My Happiest Dream

One of my happiest sleeping dreams occurred during the middle of the night about a year ago. I remember that it was in October because when I went to bed I was thinking about upcoming Halloween events that were going to be taking place later that week and then I slowly drifted off to sleep. The memory of my happiest dream is still very vivid My memory of the dream is still very vivid because the dream made a lasting impression on me in how it made me feel this overwhelming sense of happiness. It started out, as far as I can remember, with me standing alone in a meadow of vibrant green grass. The grass was damp and the air was crisp so I was aware in my dream that it was sometime in the morning because the sun was bright but not directly overhead. I don’t know how I know that it was morning but I just had this feeling that it was. As I was walking through the meadow there were birds chirping in the treeline directly behind me and the sun was warming, though not scalding hot. Across the meadow was a sparkling blue lake like I have never seen. The beauty of the lake was amazing and the color blue was indescribable. In the distance along the treeline was a stone path leading into the woods and trailing off into the unknown. Trees lined all sides of the meadow and faded into a shaded wooded area or forest with tall green trees in every direction. Butterflies of all colors glided gracefully around above my head, casually landing on my shoulders before fluttering off to the patches of colorful flowers dotting the meadowland. Flowers of all types and colors sprang up with enormous blossoms and the [...]

Sleeping Advice from Eighty Winks - Sleep Advice on how to restore your happiness and energy by sleeping better

What Happens When You Fall Asleep?

Have you ever thought about what happens when you fall asleep? Sleeping is a slightly mysterious phenomenon. The human body will go into a deep sleep for hours. However, sleep is not instant. When you lay your head on a pillow the lights do not automatically go out. The body has to switch modes as your body and brain actions change. Sometimes you feel like you can fall asleep in the spot you are standing, but it does not happen that way. Human bodies sleep in two different states, which are Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) and Rapid Eye Movement (REM). During the states of sleep the body goes through different actions. Temperature changes and body recovery are just two of the actions that occur during sleep states. Let us start with NREM, this state of sleep has four stages. This stage is where you spend most of your night. Have you ever experienced a phone call just when you have fallen asleep? The person calling you asks you if they woke you up during your period of transition. If you answered no it is because you do not realize in your moment of drowsiness that you are asleep because you were awakened so soon. This is stage one. In stage one, the body is in the process of going from awake to sleep. At this point your brain is slowing down. Also, you may start to experience hallucinations like the feel of falling. This stage is around five to ten minutes. Next is stage two, in this stage, the length of occurrence is about twenty minutes. This is the start of sleep. During this time your body temperature begins to drop. The body also starts to become unaware of its surroundings. Also, your body begins to experience rapid brain activity. [...]

Sleeping Advice from Eighty Winks - Sleep Advice on how to restore your happiness and energy by sleeping better

How to Sleep More and Minimize Your Grumpiness

We all want to get a healthy amount of sleep. Quality sleep helps us be the best we can be, both personally and professionally. There are quite a few things we can do to improve the quality (and, if needed, quantity) of our sleep. These include changes to the physical sleeping environment, rituals before going to bed, changes to daily activities, nutritional modifications, and some simple activities to help us fall asleep in the first place. Being Comfortable Gives Your Sleep More Quality First of all, if you don’t have a good mattress and pillow, you’re going to have trouble getting a good night’s sleep. This can be a difficult matter for many people, since mattresses are very expensive. One thing you can do to soften the financial blow of a good mattress is haggle with the salespeople (it works) or getting them to throw in freebies (mattress protectors, memory foam padding, fancy pillows, etc.). Definitely shop sales and demand free delivery. Don’t believe the hype either – the most expensive mattress isn’t necessarily the right one for you. Test lots of mattresses starting with the least expensive, and buy the one that feels the best to you. Remember, a mattress is an investment in your health and happiness and will last you eight to ten years. As for pillows, a nice, firm memory foam pillow can be helpful in eliminating neck pain and shoulder tension, while some prefer fluffy down pillows. Just try lots of different pillows until you find what’s right for you. Your Daily Routine Affects your Sleep More Than you Realize What we do during the day has a lot to do with how well we sleep. The more exercise we get, the easier our bodies take to resting at night. When you tire your body [...]

Sleeping Advice from Eighty Winks - Sleep Advice on how to restore your happiness and energy by sleeping better

Does It Matter If You Oversleep?

