Every day, millions of travelers struggle against one of the most common sleep disorders — jet lag. For years, jet lag was considered merely a state of mind. Now, studies have shown that the condition actually results from an imbalance in our body’s natural “biological clock” caused by traveling to different time zones. Basically, our bodies work on a 24-hour cycle called “circadian rhythms.” These rhythms are measured by the distinct rise and fall of body temperature, plasma levels of certain hormones and other biological conditions. All of these are influenced by our exposure to sunlight and help determine when we sleep and when we wake.

When traveling to a new time zone, our circadian rhythms are slow to adjust and remain on their original biological schedule for several days. This results in our bodies telling us it is time to sleep, when it’s actually the middle of the afternoon, or it makes us want to stay awake when it is late at night. This experience is known as jet lag.

Some simple behavioral adjustments before, during and after arrival at your destination can help minimize some of the side effects of jet lag.

• Select a flight that allows early evening arrival and stay up until 10 p.m. local time. (If you must sleep during the day, take a short nap in the early afternoon, but no longer than 30 minutes. Set an alarm to be sure not to over sleep.)
• Anticipate the time change for trips by getting up and going to bed earlier several days prior to an eastward trip and later for a westward trip.
• Upon boarding the plane, change your watch to the destination time zone.
• Avoid alcohol or caffeine at least three to four hours before bedtime. Both act as “stimulants” and prevent sleep.
• Upon arrival at a destination, avoid heavy meals (a snack—not chocolate—is okay).
• Avoid any heavy exercise close to bedtime. (Light exercise earlier in the day is fine.)
• Bring earplugs and blindfolds to help dampen noise and block out unwanted light while sleeping.
• Try to get outside in the sunlight whenever possible. Daylight is a powerful stimulant for regulating the biological clock. (Staying indoors worsens jet lag.)
• Contrary to popular belief, the type of foods we eat have no effect on minimizing jet lag.

According to experts, stress or the potential for stress is another problem that can lead to sleeplessness. Two common travel related stress conditions are the “First Night Effect” and the “On-Call Effect.” The first condition occurs when trying to sleep in a new or unfamiliar environment. The second is caused by the nagging worry that something just might wake you up, such as the possibility of a phone ringing, hallway noise or another disruption.

Try these tips on you next trip to help avoid travel-related stress and subsequent sleeplessness.

• Check with the hotel to see if voice mail services are available to guests. Then, whenever possible, have your calls handled by the service.
• Check your room for potential sleep disturbances that may be avoided; e.g., light shining through the drapes, unwanted in-room noise, etc.
• Utilize music, ambient noise machines, or even better “Sleep Recordings” in the hotel room to create a familiar pattern for sleep.
• Request two wake-up calls in case you miss the first one.

Speed Sleep utilizes conditioned response strategies to quickly lead you to the deepest levels of sleep. The process guides you down in a Zen methodology. The book Zen and the Art of Sleep by Eric Chiles offers a deeper understanding of how effective the process can be.

Zen and the Art of Sleep offers a surprising discovery for insomniacs. The problem isn’t sleep. The problem is trying to capture and control sleep. Readers new to Zen Buddhism are gently guided down this reflective path. Along the way, emotional baggage and misguided endeavors that feed insomnia fade away. Zen Practice exercises reveal awake and asleep to be part of the same moving stream. Unblocking that flow allows the inevitable bedtime moment of drowsiness, a moment not so different from any other, to proceed naturally and without effort.

Trend Hunter Magazine Review of Speed Sleep

http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/speed-sleep-sleeping-your-way-to-success

Sleeping your way to success is now possible, thanks to Speed Sleep (no, not that kind of success - get your mind out of the gutter!).  Speed Sleep is an audio track that uses guided visualization to teach listeners to fall asleep quickly and deeply, as well as to nap effectively.  Besides being a great alternative to prescription drugs or OTC sleep aids, the kind of regular high quality sleep that Speed Sleep promotes helps reduce stress and boosts creativity and productivity.

Considering that we have coaches or optimization for virtually everything else these days, from fitness regimes to personal finances, it was only a matter of time before people started to optimize their sleep. It is an excellent idea, however, since we spend approximately one third of our lives sleeping, we should make the most of it!

Myth: Men and women are affected the same way by insomnia.

Fact: Insomnia is nearly twice as common in women than in men, and women are more likely than men to report insomnia to their healthcare professional. A woman’s sleep is uniquely influenced by menstrual cycle, biological life stage, stress level, health, mood, parental status, work hours and other life responsibilities.

Myth: Exercising before bed will make me tired, and help me sleep.

Fact: Exercise can be helpful for good sleep, especially when done regularly in the morning or afternoon and not too close to bedtime. If you don’t exercise regularly, add good sleep to a long list of reasons why you should take up the practice.

