9 "Sleep-Hygiene" Tactics To Double The Effectiveness Of The Sleep Quality Strategy

1. Stop Using Alcohol, Sugar, & Caffeine.

If we’re feeling stressed out, and unable to relax, alcohol seems like a nearly-instant solution to life’s troubles... it’s almost an automatic reaction for too many people nowadays: Feeling hassled? Go to the nearest bar!

Unfortunately, while it does relax you for a little while, it “back-flips” on its initial promise of relaxation, and actually makes you more anxious and disrupts your ability to sleep.

It starts by rapidly raising your blood-sugar levels, so you feel more energetic, and it releases gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a neurotransmitter that turns off the production of adrenalin in your body and makes you feels “chilled out".

However, after about an hour, your blood-sugar level crashes (rapidly) and the production of GABA gets turned-off. (Prolonged use of alcohol interferes with your body’s ability to produce GABA over time).

You might think you sleep better with alcohol but, in fact, it virtually destroys your ability to enter delta-sleep and interferes with R.E.M.-sleep too. You’ll likely wake up in the middle of the night and will be unable to fall back asleep (whether the room is spinning or not!)

Sugar does pretty much the same thing... over-consumption makes it very hard for your body to maintain a normal blood-sugar level: it rapidly boosts your levels and then your body over-compensates and levels then dip too low... you then crave more sugar, or other stimulants, to boost your energy again... soon, the consequences of this abuse of your body appear: fatigue, anxiety, stress, and insomnia.

Coffee also does the exact same thing - and does it pretty well, in fact: a rapid release of adrenalin raises your blood sugar and gives you instant energy.
Studies have shown that humans can’t metabolize caffeine very well and, therefore, its effects can be felt long after consuming it.

So an afternoon cup of coffee will keep some people from falling asleep. Also, many medications - particularly diet pills - contain caffeine.

And, if all that isn’t enough to put you off, think about this: Caffeine is a very effective insecticide. (No, I’m not kidding).

If you’re serious about reducing your need for sleep - not to mention increasing your general quality of life - then you need to stop using all three: alcohol, sugar, and caffeine.

If you have problems with these, refer to the next section: the same process that applies to learning to relax also helps with addictions.

But, if you can’t - or don’t want to - eliminate all or any of them, then reduce them to an absolute minimum... that will still do some good.

2. Learn To Relax.

Often, when you can’t fall asleep, it’s because you’re unable to relax... the stresses and strains of modern-life are preying on your mind; you’re consumed by thought and worry and fret about your family... about your mortgage... about your job... about that fight you had with your brother... about that idiot who cut you off on the way home... about that terrible story in the newspaper... about everything except actually going to sleep!

There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of ways to relax... I’m not going to go into them... I’m only going to mention one; it’s probably all you’ll ever need:

It’s called: “The Sedona Method".

And it’s nothing less than amazing...

It’s a very simple “mental tool”; as simple as asking yourself questions... and it’s an instantly practical system that can be used without drugs, hypnosis, or therapy.

It lets you selectively “let go” of almost any emotion you choose... including all kinds of fears, anger, anxiety, sadness, and some physical problems that have a big emotional content. Even long-standing problems have been dissolved into nothingness.

In fact, it’s a natural ability every one of us already has - but we were never thought how to use it (although we do unintentionally use it from time-to-time).

It’s incredibly easy to do and is extremely fast; you can have instant gratification, but the results will also rapidly accumulate over time.

Those are strong claims.

I debated with myself whether to mention this at all.

By all accounts, they are completely outrageous and unprecedented claims. They immediately raise skepticism and doubt in knowledgeable people.

But they are fully valid: This isn’t some new, unproven method. Far from it; it has been used by over 50,000 people worldwide for over 30 years.

It was also examined by Dr. Richard J. Davidson of the State University of New York and Dr. David C. McClelland of Harvard University.

They found it caused huge reductions in heart-rate, blood-pressure, and muscle-tension and concluded that it was a unique technique, notable “for its simplicity, efficiency, absence of questionable concepts and rapidity of observable results".

The technique was also personally tried by Dr. Louis Ormont, a Professor of Psychology at Adelphi University, who commented:

“I have looked into other methods of stress management before finding The Sedona Method, but have not discovered anything else so simple, powerful and rapidly effective. It is very exciting to observe changes occurring quite quickly which are clearly the result of releasing. The most appealing feature of the Method for me is that no belief system is imposed and people can use it completely on their own with great success".

I’m not going into how it works here - that would take far too long... instead, I’m going to tell you where you can a low-cost book that explains it all in excruciating detail.

It’s called “The Sedona Method: Your Key to Lasting Happiness, Success, Peace and Emotional Well-Being”  and it provides detailed, logical explanations; a refined, documented concept; and a practical application process that you, or anybody, can validate for personal use right from the first time you read it.

You can get it at Amazon or directly from www.sedona.com

Once you master this simple exercise, all those worries keeping you awake won’t be capable of affecting you in that way anymore... it just won’t happen - ever again.

3. Optimize Your Sleeping Posture.

This is a very short one... If you lie on your stomach when in bed, you’ll be putting extra - unnecessary - pressure on your internal organs and unnecessary (and uncomfortable) strain on your neck and back.

