Cet outil vous fournit une traduction automatisée en français.
Title:
Get To Sleep Tonight
Word Count:
460
Summary:
I used to have problems sleeping. I was always tired and if I accidentally dropped off during the day for so much as five minutes I wouldnt be able to sleep the following night. Then a friend told me a trick he used to use and I adapted it slightly. Since then I have always been able to use this technique to get to sleep.
To start with, think about your breathing. Keep it regular and slow. As you breath in think to yourself sea and as you breathe out think shore. Get ...
Keywords:
health,sleep,insomnia,relaxation
Article Body:
I used to have problems sleeping. I was always tired and if I accidentally dropped off during the day for so much as five minutes I wouldnt be able to sleep the following night. Then a friend told me a trick he used to use and I adapted it slightly. Since then I have always been able to use this technique to get to sleep.
To start with, think about your breathing. Keep it regular and slow. As you breath in think to yourself sea and as you breathe out think shore. Get a rhythm going. While youre doing this imagine youre standing at the edge of the sea looking down at your feet. As you breathe in and think sea imagine the small waves running over your feet as a small wave breaks and then, as you breathe out and think shore imagine the water retreating back to the sea. See the water as it goes back towards the sea and see the sand that is left behind. Feel that your feet are now on their own little mounds of sand as the sea has washed the surrounding sand away. Repeat.
Now, if youre like me youll be thinking of a hundred other things at the same time. Maybe trying to work out whats for tea, how to pay off your loan, youve just remembered the kids need a packed lunch for school the next day, mentally writing a presentation. Perhaps youve just finished work, its late and you havent had time to wind down properly so your head is swimming with figures. Whatever it is you need to concentrate. That might sound silly having to concentrate to get to sleep. The natural reaction is to try and relax but if you relax all the worries come flooding back and make you more anxious. You need to concentrate on just two words.
It doesnt matter if you cant keep your breathing regular. What matters is that you say sea and shore to yourself as you breathe in and out. Really concentrate. Think the words as loudly as you can to drown out all the other stuff that keeps coming back to you. Also try to see the little waves lapping at your feet and then the sand as they go back out again. Concentrate as hard as you can on keeping the breathing, the words and the pictures all together. Dont try to add anything else. Dont try to count how many times you do this before you drop off. Just keep with the breathing, saying and seeing. It should soon settle into a rhythm but you might not notice. Youll probably be asleep.
BONUS : Title:
Going Cuckoo Over Sleep, Or The Lack Thereof
Word Count:
646
Summary:
This article is about the connection of sleeping problems with mental illnesses. It briefly discusses the mechanics of sleep, its function, and characteristics. There are two general kinds of sleeping disorders connected to psychiatric conditions, these are insomnia and hypersomnia. The most commonly related psychiatric illnesses connected to sleeping problems are: general anxiety disorder, depression, adjustment disorder, and panic attacks.
Keywords:
sleep problems, mental illness, stress, depression, anxiety disorder
Article Body:
A ruffled mind makes a restless pillow, so says Charlotte Bronte. Studies have linked sleep problems with a multitude of psychiatric conditions. Some medical professionals would say a lot of mental problems are caused by lack of sleep, and some would say that its the other way around, that psychiatric problems cause difficulty sleeping. But how is sleep related to your mental health?
Sleep
Sleep is the natural state of rest observed not only by human beings but also by other species of the animal kingdom. Regular sleep is vital for ones health and survival. This is characterized by a loss of consciousness, reduced voluntary body movement, decreased reaction to external stimuli, an increase rate of anabolism (cell synthesis), and a decreased rate of catabolism (cell breakdown).
Sleep consists of five stages. The first four stages are called non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep. The last stage is the rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Stage one is the transition from wake to sleep. Stage two is an intermediate level of sleep. Stages three and four are referred to as deep or slow wave sleep, with stage four as the deepest stage of sleep. The fifth stage of sleep, the REM stage, is the stage in sleep where we dream. All of these stages involve brain movement.
Sleeping problems
There are two sleeping difficulties most noted to be related to psychiatric illnesses:
Insomnia. In this sleeping problem, a patient has trouble falling or remaining asleep. Insomniacs usually dont feel refreshed after a nights rest. This is classified into acute (short-term) or chronic (the condition lasts for over a month).
Hypersomnia. When a patient has this condition, he feels extremely sleepy throughout the day. Patients with hypersomnia usually sleep long during the night and still take repeated naps throughout the day. Even though patients sleep long, they are still not refreshed.
Mental illnesses related to sleep problems
Here are some psychiatric conditions that are commonly related to having sleeping disorders.
Adjustment disorders. This is a condition wherein a person overreacts to any form of stress in their life. Patients with this disorder often complain of having insomnia.
Bipolar disorder. In this mental condition, a patient experiences periods of highs (mania) and lows (depression) alternately. Patients with this conditions are most often hypersomniacs.
Generalized anxiety disorder. A patient displays frequent patterns of worrying about things. Patients find it difficult to sleep because of the worries that go around their minds.
Panic disorder. A patient experiences an extreme fear and anxiety over something unexplainable. Patients often wake up in the middle of the night and have difficulty going back to sleep.
How are sleeping problems and mental illnesses related?
People with sleeping disorders may manifest symptoms of the mental illness or that of the sleeping disorder itself. However some noted signs are:
Increased anxiety at bedtime.
An inclination to staying in bed more often.
Fatigue or complete lack of energy.
Difficulty concentrating.
A tendency to fall asleep when in low-stimulation situations.
Feeling disoriented when aroused.
Decreased appetite.
Irritability.
Memory impairment.
Recent studies have shown that brain activity associated with mental illnesses have been observed in healthy people whove been sleep deprived for a night. An increase in activity in the amygdala, the brains emotion center, was seen in patients whove been asked to miss a nights rest. The same study noted that sleep deprivation affected the way the prefrontal cortex, which damps down the amygdala, reacts. The same disruption of prefrontal cortex function has been noted in patients with certain psychiatric disorders.
In conclusion, sleep is not just a function that we need to engage in to rest our body. Our minds health depends on it too. Our busy lifestyles may tell you that sleep is for the weak. But think of how much weaker a lack of sleep may make you.