The Daily Mind

Daily Steps To Mindful Living

sleep

7 Habits of People Who Always Get a Good Night’s Sleep

Body

We spend a LOT of our time sleeping. It’s the way the body and mind get to recharge. But why is it that so many people have problems falling asleep, staying asleep, and actually getting a good night’s sleep? Why is insomnia, in its different forms, such a common issue?

There are probably a wide range of reasons for this, depending on the person, his environment, and other issues; but we cannot ignore the fact that there are people who always get a good night’s sleep. How do they do it?

If you want to be like them, take a look at their habits which contribute to a good night’s sleep. [Read more…] about 7 Habits of People Who Always Get a Good Night’s Sleep

Originally posted on June 24, 2014 @ 9:27 am

4 Practical Things to Do When You Can’t Sleep

Body

I’ve always had sleep issues. They come in cycles. There are times when I fall asleep earlier than I would want to, but I’d wake up in the middle of the night – same time, every time. There are periods when I just can’t seem to do anything but sleep – day or night. Then there are periods when I can’t sleep till almost dawn.
insomnia
One thing I have learned is to ride out those periods until my sleeping pattern adjust to a reasonable cycle. I’ve also learned – by trial and error – how to somehow lull myself to sleep during those nights when sleep won’t come; or at least reach a state of semi-relaxation so that I am not totally useless the next day. [Read more…] about 4 Practical Things to Do When You Can’t Sleep

Originally posted on November 1, 2013 @ 1:43 pm

4 Power Nap Mistakes That Kill Your Energy Buzz

Body

Power naps are supposed to perk you up and give you the second wind you need to get through your day in a better mood. But are you getting the most out of the quick zzz’s you take during your lunch break?

If you want to make the most out of your nap time and be that guy in the office who doesn’t look like a zombie by the end of the day, then you’d better brush up on your power nap strategy to avoid the common mistakes below.

Charlie BrownPhoto Credit: Cplbasilisk

No wonder Charlie Brown’s always so depressed –  he never learned how to power nap!

 

1. Extended napping – Hitting that snooze button and getting an extra 5 – 10 minutes may work for you in the morning, but when it comes to napping, it is the biggest mistake you can make. Naps are supposed to be just 15 – 30 minutes long for a good reason. This rule was not invented by bosses who wanted their employees back at their desks ASAP, but has been proven by research to be the ideal period for napping. In fact, napping for more than 30 minutes will not give your more energy, but will actually leave you feeling groggier due to sleep inertia. So before you hit the slow wave sleep (SWS) phase where sleep inertia is at its peak, you’d better wake up. You’ll still feel slightly groggy after a 20-minute nap, but you can bet that you’ll be able to shake it off more easily than you would an hour long nap.

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Originally posted on October 3, 2013 @ 5:51 pm

7 Common Habits of the Perpetually Stressed

Body, Life, Mental Health, Mind

If you’re wondering why your life seems so stressful and are trying to figure out why, you might want to take a moment to look at yourself because YOU might actually be the major reason behind all the stress you’re having to deal with on a daily basis.

Life will always find a way to throw curve balls at you, inevitably making you feel stressed from time to time, but if you don’t watch the way you think and act your habits will amplify the stress and make it harder to cope with daily stressors. Here’s a list of 7 habits commonly exhibited by people who claim to be perpetually stressed. If you’re the sort of person who often feels drained at the end of the day, no matter how uneventful the day might have been, you’ll probably find yourself checking one item after another on the list below.

stressed nail bitingPhoto Credit: CileSuns

 

7 Common Habits of the Perpetually Stressed

 

1. Negative thinking – If you don’t think much about what you think and how you think, chances are that you also fall prey to negative thinking. Think about it. What comes to mind first when something doesn’t go your way? How do you talk to yourself when you make a mistake? If your thoughts automatically turn to the negative, then you can be sure that this is adds to your daily stress levels in a major way. You need to re-train yourself to be a positive thinker and change this bad habit starting NOW. Yes, you’ve got to start now and stop thinking that it’s too hard and start by telling yourself that you can do it. Remember, positive affirmations to yourself goes a long way!

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Originally posted on September 16, 2013 @ 1:09 pm

8 ways to wind down before bedtime

Body

Angel Sleeps

Insomnia is a problem that affects many people and if it’s left unchecked it can go on to affect our health, work and relationships. Indeed sleep deprivation can lead to further problems such as an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes type 2. If you are one of the millions of people around the world who are suffering from a lack of sleep then it’s time to take action.

