Sleep Problems

Nick Preston :


A body pillow is most certainly a pregnant girl’s best friend, especially in the latter months of pregnancy. Don’t be misled to think that carrying a small child in your belly is a prerequisite for needing a body pillow. So how do you know if a body pillow is going to benefit you or someone you love?

Body pillows can be of great benefit to you regardless of the sleep position you prefer. Whether you are a back, side or stomach sleeper, body pillows can be used in a variety of ways to help support your spine and give you more comfortable, deeper and thereby more effective sleep.

Back sleepers can use a body pillow under one side to slightly turn their body, many times improving breathing position (and decreasing snoring) and reducing strain on the lower lumbar spine. The lower portion of the body pillow can also be placed under the knees to further reduce strain on the delicate sciatic and pelvic nerves as well as the lumbar nerve roots.

Body pillows are more than teddy bear replacements; they are long pillows which serve to give cushioning and support for the legs, hips and upper back when you lay on your side. A good body pillow keeps the spine in its proper alignment by supporting the shoulders and hips as it holds the arms and legs in a position perpendicular to the axis of the body.

Without a body pillow in place, your arms and legs fall down to the bed while side lying, folding your arms and legs across your body into a position known as adduction. Prolonged adduction of the shoulders and hips will interfere with proper blood flow and nerve function in both the arms and the legs. In several cases this can potentially cause and certainly aggravate carpal tunnel symptoms or numbness, tingling or pain in the hands, arms, legs or feet.

Keeping your arms and legs in their proper position also serves to prevent a number of common problems that interrupt a solid night’s sleep, including tossing and turning throughout the night, having to frequently reposition your pillow and leg cramps, all of which will keep you from getting into and staying in deeper sleep stages where the highest quality rest and healing occurs.

Stomach sleepers can use a body pillow to turn them enough to take the strain off from the neck and the upper back that causes stomach sleepers headaches, brachial plexus and carpal tunnel symptoms. By gradually positioning more and more of the body pillow under your torso you can progressively change from a face down position to one of side sleeping without the frustrating adjustment period of sleepless nights typically associated with trying to change sleep habits.

The reason that pregnant women love body pillows is because they can be used to help support the abdomen, relieving tension on the already overworked pelvic and abdominal muscles, tendons and ligaments. They also help to hold the pelvic joints in a natural, relaxed position, working to relieve low back pain commonly reported in the final months before delivery. Since side sleeping is essentially the only position which is healthy for both baby and mommy, getting added support in this position is critical.

A challenge that is commonly faced by body pillow users is managing multiple pillows with a limited amount of bed space. Cognizant of this, some pillow manufacturers have produced specially designed body pillows that eliminate the need for a separate head and neck pillow. This allows you optimal support and functionality without having to kick your spouse out of bed for need of more pillow space.

Added benefits to using a body pillow include being able to use it as a back support cushion while sitting up in bed, or as a wrap-around pillow/backrest/desk for reading, paying bills or doing your homework. Storing your body pillow is easy, as it can be stored across the top of the bed when you aren’t using it.

If you want to improve your quality and quantity of sleep, consider the benefits of a body pillow in addition to or in replacement of your current neck pillow. Supporting your body while you sleep pays great rewards in not only allowing you to sleep better, but also in helping you to wake refreshed and energized so that you can perform throughout the day at your peak potential.

Steve Hefferon :

What’s the most time-consuming thing you do, day in and day out, every day of your life? Eating? I hope not. Sitting in traffic? Ditto. Watching TV? Nope. It’s sleeping.

You spend between six and 10 hours a night in bed. That’s one-third of your life. And when it comes to back pain, those are some of the most important hours in your day.

Sleep helps your body heal. It’s really the only time your muscles can completely rest and recover. There are a ton of studies linking sleep with healing. They show that, among other things, human growth hormone and melatonin, both of which play a big role in tissue recovery and immunity, are produced during sleep.

So if you’re not getting good sleep-whether it’s due to pain, anxiety, fear or whatever-you’re not giving your muscles, especially your back muscles, time to rejuvenate themselves for the next day’s activities.

Believe me, I know. In my struggles with all kinds of pain over the years, I’ve come to understand first-hand the importance of restful sleep. In this article, I’d like to share with you what I’ve learned.

What’s the Best Mattress

Is firm better than soft? From a physiological standpoint, a more supportive mattress is better regardless of what sleep position you prefer.

But having said that, the real answer is this: The best mattress is the one that helps you sleep well and wake up without any added pain and stiffness. It’s really about personal preference and what you are used to.

In my experience, I have tried them all. I tried a memory foam mattress but it was too soft. (I gave to my parents, and they love it.) I now use a firm box spring and mattress plus a towel under the sheets to give added support to my hips and pelvis.

