Teenagers Sleeping Habits
Life was so much easier before the advent of all the electronic aids and entertainment venues that are available for today’s teenagers. Sleeping following the days exertions naturally and no doubt on some occasions, thankfully! Today that has changed forever with the arrival of mobile phones, facebook, twitter the list goes on.
Sleep deprivation is very real and may be the cause of inhibiting physical and mental health. Teenagers sleeping habits if not ingrained in them as young children can cause no end of problems, as they grow older. Sleep in puberty is extremely important, teenagers need good sleeping habits established by this time in their life. Sleep gives the brain the ability to renew and regenerate itself, we know this to be true when getting up in the morning feeling great from a good nights sleep or feeling exhausted from a bad night.
Sleeping problems cannot be isolated but must be considered as part of the whole life style balance and routine. Young people live life to the full using up as many hours in a day as they can physically do during the week. Staying up late most nights during the week just to have the weekend “sleep ins’, sleeping until the late morning
early afternoon. This causes problems in sleeping normally, and becomes harder to remedy as the weeks go by.
The obvious lack of exercise sitting in front of a television screen or a computer a teenager does not encourage sleeping anymore than eating the wrong foods, particularly the junk foods. Teenager’s ability to graze on any number of processed foods manufactured today is well-documented causing weight to increase and before long insomnia. It is accepted that for some people the early morning is their prime time for activity and problem solving, while others reach their physical and mental capacities later in the day. This is often reflected in sleeping patterns, these patterns are formed from birth and alert parents will soon work out which side of the coin their child is likely to favor. This means the child can be encouraged to work within their body’s needs.
However today’s world demands that everyone work within society’s requirements and not those of an individual, this can affect each person as needs are different. Trying to tell a teenager to go to bed is a waste of time, they have to understand and be encouraged to take personal responsibility for their own health and well-being. Compromising on social activity, may give parameters to work with and provide much needed rest, while keeping them popular in their perceived social group?
Encourage regular meals of healthy food, exercise and a balance of social activities and your teenagers will thank you for loving them, then again you may be the worst parents in the world in their opinion, but at least you will have tried!
Exercising for Insomnia
Reasons for taking up exercise are varied and many,for some losing weight, for others improving insomnia and other mental health issues. Coming terms with the loss of my husband got me out of the house and into regular exercise. Essentially, I found exercise a help in improving my general health along with mental health. When your overall health improves, every other aspect of your life improves as well.
For some, their doctor usually suggests exercise, and unless exercise becomes part of their life, health problems will impinge on themselves, their family and lifestyles. Overweight, obesity, or just fat what ever you call it causes the main illnesses of heart problems and diabetes. Combining an unhealthy diet without exercise is asking for trouble, leading to mental and physical downsides. The health authorities have unquestionable proof that exercise is indeed a necessary inclusion in a healthy life.
Recommending exercise for obesity has to become today’s buzzword in a world of increasingly fat people. Do you need to lose weight? What would motivate you? Are you getting married? Are you always tired and grumpy? Exercise is not just about losing weight it is about improving your general out look on life. Even if you are not overweight, exercising every day will lift you out of depressive moods and avoid the feeling of sadness that is hard to live with both personally and socially.
For those of us who are getting older it offers a chance to ease back into a routine that will increase circulation, and muscle tone of an aging body. Exercise contributes to bone density and assists in protection of the brain from the dementia diseases.
The obvious motivation to keep exercising as we age is the easy option. When joints start creaking and being painful gentle exercise like swimming is a real benefit that lasts beyond the pool.
Regardless of our ages, insomnia affects everyone to varying degrees. Some will call it a bad night’s sleep, others will have an ongoing problem sleeping that leads to chronic insomnia. As you exercise regularly, the ongoing benefits do become obvious, as you will find along with other improvements to your life style. Sleeping becomes more achievable and more restful, leading to a better outlook on life. Your family comes into focus and you stop dwelling on yourself and start thinking of others. This in turn will reflect on your family and set an example for your children to follow in the coming years. This in turn will reflect on your family and set an example for your children to follow in the coming years. A family that plays and exercise together will have a strong family unit that will survive as others fail.