There are so many reasons why oversleeping matters. It leads to lost productivity at home and in the workplace, impacts our mood for the rest of the day and can leave us feeling unprepared for the many tasks on our to do lists. Oversleeping can impact our awareness, judgment, and ability to think, function and be productive for the entire day. It costs employers money through employee tardiness, and impacts children’s ability to learn in the classroom. People try to compensate for oversleeping by skipping important things that they would normally do in the morning, like taking a shower or eating breakfast. This, in turn, has a negative effect on mood, productivity and self-esteem throughout the day. Allowing time for a proper “waking up process” helps prepare us for the day ahead. Whether you enjoy a luxurious cup of coffee while reading the paper or are up and out the door quickly, the set of steps involved in your usual morning routine become a habit that helps you ease into your day in a way that your brain and body become accustomed to. A change in the routine that results from oversleeping can throw us off balance and it may take us several hours or even days to recover from that “hung over” feeling that results. Oversleeping can leave us constantly trying to catch up or make up for the lost time for tasks or lateness. While recovering lost time simply is not possible, it doesn’t keep us from exasperating ourselves by trying and this can ruin our entire day. Let’s look at one fictitious example. Leslie is an account executive at a large radio station. She is supposed to be at her desk by 9:00 a.m., which requires her to be awake no later than 6:00 a.m. On one [...]

Sleeping Advice from Eighty Winks - Sleep Advice on how to restore your happiness and energy by sleeping better

What is the Purpose of Dreaming Whilst we Sleep?

Dreaming while we sleep is human nature and it might even extend to other living things as well. But why do we dream and what do dreams mean? These are questions that man has tried to answer for thousands of years. Still, we have no clearly defined answer as to why we dream as we sleep – just several well defined theories behind why we dream and what they might mean. To better understand what these theories are, let us first take a look at why sleep is important in the first place. Why We Sleep We all know that we go to bed because we get sleepy, but not many understand why we get sleepy in the first place. Many compare it to being hungry. We get hungry, but why do we eat? The answer is that we need to eat because our bodies need the nutrients found in food to operate properly. It is the same way with sleep. We need sleep in order for our bodies to function at their peak. However, though, we know sleep helps us function at our best, we do not exactly know how it helps us do that and that is why so many studies have been done on the subject. Through these studies, scientists have come up with several different theories. Of course, these theories all have to do with restoration. It has become a common consensus that sleep is the down time the body needs to restore all of the energy that was used up throughout the day. After all, when a person does not get enough sleep, he or she is left feeling sleepy. Feelings of lethargy and physical exhaustion can also remain if the body does not get a good night’s rest, especially if insomnia is present. But, [...]

Sleeping Advice from Eighty Winks - Sleep Advice on how to restore your happiness and energy by sleeping better

Is There Any Way To Minimize Nightmares Whilst Sleeping?

We all have dreams that scare us at night and wake us up with our hearts pounding and minds racing. Often we will sit up in bed, frightened and looking around with our eyes wide open. These scary dreams are called nightmares. Upon awakening a person typically will feel anxious and disturbed after having a nightmare. This leaves a person feeling tired and drained the next day. Children and adults both experience nightmares, although children usually have nightmares more often than adults. Nightmares are a normal part of life and not something that you usually need to be concerned about. This is especially true if they occur infrequently or are happening during a particularly difficult time in your life or the life of your child. Nightmares typically occur during the last hours of sleep in the early morning hours. Usually a person will remember that they have had a nightmare and they usually can describe in great detail the events that occurred in the dream. A nightmare typically involves fear of an object or of a situation and usually doesn’t involve any excess movement of the person that is having the nightmare. If it is a child that is having the nightmare usually there is no reason to be concerned. Children eventually outgrow having nightmares and don’t need any professional help. However, if the nightmares increase in frequency, get worse or start to interfere with daytime activities, then it might be time to consult a health care professional. There are many causes of nightmares, especially for children. The nightmares can be a result of an illness, anxiety, grief, or some other psychological event. High fever, sleep apnea and narcolepsy also increase the number of nightmares a person may experience. Violence that might have been seen on TV or in an [...]

Sleeping Advice from Eighty Winks - Sleep Advice on how to restore your happiness and energy by sleeping better

Does your Sleeping Position Influence the Quality of your Sleep?

Imagine sleeping in a room with a buzz saw working away all night. Next, imagine being unable to choose your position during sleep for medical reasons, despite nights of insomnia. Or think a more pleasant thought – a great night’s sleep once you finally realize what position feels comfortable. These three examples are just a few of the many, many ways sleep is affected by your sleep position. Anyone who has lived with a snorer knows how hard it is to get a good night’s sleep.  Your partner is snoozing away, emitting noises that shake the house, while you are laying there with gritted teeth cursing the day you met up! This was my life with my husband for the first few years of my marriage.  Not to boast, but I would say he was the world’s champion snorer. What would drive me crazy is how easy it seemed to me for him to NOT snore. All he had to do was sleep in a position OTHER than on his back. But for him, back sleeping was the only way to sleep. Night after night, I would poke him to turn over, and he would either ignore me or sleepily change positions for a minute or two, only to go back to the dreaded on his back snoring pose. As time went on, I gave up. Either I sleep more soundly now, or he snores less, but we have managed to stay married! But the fact that he simply couldn’t change sleeping positions speaks to how hard it is to sleep in a position you are not comfortable in. The importance of being able to sleep the way you want to sleep was brought home to me in spades when I was pregnant with each of my three children. Pregnancy [...]

