Sleep Music

Rose knows that falling asleep can sometimes be hard to do especially if you are traveling for business or for pleasure. When my nephew, Batboy comes to visit I’ll often hear, “I can’t sleep.”, because he is not in his usual crypt. Many of us find it hard to sleep and for a number of reasons. One reason being we just cannot get our minds to relax. Relaxing our minds is essential for a good, deep sleep which is necessary for our overall health. Over time we have found many ways to help relax our minds and forget the stress we deal with in our daily lives. In order to get our minds from racing we have even counted bouncy little sheep leaping over a fence. No wonder that doesn't work. Bouncy sheep are hyperactive and wide awake. They're the last thing you need to dwell on when you want to fall asleep. Personally, I’d rather have sheep as a snack then count them.

One way that works is to relax your mind with dream recollection. When remembering a past dream it takes the focus off work or family problems and helps your subconscious mind relax so you can get to sleep quickly. If you have a hard time remembering your dreams keep a dream recall register next to your bed and when you first wake up write down as much as you can remember. Over time you will remember more and more of your dream because you have trained your mind to do so.

Another way to get your mind to relax is using music to sleep to as a sleep aid. Sleep music varies depending upon the persons tastes. There are some limitations as you don’t want to fall asleep to heavy metal or rap music. Music for sleep is usually soothing and has a softer edge to it like soft rock. Many soft rock listeners favor the ballads as do the people that like easy listening music. While soft rock has more vocals, drums and guitars, easy listening emphasizes on acoustic arrangements about love songs or oldies but goodies. Definitely soft rock and easy listening is music to sleep by.

Sleep music that always works for me is classical music. Classical music has been used as sleeping music for many years and there are many artists to choose from. Classical music is string arrangements, orchestral movements or gentle wind instruments. If your employer’s pipe in classical music where you work and you are not getting enough sleep at night, you might find yourself falling asleep on the job!

Ambient music or New Age music is music to help sleep because it focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an atmospheric, visual or unobtrusive quality by conjuring up images of peaceful places like the sea, forest or beach and/or places that bring happy memories as those in your childhood.

Nature Sounds and White Noise are not musical but sounds of waves crashing against the rocks, rain or thunderstorms, sounds of nature in a forest, a whale song or a simple rush of continuous air. You can purchase a machine that has nature sounds and white noise built in and can be programmed to turn off at intervals of 30, 60, or 90 minutes. Some of the machines will even play all night if you wish to hear the sounds throughout your sleep. These sounds are designed to promote a feeling of well-being allowing the mind to relax and drift away from any stress. Many doctors write prescriptions for these white noise machines before they will write a prescription for a sleeping prescription drug or even recommend an over-the-counter drug because it is a natural way to fall asleep. (My grandchildren have to fall asleep with a fan which is a simple way to use white noise for a sleep aid)

When preparing yourself for sleep you may want to fix yourself a warm glass of milk or a cup of sleepy time decaf tea. This allows you to get into a mind set for sleeping. Try to adhere to a schedule even on the weekends. Don’t eat or drink a lot close to your bedtime. If you need a snack eat something that makes you sleepy such as a small bowl of cereal, milk, tuna or a slice of turkey. (And we wonder why we want to nap after our Thanksgiving or Christmas meal) Avoid hot or spicy foods that may cause heartburn and/or acid reflux. No caffeine or nicotine as they are stimulants. If you exercise, do so in the afternoon as exercising will increase your pulse and blood pressure and you need time to cool your body down or you’ll be too hot to sleep. Speaking of being too hot, reduce the temperature of your bedroom to at least 65 degrees. If the air conditioner dries out the room use a humidifier. Try not to nap, but if you do, only nap for 20 minutes to insure that you get the required hours of sleep during the night.

If you still feel you are to tense to lie down and fall asleep take a bath to relax your muscles. When lying in bed turn off the TV, your computer or video game. You’ll never get to sleep if you are wondering how to get the bad guy. If you are traveling bring ear plugs and an eye mask to keep intrusive noises and light from disturbing your sleep.

Some people use self-hypnosis relaxing tapes or breathing exercises to encourage relaxation. Take slow, deep breaths, through your nose and deep into your abdomen (rather than your chest). If you are doing this correctly your belly will expand and contract with each breath. Exhale slowing counting backwards from 8 to 1, repeat the words relax and take another deep breathe. Do this for at least five minutes.

Engage in other relaxing activities like reading, yoga or listening to sleep music. Your CD or MP3 player should be close to your bed just in case you want to turn it on or off later in the night. Don’t have the music too loud as you fall asleep sounds appear louder and this will only wake you up later. Again, soothe, relaxing sounds are best used as sleep aid music. White noise is also a sleep aid because it has shown to relax and calm the mind so you can fall asleep easier and faster.