Insomnia from Lifestyles
I speak from experience when I say I know how devastating the lack of sleep or insomnia can be. Functioning normally becomes a real trial and increases the existing stress from the initial lack of sleep. It is a real catch twenty-two situation, one that something like
1 in 4 people worldwide suffer from, and yes, we all at some time resort to sleeping pills. The unfortunate side effect of these is addiction and an inability to sleep with out taking the pills. Sometimes they can be unavoidable in order to get some relief, but stop at just one or a half tablet when you feel you are stretched to the limit.
It pays to look closely at your lifestyle, and the relationships that are part of your life. What you eat, how you live, work and how you react to other individuals on a daily basis. The foods you consume are the first place to start in order to optimize the chance of a good nights sleep. The four substances that are at the top of the list as a deterrent of sleep are alcohol, caffeine, sugar and nicotine. Other foods that affect your sleeping patterns include proteins like cheese and red meat. Cheese contains amino acids that interfere with the serotonin production in the body.
An avid coffee drinker, I have cut back from ten cups a day to three and then avoiding it after 3pm , as it takes between three and five hours to leave your system. Therefore, in the run up to your bedtime it makes sense to avoid coffee. Caffeine is also found in tea, chocolates and some cold remedies available from the chemist. Look at the ingredients of the processed foods and medications for more accurate information.
Today sugar is quoted as getting kids hyperactive, whether there is truth in that I do not know but certainly, sugar in any quantity before bedtime is not inducive to a good nights sleep. Smoking cigarettes or products with nicotine in them are also not recommended.
Alcohol needs to be taken in moderation as it can be a relaxant in itself but the effects wear off. Consumption in the evening prior to bed may have you dropping off at bed time ,but waking after three or four hours and then to find going back to sleep easier said than done.
Some people do have allergies or intolerances to some foods and it is wise to investigate food that may be a problem. Other issues that affect your sleep may include eating a big meal before you go to bed. Sleeping positions are not the best to ensure a normal digestion process. You are likely to end up with flatulence, heartburn and indigestion all of which hinder sleeping, added to which the discomfort itself is unpleasant. Start changing some of these habits and see if your sleeping patterns change. Insomnia can be beaten if you can find the key as to why it affects you.
Grow Soothing Chamomile for your Stress
Natural Relief
Perhaps growing some would enable you to overcome your insomnia. Firstly it would get you out in the garden and exercising ,all that fresh air can work wonders for an overactive brain. Doing something in order to help yourself has positive spin offs for the mind as well. You have an opportunity to create new and pleasnat thoughts ,benefits of which can be very real as you lay in bed at night before dropping asleep.
Growing chamomile is easy. The plant likes growing in the full sun in a light free draining soil.
Growing it in pots or containers requires a similar soil mix. If you wish to propagate, your plants to either sell or like most gardeners, give them away. You can grow them either from seed, cuttings or division. The small beige colored seeds are sown in spring. The existing plants can be divided in springtime. Take cuttings from some of the side shoots over the summer months. Plants that are growing in pots, like most plants, need to be raised off the ground to stop the potting mix from becoming waterlogged.
There are many varieties of chamomile but the most commonly used ones are, Flore-pleno, Treneague, Matricaria recutia(German) or the Chamaemelum nobile (Roman).The low growing form of Flore-pleno has double flowers, while Treneague is used for lawns. Neither of these forms produces the flowers that are used for chamomile tea. Give plants, both in the garden and pots a liquid fertilizer drink every six weeks or so. Chamomile is a hardy plant and not too fussy about the temperatures it grows in. When chamomile is grown as a lawn or in pathway, the herb gives off a perfume similar to that of an apple.
When picking for use as an herb the leaves can be picked at any time of the day, while the flowers are picked when they are fully open and preferably in the morning after any dew has gone. Using the Nobile or the recutita make them into teas by infusion. Achieve this by pouring boiling water over the flowers and leaving them to soak for at least half an hour. This can be used for as a relaxant or sedative for both adults and children.
