The Steps


Intro:
Before you begin
Step 1:
Count your breaths
Step 2:
Try the body sweep
Step 3:
Try some other relaxation techniques
Step 4:
Reduce caffeine and alcohol intake
Step 5:
Use your bed for sleeping
Step 6:
Get some exercise
Step 7:
Revise your diet
Step 8:
Be careful with naps



Helpful Tips


Establish a regular sleeping schedule and stick to it. Don't stay up for that great late night movie--just tape it.

Make your own eye pillow. Take an eight- to ten-inch square of nice fabric and sew two opposite sides together. Sew a third side and turn inside-out. Fill with flax seeds. Mix in some lavender, or cinnamon and dried orange peel...whatever scents appeal to you. Sew the final side. Don't overfill it or it might be too heavy for you. Before sewing the final side, use safety pins to close it and try how it feels.

 

Health and Fitness


2torial #0445:
Learn2 Cope With Insomnia (Continued)

Step 3Try some other relaxation techniques

  • Temple massage: Using both thumbs, press on each eyebrow starting at the nose. Exert light and steady pressure, moving outward slowly to the ear. Stop every 1/4 inch, and stay on that point for about 15 seconds. Then use four fingers on each hand to continue the process, running back from the ear to nostrils.

     

  • Riverbed visualization: In bed with your eyes closed, imagine that you are lying in the warm sand next to a quickly flowing river. Fragrant flowers bend in the breeze nearby. Lean over and pick one, and wrap one of your worries in the petals, and place the flower out into the current. Watch and listen as it floats away.

  • Eye Pillows: These are soft, weighted bags which place even and gentle pressure on your forehead and eyes. They help the facial muscles release tension, and they have another interesting effect as well: See Tips for direction on how to make one of your own.

Keep your eyes still. Next time you're thinking hard instead of sleeping, notice what your eyes are doing. According to some experts, there's a relationship between restless eye movements and restless thinking. As your eye movements quiet down, so does your mind. And as your mind quiets down, your chances for restful sleep improve.

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