Sleep is something that our bodies literally can’t function without. Of course, from time to time, you may find yourself waking up without sleeping a good 7-8 hours. Maybe you were tossing and turning because you had too much on your mind, or maybe you were up until the early morning hours, working on a deadline. However, not getting a good, full night of sleep should definitely be the exception, not the rule.
If you find that not getting enough sleep is the norm for you, you should fully understand what a lack of sleep does to your mind and body, which would make researching a remedy to the issue even more pressing.
If you aren’t feeling 100%, and you think it might be related to not getting enough sleep, you might be feeling some of the side effects which occur when you deprive yourself of sleep. Some of these side effects include: headaches, nausea, pain behind your eyes and heaviness of your eyelids, lack of attention and trouble focusing, under-eye bags and darkness under the eyes (which makes you look much older than you are), muscle pains, irritability, and memory loss.
After one night of a bad night of sleep, whether it is related to the fact that you can’t stop thinking about things, because your partner is snoring or the dog next door is up barking all night, you will probably feel immediate effects the next morning. Grogginess and irritability are usually the first side effects, normally followed by fatigue or a headache. Within a few hours (and a few cups of coffee), you might start to feel better, but you probably won’t feel fully refreshed until you get a nice long night of sleep that night. If you continue on a track of insomnia, with night after night of lack of sleep, you are putting yourself in danger, as this can lead to hallucinations, mania, impaired judgment, and even disease.
Sleep is extremely important in cellular renewal – it helps to replace muscle tissue and dead cells. Your body is able to rest, rejuvenate, and repair itself, and the mind is able to process information and memories. Thus sleep is quite important to our well-being.
Although visiting a doctor is not a bad idea for someone with insomnia, there are a few tips you can try to see if they work before resorting to doctors and prescription medicines:
- Try falling asleep to soft music or sounds. There are special CD’s or even television stations that play rhythmic sounds, sounds of nature, or relaxation music.
- Drink warm milk before bed – this is an old trick. Calcium helps calm nerves and relaxes the body.
- Drink herbal tea – chamomile or anise tea (caffeine free!) are known to help induce sleep.
- Even if you have had some sleepless nights and would love a cup of coffee in the morning or during the day, avoid caffeine, in hopes that you will be able to fall right asleep that night, and begin to catch-up on your hours of sleep.
- Take a warm bath before bed – this will help your body relax. Trying adding soothing aromatherapy scents including chamomile and lavender.
Pevonia Botanica’s Mystique Escape Bath Salts are the perfect de-stressing solution to help your body get completely relaxes and ready for bed. These aromatherapy bath salts use essential oils and anti-stress properties including Lavender, Ylang-Ylang, and Tangerine Essential Oil to give your body soothing benefits and a pleasurable experience.
For the best results, combine several of these tips before bed to get your body and mind in the proper mode for sleep.