From: 23x11.5c@gmail.com   
      
   3 Tips for Finding the Elusive Good Night's Rest   
   Posted: 11/18/2014 8:23 am EST    
   Updated: 11/18/2014 8:59 am EST   
      
      
      
   We've all been there -- you're in the thick of a project, or maybe you've just   
   spent hours toiling away on Reddit or Facebook, and you look up at the clock   
   only to see that it's already 2 a.m., or even later. Damn it. Another night   
   where you're going to    
   get to sleep much later than you ever wanted to. You feel tired, but once you   
   hit the bed all you can do is keep calculating how much sleep you'll get (or   
   won't get) if you were to fall asleep this very instant, knowing very well   
   that you're actually    
   going to even less sleep than that. You wake up the next morning feeling   
   groggy and sluggish, ruing "past you" who decided it was good idea to stay up   
   that late. Vowing to never again let this happen, some hours later you look up   
   at the clock and see    
   that it's once again 2:30 a.m. and you haven't even thought about sleeping   
   yet. Rinse, repeat.   
      
   Staying awake like Mr Bean.   
      
   If you're reading this, then you've surely gone through countless articles on   
   how to improve your sleep, get more of it, fall asleep faster and the like.   
   While I'm not going to rehash every tip you could ever come across, I will go   
   over a few that I've    
   found actually work.   
      
   Note:   
   The biggest challenge in changing the way you sleep is that your sleep habits   
   are just that, a habit. The first thing you have to ask yourself is whether   
   you have actually tried any of the tips that you have read, let alone   
   performed them over a period    
   of time where you could observe whether there was any effect or not. In a   
   world where instant gratification is desired above all else it is easy to   
   abandon a new practice after a few tries and deem it ineffective, but the fact   
   of the matter is that good    
   habits are just as difficult to develop as it is to break the bad ones. While   
   many believe the "21 day rule" of habit formation, it seems that making new   
   habits might not be that cut and dry. If you want to change your habits, sleep   
   or otherwise, you    
   have to commit to the process to change.   
      
   The Tips:   
      
   You will hear this everywhere, but put those electronics away! Seriously,   
   don't use your computer, cell phone, tablet, or really anything with a screen   
   an hour to two before you plan to go to bed. The reason is that when the sun   
   goes down our bodies    
   start to release the hormones that make us sleepy. All of the artificial   
   lights and blaring screens we incessantly stare at disrupt this process,   
   therein making it more difficult for us to sleep. If you want to be doubly   
   proactive in trying to sleep,    
   then instead of spending time on your computer or cell phone before bedtime,   
   take a hot shower and cool down your bedroom. The shower will be relaxing and   
   a warmer skin temperature combined with a cooler room makes it easier to fall   
   asleep.   
   Read a book before bed, especially one that is boring or that you're not that   
   into. Have a couple books that you designate as "bed books" since they're not   
   gripping enough to keep you awake and before long you will find that you are   
   dosing off like    
   Waldorf and Statler during the Muppets Show. Old textbooks you might have left   
   over from school can also do the trick. If you find that reading doesn't work   
   or that you have too much going on in your head before sleep then spend a few   
   minutes earlier in    
   the day writing out everything you have going on up there. Playing with your   
   thoughts on pen and paper can help quell many of those obtrusive thoughts we   
   get before bed.   
   Have you ever had a night where you slept a good number of hours but wake up   
   and feel like you got practically no sleep at all? One of the reasons this   
   could be the case is that you woke up in the middle of your sleep cycle. On   
   average, a full REM cycle    
   lasts about 90 to 110 minutes. What this means is that you should break your   
   sleep down into 90-minute segments. For example, if you have to wake up at 6   
   a.m. it would be best to fall asleep at 10:30 p.m. or midnight, but 1:30 or 3   
   a.m. are better than    
   most other times. Of course this depends on how long your individual REM   
   cycles last, but if you can schedule your sleep so your wake-up time coincides   
   with the end of a REM cycle you may find that you feel much better.   
   Like a baby.   
      
   The consequences of poor sleeping habits and sleep deprivation can be as   
   serious as they are numerous, including fatigue, reduced immunity and weight   
   gain, as well as an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes. With so much   
   of your health and    
   productivity dependent on how well you sleep at night, isn't it time that you   
   did something to finally get a better night's rest? Hopefully this helps you   
   develop those better sleeping habits that can work wonders in increasing your   
   productivity,    
   alertness, and general happiness.   
      
   Originally published by Amol Sarva and CoreyFanelli at Knote.com -- a new blog   
   about Productivity, Collaboration and Flow.   
      
   Follow Amol Sarva on Twitter: www.twitter.com/amol   
   MORE: Sleep Lifestyle Insomnia Healthy Habits Work Productivity   
      
      
   http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amol-sarva/3-tips-for-finding-the-   
   l_b_6121992.html   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)