The solution?

Don’t lie on your stomach!

4. Drink More Water.

Our bodies are mostly made up of fluids... water, to be exact - more than 75% of the human body is nothing but water.

And 85% of your brain is nothing but water, too.

Isn’t that amazing?

Water is so vital because it’s directly involved in most, if not all, of the activities that your body performs to stay healthy and alive. You probably wouldn’t live 10 days without it... maybe not even that long.

And every single day, your body flushes 3-pints of it out through your kidneys... another pint as sweat... and yet another pint through your breathing.

That’s why you have to replenish it every day.

Yet, few people actually do that... chronic dehydration is probably one of the most common physiological problems in the entire world.

You can begin to redress the balance by drinking those 4-pints you’re losing every day through your kidneys, lungs, and skin. Slowly replace every can of soda, every cup of coffee, every glass of alcohol you would usually drink with plain water - it’s free; it costs nothing; it has no bad side-effects - it won’t make you fat, or irritable, or drunk; it’s what your body needs!

(It also “cleans up” your sense of taste: After a few months of drinking water, soda, for example, will taste revolting and you won’t desire it anymore - ever!)

Yet, there’s more to it than just drinking water. You’ll need to invest a bit of time and concentration to begin to understand the subject.

You might think: “Okay, I know now that I should drink water; that’s all I need to know".

But you already knew that before you read this.

What you didn’t know is that your body isn’t a container that you can just re-fill when empty. When you’re chronically dehydrated (as most people are, to some extent), reversing it takes time and understanding.

You also need to know the role salt plays: doctors are wrong to give instructions to completely eliminate salt from your diet; this “forbidden” substance is, in fact, absolutely crucial to re-hydrating your body.

You have to understand what you can and cannot do... how much water and salt to take... and when to take it.

Giving complete instructions on this would take an entire book by itself!

And, fortunately, just such a book exists... it’s an amazing little work that has been re-printed 21-times, translated into 15-languages, and continues to educate readers all over the world, over 13-years after it was first published.

It’s called “Your Body’s Many Cries for Water” (available at Amazon.com or at www.watercure.com) and it was written by the late Dr. Fereydoon Batmanghelidj, an internationally-renowned Iranian doctor, who studied under Sir Alexander Fleming (who shared the Nobel Prize for the discovery of penicillin) at St. Mary’s Hospital Medical School of London University.

Its contents have been scientifically peer-reviewed and presented at different national and international medical conferences - and published in scientific journals.

In order to learn to re-hydrate your body correctly, you need to read that book.

When you go asleep, blood travels through your muscles and around your outer body and limbs (from your body core) as it sets about bringing nourishment and oxygen to carry out repairs and maintenance. You’ll find out later that even the act of lying down starts this process.

If you’re dehydrated, your blood will be “sticky”: blood cells clump together to compensate for reduced fluid availability. This is a complex action - a sort of “survival” mechanism for the blood - but, in practical terms, it simply means your blood doesn’t get to carry nourishment and oxygen to all the places it wants it to go (especially your brain and muscles).

This can lead to a feeling of tiredness and lethargy... low energy levels... a need to sleep longer to compensate.

Water plays a huge role in maintaining your body temperature rhythm, one of the prime drivers of how long and how well you sleep; having sufficient water available will let your body optimize this rhythm because it’ll be able to cool itself more rapidly... leading to an overall higher ‘peaks and falls’ of your temperature.

Also, when properly hydrated, you’ll have greater feelings of well-being, more energy, and a cleaner, less burdened body system.

All of this adds up to one extraordinary fact: Some people who have learned how to correctly hydrate their body - and have taken consistent and sustained action to do so - have experienced a permanent reduced need for sleep... of up to 2-hours, or more... with no obvious symptoms of sleep deprivation.

One single tactic - almost absurd in its simplicity - can add an extra 14-hours to your waking week: what could an additional 2-working days add to your quality of life?

A Quick Tip: Don't drink any water within 2 hours of going to bed - this will reduce the probability of having to get up to go to the bathroom during the night.

5. Eat Much Less Before Going To Bed.

This one is simple: Your digestive system requires a lot of energy and other body-resources to do what it does. That energy and those other body-resources that could be better used to promote repair and relaxation during sleep instead of trying to digest that big dinner you had just before bed!

Also, if that dinner contained a high level of sugar and carbohydrates, your blood-sugar levels will start to rise when it is (finally) digested - which will disrupt your ability to sleep soundly (because it raises your energy and alertness) and... if that wasn’t enough... when blood-sugar levels then drop much lower to compensate, you’ll likely wake up and won’t be able to go back to asleep again!

6. Use Natural Alternatives To Sleeping Pills.

Sleeping pills are used to treat difficulties in sleeping and, in general, will only be prescribed by your doctor if the sleep problem is severe and causing intolerable distress.

Side-effects from sleeping-pills include impaired judgment and dexterity, followed by drowsiness and hangover-like effects the following day. These effects can be cumulative, particularly in older people. When these drugs are stopped after short-term use, sleeplessness can recur. Withdrawal symptoms are possible after long-term use.

