Care For Your Sleep

The scientists suggest using yoga poses as a great and effective natural treatment for insomnia. Recently, 7 best yoga poses were specified, which can be used by everyone in order to improve the sleep quality and substantially relieve the symptoms of various sleep disorders. Check out the previous information about the first 3 best yoga poses, and continue reading this article to learn about other 4.

Asana 4: Plow. Known also as Halasana, this pose involves laying down on the floor, bending the body and lifting the legs over the head as far as you can. It is an excellent pose to stretch the muscles of hips, spine and shoulders, and in yoga practice it is one of the best poses to reduce negative effects of stresses and improve sleep. Do not worry if your toes can not reach the floor: as you practice, you’ll see the progress very soon.

Asana 5: Shoulder Stand. This yoga pose is called Sarvangasana, and it has been used for many centuries by Indian yoga experts to rejuvenate and stimulate all vital body organs. This pose involves lying down on the back, bending the body from the shoulders and holding the legs in the air. It is one of truly best yoga poses for relaxation, stimulating the function of the thyroid gland, promoting blood circulation in the chest, upper back and shoulders, relieving tension in many body organs and removing anxiety and nervousness from you mind. Practice this pose to improve your sleep quality!

Asana 6: Seated Forward Bend. This Paschimottanasana exercise means nothing else but bending forward while sitting. By doing this exercise, you are receiving a great opportunity to stretch you calves, hamstrings, as well as your back and neck. All you need to do is just bend and go as forward as possible. This asana can assist you in focusing your attention, relieving any sort of nervous tension, and also relieve the symptoms of insomnia.

Asana 7: Supine Spinal Twist. This asana is one of the greatest exercises for spine stretching and relaxation. Known as Supta Matsyaendrasana, it involves simple and very gentle twist from the laying down position. At that, the upper part of the body should go to one side, and the lower part should go to another. You should use this asana very very carefully in case if you have any sort of spine problems or low back pains.

It is estimated that currently, over 60 million citizens of the United States suffer from chronic insomnia. This is a very common sleep problem linked to a chronic lack of sleep, inability to fall asleep at night, frequent waking up and prolonged periods of sleep deprivation. There is a great deal of various techniques and various sorts of treatment to insomnia, which include using special stress management and relaxation techniques, medications and herbal remedies, aromatherapy and other alternative treatments, undergoing special therapeutic programs and so on. Though such practice as yoga is usually not valued too high as an effective treatment for insomnia, there are theories and even books written on the effectiveness of this ancient therapeutic approach.

There are 7 most effective yoga poses that can give any of us a proper end-of-day relaxation and stress relieve. Check out these simple stretching exercises which can work great as an interesting alternative treatment for insomnia.

Asana 1: Forward Bent. This is one of the most common and basic poses which is widely practiced and included to most of individual yoga programs. Known also as Uttanasana, this forward bent pose involves hard bending over and trying to make your forehead go far to touch your keen. Though it obviously can be quite hard to achieve to many people, Forward Bent pose is a very relaxing one for the muscles of our legs, shoulders and our back.

Asana 2: Wide Legged Forward Bent. This is another very common yoga pose known also as Prasarita Padottanasana. It is very similar to the previous one, and the only difference is doing the same movement when your legs are spread several feet apart. It is enough to remain in this pose just for 20-30 seconds in order to bring a great relief to your spine and your brain. Also, Wide Legged Forward Bent is supposed to be one of the best and the most effective yoga poses for back leg and back muscle stretching.

Asana 3: Child’s Pose. This is one of the best yoga poses to rest and relax, and the main advantage of this pose is that it can be used by everyone, even those who are just the beginners in yoga. Known as Balasana, this pose involves kneeling on the floor and placing the buttocks on your heels, then separating the knees as wide as the hips. It is possible to leave your arms rest on the sides, or stretch them out in front of the body. Child’s Pose is recommended as a great technique to relieve anxiety, stresses and insomnia.

(To be continued)

We all see dreams, and for most of us dreams are something mystic, intriguing and unclear. Sometimes we see beautiful calming colored dreams, reminding us about the beautiful times of our childhood. Sometimes we see something that makes us worrying, stressed out or anticipating something bad. Sometimes we see dreams that make us feel scared or frightened. Some people see the same dreams all over again, and some are even able to rule their dreams, “making” themselves see what they want to. Very strange…

Check out the most interesting and the most strange factors about our dreams. Share these interesting facts with your friends and be aware what your dreams are all about.

1. It was estimated that people spend about 6 years of their lives seeing dreams while sleeping in their beds.

2. The studies have shown that most of us usually see from four to seven different dreams every night.

3. In our dreams we always see only what we know. Faces, houses, images and pictures we see in our dreams are only based on what we have already seen before in our life.

4. It is considered that we really can control and manage our dreams when we see so called ‘lucid dreams’. We can fly and actually do whatever we want to!

