The Sleep Secret

Did you know that in the last decade, the market for so-called energy drinks has grown rapidly. These beverages are often advertised as nutritious, and some contain vitamins or herbal extracts. But their main ingredients are sugar and caffeine – and lots of both.  And, to much of either can lead to sleep loss, insomnia and can be bad for your health.

Nutritionist Dee Rollins with Baylor University in Texas says she’s aware of more than 200 energy drinks that are on the market. She says the amount of caffeine they contain can be amazingly high. “Some of these energy drinks run a couple of hundred milligrams of caffeine per one drink,” she says.

But many drink manufacturers don’t advertise the amount of caffeine contained in the drinks. So, she warns, people drinking them could easily be taking in too much of this powerful, central nervous system stimulant.

“A small amount increases our awareness, decreases our fatigue, makes us feel a little bit better,” Rollins explains. “Generally 250 milligrams a day [is] what would in America be recognized as safe to take. A [level of] 300 milligrams is often considered excessive.”

Some energy drinks contain over 200 milligrams of caffeine in one bottle. Rollins worries that when people finish drinking that bottle, they don’t realize they’ve just consumed close to the daily limit of caffeine. Add to that just a single cup of coffee – containing between 80 to 120 milligrams of caffeine – and a person can quickly end up over the recommended limit.

Rollins says researchers have found that topping 250 milligrams of caffeine in a day can lead to health problems, and symptoms such as nervousness, headaches, increased heart rate, and higher blood pressure. “The more we take, the more symptoms we might have, depending on the genetics of the person,” she explains. “We might have G.I. [gastro-intestinal] irritation – that would be the gut, the stomach, the intestines; we might have diarrhea. If we take too much we might actually move into depression; insomnia is not uncommon, [nor is] poor concentration.”

Too much caffeine has been found to contribute to changes in heart rhythm. Rollins says psychiatrists have also found that caffeine can exacerbate symptoms in people with mental health problems, such as depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety and sleep problems.

Rollins says the way to avoid taking in too much caffeine is to know how much caffeine is in an energy drink, and to drink them in moderation.

Thomas “Trapper” Sherwood; CMH
Certified Master Hypnotist
http://sleepsecretaudio.com

There is no surefire method that guarantees a good night’s sleep–not even a warm bath or a warm glass of milk. Although those two tricks will help. However, experts now recognize that there are some factors that may either help promote or discourage a peaceful night’s sleep. If your sleep problems persist, be sure to see your family physician or a sleep expert. Most problems can be treated with good results.

DO:

# Exercise regularly, but not within 4 to 6 hours of going to bed.

# Take a short nap during the day if you’re tired, but keep it brief. And do it early in the day.

# Take a rest break if you feel tired while driving. Fresh air or loud music won’t keep you alert, but a short nap may do the trick, especially if you combine it with caffeine, says Dr. James Kiley of the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research.

# Try to relax and let nature take its course. If that doesn’t help you fall asleep, get up and move around. Go to another room and read, watch television or listen to music. Don’t take sleeplessness lying down.

# Go to sleep and get up at the same time each day, even on weekends and holidays.

# See a doctor for any medical conditions affecting your quality or quantity of sleep, such as arthritis, bronchitis, asthma, certain heart problems, hormone disorders such as hyperthyroidism, and sleep-related disorders like RLS and sleep apnea.

DON’T:

# Use alcohol for at least 2 hours before bedtime. It may make your drowsy at first, but after a few hours it can disrupt sleep.

# Overdo your consumption of caffeinated beverages or over-the-counter medicines during the day. Some pain-relieving medications contain caffeine–check the labels. Be aware that certain prescription medicines, such as those for asthma, some antidepressants, and anti-anxiety drugs may cause insomnia.

# Use the bedroom to pay bills, watch television, or discuss the problems of the day. The bedroom should be used only for sex and sleep.

# Rely on over-the-counter herbs, or other sleep-promoting substances whose safety and effectiveness have not been determined.

