Sleeping

SLEEP
 Pre Sleep Prescriptions' Physical fatigue is useful. With many modern occupations people do not get physically tired during work. They get tense and mentally tired but this may hinder rather than help sleep. Relaxation happens more easily following physical exertion. An evening dance, jog or game of football will do the trick nicely. After lunch rest, after supper walk a mile.


 * Warmth: A warm aromatic bath, shower or massage are good after exercise. Infra red heat used in conjunction with massage can break up chronic tensions which intefer with proper sleep. Massage does not have to be skilled to produce marked results. A sympathetic and attentive stroking of the spine for five minutes before retirement can produce excellent results. Heat is most efficacious if applied to the feet.
 * Method: You will require two bowls of water. One is hot the other cool. Put both feet in the hot bowl for three minutes then into the cold for half a minute. Repeat this three times (3 mins hot, half a minute cold). This simple process improves circulation, relaxes the whole body and draws blood away from the head. Hot bed socks can have a similar, if less less marked, effect. Traditionally warmed on the evening hearth.


 * Lovemaking is also an excellent preparation for sleep especially if preceded by long sensual massages and reassuring verbal exchanges. Do not discuss home economics or current problemmatics.


 * Meditation before sleep will gradually turn sleep into 'meditation' and reduce the time necessary for full recuperation. Reading a book is a similar and more popular technique.


 * Mental images, of almost any sort, aids sleep and is the most natural vehicle for entering sleep. Relaxation is a prerequisite of having these waking dreams. Once your are involved in the images there is a sliding progression into dreams and sleep. Relax... Shut your eyes and stop thinking and worrying. Make an effort to watch whatever appears before your minds eye. If you have trained your imagination you will be able to conjure up specific pictures. e.g. sheep jumping hurdles.If untrained you can take an active interest in whatever appears.


 * Fears about sleep are more common than might be imagined. Do not be ashamed of mentioning these to someone you can trust not to react embarassedly. Emotional crisis in the evening can have a devastating effect upon sleep and so should be avoided at this time at all costs. In fact emotional unrest of any kind must be calmed before sleep can be really refreshing. Talking to a friend is a useful pre-sleep routine to alleviate worries. Confide in them the secret fears and upsets that you would otherwise carry as a disturbing burden into the Land of Nod. Be sure to avoid repetitive moaning and end on a good note. In fact if you haven't got anything specific to get off your chest it is a good idea to do one of the following:


 * Remember good things that happened that day or in childhood.


 * Think of things you are looking forward to.


 * Appreciate each others qualities.


 * If you are alone before bed you can still think along positive lines. A pre-sleep scrapbook of happy memories, favorite images or poems will help to focus the mind in the right direction.


 * If a disturbing feeling (of fear) persists it may help to adopt a defensive attitude. Cross hands and feet or lie in a foetal position.




 * Further: you can try Performing a ritual of protection to induce the pyschic protection necessary to achieve rest.


 * Ritual of protection:  Solemnly draw a circle around your bed. Invoke a power you can trust to make this circle an invulnerable defense during slumber. Make this invoce.tion as serious and ceremonious as possible. Note: Fear of dying whilst asleep is common amongst teenagers and older people. If you have this fear it may be helpful to review recent achievements - however insignificant they may feel.


 * Pills, Alcohol, Cannabis. Many people achieve sleep by sedation. Such sedation is likely to reduce the effective restorative qualities of sleep. However it is likely to be better to sleep after a glass of Whisky or joint than to lie awake tensely tossing and turning for hours. There is no strong but harmless herbal sedative but herbal potions and hot milk beverages ease the stomach should it be left in an acidic condition.


 * Food especially cheese, beans, fried food and, meat, should not be consumed in the four hours before retiring. This is roughtly the period of active digestion. The process of digestion requires a higher level of metabolism than the low level of body functioning that is best for sleep. Try Lime Blossom tisane with a teaspoon of honey or Slippery Elm Bark drink. Kelp also known as Laverbread or Dulse is said to be a good sleep food.


 * Feng Shui: Consideration should be given to the atmosphere of the bedroom. Noise, bright lights or startling colours that will jar the senses should be excluded. At the same time it should not be drab and depressing. Pictures on the wall may be carefully chosen to reinforce feelings of safety. The simple arrangement of having the room in darkness with a small bedside reading light or candle may be most pleasant. If you have discovered a reassuring smell in your olfactory explorations this may be introduced (most commonly flowers on the bedside table).

From the above make a list of things to try to improve your sleep.

 Environmental Conditions for Best Sleep  A room temperature of around 14C is ideal, with enough ventilation to prevent a build-up of stagnant air.