Drying the plant, both flowers and leaves allows you to use in pot pourri or in sachets for placing in clothing drawers, or bedding. Chamomile tea is readily available from supermarkets, health shops and pharmacies if you just want the easy way out! Try using the (squeezed) teabags for resting on closed eyelids for some eye relief. While generally an easy plant to use, be aware that if over used, it may cause dizziness or vomiting. Some people may also get dermatitis from touching the plant as well.
Does Stress Affect your Ability to Sleep
Are we aware of how stress affects our lives and our sleeping habits? I suspect not. We become used to the daily life that has a headache or two, arthritis problems or other pains. We assume these are caused by what ever we like to assign them to. Therefore, we may eat more, or take up other habits like smoking and drinking .There are variations to this as people may do different compensatory things.
As this becomes a daily routine, we accept these symptoms as just part of our lives. You may or may not notice your sexual life deteriorating, the tiredness and lack of concentration just more hurdles to be over come. It could be that depression and the feelings of lack of self-esteem become part of your psyche.
The amazing human body will get through each day enabling an individual to get through a day. However, the daily physical annoyance of all these complaints makes you become tense. How often have you sat down and you notice your neck feels tight, it will be tensed muscles.
Your muscles body wide right down to gritting your teeth, if you take the time to notice, will all be tense or tight. The upsurge in the massage business is a good indicator of the fact that many people suffer like wise. The inability to sleep or insomnia is part of the side effects of all these tensed up muscles.
The massage business is based on releasing the stress on muscles or causing relaxation for the muscles. Friends and relatives will have been telling you to relax and stop jumping down their throats! How to relax is a very personal choice and can be achieved from counting sheep for some people, but for others it will require a good look at themselves and their lifestyles.
Taking time to exercise every day is a good de-stressor and a mental lift for many sufferers. Daily exercising promotes the positive mental attitude required by the body in order to alleviate the stress of the day, while providing the ability to sleep better. We are all aware of the effects of a good nights sleep. Combined with exercise and good nights sleep is enough to get person through their day with much less stress. This regime allows one to lose weight as well, so of course it starts a circle of wellness that maintained can only improve your life.
Are your Food habits Spoiling your Sleep?
How we think is one way of looking at whether or not there is a cure for insomnia.
The old saying ‘if you think you can or think you can’t, you are right’
So many of our sleeping habits are controlled by the day-to-day minutiae of our lives and daily habits.
The treatments or possible cures for insomnia come in several forms. The primary cure is to have a close look at your lifestyle, your life, your family and friends. These unbeknown to an individual impact on private thoughts and cause tensions that leave you wondering why you feel as you do, with no obvious answer. The ‘can’t put your finger on why you feel as you do’ feeling.
Some thing that is overlooked I believe is the effect that diets or foods have on the amount or quality of sleep an individual gets. Having taken considerably more interest in foods of late, it has become apparent to me that what I eat appears to affect how well I sleep. In the course of endeavouring to lose, weight the foods I noticed how much better I slept at night after dining out with family. The foods of the meal I considered, given that everything else was the same, had to be the reason.
Research has shown that some foods have more Tryptofan or melatonin in them than others. Tryptofan is an amino acid that assists in the production of serotonin or melatonin. These two hormones play a part in assisting the body to sleep. Foods that have increased amounts of tryptofan are beef, cherries, yogurt, bananas, and milk. We all know the old recipe for inducing sleep is that of hot milk and honey. This has been passed down the generations because it is believed to work. The previous generations certainly did not know about chemicals and hormones in those days but they obviously got it right, milk is indeed one of the high tryptofan foods so they were right!
Avoiding these foods before going to bed could assist in sleeping. The likes of alcohol, coffee and heavy meals eaten an hour or so before going to bed are the top of the list. I try to avoid coffee after three in the afternoon, keeping the daily intake to three cups a day. Whether it helps or not there is no definitive answer but it all comes down to the power of the mind. People like eating chocolate and sweets in front of the television during the evening. This is not a good idea if you want a good night’s sleep. The foods contain sugar or sugar derivatives; sugar is an energy giving substance. It is not the ideal substance to be ingesting before bed no matter how much you love it!