Don’t rely on sleeping pills. They have many side effects, do not interact with other medication and are habit forming. If you feel that you have a chronic sleeping problem, please contact your doctor, he may recommend getting tested at a sleep clinic for apnea or other sleep disorders.

Listen to this sleep music video:


Good Day,
Rose Sheepskill


Music Design in Review
"... fantastic for those with insomnia or looking to relax, relieve tension, calming the nerves and finding much-needed peace... "

Product Description
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to just lay your head on your pillow, fall fast asleep and sleep all night long? This heavenly collection of soothing melodies and pristine sounds of nature from award-winning healing music pioneers David and Steve Gordon, effortlessly guides you to that place of deep rest. With Pillow Music, the cares of the day fade away as you float naturally into refreshing sound sleep. Peaceful atmospheres and hypnotic nature sounds lull your body and mind into complete relaxation. The Gordon’s have designed this recording to assist you in easily moving through the different stages of relaxation into deep restful sleep. Through the use of tranquil soundscapes, soothing melodies, lush textures, subtle 60 beat per mintute pulses and pure natural sounds, you are gently coaxed into relaxation and sleep. Let go of stress and get the rest you need. You may never hear the end of this CD!

Includes 10 tips for falling asleep easily from Dr. Steve Bratman, M.D., President, AltMedConsult.com, Inc.

How to Fall Asleep

Good Evening, Rose here
Do you suffer from the sleep disorder Insomnia? Insomnia is the inability to fall asleep and stay asleep. Sleep research has found that inadequate sleep may cause many health conditions so it is important for you to get a restful night’s sleep. Before considering a sleep aid medication either a prescription drug or over-the-counter medication let’s look at some lifestyle changes you could consider to get to sleep naturally. Here are 12 recommendations on How to Fall Asleep.

1. Comfortable Bed. If your bed causes you to toss and turn because you feel the springs or roll to the middle you may want to purchase a new mattress or at least a Memory Foam Mattress Topper. A Memory Foam Mattress Topper will allow your pressure points to be dispersed evenly. If you sleep on your side your shoulder is your biggest pressure point. The Memory Foam Mattress Topper allows your shoulder to sink deep into the pad, while your hips and other areas are still supported. Not only does this eliminate pressure points that cause restless sleep, numbness and poor circulation, it also has huge benefits for the spine, allowing your back to be aligned naturally, which reduces aches and pains.

2. Make a Sleep Routine. Being consistent with the time you go to bed and get up will help your body adjust to a sleeping pattern. Many people once they get used to this pattern may not need an alarm clock to get up in the morning. My father was one of these people; he would automatically wake up at 7am each day.

3. Outside Environmental Influences. Noise, light and temperature can disturb sleep. Do what you can to eliminate these external influences. Room darkening curtains or blinds or a sleep eye mask if traveling, earplugs or listen to a relaxation tape to eradicate intrusive noises. I know when I lived by a train track I had to leave on my air conditioners fan only all year round to help with the trains blaring horn during the night. According to researchers the best sleeping temperature is 65, especially for those that suffer from night sweats. I love blankets and find it best to keep the temperature no more than 72 degrees or less.

4. RELAX. Prepare yourself for a restful night sleep before you hit the bed. Warm milk or a cup of sleepy time tea may help you relax. Reading, meditation, relaxation tape, warm bath are great ways to destress before retiring.

5. Caffeine. Some of us are really affected by caffeine when trying to fall asleep and caffeine can stay in our system up to eight hours. Best advice is to stop drinking or eating anything that contains caffeine at least six hours prior to bedtime. Remember chocolate and chocolate or coffee flavored foods also have caffeine such as Yoplait cafe Au Lait yogurt, chocolate pudding or coffee flavored alcohol.

6. Hot and/or Spicy Foods. If you need to have a little snack before you go to sleep make sure it’s just that a snack and not a meal. Also make sure it’s not spicy or hot which may cause acid reflux or heartburn during the night. If you have a problem with acid reflux or heartburn it may be advisable to eliminate all hot and spicy food for at least two weeks to see if they are the cause. Introduce them back into your diet one at a time to figure out which ones are affecting you. Once you have introduced them back into your diet try to eat them before 7pm. Bedtime snack food can be a piece of fruit, handful of nuts, pretzels or a small bowl of cereal.



7. Nicotine. Nicotine is considered a stimulant it makes your heart beat fast, restricts your arteries and your pulse to race. It would be best if you can’t quit smoking at least not to smoke a few hours before going to bed.