However, sleep experts have cautioned people to avoid strenuous exercise right before sleep and even up to three hours before bedtime. That’s because exercise has an alerting effect and raises your body temperature. This rise leads to a corresponding fall in temperature five to six hours later, which makes sleep easier then. If you’ve been exercising close to bedtime and having trouble falling or staying asleep, try to arrange your workout earlier in the day.

Myth: I can have alcohol or wine with my sleep aid – it will help me get to sleep faster.

Fact: Sleep medications should not be used with alcohol or other drugs. Sleep aids should also not be taken before driving or operating machinery, or before taking a bath or shower, among other things. Always follow your healthcare professional’s instructions about how to take, when to take, and how long to take sleep aids.

Some people feel that alcohol is a sleep aid on its own. However, while alcohol may calm you and speed the onset of sleep, it actually increases the number of times you awaken during the night.

Here are some quick tips that will improve your napping skills. They can be used just before you do a Speed Sleep:

Take six deep breaths- After you get comfy, take six really deep, slow, breaths. If you can, breathe in from the nose, and out through the mouth. Nice, slow, easy.

Feel your aches- Without moving, take a quick inventory of the aches and pains you feel, especially around the face, the neck, your jaw, and your lower back.

Think of warmth- Imagine sending liquid warmth through those parts, such that the warmth pours over the aches, and washes them down out of your body off the bed, and onto the floor.

Release your worrisome thoughts- Say to every bothersome thought that comes into your head, “I can’t fix you right now. I’ll get back to you later.” Everything that comes up is not meant to be solved right now. Your brain’s just trying to get rid of them. Even reminders. “I’ll remember you when I wake up.” Let them all go.

Assure yourself you will wake up on time- This is important for nappers, but also for people who have trouble waking up. Just give yourself a quick reminder of when you want to wake up. Think of the numbers on the clock.

Think of a relaxing space- You’re in a hammock, up off the ground, wrapped in a cocoon of comfort, swaying gently in the open air. The sun is warm on your face, and there’s a breeze blowing you back and forth. This visualization helps you “see” what sleep’s reward will be, getting you more in the mood to sleep.

Visualization has proven helpful in developing the appropriate brain wave patterns to achieve restful sleep. The more you practice these techniques and build them into a ritual, the better your opportunity for repeatable success. Just like Speed Sleep it is about increasing the speed at which you achieve those deep levels of sleep. The speed at which you get to sleep after practicing these improves as you practice.

The National Sleep Foundation has recently posted an article on the connection between sleep and creativity. Speed Sleep is designed to provide an added benefit of increased creative problem solving abilities. The research supports the impact at the REM sleep levels that are achieved by using Speed Sleep. Here is some info from their findings:

Whenever you’re facing a problem or tough decision, you might get the following advice from a friend: “Sleep on it.” According to new findings published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, that might not be a bad idea. Researchers from the University of California San Diego have found that Rapid Eye Movement (REM) or “active” sleep may assist the brain in forming connections between unrelated ideas, a method of creative problem solving. Participants in the study were shown three words and asked to find a fourth that could be associated with the other words. They were tested in the morning and also in the afternoon after a nap — some groups with and some without REM sleep. Researchers found that the REM sleep group’s performance improved by almost 40 percent compared with their morning testing. Study author Sara Mednick said in a statement, “We found that — for creative problems that you’ve already been
working on — the passage of time is enough to find solutions; however, for new problems, only REM sleep enhances creativity.”

Authored by Hui-Ling Lai, PhD., RN, and Marion Good, PH.D. FAAN of Case Western Reserve University’s Francis Payne Boulton School of Nursing were published as “Music Improves Sleep Quality in Older Adults” (Journal of Advanced Nursing, 49 (3), February 2005, p.234-244). The study found that soothing music-specifically music with a tempo of 60-80 beats per minute (BPM)-resulted in significantly better sleep quality, better perceived sleep quality, longer sleep duration, greater sleep efficiency, and more.

Food is also related to sleep by appetite and metabolism. Research by Dr. Van Cauter shows that people who don’t get enough sleep are more likely to have bigger appetites due to the fact that their leptin levels (leptin is an appetite regulating hormone) fall, promoting appetite increase. This link between appetite and sleep provides further evidence that sleep and obesity are linked. To top it off, the psychological manifestations of fatigue, sleep and hunger are similar. Thus, when you’re feeling sleepy you might feel like you need to head for the fridge instead of bed.

Better sleeping has so many benefits that you might doze off trying to read through them all.  But one of the benefits that may seem counter-intuitive is the increase in productivity.  Americans often bring their work home with them or stay late at the office, which cuts into their sleeping hours.
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