Herbal Remedies For Sleeplessness – Effective Insomnia Natural Treatment
Herbal Remedies For Sleeplessness – Effective Insomnia Natural Treatment
Author:
Dr Andrew Napier
Insomnia or sleeplessness is a disorder characterized by deficiency of sleep or want of sleep. An insomniac finds it difficult to initiate or maintain sleep, and sleeplessness interferes with his or her day to day functioning. 50of the world population suffers from insomnia at some time or the other and 10suffers from chronic or long standing insomnia. An insomniac fails to sleep in spite of sufficient opportunity and time to sleep. His or her sleeplessness may be poor both qualitatively and quantitatively. Insomnia is common among all age groups, but increases with age. Women suffer from insomnia more than men. To study insomniacs, doctor generally takes in to account the following points:
1. Duration of sleep
2. Time of sleep
3. Time to fall asleep
4. Number and duration of awakenings
5. Time of final morning awakening
6. Duration of day time naps.
Based on duration, insomnia may be classified as follows
1. Transient insomnia-Transient insomnia lasts for or less than a week.
2. Short term insomnia-Short term insomnia last for more than a week and may even extend to three weeks.
3. Long term insomnia or chronic insomnia-Long term insomnia extends beyond three weeks.
The term \’insomnia\’ or sleeplessness should not be confused with sleep deprivation or short duration sleep. Sleep deprivation stands for willful avoidance of sleep or sleeplessness due to lack of opportunity and time. Short duration sleep is common. Some people require less hours of sleep, and that does not cause any impairment of day to day functioning.
Causes of Insomnia
1. Stressful life
2. Different working shifts
3. Physical discomfort due to unfamiliar surroundings, hot or cold.
4. Illicit drug use
5. Alcoholism
6. High intake of caffeine and tobacco
7. Jet lag
8. Sexual dissatisfaction
9. Effect of certain medications
10. Going to bed hungry
11. Noisy sleeping atmosphere
12. Eating or exercising before going to bed
13. Breathing difficulties
14. Obesity
15. Frequent urge for urination
16. Acid reflux
17. Chronic pain
18. Obstructive sleep apnea
19. Hyperthyroidism
20. Parkinson\’s disease
21. Psychiatric conditions like depression, mania, psychosis, post traumatic stress disorder.
22. Physiological condition like menstrual cycle, menopause, pregnancy.
23. Restless leg syndrome
24. Periodic limb movement disorder.
Symptoms of Sleeplessness or Insomnia
1. Day time functioning impairment
2. Day time fatigue
3. Day time sleepiness
4. Lack of concentration and frequent errors
5. Mood changes
6. Poor social function
7. Lack of energy
8. Memory impairment
9. Headaches
10. Anxiety
Insomnia may be treated effectively through non medical ways like maintaining regular fixed bed time hours, exercising during day, taking a body massage before going to bed, taking a bath with Epsom salt or baking soda mixed in to bath water prior to sleeping, taking warm milk or herbal tea before sleeping, listening to light music before going to bed, avoiding naps and sleeping in a firm bed.
Herbal Remedies for Insomnia or Sleeplessness
1. Valerian calms the nerves effectively, and valerian tea puts one to sound sleep.
2. Passion flower tincture has excellent sedative properties.
3. Hops calms anxiety and restlessness and has sedative properties.
4. Black Cohosh and blue Cohosh also relax nerves effectively.
5. Chamomile tea or oil in bath water is an effective insomnia remedy.
6. California poppy has excellent sedative properties.
7. Lavender oil used in bath water or used as a massage lotion can relax tensed nerves.
8. The herb kava kava is also a nerve calmer and helps in sleeping.
9. St John\’s Wort effectively treats chronic insomnia.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/alternative-medicine-articles/herbal-remedies-for-sleeplessness-effective-insomnia-natural-treatment-4196488.html
About the Author
Read more about Natural Cure for Insomnia. Also know about Memory Supplements. Read about Immunity Supplement.
How to Escape Insomnia Enslavement
Briefly, there are three sleeping habits that we all fall prey to, lack of sleep, too much sleep and a disturbed sleep. The lack of sleep generally comes under the term “insomnia” and is likely to be the more common variety of sleep disorders.
