Get A Good Night's Sleep

Mrs. Chonchon Vasha *

Two bears are in a cave. The papa bear is wide awake. The mama bear is dozing off. "I told you not to have coffee before winter". She says. Based on a Gary Larson Cartoon

What's your "sleep number"? Four, six, eight, or even more hours per night?ormay be you'd prefer to sleep through the whole winter! While sleep needs vary by age, gender, and individual, researchers from the Division of sleep Medicine in Boston studied 82, 969 nurses and found.

Morality risk was lowest among nurses reporting seven hours of sleep per night. After adjusting for age, smoking, alcohol, exercise, depression, snoring, obesity, and history of cancer and cardiovascular disease, sleeping less than six hours or more than seven hours remained associated with an increased risk of death.

Fatigue as a result of chronic sleep deficits is linked with poor work performance, driving accidents, relationship problems, and mood problems like anger and depression.

Sleep is essential to good health because that's when our minds and bodies rest and rejuvenate themselves. Sleep has four stages, the lengths of which vary by person. At first you're in Limbo between being awake and entering sleep. When you do finally fall asleep, your breathing remains regular, and your temperature goes down.

The third and fourth stages are the deepest and most important, which is why frequently interrupted periods of sleep are not as effective. For about 25 percent of this time, your eyes rapidly move about as you dream (this is called REM sleep, for "rapid eye movement").

Your body is relaxed, energy is regained, and hormones are released for growth and development. Essentially, this is the time when your body relaxes, renovates, and repairs itself.

If you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, here are some suggestions/tips.

* Eat your last meal two to three before bedtime.
* Do not use caffeine or alcohol around bedtime.
* Make some improvements in your bedroom, such as room darkening curtains or a more comfortable temperature at night.
* If you exercise at night, give yourself a long enough break for your body to regain its sense of equilibrium.
* Try to go to bed around the same time each day, even on weekends.
* Read, listen to music, or "journal" for a half hour after you get into bed, as long as these activities help you relax.
* Include a hot bath in this routine if or when you are able to do so.
* Avoid activities close to bedtime that might make you uneasy or anxious, such as certain movies or the late news.
* Don't take your work to bed- for example, by taking your laptop along.
* Be sure that your bed, your bedding, and your pillows are all comfortable.

Dear frens, sleep is one of God's awesome gifts. It is meant to refresh and enrich us and renew our strength and vitality.

So, make the best use of your sleep by sleeping well every night.

Remember, God smiles to see His children having a sweet sleep!