I have been sleep challenged for most of my life, and definitely endured days of sleep-deprivation.  As a child, it was a fear of dark and scary things that were coming out of my closet.  As an adult, it’s been taking care of the dog, children’s needs, and too much on my plate to get done to have time to slow down or sleep!  There’s also been physical pain, emotional traumas, and medications that have inhibited my ability to get a good night’s rest.  But, with all this said, rest and sleep is a very important part of staying healthy.  And as I’m learning now to take more time for me, I’m discovering how valuable getting a good night’s sleep is for my sanity!

I don’t think this is a women-only problem…  but it sure seems like the men I’ve known have an easier time unplugging their brains and falling asleep quickly.  Here are a few things I’ve learned along the way to enjoying my own sweet dreams and a satisfying night of rest and rejuvenation.

6 Tips for Getting a Good Night’s Sleep:

1. Daily Exercise.  For me to sleep (and sleep well) I require daily exercise.  The less I move, the more sluggish I feel – which means I don’t want to move, but the more I lay awake all night.  Sounds crazy – but I recommend increasing your daily physical activities. Either more vigorous exercise, more time exercising, or both!  Play with your activity schedule until you figure out what your body needs for balance between physical work/exercise, and rest/sleep.

2. Sunshine.  The more sunshine I get, the more soundly I sleep.  (being outside in the sun, breathing fresh air – not just looking out the window.)  No sun – no sleep…  Discovered this recently while vacationing in Jamaica.  Even my sweetie commented on how well I was sleeping.  I don’t live in the tropics…but sunlight seems to make a big difference in my disposition and ability to unwind, relax, and fall asleep quickly.

3. Nourishment.  What I eat & how late I eat it – affects my ability to sleep.  Anything with caffeine past @ 11am and I have a difficult time going to sleep before 2-3am.  Chocolate past 2pm – same thing.  High sugar, or late night snacks…no sleep.  Food is energy, energy keeps us awake.  It’s a challenge for me to get dinner between 6-7pm but if I do, I’m generally tired by 10-11 and IF I listen to my body and go to bed, I’ll fall asleep quickly.  IF I blow through my “tired” moment and force myself to stay up (or eat a snack)  I might not sleep at all.  What foods are you eating & what time to you consume them?  Can you see a connection?  Is this affecting your sleep cycle?

4.  Sleeping In & Naps.  I hardly ever take naps…because a nap during the day usually means less sleep at night.  But lately – on the weekend IF I’m tired, I’m sleeping in, or napping a bit.   Definition of a nap – 10-20 minutes of “power-rest”  just enough to give me a moment of peace in the middle of a hectic day.

5.  Meditation.  If I really can’t sleep – I find that laying restfully and listening to a guided meditation is a fabulous  way to stay refreshed with minimal actual sleep.  I had almost a year on high-dose steroids, which put my body in overdrive.  Most nights IF I could lay still for 30 minutes to an hour it was cause for celebration.  Meditation helps me keep my sanity when I have times where for whatever reason I am getting very little actual sleep.  You might use soothing music, or download several different guided mediation to your phone, ipod, or mp3 player to have handy when needed.

6. Guardian Angels.  While attending a Spiritual workshop recently, during the opening prayer Guardian Angels were placed in all 4 corners of the room for protection.  This past week, I have been saying a prayer before bed and calling my 4 Angel protectors to the corners of my room and asking them to protect the space in all directions – N, S, E, W, Above, & Below – while visualizing a glowing orb of protection around my bedroom.  I have slept like a rock every night that I’ve done this!  I’m striving to remember to thank my Angels every morning when I wake up:)  This has been amazing.  I also visualize my “Day Angel” passing me off to my “Night Angel” with me sleeping like a baby:)

The Importance of a Joyous Happy Heart

Heart healing continues to come up for me on my Spiritual journey to be healthy, happy, and whole.  We need a healthy body for a healthy heart, we need proper nourishment for a healthy heart, and we need to heal our emotional baggage for a healthy heart.  A healthy heart = a happy heart!

I recently read the book, The Healing Codes by Alexander Loyd, PhD, ND.  Wonderful insights for heart healing & the emotional connection to how we react to things. One of the comments Dr. Loyd makes is positive affirmations can actually increase our stress level & create problems if we don’t really believe what we’re saying!  This book also helped me connect some of the triggers to things/events in my past when I fall off my emotional deep end, how these past events are related to my reactions to things now… And how to clear these negative emotions for a healthy heart.  I know I have spent many a sleepless night with things weighing heavy on my heart.  As I have made shifts and improvements in this area – my ability to wind down, let go, and sleep has definitely improved.  I definitely think this is a must-read book if you’re interested in looking at the possible heart connection to your sleepless night issues.

We are all on our own personal journeys.  But we’re also all human…different, but the same.  What works for one person may not be exactly what YOU need right now, but tuck it away for future reference.  I find that my body cycles thru things I need to eat, amount of sleep, different types of exercise, different meditations,….The more in-tune we are with all of this the easier it is to follow our heart and stay connected – mind, body, and spirit!

Take care of YOU – exercise, good foods, good thoughts, peace, joy, laughter…  Maintaining a healthy & whole you will help you enjoy a restful whole night’s sleep – tonight & every night!

Hope these tips for a better night’s sleep are useful to YOU!  What other suggestions do you have?  Please share…

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.It seems evident to me that this author has probably never experienced a Pilates workout!  And in my study of Pilates, Yoga, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, and meditation,  I believe that these great mind-body methods are more similar than one might think for improving whole-body health.