A mattress on the floor has a kind of beatnik simplicity but should be avoided due to the likelyhood of condensation. During the human body gives off a considerable amount of water vapour likely to condense on the floor and on bedsprings if it is at all cold. Check under your mattress Is there any sign of damp or mildew? If it is not possible to make a bed frame air the mattress regularly on its side. Hot water bottles are cosy and help you relax more quickly but an electric underblanket cannot be beaten to provide a welcoming bed in the winter. This is especially useful if the room is damp, the bed used irregularly, the bedroom has no heating or the mattress is laid on the floor. In cold or draughty rooms a nightcap is useful to keep an exposed head warm. If blood needs to go to the head for warmth it may also activate the brain and disturb sleep.

Blankets: Insulation below is as important as above. You may find that you are warmer putting one of your blankets under the bedsheet. A good system for over blankets is to alternate plain and cellular knitted blankets. This sandwich method provides excellent insulation as it is the entrapped air that gives good insulation rather than the fibre itself.

Duvet: Lighter weight covers are claimed to stimulate our touch sense, which remains relatively alert during sleep, less than heavier blankets. The duvet also settles around the sleeper moulding gently into hir profile. Of course it is also very warm relative to weight and it is easy to 'make the bed'.

Make a plan of how you can improve your environmental sleeping conditions.

 Correct Support for Good Sleep Check you bed with a straight edge. There should be no sag in mattress or base. Sag will result in backache and undue body movement during sleep resulting in exhaustion. Uneven spinal support may not be noticeably painfull or uncomfortable but results in accumulating postural damage and poor rest.

New beds: The general advice is to pay as much as you can to get a long lasting bed and take time trying out different mattresses so you get one that is most comfortable. Actually lie down and rest on each mattress for a few minutes. It is not enough to push it with a fist.

Size of mattress: The distance between your elbows with hands on hips is the width you need. There should be six inches from your toes to the end of the bed. The width dimensions hsould be increased with two large partners, one who moves a lot in the night or one who is a light sleeper. It is a false economy to buy a bed less than five feet wide. The bed should be evenly supportive but the upper layer of upholstery should not be too hard. It must have an adequate insulation value. Softer beds can seem deceptively comfortable in quick bed tests. Partners of different weights should get a split double each half of which is designed for their weight.

Secondhand beds are usually worthless. A ten year old mattress with have clocked up 30 to 40 000 hours of use! A good mattress is a prime investment.

Posture: It is agreed by experts on posture and Zen masters that lying in a side position is best for sleep. Allow the shoulders to sag forward and use a pillow to maintain correct head position. Lying on the back or face pulls the pelvis downwards due to the ligament on the front of the thigh joint. This prevents full relaxation.

Pillows: They should fill the gap between the shoulders and face so that the neck is aligned correctly. You can judge pillows with similar fillings by weight. Lighter and plumper pillows are best quality. An expensive down pillow will last for years while a feather or synthetic filling has a much shorter life. Pillows can be breed micro organisms and so should be regularly aired and changed every year at least. It is said that burning Euclyptus, Orange or Thyme candles occasionally will help to get rid of any harmful bacteria.

Pillow test 1. Shake it out. The bash it down in the middle. It should respond immediately by recovering its original shape as soon as the pressure is withdrawn.

Pillow test 2. If a pillow is held up on one hand it should maintain its shape and not collapse.

 Waking from Sleep In the periods before and after sleep we are most open to suggestion. The duration of this period of semi-trance varies with individuals. Informations received during this time are most influential on the whole being. This is also time for self-generated thoughts. We should look carefully at the quality of out mental intake during such times.


 * Some people will turn on the radio as soon as they wake. The professional cheery tones of the D.J. divert them from any cloudy thoughts that might gather. However random DJ drivel may not be the best early morning brain fodder. Better to make your own tape. This might be music chosen for its uplifting associations.


 * It is useful to review what you are looking forward to in the coming day. Even if it is a day you dread an effort to look at what enjoyment might be gleaned from it will be invaluable.


 * Another technique is to cut the semi-comatose period to a minimum by leaping out of bed the moment you awake. The very effort of will power that this requires proves beyond doubt that you are still your own person.
 * Prayers or a non-religious equivalent are a possibility as is more meditation if you can bear to keep from breakfast and the days action.


 * The newspapers or news are not often a good way to start the day. They are too full of irrelevant bad news. Experienced paper readers are able to scan the paper for new which catalyses their own activity. Even then they may have to read between the lines of a bland or sensationalist report.


 * Remembering your dreams and jotting them down is another useful morning ritual which, even if you don't go to the trouble of interpreting them, can provide an interesting collection and can serve as an ideas pool for creative writing.


 * Choose the clothes you are going to wear the night before. In the winter warm them in front of a radiator or heater before you arise. The principle is to think of making your passage from sleep to a brand spanking new day of your precious life, as smooth as possible.

These minutes in which we, once more, awake to a new day are important. Beginnings and ends are important. And a day is perhaps the most important unit of our life which we should aim to start and end as well as we can.