Special Secret Tip:

You read that right-I put a towel under my fitted sheet. A small blanket works well too. Here’s what you do: Fold the towel or blanket in half (and in half again if it’s thin). Place it under the fitted sheet-so it doesn’t move around during the night-under the small of your back and spreading down toward your knees. This extra support helps prevent your pelvis from sagging into the mattress. It might only make a difference of a few millimeters. But that is a huge difference when it comes to preventing the added stress that comes with remaining in any sleeping position all night long.

What’s the Best Position to Sleep In?

As with the mattress you chose, the position you sleep in is based on your personal preference or physical limitations based on pain or restrictions from your doctor because of surgery. In general, back sleeping is the most stable position for your spine and the least irritating to your muscles. Side sleeping is the next best. Stomach sleep is the least desirable if your back is not adequately supported.

I personally like a modified side-lying position, using full-length body pillow. I sleep “hugging” the pillow with my arms and legs, which is really comfortable and takes pressure off my lower back. You should try it. Body pillows can be found at most retail bedding stores. They are not expensive and may give you an alternative sleeping position that will make a big difference in your comfort level, thus improving the quality and duration of sleep.

Why am I Sore When I Wake Up?

Typically, those with back pain don’t roll over as much as those without pain. You may even find your self with limited movement. And because the hips are the heaviest part of the body, they sag into the mattress over time. That puts undue pressure on the ligaments, joints and muscles of the lower spine. This is why I recommend the added support under the fitted sheet.

Think of it as like stretching the same muscles for six to eight hours straight. Would that feel good? Of course not. So it’s no wonder you wake up sore. Find a way to support your body and you will minimize the irritation.

I hope these tips help, and I encourage you to think of your own comfort-enhancing positions and/or techniques.

A Few More Tips

* Don’t drink any fluids 60 minutes before bedtime. This is so you don’t have to go to the bathroom and then have trouble falling back asleep.

* No physical activity for at least 45 minutes before bed. Exercising will rev your body up, making it hard to calm yourself and fall into a restful sleep.

* Take 10 deep breaths as you tell yourself you are going to sleep. When you awake you will be feeling great and ready for the new day.

* As you lay in bed ready to go to sleep, reflect on your day. Express gratitude and give thanks for all you have. It helps you look forward to waking up with renewed enthusiasm and the belief that tomorrow will bring you one day closer to your goals.

* Dress in warm bedclothes if you are cold and cool clothes if you are hot. I have taken this to the extreme and love the results. I wear wool socks, flannel pants, a sweatshirt and a knit hat. It sounds strange, but if you can minimize the stress on the body in this case trying to keep warm your body will be more relaxed. Healing is always better when the body is relaxed.

* Do some reading. In my work on back pain, I scour the latest resources and reference guides. So let me recommend and urge you to read the best book ever written on sleep. It’s called “Power Sleep: The Revolutionary Program That Prepares Your Mind for Peak Performance,” by Dr. James B. Mass. It’s available on Amazon.com for about $10. That would be money well spent.

StewartRobertson :

We probably all know that insomnia is a condition that inhibits us from easily falling asleep or staying asleep. Some people ridden with insomnia may find that they have great difficulty falling asleep. Others have no trouble falling asleep at all, but they do tend to wake up all too soon. Still, others find that they fall asleep with difficulty, and during the few times that they do fall asleep, they have trouble being asleep for an appropriate amount of time. The bottom line is insomnia means poor quality of sleep. And we know what that does to us, we feel more tired than ever and usually very sleepy during the day. We are typically depressed, irritable, and have trouble concentrating, recalling, and learning. Thus, we are hardly ever at our optimum performance in school or at work.

Insomnia can take two forms. Primary insomnia is a disorder that is usually temporary. Generally, primary insomnia can last anywhere from one month to a few months. Secondary insomnia, on the other hand, is the most common type of insomnia. It usually comes as a symptom or an effect of some other veiled or overt problem. A person may suffer from secondary insomnia as a result of a disease, pain, anxiety, depression, medications that include lack of or disrupted sleep as its side-effects, intake of caffeine, tobacco, or alcohol, restless legs syndrome, inappropriate sleeping conditions, or a change in sleeping habits.

If you are one of the increasing number of people suffering from bouts of insomnia, you may be nearing the end of your rope looking for a cure that is foolproof, convenient, and that offers lasting results. Fortunately, Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) will definitely be able to help you. EFT primarily deals with a person’s energy systems, easing blockages in energy channels that arise when a person contemplates or gets engrossed in a particularly disturbing circumstance. EFT releases the blockage through a remarkable but scientifically-based tapping routine.