Here’s Why:

It’s not just, let’s move the body, but let’s be aware, in-tune, and conscious of what we’re doing, how, we’re doing it, the initiation point, end point, and in-between points for every movement.

I think it’s wonderful that we have options for focused fitness and enhanced wellness for improved mind-body health.   There is a method out there to help meet the needs of each of us as individuals.  And if you want to develop and fine-tune your skills, cross-training and exploring different mind-body methods may give you an increased appreciation for your body, health, and the ancient wisdom that is at the root of each of these techniques.

Look for my series of upcoming posts on the benefits of each of these great mind-body methods.

• Pilates
• Yoga
• Tai-Chi
• Qi Gong / Chi Gung
• Martial Arts
• Meditation

And I’m curious to know… What’s your  #1 favorite Mind-Body Wellness method?  Answer the  survey, and if you have a moment – tell me why it’s your choice in the comment section below.

While Pilates exercises are excellent as a form of moving meditation to focus on feeling and activating the energy flow throughout the body,  it’s also important to find that still, quiet place for rest, rejuvenation, and contemplation on well -  absolutely nothing, but altogether everything!

One of the biggest challenges with a meditation practice is learning how to quiet the mind and just be in stillness without the distraction of thoughts, feelings, and emotions.  There are hundreds, perhaps thousands of different ways to meditate and probably just as many techniques to assist in centering one’s focus.

This week I learned the benefits of the words Soham, and using So Ham as a mantra for  Yoga meditation.

So Ham is a universal mantra that is used throughout the world for meditation because it’s vibration is a natural part of breath. Because everybody breathes it is  familiar to our body, even though we may not have ever thought about or focused on it in this way.

Sooooo… is the sound of inhalation, and Hummmm… is the sound of exhalation.

This Hamsa mantra poses the question, “Who am I?” And So Ham provides the answer, “I am that.”

When repeated it declares, “I am that I am that I am that I am.”

This can be a very useful and powerful tool to train both the body and the breath for increased relaxation to quiet the nervous system and the mind. Peace, Blessings and “So Ham” to your good health!

Check out this how-to video to learn more about So Hum and how to begin using  So Hum to compliment your Pilates training and Yoga practice by discovering new ways to deepening your connection to center through meditation.

Click here to view the embedded video.

We are bombarded with millions of bits of information every second of the day.  Our brain has to sort, dump, and store based on relevance and importance for our survival and to insure that we enjoy pleasure and avoid pain.  In today’s society – television programs, commercials, and even YouTube have us eager to input micro-blasts of information and entertainment – rapid fire commando style.  We look for instant gratification, expect to point-click, and get what we want.  The faster you can get results -the better, and if it takes more than a few minutes you don’t feel like you have time to wait.

Does this lifestyle make sense to you?  Are you happy having to check your cell phone and text messages every couple of minutes?  Do you ever reach a feeling of overwhelm?  Wonder why you can’t get it all done?  Have you ever gotten completely frustrated with your progress?  Or just wish you could have a moment to think! 

I love the benefits of technology…but wonder where all the humans went?  We used to leave for work and had a peaceful drive with no distractions so we could pay attention to the road.  If someone needed to call us it was at work or home…If you weren’t in one of these two places your time was your own AND your mind was your own!  Now we’re running to check email, voicemail, the in-box, out-box, text messages, snail mail, facebook, twitter, blogs…and the list goes on!  Used to be if you planned a workout, you’d commune with nature on a bike or run.  Stay inside for a workout and there wasn’t a TV in front of every treadmill to distract you from paying attention to what your body was doing and how it’s feeling.  And now we’re a society that’s getting bigger & bigger because it’s “faster” and more convenient (or so we think..) to eat out than to shop, chop, and cook a healthy meal at home.  It seems like everything we’re doing is to try and juggle the frantic flurry of information.  There are so many things we have to do right now!  We are constantly being bombarded with so many things that rarely do we take a moment to “stop and smell the roses,” or tune in and quiet the pace.

I know that one of my least favorite and most beneficial activities is no activity at all!

When was the last time you did absolutely nothing?  AND all the little monkeys in your mind were Quiet!

What do you imagine when you think of a “Peaceful Mind?”  Calm waters, a clear blue sky, the gentle ebb and flow of the ocean, laughing children at play, or perhaps gazing at the stars and realizing the vastness of the universe?

A peaceful mind is an empty mind – clear of thoughts, present in the now, and enjoying what it’s like to just BE.

There are disciplines and exercises that can help you develop the skills to achieve a Peaceful Mind. And in society today these are definitely skills that need to be developed!   Breathing techniques, Yoga, Tai Chi, Meditation, and even Pilates can help to improve focus and attention.  Our ability to pay attention to the body, mind, spirit, or the nothingness and oneness that we all are to just be a part of, and apart of life on planet Earth will go a long way towards sending those monkeys to a quiet place for awhile.  Being able to take a break from the frantic pace that we’ve chosen to live with can help shine light on new perspectives and allow the opportunity to make new choices for a healthier mindset and lifestyle!

Designate a distraction-free time of day to turn on the phone, computer, and TV.  Put the pets out, turn the radio off, ask your kids and spouse to give you an UN-interrupted 5-15 minutes or longer to enjoy your favorite Peaceful mind activity (or indulge in the activity of doing absolutely nothing!)

Enjoy even a few minutes of a peaceful state of mind to rejuvenate, and re-energize yourself.  In no time at all, you’ll start to notice the shift in your consciousness as your worries decrease, your laughter increases, and you will gain the ability to clear your mind.  Gaining control of your thoughts and actions through the state of a Peaceful Mind is a powerful place to create a healthier lifestyle, and can help you manage and enjoy both the peace and pace of your life.