9 Ways to Sleep Much Better

Most Americans have trouble sleeping. I sleep exceptionally well. But I have been doing yoga since age 12 and yoga helps in all aspects of life. This article was written January 13, 2014.

At the bottom of this article is a video with many medical doctors (MDs) that are experts on sleeping and insomnia so make sure to watch that. Some of these are unusual tips on sleeping better like light therapy.

The second picture with the woman comes from an article that says:

Sleep is the most underestimated lifestyle factor in our contemporary – activity fixated – culture. For ninety percent of humanity, more and better sleep means more testosterone, a stronger immune system, improved stamina, quicker reactions, longer lifespan, less fat and more muscle.

A study that was done showed that the more sleep that people got, the less that they weighed. Mariah Carey had a nervous breakdown and she said that it was due to lack of sleep. Too much exercise can hurt you. Eating too much can break the wall of your stomach and kill you but people cannot sleep too much. Why is that?

The reason that you cannot sleep too much is because it is not under your conscious control. That is a big part of the reason that so many people have trouble sleeping. So if you use an alarm clock to wake up, you are getting up before you have had enough sleep.

Some people report waking up and feeling fine. Then they go back to sleep and wake up later and are not feeling well. So they think that they slept too much. But something else is also going on when you sleep. For example you mention fasting and someone says that it is unhealthy. So you ask them if they sleep every night and they say yes.

So you can ask them that if fasting is unhealthy, why do they do it every night. So why do some feel worse after sleeping (fasting longer)? This article on The Benefits of Fasting says:

Ron Kennedy M.D. says:

Fasting creates a condition of low concentration of toxic wastes in the circulatory system. This is sensed by the plasma membrane of each cell and each cell will then let go of its load of toxic wastes. When this happens suddenly, as it does with fasting, the result can be a sudden case of mild systemic toxemia as the system cleanses itself. Those who fast must be prepared for a phase of headache, irritability, insomnia and fatigue. This is a natural part of the healing process and should be welcomed.

Here is an article called: Too Many Americans Don’t Get Enough Sleep. It says:

“Individuals who get only about five hours per sleep a night are 73% more likely to be obese.”

The National Sleep Foundation recommends that adults get seven to nine hours of sleep every night. However, just 25% of Americans meet that minimum number of seven hours. Twenty-nine percent report getting eight hours, and just 5% report sleeping nine hours or more. By contrast, 26% of Americans get six hours every night and 14% get five hours or fewer.

Your cardiovascular health is closely linked to how much sleep you get. For example, sleep deprivation for just one night can cause individuals with high blood pressure to have elevated blood pressure the next day.

Not getting enough sleep can make you irritable, impatient, unable to concentrate, and feel stressed out.

Sleep deprivation weakens your immune response, making you more susceptible to diseases.

The above article has a lot more like the above on how important sleep is. One reason that people get colds or the flu is lack of sleep. Then usually after this happens they get a great deal of sleep while they are sick. For the other reasons that they get colds or the flu, see this article called: How to Avoid/Cure the Flu or Colds.

Sleep Brainwashes You

The term brainwash was meant to say that you can program people's brain like a computer. But the U.S. government tried this and found that it could not be done. But it should be called brain programming since washing something means to clean it. But the following is big news: Sleep 'cleans' the brain of toxins. It says:

The brain uses sleep to wash away the waste toxins built up during a hard day's thinking, researchers have shown.

This article then explains the connection of one of the toxins that is cleansed away causing dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Now some people do meditation for spiritual growth or evolution. This helps you to sleep. But some groups may suggest that people get up early, even if they need more sleep to meditate. This is a terrible idea. Sleep is especially important to people doing meditation to help get the full benefits of meditation. Meditation is not a substitute for sleep.

In our modern society the biggest causes of sleeping problems are medications and stress.

As far as getting enough sleep, some people sleep 24 hours a day. Now you can yell at them or throw water on them but they will not wake up. It is called being in a coma. Some people that are depressed will sleep 12 hours a day.

1. Keep a Regular Sleep Schedule

The reason that this is important is because it is not under conscious control. So it is to help you to fall asleep. Some articles even suggest that people have a ritual that they do before falling asleep.

2. A Dark and Quit Room

It is important that the room that you are sleeping in be dark and quiet.

3. Eat a Good Diet

This is a complex subject but this also means not to eat right before going to sleep and not to drink beverages before going to sleep that may cause you to stay awake. It is much better for health and well-being to eat a diet without processed foods. Now what diet to you follow while sleeping? This was talked about before. You do not eat anything. This is called fasting.

4. Getting Better Sleep by Grounding

There is a new science about grounding where people are not grounded during the day and build up a lot of static electricity. This causes stress and it makes it harder to sleep. So they have a way where you can be grounded while sleeping and people report less stress and getting to sleep faster.

A great deal of research was done on this subject before a book was written on it. For more information on this see Health Benefits of Grounding or Earthing. This is part of the reason that people, especially kids, enjoy being on the beach.

5. Exercise

Exercise helps you to sleep. The Buddhists in the Shaolin Temples meditated for many hours but they also practiced martial arts for exercise and for self-defense. The ancient yogis in India meditated for many hour and they did hatha yoga (postures or poses) to keep them healthy and enable them to live a long time free of diseases. One article tells about a study that showed that people who go exercise during the day slept better at night.

6. Herbs to Help You Sleep Better

Different herbs have the ability to relax people, calm the nervous system and even to help people to sleep better. This is due to the phytochemicals in plant foods that are like plant medicines.

Here is an article called: 3 Herbs for Better Sleep. It tells about 3 herbs that Dr. Oz said would help people sleep better on his TV show. There are more herbs than this that help people to sleep better.

7. Yoga Improves all Aspects of Life

Since yoga helps in all aspects of life, this includes reducing stress and helping with anxiety and depression. Here are 7 Yoga Poses For Insomnia.

8. Meditation

Meditation can be very relaxing and that is why it is better to sit while doing it, to make it harder for you to fall asleep, while doing it. Also by dealing with stress while meditating, you do not need to deal with it while sleeping.

9. Fasting to Sleep Better

Sleeping while on a fast can be very regenerative. During a fast your digestive system takes a vacation. For more on this see the article above on fasting. Also if there are any foods that make it harder to sleep, you will not have to deal with them. Fasting can help with many different health problems.