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I'm Not Sleeping


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Posting this from elsewhere

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The very first thing to do is to change that thought, for your thoughts will definitely manifest.

Hopefully I will be able to explain in a practical way the changes necessary to allow you to attain this. However, keep in mind that it must be done progressively, and there needs to be a source of motivation (from the mind of course).

In regards to napping, Researchers from Penn State College of Medicine recently reported that a midday nap lowers cortisol levels and the amount of inflammatory chemicals circulating around the body.

Cortisol is a highly catabolic hormone that breaks down protein and suppresses immune function, as well affects memory function, and chronic levels lead to the onset of various diseases. A midday nap of less than 30 minutes may help to prevent excessive cortisol production and therefore reduce the possibility of overtraining. Source: Am J Endo Metabol, 2007.

However, if you read the initial post, I noted that Sleep little & Meditation part go together. I will attempt to explain why.

When we sleep our mind changes the type of brain wave that it emits. Scientists can record these, and have labelled them as follows:

(1) Beta waves show that a person is actively attending to events and, therefore, is aware of what is happening around you.

(2) Alpha waves show that a person is awake but is not actively processing visual information. Alpha waves generally are observed when the person is relaxed and inattentive (such as in daydreaming).

(3) Theta waves are observed when a person has fallen into a light sleep — a stage of sleep from which he or she can be awakened easily.

(4) Delta waves are observed when a person has entered deep sleep — a stage of sleep from which he or she cannot be awakened easily.

What recent studies into meditation have observed is this:

When we meditate specific areas of the brain become activated, and thus the neurological, electrical, and chemical hormone pathways are altered. Thus, specific types of meditation actually alter the brain waves present. Therefore, specific mind body exercises, coupled with relaxed or intense meditation can be useful to either elicit sleep at night, or awaken the body in the morning.

Perhaps you have heard of in the news all this information about sleeping pills or the chemical 'melatonin', although this compound is safe to use and effective, the same compound or hormone can be released by the brain during meditation. All that differs when we sleep is our hormones, and thus our body systems change as a result of these complex hormonal pathways that exist within our bodies. Their functions being to relax our muscles, allow free radical quenching, and improving immune function, increasing brain synapses and function etc.

However, inspite of all of this, it is equally important to realise other factors that may influence sleep and hormones in our body. This includes sunlight, excitation, the nutrients from food that you consume, and your mood.

Therefore I suggest a combination of all the following to allow you to get a more comfortable sleep, and allow you to wake up refreshed to begin a wonderful day. But before that, it is also important to mention that studies have shown that people who lead stressful lifestyles and get less than 5 hours of sleep a night also have high cortisol levels. No studies have been completed on people that have meditative or spiritual lifestyles, and who sleep fewer hours. Thus, I believe a lot of what you do in your day to day life does influence the amount of sleep you require, as well the ability for you to adapt over the long term to sleeping less.

Some tips:

- Upon waking, take some deep and strong breathes to wake up the mind, and then shower or bathe. Making sure to slowly acclimate your eyes and body to light. This means that you should use a dim light at first, and when you get to the kitchen or your place of meditation have the light up to a higher intensity.

- Next it is important to ingest some quality protein and food. Your cells (primarily muscle) are extra sensitive to insulin at this time and this food should be packed with nutrients (fruit in particular including berries in a smoothy or protein-smoothie shake are great). Basically, one should consume this initial breakfast meal within 30 minutes of waking, yet it should not have caffeine or stimulants at this time.

- Secondly, immediately after this one should do mind-body exercises, followed by an energized meditation. By mind-body exercises I mean you need to do stretching or exercise movements coupled with deep and strong breathing. THis is followed by a meditation where it is probably best to sing aloud either a Mantra, or Kirtan if you fancy.

- Third, I would suggest (although it depends on your schedule), that you exercise with weights for 20-30 minutes in the morning. (*I mean why not, instead of the 10 hours of sleep you were getting before you have now managed to bump this down to 7 hours, you have the extra time).

- Immediately before and after this workout you should consume some protein-carbohydrate nutrients, and if you drink tea this would be a good time to take it.

* I believe that the above is positively influential in setting a strong hormonal balance for the day, while the food, meditation, and exercise can and will enhance your cognitive ability and capacity throughout the day. Forget the fact that these very things have been shown in research to prevent and delay the onset of disease (but if you think like me, you understand that this ounce of prevention each day, is worth literally pounds of cure in the long term - and not to mention thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars are saved on health costs down the road).

- Finally, at night time I suggest you do somewhat the opposite of the above which goes something like this.

- Complete your cardiovascular exercise in the evening (this may include Gatka! or a walk in the park, or gardening for those of you who prefer), at least 3 hours before you are about to sleep

- For the rest of the night you should not ingest stimulants or coffees or teas. Rather ingest vegetables, high fibre food, and high protein food.

- About 1 hour before you sleep, begin to acclimate yourself to darkness (start turning off extra lights around the house, and use the natural sunset to influence your pineal gland and its natural release of melatonin)

- Finally, your night time meditation should involve a relaxed and deep breathing meditation. Something that will remove from your minds excess thoughts, and be especially soothing to you.

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Guest peacemaker
remember veeerji, the later you stay up at night the more vulnerable you are to doing things like watching late night bad films or watching un suitable things on the net to releive your stress, i seriously suggest that you start taking sleeping pills to refrain yourself from things like this. i hope this helps veerji, wjkkwjkf.

Um, did you know that sleeping pills can be highly addictive? Unless you are a Physician, I woudn't be telling anyone to take any pills. I also don't buy the notion that just because you stay up late, means you are more "vulnerable" to do bad things. That is complete and utter nonsense. The time of day has nothing to do with it. It depends on the mindset of the individual getting himself or herself into those situations.

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Play the dialogue from Sholay:

"Jab bacha raat ko rota hai, to maa kehti hai beta so ja, so ja nahi to Gabbar Singh aa jaayega"

why get Gabbar in it when we have our own "Singh" Bhai Hari Singh Nalwa, Afghani said and still say/tell story (in a - way), to persuade their kids to go to sleep...

"Saun Jao Nahi Tan Hari Singh Nalwa Aa Jawega"

{{Disclosure: IDK, If its true/fact as its a hear-say lore}}

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As for the Veer who can't sleep try Rozerem (Brand Name) or any Ramelteon (Generic) based pills/drugs. They are not addictive and just make sure when you buy them, they are just ramelteon based and have no extras (ask the pharmacist, he/she will help you). As per your eating, eat as much as you need not WANT, it will take some time to fix your habits but if you are worried about your weight and that you will eat too much and get fat well, start doing excersice and if possible ask your doctor to prescribe you Levothroid, Levoxyl, Synthroid, or Unithroid (not recommended though) temporarily, while you can fix your disorder by working with a psychologist.

{{Disclosure: PLS consult w/ your personal doctor before taking my advice and make sure none of the meds contradict any meds you are already taking}}

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