8. Sleep and Sex ONLY. Don’t watch TV, play video games or eat in bed. It just takes you that much longer to get your mind to relax once you try to go to sleep. You don’t want to be thinking of how to get the bad guy or how the bad guy killed the girl. Images before you fall asleep might define what you dream about and cause you to have nightmares which in turn may wake you up. Use your bed for sex and sleep only.

9. Alcohol. Yes alcohol has a relaxing; taking the edge off, effect that may help you destress and fall asleep. But alcohol has been known to be abused when used as a sleep aid. Alcohol also causes you to wake during the night and doesn’t allow you to get the deep sleep you need.

10. Exercising. It’s best to exercise in the early morning or afternoon. Exercising has many benefits and can improve your sleep but if you exercise to close to your bedtime it may take you a while to relax your body to go to sleep. Also, exercising causes your body to heat up which may produce night sweats. You need time to let your body cool down and prepare for bed.

11. Pets and Kids in Their Own Beds. I used to sleep with my cat, but I was always aware of him on my legs and I didn’t want to disturb his sleep by adjusting to another position so I could sleep better. Crazy. Another reason pets bring pet hair and pet dander to your bed which can cause you to have allergies, respiratory problems or even asthma attacks. It is just best to have them sleep in their own bed or crate so you can sleep peacefully. Kids also need to sleep in their own beds. My sister’s son Batboy used to come into her coffin early in the afternoon always disturbing her sleep. Once started this is a hard habit to break. PS. If you do suffer from allergies or asthma it might be advisable to get a Memory Foam Mattress Topper to help eliminate dust mites that live in your mattress. Memory Foam Mattress Toppers don’t provide an environment for the dust mites to live.

12. NO or Brief Naps. Sometimes a brief nap early in the day can be refreshing, if you can train yourself only to nap for 10 or 15 minutes. But if you are like me and napping consists of 2-4 hours, this may interfere with your ability to get to sleep and stay asleep during the night. Certain foods make us lethargic such as excess fatty food; avocados and nut butters or high-protein foods; beans, nuts and meat especially turkey. If you are the type of person that gets tired enough to nap in the early evening you may want to skip these foods and consider adjusting your bedtime schedule.

I hope these suggestions on How to Fall Asleep help you improve your quality of sleep naturally and feel better during the day.
So Good Day,
Rose Sheepskill

Asleep

Rose knows that sometimes it takes hours to fall asleep every night. Can you remember the last time you had fallen asleep without tossing and turning? Not being able to go to sleep quickly is very wearisome only to leave you tired and restless the next day. The next day, if at all possible, you take a nap only to fall sleep for 2-3 hours and therefore staying up later at night because you’re not tired. Or not napping and becoming so overtired that it affects your daily activities such as having thoughts of falling asleep at the wheel while driving. The more you have trouble falling asleep, the longer it takes you. You need to establish a regular sleep pattern or routine to help you to fall asleep naturally.

If you can’t fall asleep I am sure you have felt how it affects you both mentally and physically. Indecisiveness or total lack of concentration on the job or being short of energy to run errands or take care/play with your children. There are also other side effect if you have a sleeping problem; depression, negativity, laziness, on edge and frustrated easily just to name a few.
It may be as simple as just turning off your mind and relaxing in order to fall asleep faster. If you cannot fall asleep because your mind is racing over pressures of everyday life

It may be that at the moment the pressures of everyday life for instance stressing about work or family problems. All of these emotions can easily get in the way with your ability to relax and therefore upset your sleep routine.

Other reasons you may have trouble falling asleep are; the temperature of your environment is too hot, you drank/ate something hot or spicy causing acid reflux or heartburn, noises around you, not dark enough, bed uncomfortable, worked odd hours, children in your bed and you had a caffeinated beverage right before you retired. All of these reasons not only can prohibit you to fall asleep quickly they also affect the quality of your sleep. Drinking any kind of liquid before bed may cause you to have trouble staying asleep, because you’ll wake up having to go to the bathroom.

Most of these reason can be remedied by making lifestyle adjustments:

1. The best temperature for sleeping is 65 degrees

2. Eliminate caffeine at least one to two hours before retiring

3. Eliminate hot/spicy foods or beverages from your diet for at least two weeks. Then reintroduce them back into your diet one by one to see if any or all of them are causing you to have acid reflux or heartburn. Once introduced try not to eat after 7pm.