WARNING: Do NOT abruptly stop using sleeping pills. Talk to your doctor; abruptly stopping use could be dangerous, especially if you’ve been using them for a long time.

If you think you need something to lull you into sleep, there are natural, non-addictive alternatives you can use... and they’re extremely powerful!

Passion-flower made into a tea was used for hundreds of years by native-peoples throughout North and South America as a mild sedative to treat anxiety, irritation, and insomnia. It’s now renowned throughout the world, having been brought to the attention of the West by a Spanish doctor in 1569.

Its power as a sleep-aid has been confirmed by a number of European research organizations, who have found it to promote deep and restful sleep, without dependency, and without the side-effects associated with sleeping-pills and sedative-drugs.

It shouldn’t be combined with over-the-counter or prescription sedatives as it may increase their effects. Also, it has never been tested during pregnancy and lactation, nor on people with sleep-apnea, so err on the side of caution and don’t use it during these times.

It can be taken in tea, tincture, or capsule form and is available in any good health-food store. It’s often used in combination with other powerful ‘natural calmers’ such as Valerian.

Valerian has been used throughout Europe for a thousand years. It’s highly valued for its soothing qualities and its name comes from the Latin valare, meaning “to be in health".

Valerian is a natural tranquilizer; it has a balancing effect on the body, soothing nervous tension and anxious thoughts.

Because of its effects on the nervous system, many studies have demonstrated that Valerian is a highly-effective means to greatly improve the quality of sleep, without any dependency or drowsiness the following day. It also seems to increase dream-recall in most users.

As with passion-flower, it shouldn’t be combined with over-the-counter or prescription sedatives as it may increase their effects. Also, again, as with passionflower, it has never been tested during pregnancy and lactation, nor on people with sleep-apnea, so err on the side of caution and don’t use it during these times.

It’s available in tea, or tincture, form and is available in any good health-food store. Also, it has a very strong smell that might take you by surprise at first however, once you discover its power, you wouldn’t care if it smelled like rotten cabbage! (It doesn’t though... in case you were wondering!)

7. Take A Hot Bath Or Shower Before Bed.

Taking a hot bath or shower before bed will make your body temperature rise very quickly, which is why you feel very awake and refreshed after having one first thing in the morning.

Therefore, when having one before going to bed, it’s vital you take it at least 2-hours before bedtime! This will allow time for the temperature to drop sufficiently.

If you have it just before going to bed, the temperature rise will probably keep you awake instead!

8. Keep Your Feet Warm.

Believe it or not, keeping your feet warm - a sign of healthy blood flow - can help you sleep more soundly.

Wearing socks, or using an old-fashioned water bottle, is a great help for those who need a helping-hand to fall asleep.

Thermoregulation - your body's heat distribution system - is strongly linked to your sleep cycles: Even the act of lying down can increase sleepiness of by redistributing heat in your body by causing blood to move towards your outer-body and limbs from its inner core.

Although the connection is far from clear why, researchers theorize lack of blood-flow to your feet (and hands, to a much lesser extent) might interfere with your body-temperature rhythm - causing it to “flat-line” as the body tries to correct the problem.

Therefore, anything that helps to increase temperature in your extremities will help you sleep better.

9. Reduce TV and Computer Use At Night-time.

Step 1 of the 'Sleep Reduction Strategy' requires that you “increase your daytime exposure to light..".

The “daytime” part is very important because... the opposite applies at night-time:

A study carried out at the University of Florence in Italy found that melatonin levels in children increased by 30% in those who abstained from watching television for 1-week.

According to an article in New Scientist (vol. 183-2454, 3rd. July, 2004):

"The findings are based on a study from the Tuscan town of Cavriglia who volunteered to forgo television, video games, and computers for a week last month (May) in the interests of science."

"Aged between 6 and 12, the children normally watched an average of 3-hours television a day. Urine samples taken at the beginning and end of the experiment showed a significant rise in melatonin levels, particularly among the younger children, by the end of the television-less week..."

"As well as blacking out the video screens, parents were asked to reduce the intensity of artificial lighting in their homes during the experiment."

Although the study was carried out on children, its findings are even more applicable to adults because the amount of melatonin produced by our bodies reduces as we get older anyway... so why help it along!?

Summary Of The 9 Sleep-Hygiene Tactics

1. Stop using all alcohol, sugar, and caffeine; If you can’t - or don’t want to - eliminate all or any of them, then reduce them to an absolute minimum... that will still do some good.
2. Learn to use the “The Sedona Method” process to eradicate any undesired emotions and feelings.
3. Don’t sleep on your stomach.
4. Drink more water; learn to use the water-salt re-hydration method; don't drink any water within 2 hours of going to bed.
5. Don’t eat any dinners or snacks just before bed.
6. Try passion-flower and valerian as a natural and safer alternative to sleeping-pills. Consult your doctor before you stop using regular sleeping pills.
7. Taking a hot bath or shower at least 2-hours before bedtime.
8. Keep your feet warm in bed; wear socks or use a hot-water bottle.
9. Reduce TV and computer use at night-time to the bare minimum; eliminate it, if possible.