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Sleep Experts Say To Power Nap for Insomnia or Sleep Loss

Sleep experts are sounding the alarm, saying that chronic sleep loss and insomnia are a serious issue, and that Americans need to get more sleep as a nation. The average 6.1 hours of sleep that people get, amounts to sleep deprivation!

Dr. Charles Czeisler, Professor of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School, is calling on corporations to step in to combat chronic sleep loss among employees by allowing napping.

What is the problem? Researchers say that the average person is not getting the needed 7 and a half to 9 hours of sleep, and that this sleep deprivation has huge personal and corporate costs.

Why 8 Hours of Sleep?

Dr. James Maas, professor of Psychology at Cornell University, explains the significance of the number 8, for 8 hours of sleep:

"Between the seventh and eighth hour is when we get almost an hour of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, the time when the mind repairs itself, grows new connections and puts it all together.

REM sleep occurs about every 90 minutes, and the periods of REM sleep get longer as the night progresses.

If you're a six-hour sleeper, you're missing that last, important opportunity to repair and to prepare for the coming day."

For a Nation of Walking Zombies: POWER SLEEP Find Out If You Are Sleep Deprived: Dr. Maas' 14 Signs Of A Sleep Problem

What Does Not Enough Sleep Cost You?

Just can’t squeeze in more sleep because of a time crunch or you suspect you have insomnia?

Research shows that 75% of people show symptoms of lack of sleep a few times a week.

According to Dr Maas, the consequences of lack of sleep and insomnia are:

• Drowsiness during the day

• Moodiness, irritability, anxiety, depression

• Weight gain

• Slower reaction time, e.g. can’t play piano, golf etc.

• Cognitive ability impaired e.g. problem solving, math

• Poor concentration, creativity, learning and memory

How does critical thinking and creativity suffer from a lack of sleep and insomnia?

Sleep deprived brains do not work properly, according to MRI brain scans.

People who had had only 6 hours of sleep for a few weeks had problems doing math, and their brain scans showed very little activity.

After a good night's rest of 8 hours, however, the MRI brain scans "lit up with activity" and people had no trouble solving these same math problems!

Scientists Find New Natural Insomnia Relief * How Can Not Getting Enough Sleep Make You Fat? *

Why Not Get A Prescription?

Over 42 million prescriptions for sleeping pills are written a year in the US.

Researchers have, however, sounded the alarm over "Benzo" addictions, especially to Valium (Diazepam), Xanax (Alprazolam) and Ativan (Lorazepam)! Researchers find Prescriptions Over-Used and Addictive

There are proven natural alternatives based on sound science that are non-addictive for insomnia, better sleep and less anxiety!

Recommendations for Proven Natural Alternatives for Better Sleep

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Why Is A Power Nap Better Than Coffee?

If you do shift work, or if you are at risk for dozing off at the wheel -- like 80,000 Americans do daily -- (National Highway Safety Administration) but you just can’t get around to 8 hours of sleep regularly, taking a power sleep during the day might save your life.

By setting a “power sleep clock” for 15 minutes during the day when you have a dip in alertness, or when driving, you will benefit more than you will from having a coffee break. Why?

A 15 minute power nap will refresh but not put you into delta or deep sleep and make you groggy. Coffee, on the other hand, will interfere with REM sleep the next night – the REM sleep you will need for your mind to repair itself for the next day.

Scientits Link Sleep Deprivation and Shift Work to Breast Cancer Driver Fatigue -- May NOT Be What You Think It Is All About Drowsy Driving: National Sleep Foundation

Afternoon Nap 'Good for Heart'

Taking 40 winks in the middle of the day may reduce the risk of death from heart disease, particularly in young healthy men,(not so much for retirees who don’t have as much stress), say researchers.

Siestas are common in the Mediterranean region and several Latin American countries and those countries also tend to have low mortality rates of coronary heart disease," according to news release by Harvard School of Public Health.

A six-year Greek study found that those who took a 30-minute siesta at least three times a week had a 37% lower risk of heart-related death. The researchers took into account ill health, age, and whether people were physically active.

Overcoming Sleep Deprivation and Insomnia

Unless you begin to get adequate sleep, you will never be the person you were meant to be. You might start RIGHT NOW by:

1) listening to this CALMING MEDITATION: Online Guided Meditation for Centering

2) DOING SOME STRETCHES RIGHT NOW, For Better Sleep:

You can quiet your mind, release muscle tension and beat anxiety with a few stretches. In a study done at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, 86 women who were having trouble sleeping needed 60% less sleep medication and had 30% less difficulty falling asleep when they stretched four times a week.

Try this move from San Francisco-based Pilates instructor Lara Hudson as part of your stretching routine:

1) Stand with your back against a wall, feet hip distance apart and about a foot from the wall.

2) Inhale, pull abdominals in and press entire back to the wall.

3) As you exhale, roll down slowly, peeling your head, neck, shoulders and back away from the wall until only your tailbone and buttocks are touching it.

4) Relax your neck and shoulders, and let your head and arms hang.

5) Take deep, slow breaths, and circle arms inward five times, then outward five times. Slowly roll up.

10 Minute Solution: Rapid Results Pilates

Resources: Books, Workbooks and CDs:

The Six-Week, Drug-Free Program Developed At Harvard Medical School (Paperback) No More Sleepless Nights (Paperback) Delta Sleep System, CD Restful Sleep: The Complete Mind/Body Program by Deepak Md Chopra (book, workbook & CD) Releasing Anxiety and Insomnia (Audio CD) Sleeping Through Sleeplessness (Audio CD) A Personalized Program for Identifying and Overcoming the Three Types of Sleeplessness (paperback) Desperately Seeking Snoozin' (paperback) Sleep Soundly, CD Sleeplessness CureThrough Hypnosis

Easy To Sleep for Babies and Children

If you have children, help them develop ways to relax and unwind before bed time.

Here are some beautiful ways to help calm parents, babies and kids down at the end of the day and ease them into slumber:

On A Starry Night - Lullabies From Around The World, CD Remmy and the Brain Train: Traveling Through the Land of Good Sleep, book & CD The No-Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers and Preschoolers (paperback) The Lull-A-Baby Sleep Plan: The Soothing, Superfast Way to Help Your New Baby Sleep Through the Night...and Prevent Sleep Problems Before They Develop (Paperback) Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth, MD (paperback)

Power Sleep For Sleep Deprived and Insomniacs

More About Sleep and Sleep Disorders: National Sleep Foundation Contact Us For Natural Supplements for Restless Legs, Restless Legs Syndrome, RLS

Natural Insomnia Relief: Naps and Power Naps as Insomnia and Sleep Aid

Go to Health Discoveries HOME PAGE from insomnia


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