4 steps toward a good night's sleep
Slow release This simple technique, known as progressive relaxation, helps relax your muscles, one body part at a time.
As you're lying in bed, clench your right fist as tightly as you can. Hold for about 10 seconds, then release the tension immediately and completely, as though you were turning off a switch. All the tension will drain out of your body. Feel the looseness in your right hand and notice how relaxed it feels. Now do the same thing with your left hand; then clench both fists simultaneously and slowly relax them.
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Next, bend your elbows and tense your arms. Hold a moment. Then relax your muscles and let your arms sink into the mattress. Continue by tensing and relaxing your head and brows. Then squeeze your eyes and clench your jaw.
Finally, tense and then relax your stomach, lower back, buttocks, thighs, calves and feet. By the time you're finished, your whole body should feel limp, relaxed and ready for sleep.
Take a bite of the forbidden fruit Chocolate is never more seductive than when you're on a diet, and no lover is more appealing than one who's unavailable. Sleep, too, becomes terribly tempting when you can't have it.
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So if you have trouble falling asleep, imagine a time when you had to stay awake but didn't want to - for example, when studying for an exam. Picture yourself struggling to stay awake. Imagine the weariness overtaking your whole body as you struggle to keep your eyes open. Finally, you will just give in to the urge to fall asleep. Practice this imagery as you lie in bed at night.
Take steps to end insomnia Instead of tiptoeing around the kitchen looking for a midnight snack, try taking a hot bath. If you'd like nothing better than to drift off to sleep surrounded by the aroma of fresh flowers, try adding some pure essential oils to a hot bath before retiring for the night.
Do some exercise Exercise can be a big help in getting a good night's sleep. But exercising late in the day can put your body into overdrive, making it a lot harder to drop off. How late is too late for an exercise? Well, that depends on your body, but experts recommend that ideally a workout should be finished before 7 p.m.
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