4. Eliminate noise and light as much as possible. If you are traveling take ear plugs or an eye mask.

5. Your bed is lumpy or you roll to the middle. Try a Memory Foam Mattress Topper.

6. I know this one may be difficult, because my sister Apnea has trouble keeping her son, Batboy from joining them in the middle of the day…but children need to sleep in their own bed.

7. You don’t have much control over your work schedule when you are required to work a split shift or a night shift at hotel, sheriff’s office or a 24 hour restaurant to name a few. But to fall asleep naturally you need to stick to a routine so your body adjusts to your working schedule.

Some people find ways to fall asleep not by making changes to their lifestyle but by taking sedatives or sleeping pills. These medications may be a quick fix especially if you have worked odd hours or overtime, but you will not feel better the next day. Medication usually robs you of the deep sleep you require. Also these drugs maybe addictive. Please ask your doctor the risks if you are getting a prescription, otherwise read the label for any over-the-counter-medication.

Making adjustments to your lifestyle, even stressful ones, can help you fall asleep easier and faster. In order for natural ways to fall asleep to let your mind and body need to relax.

One way to get help falling asleep is the use of self-hypnosis. Training your body and mind to relax will gently ease you to sleep naturally. Listening to self-hypnotic tapes will help your mind clear itself of thoughts and put you into a pre-sleep phase to fall asleep easily.

Enjoy a cup of sleepy time tea or warm glass of milk before retiring. Turn down the temperature, turn off the lights, tuck your children in their beds and clear your mind. The relaxation technique you will hear will make it possible for you to have a good night’s sleep and not before long you will fall asleep on your own because you’ve trained yourself to relax.

Now imagine how wonderful it would be to have a long, peaceful night’s sleep, just like you used to be able to. Wake up feeling ready to handle anything the day may bring, feeling better than you have in a long time.
Good Day,
Rose Sheepskill

Nights Sweats in Men

Good Evening Rose here, tonight I want to discuss night sweats in men. Sweating at night for men isn’t really a sleep disorder, but waking up soaked with perspiration can disturb your sleep.
There are many causes of night sweats; one being heartburn or acid reflux from eating hot spicy food or a hot drink. Another may be that your bedroom is too hot or that you have too many blankets on.

Night sweats could be caused by the sleep disorder obstructive sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea is a condition when you have constant repetitive episodes of cessation of breath which causes snoring and daytime restlessness. Also if you are overweight you can suffer from night sweats.

Night sweats are usually a symptom of another condition. Another condition could be an infection; including a bone infections, TB, HIV or cancer. Even some medications can cause night sweats; anti-depressants, corticosteroids including prednisone and if you have a fever and take aspirin, bring your temperature down usually causes night sweats.

If you are a man that suffers from night sweats the primary thing to do is try to determine the cause. Talk to you physician and review the medication you are taking and have an examination. Also make some lifestyle changes like no food or alcohol before you go to bed.

Summing it up here are 15 ideas that might help you eliminate your night sweats.

1. Nights sweats are not a sleep disorder and are usually a symptom of another medical condition. To reiterate; talk to your doctor and try to find the cause.
2. Cut down on your alcohol. If you have a drink, try not to drink an hour before bedtime to eliminate heartburn or acid reflux.
3. Avoid spicy foods for a period of time and see if this is the cause of your night sweats. Then introduce them back into your diet one at a time.
4. Sleep in a cool room. If weather permits, leave the window open, or try using a fan.
A room temperature of 65 degrees is best for a comfortable sleep.
5. Take a cool shower before bedtime.
6. Eliminate some blankets. If you wake up during the night remove all of your covers until your body cools down or
7. Clean up; change your bedding and nightwear. Have a glass of cold water, fruit juice or milk.
8. Take some preventative steps in the daytime. Don’t overdress.
9. Use antiperspirant, rubbing alcohol or body powder before bed.
10. Drink more water. If you do have night sweats you need to replace your fluids, especially one 12 oz. glass before bedtime.
11. Check and see if you are running a temperature. Taking an aspirin will break your fever and of course cause you to sweat.
12. If you exercise do it in the morning or afternoon. Exercising before bed only causes your internal temperature to rise.
13. No hot tubs, hot showers or saunas late at night.
14. No food before bed. Sleeping on a full stomach may cause night sweats.
15. Try not to drink hot drinks or have a cigarette. Cigarettes cause your pulse to raise, blood pressure to increase and therefore your body temperature to rise and cause night sweats.

A lot of these ideas are trial and error to eliminate an item to see if it is the cause. The best way to keep track is to keep a sleep journal or sleep log. Make a memo of anything that is relevant to your sleep, such as changing your eating habits or taking a cool shower before bed. Also record daytime activities, food and beverages or exercising. Can you see a pattern forming? Did you wake up during the night? If anything show your log to your physician. It may help him determine the cause of your night sweats.