Sleeping Advice from Eighty Winks - Sleep Advice on how to restore your happiness and energy by sleeping better

How to Get a Good Night Sleep During the Holidays

One of the familiar songs I usually hear during the holidays is the song, “Happy days are here again…”. I like to change the lyrics a bit to say, “Crazy days are here again…” Yes, craziness is the word I use to describe the holiday rush. All the parties, shopping and cooking can get the better of us and can leave us restless with lots of sleepless nights. Lack of sleep can lead to serious health problems and sleep problems picked up and developed during holidays can linger and persist even after the festivities, excitement and chaos are over. The bad sleeping habits which started during the holidays can stay with you if not stopped and corrected. GM News offers some few tips on how to avoid picking up bad sleeping habits during the holidays and maintain sleep full nights. As much as possible try to maintain a regular sleep schedule all days of the week and that means even on weekends and day offs. Try to limit your caffeine consumption to 1-2 cups per day and never after lunchtime. DO not smoke near bedtime and try to avoid using during the night. Also, avoid alcohol to at least 4-6 hours before sleeping time. Large meals should also be avoided before sleeping time. Avoid any strenuous activity four hours before sleep. If you find it hard to fall asleep at night, do not spend the night tossing around in your bed and waiting for sleep to arrive. Instead, get out of bed and engage in a quiet and non-stimulating activity like reading. Simply return to bed when you are feeling sleepy. Lastly and very importantly, create a comfortable bedroom environment as much as possible by minimizing light and noise and keep the temperature as comfortable as possible.

Sleeping Advice from Eighty Winks - Sleep Advice on how to restore your happiness and energy by sleeping better

How to Minimize Insomnia

Most people think of insomnia as, either, not being able to fall asleep on a regular basis, or waking up after having fallen asleep and then lacking the ability to go back to sleep on a frequent or regular basis. Although that’s true, there’s a bit more to it than that.  Did you know there are a large number of insomniacs that don’t even realize they have insomnia?  Insomniacs that don’t fall into either one of the above two categories probably wouldn’t suspect insomnia as the underlying cause of their problem. You have insomnia when… …perhaps you never feel refreshed after sleeping even though you sleep eight hours, or more, each day; maybe you have difficulty concentrating during the day; or you seem to suffer from daytime drowsiness, fatigue or irritability on a regular basis. If so, don’t be quick to discount insomnia as a logical and reasonable explanation because all of these are common symptoms of insomnia.  It may, however, be that you don’t require more sleep per se; perhaps, what you need is more, sound sleep. If you haven’t considered insomnia but have, seemingly, discounted all other considerations, read on.  The following are some of the causes of insomnia that, although frequently experienced, often go unacknowledged, unrecognized, undiagnosed and under diagnosed for reasons that, if not already obvious to you, will soon become self-evident: The causes of insomnia Sleep apnea is a temporary suspension or absence of breathing during sleep and although sleep is critical, your life depends on your breathing.  It is our strongest involuntary reflex and overrides the brain’s less critical need for sleep.  In other words, you can breathe without sleeping but you can’t sleep without breathing. In most healthy adults, the brain will interrupt even the deepest of sleep during the first few seconds [...]

Sleeping Advice from Eighty Winks - Sleep Advice on how to restore your happiness and energy by sleeping better

How to Reduce Sleep Problems

Sleep problems are so common nowadays. Getting enough sleep is incredibly important to the human body. Research studies assert that a person needs eight or more consecutive hours of sleep in order to maintain physical, mental and emotional health. Many persons fail to get this amount of sleep on a consistent basis due to issues such as insomnia, heavy work schedules, medical issues or a snoring partner. If you have sleep problems, there are some things you can try to improve your night’s rest. Sleep problems may be connected with your stress level. Reduce the stress in your life to help you sleep well at night. Learn to tell others ‘no’ when you are asked to do more than you can handle. Don’t take on every church bake sale, school fundraising project and 5k charity run that comes along. Pace yourself and create downtime which will help relax your mind and body so you can reduce sleep problems and fall asleep at night. Create a nighttime routine that is conducive to sleep. Stop eating, exercising and other stimulating activity at least one hour before you hit the sack. Ready yourself for sleep by taking a hot bath, drinking a small cup of warm tea, meditating or praying and listening to soothing music or nature sounds. Turn off all your gadgets including the ‘you’ve got mail’ alert on the pc and television. Go to bed at the same time each night. Do not watch television or read in bed as this keeps your mind distracted from sleep. Improve your overall health to aid you getting a good night’s rest. Exercise aerobically for at least 30 minutes three or four times per week. Add a couple of days of strength training to build muscle. Eat a balanced diet of whole foods and [...]

Sleeping Advice from Eighty Winks - Sleep Advice on how to restore your happiness and energy by sleeping better