# Smoke, especially before bedtime. Nicotine can disrupt sleep and reduce total hours slept. Smokers report far greater sleepiness and minor accidents than do nonsmokers.

# Think that sleep problems cannot be treated. In most instances, there are effective treatments, even for older men and women or those with health problems.

As always, we hope that you find this blog post, and the many others on this blog are useful to you.

Sincerely,

Thomas “Trapper” Sherwood
“Give us seven minutes and we’ll give you a good night’s sleep”
http://www.sleepsecretaudio.com

**Recommended Resource** Would you prefer to watch a video to help with your insomnia? You now can :
Insomnia video

Greetings,

You might be surprised to find out that there are things hiding everywhere which will harm your ability to fall asleep at night and to stay asleep until you need to wake up in the morning.  This not only includes things that may be hiding in the food that you eat or the liquids that you drink, it may also be things that are hiding in the environment around us.  Here are several different things that may be causing us to experience insomnia, many of which we may not even be aware of.

The most obvious of these would be chemicals that are hiding inside of the food that we eat.  The type of food that we eat before we go to bed makes a lot of difference in how well we are going to be able to sleep at night.  Although many of us may tend to eat ourselves into a coma in the evenings, this really is not a good thing for us to do.  If we fill up on fast acting carbohydrates in the evenings, we are actually causing our pancreas to dump massive amounts of insulin into our bloodstream.  This causes us to be lethargic and to fall asleep but eventually, it throws us into a tailspin that may cause insomnia.

Most of us are aware that caffeine is a stimulant but there may also be other stimulants that are in the food that we eat and the drinks that we drink.  Sugar is a good example of this and although its effects may be somewhat short-lived, it is a stimulant nonetheless.  Make sure that you are not eating or drinking in the sugar within a few hours of bedtime.  This will help to even out your body chemistry and allow you to get a good nights sleep if this is the cause of your insomnia.

Finally, there may be some pollen that is hiding in your area or perhaps even on your body.  Make sure that you shower before going to bed as this will help you to get a much better night’s sleep.  You should also run a high quality air filter in your room to remove as much of the pollen as you possibly can.  If the filter does happen to be a little bit noisy, it often simply turns into white noise so it will not keep you up at night.

Thomas “Trapper” Sherwood
“Give us seven minutes, and we’ll give you a good night’s sleep, GUARANTEED!”
http://www.sleepsecretaudio.com

Greetings,

Here are three quick tips that can help you start sleeping better tonight.

If you are having a difficult time falling asleep, the last thing that you want to do is to reach for a pharmaceutical cure.  Although some of these pills will help you to fall asleep, they really are only inducing a fake sleep that will not necessarily help to cure the problem.  They may make you unconscious but what you are really getting can hardly be called sleep by any stretch of the imagination.  If you would like to cure your insomnia from the root of the problem, here are three natural cures that you can use which tend to help.

The first cure is blocking any extra sound or light that is coming into the room in which you are sleeping.  These are the two problems that cause a lack of sleep in many individuals.  Things such as outside noise in the home, a TV that is playing in our bedroom or even somebody that is snoring can make a big difference in how you’re going to sleep.  Light also tends to keep us awake and if there is light in our bedroom, we are never going to be able to achieve that deep level of sleep that we need in order to feel rested and rejuvenated.

The second thing that you can do is to prepare your mind and body for a good night’s sleep.  Try to avoid any type of heavy eating or stimulant drinks, such as caffeine within several hours of going to sleep.  You should also avoid watching any television shows or movies that will stimulate your thinking to a level that may keep you up at night.  About an hour before it is time to go to sleep, take the time to relax your mind with some soft music and perhaps some poetry.  Take a nice bath and do some deep breathing exercises.  You would probably be surprised with how much this will help you sleep at night.

Finally, you may try some good old fashion warm milk if you are having a difficult time sleeping.  Warm milk has tryptophan which can help the body to produce serotonin naturally.  This particular hormone helps you to feel good and may help to alleviate any stress that is keeping you up at night.  Not only that, it may also help in producing the hormone melatonin naturally which is one of the body’s strongest ways of putting us to sleep.