It becomes noticeable when you have a problem dropping asleep and staying asleep. Others may have difficulty going to sleep and waken during the night, after a number of hours, sometimes a couple of hours sometimes more, but it leaves the sufferer feeling worn out when the new day dawns. The new day adding insult to injury with the feeling that you have had no sleep at all.
The lack of sleep or insomnia in most people is for psychological reasons. A hard day at the workplace, relationship difficulties are amongst the most likely reasons. An over active mindset that wants to achieve a goal and then not completing the goal is another.
For children or teenagers the ever-present bullying from their peers either in the schoolyard or from text bullying is enough to upset a sleeping pattern.
To one person no big deal, but to others it could well become a major crisis. Each one of us has things that affect us and us alone. The answer lies in how we deal with the predicaments that we get ourselves into. In this very common and ordinary form of insomnia, you have to look at your self and your lifestyle very closely and ask the hard question, why am I not sleeping?
Answered truthfully, you can then look at solving the problem or initiating the means in solving or controlling the stress. Sometimes when having trouble sleeping this can be a very good method. Concentrate on the problem, solve it and the mind will let go of it, the next thing you awake feeling you have slept well.
Should it just be an uneasy feeling that you just cant put your finger on, why not try some of the old wives tales that tell you how to sleep better. The “sleep with your head to the north”, counting sheep, and deep breathing tricks are worth trying. All of which I have tried and depending on the reason of the insomnia, will some times work.
Try backing these up with some of the herbal derivatives like California poppy, Valerian, St Johns Wort, or Passionflower pills that are available at your supermarket or Pharmacy. If there are none labeled as such, read the small print, or the very small print and you will see combinations of these herbs go into making some of the “sleep tablets”. While scientifically these are not considered effective, they can work from the psychological aspect and because you believe you will sleep well using the tablets, quite often it is true.
Anxiety and Depression causing Insomnia
Everyone who has had anxiety or depression will know about the effect it has on sleeping. The anxiety affecting the modern generation ranges from the broken iPhone to relationships in all their many forms.Insomnia occurs because of a mind that refuses to shut down come bedtime.We all at some time or another seek Stress relief
You cannot expect a good nights sleep if the psychological and physiological conditions are not conducive to a restful night. Sleeping well occurs because “the all is right with the world” is the mindset of the individual. The ability to sleep depends on a feeling of security in the bedroom and a sense of comfort in the bed. Sleeping well generally requires a mind that is at peace.
Anxiety reduced to its basic form represents the old flight or fight mentality of our Stone Age ancestors. There is nothing worse than lying in bed and being aware of your heart racing, the tight muscles of your neck and body and a mind that will not shut down. Dropping off to sleep and waking in the early hours of the morning in itself causing worry how you would cope with the stress of the day.Trying to find the causes of anxiety are as easy as looking for changes in our lives.
Ask yourself how your days have changed leading into the restless nights.Is your job under threat? Relationships, be it a breakup with a partner, or the death of a spouse will affect your mind. Maybe a promotion at work and you are considering the implications and responsibilities. Are you due for retirement? Are you finding it hard to cope with the thought of losing your routine? Your partner may also be a cause for anxiety for reasons you may not be able to put your finger on.
There are many myths and habits that we try in the hope of achieving a good night’s sleep.Going to bed earlier, is one, but ultimately all that achieves is spending more time tossing and turning. Taking a nap during the day may help initially but all that does is upset the nighttime routine. How often do you find yourself nodding off while watching TV in the evening only to find that when you go to bed you cannot sleep! There are many suggestions that can help your lack of sleep from natural remedies, more exercise, less coffee. Follow those guidelines and you may get some relief but unfortunately, unless your day-to-day stress has been resolved sleeping nights will not happen.
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Insomnia Natural Remedy
Did you know that 64 million Americans experience insomnia every year?Insomnia is really a sleeping disorder where an individual has problems with falling asleep, even though this individual can fall asleep he or she wakes up repeatedly during first minutes of resting. One of the most common type is known as secondary insomnia. Secondary means that the insomnia is really a sign or side-effect of a disease, medications that could postpone or affect sleep, anxiety, pain, stimulants or depressants. It’s a critical condition, which will require immediate medical attention.
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