5. If someone (or you) is snoring, as a rule he or she can not see dreams at those moments.

6. Despite of seeing good and positive dreams quite often, it was proven that such emotions as fear and anger are dominant for all of us when we are dreaming.

7. Researchers have shown that we tend to forget up to 90 per cent of what we were seeing in our dreams just in 10 minutes after we wake up.

8. Dreams is not something related to only us, humans, and animals can too see dreams when they are sleeping.

9. Finally, according to the latest studies and researches, modern scientists are very much close to being able to record and interpret our dreams, because there are systems created which are able to record higher-level brain activity. This will be an amazing opportunity to understand why and how we all dream!

Nowadays, a great deal of people suffer from various sleep disorders. Those conditions and their effects on our health and well being have been studies for many years. According to the findings of one of the latest researches, carried out by the scientists at the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, some of those health conditions, like rapid eye movement (a disorder which is characterized by abnormal eye movement when a person sees nightmares or disturbing dreams) and others, are linked to higher risks of such a dreadful health condition as Parkinson’s disease. Therefore, if you frequently wake up at night frightened by bad dreams or in fears because of nightmares, if you wake up screaming or crying, it is likely that you are suffering from REM which can lead to Parkinson’s disease in the future.

A group of scientists leaded by Alex Iranzo, one of the neurologists of the hospital in Barcelona, carried out a series of experiments aiming to figure out whether the link between Parkinson’s disease and REM sleep disorder exists or not. The first part of the tests helped the Spanish scientists understand that Parkinson’s disease is related to decreased levels of dopamine, the neurotransmitter necessary for normal function of our mind. These findings were received after a series of brain SPECT tests. It became apparent that this dopamine deficiency is linked to a lack of learning abilities and uncontrolled movements which are the most common symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. It also causes stiffness, discomfort, tremors and other unwanted side effects.

Fortunately, there are very easy natural ways to raise the levels of this hormone in our brain. When we eat something we like, when we do something we like, when we have abundance of positive emotions, the levels of dopamine raise. The same effects can be caused by using special drugs and medicines.

Being back to the studies which lasted for three years: within this period of time Spanish specialists were monitoring the condition of the volunteers from the control group. It was noticed that within three years the levels of dopamine dropped down in average by 8 percent, but in those patents who suffered from sleep disorders this amount reached 20 percent. At that, in the end of the study three patients with sleep disorders from the control group whose dopamine levels dropped down by over 30 percent were diagnosed Parkinson’s disease. If you are interested, you can find more information and comments on this interesting study in one of the latest issues of Lancet Neurology journal.

Summer is the best time for vacations and holidays, for visiting family and friends, for weddings and honeymoons, for going to various tourist destinations and relocating ourselves closer to the world’s most famous beaches. All of these activities are strictly linked with traveling, sometimes  even long days of traveling, especially for those who enjoy long distance traveling with relatively slow vehicle. Tossing and turning in a hotel, or being unable to sleep in the bus or trailer is something very well-familiar to many of us. What to do and how to get the essential 7-8 hours of restful sleep when we are away from our sweet homes and the comfort of our own beds? Check out our sleep tips for travelers.

If you are not going to go too far away, or at least if you are going stay at the same time zone, you will not have to go through tough changes of your sleep patterns during traveling. However, still your nights can be bothered by the absence of the familiar comfort, therefor, the following sleep tips for travelers can be interesting for you:

• Do not eat and drink much before the time to go to sleep. A full stomach is not a good friend of those who expect having sleep problems while traveling.
• If you can not sleep in a bus or in a public place, use such sleep aid items as a sleep mask, earplugs and a neck pillow.
• While traveling, use your own bedding like pillows and blankets. Familiar items like that will help you create more comfort and assist in setting your mind up for sleeping.
• If you are driving, be sure that you do not impose your family and friends to danger by drowsy driving.

Those who are traveling across several time zones should be ready for certain sleep challenges, because our body needs time to get used to the day-nigh routine in new time zones. There are several useful sleep tips for travelers who’ll need to combat time zone related sleep difficulties:

• Try to get ready for the specifics of your destination clock beforehand. For example, in a week or so before your trip, try going to bed later or earlier, according to your destination’s local time.
• If you arrive deep at night and can’t fight against sleep, do several physical exercises right in the airport. Exercises will help awaken your system.
• Drink plenty of water. Specialists believe that dehydration causes huge fatigue during any travel, and it is very important to provide your body with necessary amounts of water to keep it toned and ready for normal sleep-awake routine.
• Get some sun. Sun rays are considered to be natural sleep regulators, and daily dose of sunlight will help you get adjusted faster to the new sleep-awake routine.
• Do not stay in bed if you can’t sleep because of time zone changes. Read a book, have a sit in your hotel’s lobby or bar, watch some TV. It usually takes up to 5-6 days to get totally used to time zone related changes, so these sleep difficulties will not be putting you down all your vacation long.