What does it mean to sleep well?

 

 

During sleep, your brain series through five stages: stage 1, 2, 3, and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. During Stage 1 the brain and body activities start slowing down, whereas, Stage 2 is when the brain enters a more subdued state. In Stage 3, the body relaxes further, which includes the pulse rate, breathing and muscle tone. The activity of the brain in Stage 3 is shown as delta waves. Research shows that Stage 3 is critical to restorative sleep. During REM sleep the activity in the brain usually picks up. If you are successful at cycling through all of these five sleep stages multiple times each night, allowing sleep to perform its important function of restoring our bodies and minds and the result is better sleep. The greatest rewards from sleep are attained when you get enough hours of sleep each night, have relatively uninterrupted sleep and keep a consistent sleep schedule suiting your natural circadian rhythms.

 

Healthy sleep consists of sleep duration, continuity and timing. The length of time we spend in each stage varies with age. It is suggested that adults get between 7 and 9 hours of sleep each night, meanwhile, infants require about 16 hours a day. Surprisingly, teenagers only need about 9 hours a day. Sleep continuity means that the sleep is continuous and through the night with no interruption. Fragmented sleep interferes with the process of cycling through all four stages of sleep. Timing of sleep is also important. If sleep timing is not aligned with circadian rhythms then it is difficult to fall asleep and get enough hours of sleep.

 

Here are some tips to get better sleep:

• Create a bedtime routine. Take a warm bath or shower, listen to soothing music, or drink a cup of non-caffeinated tea.
• Get in the habit of going to bed at the same time every night and getting up at the same time every morning.
• Limit caffeine during the day, and don't have any for at least 4 to 6 hours before bedtime.
• Don't drink alcohol before bedtime. Alcohol may cause you to wake up more frequently during the night.
• Don't use tobacco or smoke, particularly in the evening. Nicotine can keep you up.
• Don't take naps during the day, very close to bedtime.
• Extremely hot or cold temperatures may disrupt REM sleep.

 

 

 

 

 

References:

1.     Wilckens, K. A., Woo, S. G., Kirk, A. R., Erickson, K. I., & Wheeler, M. E. (2014). Role of sleep continuity and total sleep time in executive function across the adult lifespan. Psychology and aging, 29(3), 658–665.

2.     Chaput, J. P., Dutil, C., & Sampasa-Kanyinga, H. (2018). Sleeping hours: what is the ideal number and how does age impact this? Nature and science of sleep, 10, 421–430.

3.     7. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). (2019, August 13). Brain Basics: Understanding Sleep. Retrieved December 21, 2020, fromhttps://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/patient-caregiver-education/understanding-slee

4.     MedlinePlus: National Library of Medicine (US). (2017, April 26). Healthy Sleep. Retrieved December 21, 2020, fromhttps://medlineplus.gov/healthysleep.html

 

What is Relaxation ?

 

In Psychology, relaxation is the state of mind of a living being, of low tension, where there is an absence of stimulation that could come from sources like anxiety, anger, or fear. Relaxation can also define as the states where the mind and body are free from anxiety and tension [1]. Research has revealed that relaxation provides several health benefits, which includes;

1. Decreasing excess arousal produced by anxiety

A person when feeling anxious can spend a significant amount of time absorbed in anxiety-provoking thoughts that make it difficult to relax [2]. However, there are relaxation techniques that work on release muscle tension and guides on how to bring our attention back to the present moment and unhook from thoughts that may be unhelpful. They include;

• progressive muscle relaxation

• Abdominal breathing.

• Isometric relaxation exercises.

Hyperventilation being a physical syndrome of anxiety, it will be helpful for a person suffering from anxiety to learn how to breathe from their diaphragm, rather than their chest, to safeguard themselves against hyperventilation [2]. This is achievable through Abdominal breathing.

2. Managing insomnia

Regular relaxation helps in decreasing muscles tension, lowering blood pressure and slow your heart rate. Which helps manage fatigue as it promotes good sleeping patterns, increases benefit from rest periods during the day [3].