Sincerely,

Thomas “Trapper” Sherwood
Give us seven minutes, and we’ll give you a good night’s sleep.
The Sleep Secret Audio’s
http://www.sleepsecretaudio.com

Greetings,

Getting a good night sleep is not only important for us but it is often important for anybody that has a deal with us on a regular basis.  If you have been having problems with insomnia, you no doubt realize that can put a strain on almost every aspect of your life.  Unfortunately, many of us do not know what to do in order to stop the insomnia that we are dealing with.  There are some natural cures, however, that can really help you to get a good nights sleep, even if sleep seems to be something that is elusive for you.

One of the first things that can help you to get a good nights sleep which we will discuss is tea.  One of the best types of tea that you can drink for this is chamomile.  This unique herb has been shown to help people to rest better and this can make a big difference in whether we are able to sleep or not.  There are other types of teas which can also help but you need to use caution that the tea which you choose is not actually a stimulant.  The last thing that you want to have before you go to bed if you are having a hard time sleeping is caffeine.

Another thing that may help you sleep better is aromatherapy.  Aromatherapy has been used for thousands of years in various parts of the earth for a number of different reasons.  If you choose the right kind of scents, you will be surprised with how much this can help you to relax and sleep.  Some of the most popular aromatherapy scents for insomnia include lavender, chamomile, rose and sandalwood.  If you are able to add these to a nice, warm bath, you would be surprised with how relaxed you will end up feeling.

Finally, there may be an cure that is often overlooked.  How often have you heard that you should drink a glass of warm milk if you are having a difficult time falling asleep?  You might be surprised to learn that this is actually fairly good advice.  The reason why this is the case is because warm milk contains tryptophan which can trigger the natural release of melatonin into your system.  Melatonin regulates our internal body clock and helps us to fall asleep and to reach a state of deep sleep.  Drinking a glass of warm milk before bed may help you more than you realize.

Sleep well,

Thomas “Trapper” Sherwood

Give us Seven Minutes, and we’ll give you a good night’s sleep.
http://www.sleepsecretaudio.com

Greetings,

I hope Daylight Savings Time has not disrupted your sleep to much this past week.

Things around here have been pretty busy, and I just now realized that I have gone a whole week without posting.

Sorry about that. Today we are posting information about what can cause insomnia.

Causes of Secondary Insomnia

Secondary insomnia is often a symptom of an emotional, neurological, or other medical disorder, or of another sleep disorder.

The emotional disorders that can cause secondary insomnia include depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease are examples of common neurological disorders that can cause secondary insomnia.

A number of other diseases and conditions can cause secondary insomnia, including:

* Conditions that cause chronic pain, such as arthritis and headache disorders
* Conditions that cause difficulty breathing, such as asthma or heart failure
* Overactive thyroid
* Gastrointestinal disorders, such as heartburn
* Stroke

Sleep disorders, such as restless legs syndrome, also can cause secondary insomnia. In addition, secondary insomnia can be a side-effect of certain medicines or commonly used substances, including:

* Caffeine or other stimulants
* Tobacco or other products with nicotine
* Alcohol or other sedatives
* Certain asthma medicines (for example, theophylline) and some allergy and cold medicines
* Beta blockers (medicines used to treat heart conditions)

Causes of Primary Insomnia

Primary insomnia is not due to another medical or emotional condition and typically occurs for periods of at least 1 month. Whether some people are born with a greater chance of having insomnia is not clear yet. A number of life changes can trigger primary insomnia, including:

* Major or long-lasting stress and emotional upset
* Travel or other factors such as work schedules that disrupt your sleep routine

Even after these causes go away, the insomnia might stay. Trouble sleeping may persist because of habits formed to deal with the lack of sleep. These habits include taking naps, worrying about sleep, or going to bed early.

Sincerely,

Thomas “Trapper” Sherwood
Discover how to fall asleep in as little as seven
minutes with our  “Press Play, Then Sleep” system
Available at:
http://www.sleepsecretaudio.com