Importance of Rest and Sleep
Each individual parts of the human body work together although each has its own unrelated task. Without sleep or rest the body can’t perform these tasks properly. For example when the brain hasn’t gotten much sleep it becomes foggy and unable to focus or react quickly. Also when you don’t rest your body in between excessive exercise the muscles become tired and hurt. The majority of the rest and repair happens while the body is sleeping.
When a person is sick a stress they may find it difficult to sleep. There are different types of tricks that can help people fall asleep. Just before going to bed a warm bath followed by a gentle massage of the spine can help a person fall asleep because it relaxes the nerves and muscles. People also recommend a hot foot bath. Often some warm milk or hot cocoa taken just before laying down to bed will have the same relaxing effect.
If a person cannot fall asleep because of indigestion then they can often take an antacid to help them through the night but a plain diet before going to bed will prevent the indigestion from happening again. Another way to quickly fall asleep with indigestion is to sleep upon a hard bed without any pillow.
When sleeplessness is caused by stress then a person needs to eliminate that stress from the mind. Breathing styles can help a person focus more on the breathing and less on the stress. Start by closing the first nostril and take four deep breaths through the right nostril and then close the right nostril and take four deep breaths through the left one. Repeating this about four times should help the body and mind relax. If not then continue to take deep breaths but make sure to count them, again helping your mind focus on something other than the stress.
Sleeping medications are not recommended because many of the over the counter ones contain ingredients that can injure the heart and can make a person addicted to the sleeping aide.
