A Good Night's Sleep

" . . sleep is one of the most important parts of our lives, which is why the brain insists that we spend almost a third of our lives doing it. Without sleep, essential body functions start winding down;  total lack of sleep WILL kill you"

I've spent my working life shuffling sleep from one day to another - sometimes 2 or 3 hours, so that for a couple of days, non stop,  then crash for ten hours a few days later. An old mentor of mine from the 70s told me about something that he called 'The 100% Energy trip'', in which he did just that. He simply worked non-stop, around the clock, for 2 or 3 days.  As you would expect, he had to just crash after such a session! It was one way of getting things done, and great if you are really enjoying whatever it is you are into at the time, but apparently it can cause huge health problems that don't manifest until later in life.

I recently discovered that this has been the cause of many problems, in a little book (Get Yourself a Good Night's Sleep) that explains why we need about 7 hours a night, and why naps are good for us.  Those Mediterranean types who take a nap in the afternoon are generally much healthier than we Brits, who insist on ploughing on through the afternoon. 

It's hard to believe but, while we sleep, the brain is in fact beavering away, triggering other parts of the body to produce essential chemicals that keep us functioning. The brain also works during the sleep cycle doing housekeeping, including junking non-important information that we are unlikely to need again. The book explains the four sleep cycles that most of us have, and why the last sleep period of the night (the REM period, which is where the eyes move, but where we are in fact most likely to be dreaming). 

Did you know that -

"the arms and legs are usually paralysed during your REM period of sleep? This is vital, and the brain 'freezes' muscles so that your body doesn't act out whatever it is you are dreaming!" 

Various conditions promote good sound sleep, including the sleeping environment (temperature, oxygen levels, ambient noise, etc) and especially what food and drink we consume in the few hours before we get off to sleep. 

Did you ever watch horses or various birds while they sleep?  They really CAN sleep while standing up, some birds even sleep on just one leg!  How do they manage that? The book "A Good Night's Sleep" explains, as well as compares the long sleep cycles some animals have - its common knowledge that cats can spend up to 22 hours sleeping. Why do they do that? All is explained in this book.

There's more sleep advice and links to other great ideas and aids on a special SLEEP page on the Diets That Work web site - check the sleep page out HERE. 

Much more importantly, the book has many great tips to help YOU get A Good Night's Sleep and for that reason it could be the most important book you will read, not just this year, but EVER! 

The book is available through Amazon so quite easy to find (click HERE)  

I hope it can change YOUR life too. Happy Snoozing!