How can you get EFT to relieve you of insomnia? First, determine exactly what type of insomnia you experience by pinpointing at which time the sleeplessness generally occurs. Do you wake up in the middle of the night and then usually cannot go back to sleep anymore? Do you wake up too soon after you’ve successfully drifted off to sleep? Or do you simply find it difficult to go to sleep? After this, determine the chief stressors in your life like a deadline, a crisis, a childhood trauma, etc. Proceed to write down emotions or issues you may have about trying to get rid of insomnia and then determine each issue’s level of intensity on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the highest in intensity. Formulate affirmations and reminder clauses regarding these issues, an example of which is “Even though I feel the need to worry incessantly, I totally and honestly accept myself just as I am”. Starting from the most intense issue, tap on corresponding meridian points or accupoints using your index and middle fingers while reciting the affirmations and reminder clauses. The accupoints include the karate chop point, eyebrow, side of the eye, below the eye, under the nose, chin, collarbone, armpit, and at the top of the head. The intensity level of each issue should decrease after one or several tapping routines.

Indeed, EFT is the popular cure for insomnia nowadays. It provides lasting results and has mostly positive side effects. Not only that, it can be learned and remembered easily and is completely painless.

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), is one of the most highly effective, energy-healing processes available to us today. It is a very easy method to open up blocked energy channels in our bodies. It is important to understand the basic principles of EFT, so that you can easily apply the process to your sleep issues. EFT can be used as a pre-bed activity or can be implemented if you wake up during the night and have difficulty going back to sleep.

But first, let’s develop a general understanding about the process itself. As you are aware, the human body has a tremendous amount of energy flowing through it along the energy meridians. The understanding is that when energy is blocked in one of these systems, it can have a direct physiological effect and can cause any number of illnesses, pains, negative emotions, feelings and behaviors. None of this is comfortable, nor do we want this discomfort to remain in our bodies.

EFT is a very simple process that can effectively alleviate, mitigate or remove these energy blockages in many circumstances. The EFT process is easy to learn and to remember. You physically use your fingertips to tap on the body’s energy meridians (acupoints) thereby opening the energy channels and clearing the energy blockage. You can view the actual tapping points at http://www.thespiritofsleep.com/eft_secret_friend.html. Honestly, it takes about 1 – 2 minutes to gently tap each of these acupoints about 5 to 7 times each. This process is very quick to do and often is amazingly successful. It is a painless form of acupuncture, which the Chinese and other eastern cultures have been using for over 5000 years to heal any number of maladies.

The founder of EFT is Gary Craig. EFT has been in existence since 1995. There are literally thousands upon thousands of case studies chronicling its effectiveness for healing and eliminating many negative and painful issues in our lives that bother us whether emotional, psychological or physiological – sleep is just one of these issues. As Gary Craig says, try it on everything. You can visit his extensive web site at – http://www.emofree.com. Here you will find a wealth of information, excellent instructional CD’s and DVD’s, as well as wide-ranging testimonials on the effectiveness of using EFT for what ails you, including insomnia.

Thinking you must solve a problem now can cause many wakeful hours. If you are worrying about a current problem and attempting to find a solution to alleviate the problem, this situation can be frequently “taken to bed”, which further feeds your insomnia.

Anxiety is a real sleep-depriver. Perhaps you are dwelling on an anxiety-producing situation like dealing with a sick family member, a recent death, marital problem, maintaining your job, or some dominant health or business issue. When these anxiety-producing thoughts surface before going to bed or during the night, write them down.

Your subconscious is extremely powerful. If you turn your issues over to your subconscious, many creative solutions will present themselves. It is well known that many famous inventions have originated during sleep or while the inventor is in the theta wave state. The issue(s) causing your insomnia may be hidden deeply in your subconscious. EFT can be an excellent too to use to uncover whatever you’ve buried.

Let me give you an example. One night while awake with thoughts running rampant, I found myself thinking incessantly about what I was going to wear the next day. The clothing options played over and over in my mind. Even when I’d made a mental choice, I still couldn’t seem to let go of the mental chatter. Two days later I had a session with an EFT specialist to probe deeper into this wakefulness. When asked what I’d thought about during this extended wake-up period, I explained my relentless thoughts about what to wear, which in hindsight was ridiculous as I have lots of clothes that I look good in. So why did these thoughts keep me awake? It all boiled down to my perfectionism. And why did I need to be perfect? With some probing, I realized it all stemmed from wanting to please my parents. Wow! Did that ever go back a long way. We tapped on this perceived (and unrealistic) need to be perfect.

That was a number of months ago since this writing. I just realized that this particular subconscious issue has not returned even during any minor wake–up. You just simply may not know what is buried ~ how deep ~ and how far back it goes.

You can do EFT on your own, however sometimes, when the issues run deeper, a skilled practitioner can lead you to uncovering the issue quite quickly.

Practicing EFT

There are basically 3 easy ways to practice EFT:

1. On your own

2. Tapping along with Gary Craig’s CD/DVD’s.

3. Tapping with an EFT specialist.

Sometimes, getting to the heart of the matter requires another set of eyes and ears.

You know by now that you create your daytime reality. Let EFT help you create a positive nighttime reality. In general, EFT is a remarkable healing process. It can reduce or totally eliminate stress and emotions resulting from stressful events. The result? You sleep more restfully.