Next time I want to talk about night sweats for women and menopause. What alternative methods women can do if they do not want to take hormone therapy (estrogen) to cure night sweats. My sister Apnea will be helping me write the article. She has just been to see her physician, Dr. Fangboner an expert in the field alternative therapies for women. Tell then.
Good Day
Rose Sheepskill

Sleep Aides: A Cure for Insomnia

Rose here, Good Evening

Since us Vamps don't have any dreams, I thought it might be important to discuss how dreaming can affect how you sleep.

Tonight I received an article from Trevor Albitt. Trevor believes that a cure for insomnia is learning how to recall past lucid dreams. Binaural sound waves can get your mind ready for lucid dreaming and then you'll be able to sleep like a baby. Here is Trevor's article:

Lucid Dreaming, also known as conscious dreaming is the practice of remaining aware of oneself as well as the fact that one is dreaming while dreaming. While in a dream, you are conscious of the fact that the things you see and experience are only a dream. You can have some control over your dreams once you are able to practice lucid dreaming, unlike in ordinary dreams.

The power of having complete control over the direction of your dreams is something straight out of metaphysical existence. Suddenly, all the limitations you ever felt in life just cease to exist.

Is lucid dreaming as straightforward as all that? Is lucid dreaming something which can be experienced by anyone?

In fact, lucid dreaming is not too difficult a task. If you are determined to learn this powerful medium of expressing your inner desires, there are tried and tested ways of achieving this.

First, you must decide exactly what you want to accomplish here. Are you just trying to make your dreams a playground through lucid dreaming, or is there a specific goal which you are aiming to achieve through lucid dreaming? Whatever your reason, you should be clear and determined about it.

Then starts the actual process of learning this art. Firstly, you need to learn a process, called Dream Recall, i.e., recalling a dream you had the previous night. Unless you remember a dream, you can't achieve the stage of lucid dreaming.

The process is slow, but it can be achieved by maintaining a Dream Recall Register in which you enter as many details as you can remember about your dreams daily. Slowly but surely, you'll realize that you can remember even the most vivid details of your dreams. Periodic reality checks during the course of dreaming will train your mind to be aware in dreams.

Hypnosis can be very helpful for many in preparing their minds to have lucid dreams and can get the process of learning lucid dreaming off to a good head start. In fact, hypnosis can have people remembering their dreams in detail in as few as a few sessions. When you can do this, you are ready to try out lucid dreaming.

While in a lucid dream, it may happen that suddenly, you are wide-awake. However, with the power that you have attained so far, you'll be easily able to recollect all the important details of the dream. Now, just try to relax and sleep again, while continuing the dream with the desired directions. When you wake up, you'll realize the real power of conscious dreaming you just experienced the night before.

Another good way of inducing lucid dreams is to wake a few hours earlier than usual, then go back to sleep. The dreams you will have in these few hours are the easiest to make into lucid dreams. You may even find yourself unsure whether you have been sleeping or just thinking to yourself as you lay in bed. Just set your alarm for a few hours early, wake and reset the alarm and then go back to sleep and you will be more likely to have lucid dreams.

In this regard, it's extremely useful to keep track of your sleeping patterns so as to discover the best time to have lucid dreams.

Lucid dreaming can be a helpful practice for those with sleeping troubles such as insomnia. When you are having a hard time getting to sleep, remind yourself that sleep means lucid dreaming; and your subconscious mind will make sure that you get to sleep quickly.

It once was the case that it could take years to learn lucid dreaming; the only way to prepare the mind was meditation, which took a long time to master. A lot of people lack the discipline and would simply give up. New technologies, especially audio technology have made it possible for anyone to experience lucid dreaming.

Binaural audio is one of the most reliable methods of getting people to have lucid dreams.

These work by playing slightly different frequencies in each ear and have the result of deeply relaxing the listener and bringing their brain waves to the correct frequency for lucid dreaming to occur.

Before this technology, meditation was the technique of choice, which did not work out so well for many people. Binaural audio is much faster and works reliably for the majority of people.

Particularly in conjunction with hypnotherapy, binaural sound waves can get your mind ready for lucid dreaming, sometimes as early as your first attempt!

About the Author:

Trevor Albitt is a writer for the popular luciddreaminginfo.com site. Discover the amazing experience of lucid dreaming and you can try it yourself when you get twenty nine Free lucid dreaming Audios when you visit here.

For those suffer from insomnia this might be worth trying.
Good Day,
Rose Sheepskill