not tempted to try it, the magazine claimed that it does actually work, though it isn?t particularly comfortable!

However, if you?ve tried all of the above and you still can?t sleep, then the worst thing you can possibly do is just to lie there, getting more and more agitated in the endless ?I?ve got to get to sleep? but I can?t sleep? cycle that we all fall into on these occasions. No, you need to get out of bed and do something else for a while, and hopefully this should help you to feel sleepy before you know it! Most of the ideas I?ve listed above should work, you just need to be careful to choose a relaxing pastime, and not do anything that?ll keep your mind too active.

And if all else fails, a sharp hammer blow to the head should knock you unconscious for a few hours at least!





(disclaimer ? hi
tting somebody over the head with a hammer is dangerous and could result in severe brain injury, or even death? Never hit somebody over the head with a hammer to help them sleep unless they are a trained professional, under controlled circumstances. Skittle insists that you don?t try this at home!)

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