Sleeping Well Every Night

Who would have thought that how much we sleep could turn out to be a coronary artery risk factor which is as important as smoking or high blood pressure? In fact, you can be an avid marathon runner, health food nut, gum rat, non-smoker, non-drinker and even a relatively stress-free lean person but still suffer due to getting less-than-adequate sleep.

One such person was Ranjan Das, a young and popular chief executive officer in India and a fitness buff.

He suffered a massive heart attack at the age of 42. He seemed to have done everything right but sleep—getting only 4-5 hours a night when he really needed more.

Evidence has shown that there's a link between lack of sleep and heart disease.

Studies have documented the following:

• Sleeping fewer than 6 hours a night has been linked to an increased risk for high blood pressure by 350-500% compared with those who slept more than 6 hours a night.

•  Young people (25-49 years of age) are twice as likely to get high blood pressure if they sleep less.

• Individuals who sleep less than 5 hours a night have a 3-fold increased risk of heart attacks.

• Middle-aged women who slept for 5 or fewer hours a night had a greater chance of suffering heart attacks than those who have 8 hours of sleep.

• Complete and partial lack of sleep increased the blood concentrations of C-reactive protein, the strongest predictor of heart attacks and other substances that reflect active inflammation. Even after getting adequate sleep later, the levels stay high.

• Just 1 night of sleep loss increases toxic substances in the body that increase risks of many illnesses such as cancer, arthritis and heart disease.

According to Professor Francesco Cappucio, who co-authored a report published in the European Heart Journal, "If you sleep less than 6 hours per night and have disturbed sleep, you stand a 48% greater chance of developing or dying from heart disease and a 15% greater chance of developing or dying from a stroke. The trend for late nights and early mornings is actually a ticking time bomb for our health so you need to act now to reduce your risk of developing these life-threatening conditions."

Sleep deprivation is on the rise worldwide due to easy Internet access, a growing number of TV channels, financial worries and longer working hours. All these distract us from going to bed early, but it is important that we get our restorative 7-8 hours of sleep every night.

Here are a few basic good sleeping habits to practise:

• Go to bed and get up at the same time every day.

• Use your bed only for sleeping.

• Go easy on alcohol and caffeine—avoid nicotine.

• Exercise in the morning or late afternoon.

Get The Most Out Of Your Sleep

If you have trouble falling asleep or getting deep sleep, try a natural sleep supplement, such as Rilax to help regulate your sleep.

Rilax helps you experience a rejuvenating night's sleep, so that you wake up feeling recharged and re-energized.

Darren Atkinson 'Datguy', a radio announcer and news presenter with a local radio station shares, "Switching off and resting can be difficult at times due to my busy lifestyle. However, Rilax helps me to relax and gives me restful sleep when I really need it. With Rilax, I feel fresh, rested and alert the next day and ready to take on another busy day."

Another user, Sherilyn Wong shares, "My lifestyle as a real estate consultant can be very hectic. I often end up sleeping late and having to wake up early. Sometimes when I sleep, I find that my brain is still active and there are a lot of thoughts running through my mind.

"On some mornings, I wake up feeling tired rather than well rested.

"However, I find that Rilax helps me calm down before bedtime and although I only have a few hours of sleep, I'm able to wake up feeling well rested and refreshed."

Classified as a food product by the Ministry of Health Malaysia, Rilax contains 2 proven and award-winning ingredients:

• Lactium: a naturally-occurring peptide found in milk protein that has relaxing and calming properties. Lactium mimics the properties found in mother's milk, thus inducing the same state of calm that a baby enters after a feed.

• Green tea extract: rich in L-Theanine, an amino acid found in green tea leaves that promotes an alert state of relaxation without drowsiness.

Taken an hour before bedtime, Rilax's all-natural ingredients work well to improve sleep quality, particularly those that are stress-related, are safe, non-habit-forming, have no side effects and does not cause grogginess when you wake up.

How To Fall Asleep In Three Minutes—Beyond Counting Sheep

The inability to fall asleep can be frustrating and greatly impede one's ability to function on a day-to-day basis. The following tips will help you to fall asleep in no time. Pleasant dreams!

1. Food That Can Help You Fall Asleep. Trytophan is an amino acid that helps the brain produce serotonin, which helps you relax. Found in such things as turkey, milk, chicken, ice cream, tuna and peanuts, the soothing effect of trytophan can help you put your day's worries behind you and allow you to fall into blissful slumber. On the other hand, avoid spicy and fatty foods, which can give you heartburn and keep you awake. Similarly, too much liquid before bedtime can leave you running to the bathroom all night rather than sleeping.

2. Relax. One of the biggest culprits of sleep deprivation is the inability to stop the mind from racing with the day's event and ongoing worries. The key is to slow down, and try to leave your troubles behind. A warm bath, meditation, peaceful music, a good book and dimmed lights can have a soothing, therapeutic effect.

3. Avoid Stimulants. Caffeine, found in coffee and soda, and nicotine, found in cigarettes, are stimulants that inhibit your ability to slow down and get some rest. Herbal energy boosters can also keep you awake. Try to avoid stimulants for eight hours prior to bedtime.

4. Get On A Schedule. Regulating when you go to bed and when you wake up is important to establishing a regular sleep pattern. Go to sleep and rise at the same time every day, even on weekends. Don't nap during the day, as this inhibits your ability to fall asleep at night.

5. Cool Things Off. Your body temperature naturally drops when you are sleeping. To imitate this pattern and help to induce sleep, keep your bedroom temperature lower. Use an air conditioner or fan to reproduce these conditions, and wear light clothes.

6. Avoid Alcohol. Alcohol can temporarily help you fall asleep, but actually interferences with the quality of your sleep. It impairs your ability to achieve REM sleep, which is deep sleep. Instead, you remain in a lighter sleep, from which you can be easily awoken.

7. Be Sure You Are Getting Enough Iron. Women with an iron deficiency tend to have more trouble sleeping. Check your iron level and start taking an iron supplement, if needed.

8. Make Your Bed A Pleasant Place To Be. Take the time to make your bed every day, making it a more appealing place to go to. Make sure you have a good mattress, comfortable sheets, and fluffy pillows. Also, only use your bed for sleeping, so that your body registers that the bed is a place to sleep.

9. Exercise. Exercise three to six hours before bedtime can help you relax, and tire you out, enabling you to fall asleep more easily. Plus, regular exercise increases the quality of your sleep.

10. Get Out Of Bed. Sometimes, staying in bed and worrying about falling asleep can actually put too much pressure on you and prevent you from falling asleep. Get up, do something else, and try again in a little while.

Kacper Postawski is an innovative sleep science researcher and the creator of the Sleep Wiz, your surefire natural remedy to end insomnia forever and enjoy energizing sleep in as little as 3 days! He can show you how to fall asleep effortlessly, create more time, and an abundance of energy in your body by optimizing your sleep system! He dispels the “8-hour sleep myth”, tells you what most people never realize about sleep, and what the drug companies DONT WANT YOU to know.