Sleep experts agree that one of the best ways of tackling insomnia is to get your mind and body into a regular routine each night to prepare it for sleep. Here are some suggestions for how to wind down and prepare for sleep.

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Originally posted on August 5, 2013 @ 12:29 pm

Staying Up Late: Why Everyone Should Go to Bed Earlier

Body

“Sleep is that golden chain that ties health and our bodies together.”

Thomas Dekker – Actor

Should Go to Bed Earlier
Creative Commons License photo credit: Gian Franco Costa Albertini

Over the past year and a half I have developed the bad habit of staying up late. Really late. I rarely get to bed before 2am as I am up working on my business. And since I developed this bad habit I’ve noticed some of my other good habits fading away like dew in the sunshine. I don’t meditate as much, I am less patient and my health is not as strong.

In this post I want to give you a few reasons as to why staying up late is a bad idea and why we should all endeavor to go to bed a bit earlier.

What constitutes “staying up late”

So how do you know if you are staying up late? Is 10pm late? Is 1am late? Actually, it depends. You know you are staying up late by one single signal. You are tired. If you are up late enough to be tired you know that you are going past your body’s bedtime. And this bedtime is different for everybody. Some people need to be in bed by 8pm. Others can stay up all night studying and not feel tired at all.

Why we should go to bed earlier


Creative Commons License photo credit: marcandrelariviere

If you find that you often stay up late it might be worth while having a read over these points. I truly believe that people these days stay up far too late and that going to bed earlier is a key to many successes in your life.

If you know of any other reasons or perhaps you don’t agree with what I have written please leave a comment and discuss it. I am very interested to learn more about the issue of sleep.

1. Humans aren’t used to staying up late
Something that I have come to realize in the past few days is that humans are not used to staying up late. In fact, up until about 100 years ago most human beings would go to bed at a little after sundown. This is an interesting point as it indicates that staying up late is a very unnatural behavior.

Before electricity and light bulbs most people went to bed as soon as the days chores were finished and dinner was eaten. Sure, they had candles and fires but for the most part people did not stay up reading. They certainly weren’t up writing blog posts or watching Letterman! And going to bed early often means waking up early – until about 100 years ago everyone got up at dawn.

So perhaps staying up late is not healthy because we aren’t used to it yet. Perhaps humans are supposed to go to bed early and get up early – just like every other creature on Earth. And this leads me to my next point…

2. Staying up late is not nature’s way
I recently saw a video where the great Buddhist master Tai Situ Rinpoche said that staying up late and getting up late was not in tune with nature. I think he is 100% correct.


Creative Commons License photo credit: lab brat

Think about the world. Think about nature. Everything rises when the sun rises. The flowers start to open, the birds start chirping and so on. With the exception of nocturnal animals everything on Earth wakes up as the sun does. And in a similar vein everything goes to bed as the sun does. Flowers close, birds nest, etc. But humans stay up watching television or reading blogs. Does that sound right?

If something or someone goes against nature it usually has bad consequences. For example, if you spend your life eating unnatural foods it usually means you end up getting fat, diabetes or even cancer. So why is bedtime any different? Is it really a good idea to disturb this natural rhythm?

3. The morning is the best time for meditation
Throughout the ages, since the time of the Buddha, meditation masters have been telling us that the morning is the best time of the day for spiritual progress. For many of you reading this article your spiritual progress is the most important aspect of your life. So why are we sleeping in?

In the morning the mind is clearer, sharper and more at ease. It is easier to rest in the natural state of your mind and you have a lot less disturbing emotions such as desire, anger and attachment (apart form attachment to sleep!). Furthermore, Chinese medicine shows us that the internal energies (chi) of the body are ideal for meditation during the early hours of the day. Perhaps this has something to do with the natural rhythm that we talked about above?

If you want to become a great meditator or at least start to take your meditation practice more seriously I strongly urge you to start going to bed early and waking up early. You will find that progress comes a lot faster.

4. The morning is the best time for exercise
Last night as I was sitting on the computer eating a packet of crisps and drinking a chocolate milk the news lady told me that Australia is now the fattest nation in the world. I couldn’t believe it! My home country was now fatter (per capita) than the USA. And there I was up late eating junk food and depriving my body of sleep.

should go to bed earlier
The morning is the best time to go for that run

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Originally posted on March 9, 2009 @ 2:30 am