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How To Relax effectively

Thursday, 01 April 2010 23:25 administrator
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Relaxation is something we all do. The question is, do we all do it well? Maybe you can learn to relax even more effectively.

Is it the right time for me to relax?

Are you tired, exhausted, or simply need to allow your mind to unwind between tasks. Maybe you need some time to allow creative thoughts to come to you. If you're feeling full of energy, then it's probably not really the right time to relax.

Things that need to get done?

It is important that you decide to remove any obstacles in your mind. If you have things on your mind that you think you need to do, decide if you need to:

  • Do it now.
  • Decide when to do it later, Or when to think about it later.
  • Don't do it at all.

Once you have made this decision, and completed any necessary actions, you can

Begin the relaxation process.

Normally you might not consider the question, "how relaxed to I really want to get?" But if you do, then you allow yourself the ability to unwind as far as you can, when you are able to. You might want to make a decision of how long you are going to relax for, just so you can stay relaxed about still being in relaxation time. If you know you have an hour to relax, and you know there’s nothing you need to do, you can make a judgement of how to get the most out of your relaxation time.

Relaxation activities.

  • Artwork. Some drawing or painting can switch your brain into a different mode, allowing one part to rest while another part stays active, and at the end you have something to show for it.
  • Watching tv shows or movies. Some shows might put you to sleep, while others get you re-energised.
  • Reading a book. Stimulate your imaginative process, allowing the thinking part of your brain to forget everything just for a while.
  • Self Hypnosis or Audiotape. Like a supercharged nap where you can positively influence your behaviour.
  • Nap. Let your mind drift off all by itself.
  • Phone a friend. If you want to keep it a relaxing conversation, keep the topics light and stay in agreeance with each other.
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Last Updated on Monday, 05 April 2010 12:44
 

Good Sleeping Patterns

Tuesday, 08 December 2009 12:19 administrator
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Pretty much all of us have to sleep. It's the times were not sleeping, which makes sleep important. There have probably been days when you've felt full of energy. There have probably been days when you've felt completely drained. By adapting a healthy sleeping habit, you'll find that you almost always feel full of energy.

Of course, sleep is not the only thing that affects alertness. Your diet can also greatly influence alertness levels.

What Is Sleep and Why do we do it?

Sleep is a physical and mental resting state. A persons awareness is decreased significantly to external stimulus. Current information about the function of sleep indicates that we sleep to heal, for anabolic processes, for developmental reasons in the brain and memory.

How Much Sleep is Needed?

This varies person to person, but generally adolescents require 9 to 10 hours a night. Adults require 7-8 hours a night.

A person can become sleep deprived without even realizing that it's happening.

Effects of Sleep Deprivation.

Sleep deprivation can creep up on you. Just missing one hour a day for a week might start to become noticeable, and after 2 or 3 weeks become a significant issue. A sleep deprived person may be irritable, cognitively impaired and have a higher risk of heart disease. There is a huge list of other symptoms too.

Recommendations for sleeping Effectively.

Alarms can be stressful to wake up to. Where possible, minimise the effect of alarms. There are many products online that can help with this. Light alarms slowly increase a light that will wake you up gradually. Set up your audio alarm to gradually increase the volume from silent. You might even be able to get used to waking up at the same time, such that no alarm is needed.

Go to bed within one hour of the previous night. Because sleeping is a rhythmic activity, our brains have an internal clock called the circadian clock. It's said that it can adjust about one hour forward or back from the previous night. If you try and go to bed early, or late, it might not seem to work so well. Maybe this is because your brain doesn't know that it needs to go into REM sleep. Whatever the reason, stick to a schedule.

Wake up at the same time every day. By waking up at the same time every day, your mind will get used to when to arouse. If you know you have to wake up at a certain time, you will find it easier to go to bed at an acceptable time. (This works very well for me)

Go to bed at the same time every day. By going to bed at the same time, you might let your sleep duration adjust itself by waking up, just whenever you feel like you need to. This might help cope with sleep deprivation of previous days.

Keep a normal schedule on the weekends. Sleeping in might catch up on sleep deprivation, but you end up patterning yourself to getting deprived during the week. Keeping the same schedule day to day is likely to result in the least fluctuations of alertness. Also if you sleep in on the weekend, you miss out on your big chunk of free time.

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Last Updated on Friday, 02 April 2010 10:47
 



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