3. Management of stress

Relaxation protects against the adverse physiological responses to stress [3] by;

• Slowing heart rate

• Lowering blood pressure

• Slowing your breathing rate

• Improving digestion

• Maintaining normal blood sugar levels

• Reducing stress hormones (Cortisol) activities.

4. Chronic pain and pain tolerance

Relaxation calms the mind and recharges the body. This is especially important for individuals living with pain. Pain increases your muscle tension which in return, creates more pain [4]. When muscles are tense, they tighten and increase pressure on our nerves and other tissues and consequently to our pain sites, which can make the pain worst [4].

A relaxation method that helps in relieving such tension is the progressive muscle relaxation technique. In progressive muscle relaxation, you work on your muscle groups in a certain order to make them physically relaxed. By contracting a group of muscles as you breathe in, and relaxing them as you breathe out. 

Relaxation techniques will not cure your chronic pain but help you get it under control [5]. This allows the mind to become calm and to focus somewhere else. In other words, it becomes distracted from pain sensations (pain tolerance) [5].

5. Improving concentration and mood

When we relax, the blood flow around our body increases giving us more energy which in turn helps us to have a clearer and calmer mind, aiding in positive thinking, memory, concentration and decision-making [6]. In short, relaxation is useful both in improving mood and helping people keep focused on their thoughts and behaviours.

6. Blood flow to major organs

Studies have shown that short-term relaxation is correlated with an increase in blood circulation in the brain and other muscles [3,7]. When your body is in good condition, your circulatory system works effectively, bringing a sufficient amount of blood to your major organs with minimal effort [7].

Reference 

1. https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/relaxation.

2.    https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/anxiety-treatment-options

3.    https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/relaxation-technique/art-20045368

4.    https://www.spine-health.com/glossary/muscle-tension#:~:text=Muscle%20tension%20is%20typically%20caused,and%20nerves%20in%20the%20back

1. https://www.verywellhealth.com/stress-and-chronic-pain-2564413
2. https://www.wellbeingpeople.com/2019/04/15/why-relaxation-is-so-important/
3. https://www.siouxcenterhealth.org/latest-news-and-blog/the-importance-of-taking-time-to-relax/

Yoga for back Pain

Good morning! 

I am a sport enthusiast and I had a back injury 3 years ago while doing some bar fix exercise.

I have been to a doctor and fortunately the problem is minor. But I do have some pain from time to time.

The problem is, I used to do fitness without following any program. I liked to go straight to the point without warming up. 

The warming should start gently, do not warm as if you were working up. Start gently then you can go harder if you want. 

The bottle line here is that I advise you to always follow a workout routine that is designed by professionals. 

Here are some good apps you can use to get nice programmes:

Samsung health 

Adidas Training

Workout Trainer 

Now, for those who have some back pains,

I advice you this video I found online that can help you relieve from pain .

It can least from 5 to 15 mins depending on you.

Check this by Ozzie Jacobs : https://youtu.be/zPLXgs07fak

Happy reading.

See you next time. 

Bath Music for a Better Mood

Hello, welcome to my blog.

I am often very busy and that is a reason why shower corresponds to my relaxation time. I worked 40 hours per week apart from from my other home responsabilty.

I usually listen to my favourite RAP or EDM music that provide me a very exciting bath time.


But recently with slow and calm music I realise that I do get more pleasure and peaceful bath.
For about 2 weeks, my mood has completely changed from an angry mood to a balanced mood. And I do not really complain.

I came across a very beautiful shower sound on soundcloud that I would like to share with you guys.

Shower Music:
 https://soundcloud.com/vans-swag-1/sets/shower-music


I also like this nice video sound from youtube:
EPIC THUNDER & RAIN | Rainstorm sounds For Relaxing, Focus or sleep | White Noise 10 Hours
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDq6TstdEi8&t=1611s

But what I like the most is to play both a shower sound and relaxing sound at the same time.


Let me know if you enjoy these tracks.
Also do you listen to music when you shower?