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Three or four brain areas regulate sleep,
while about twice that many control wakefulness. Going to sleep requires
your brain to turn on sleep controls and turn off wakefulness controls.
If you are in good health, and not overly active or stressed at bedtime,
you fall asleep easily, Chris Idzikowski reports.
Most of us don't realize there is much we can do to enhance our transition
from waking to sleeping. In this book, Idzikowski presents dozens of
sleep-promoting practices used around the world. The tactics he describes
can benefit anyone who wants to sleep better. They also can augment
medication or other treatment for people suffering from sleep disorders.
Readers may derive some comfort simply from seeing the huge selection.
Even people who think they've tried everything likely will find some
new options here. A knowledgeable and even-handed guide, Idzikowski
directs a sleep disorders center in Lisburn, Northern Ireland. A former
chair of the British Sleep Society, he also is the author of The
Insomnia Kit.
Consider your sleep environment. The ideal temperature for sleep is
about 62°F, Idzikowski says. Loose-fitting nightwear from natural fabrics
provides maximum sleep comfort. A quiet bedroom is unusual, he notes,
and may even make it hard to sleep. Most of us are used to sleeping
with some background noise from household machinery. White noise or
a rhythmic sound such as ocean waves may even benefit sleep.
Replace your mattress every decade, he advises, as ordinary use, including
perspiration during sleep, causes about 75 percent of the material in
most mattresses to deteriorate after 10 years. He tells how to find
a sleep surface that's best for you. Light-proof drapes or shades, he
says, help you trick your biological clock and sleep when you wish.
He even addresses the current Western enthusiasm for the ancient Chinese
art of Feng Shui, describing its rules for creating a harmonious environment
by judicious placement of your bed and other furniture.
To prepare yourself physically for sleep, Idzikowski describes exercise
routines you can incorporate easily into daily life, such as using stairs
instead of elevators. He provides guidelines for pre-sleep stretching,
Yoga postures, breathing exercises, acupressure, massage techniques
you can use on yourself or share with a partner, and even a series of
hot and cold foot baths said to aid relaxation.
To prepare yourself mentally for sleep, he draws on methods used by
Eastern religions. You may want to seek a meditative state by focusing
on a candle flame, or devise a visual meditation device known as a mandala
or yantra. You can use visualization to create a mental picture of a
perfect sleeping place, one to which you can go at bedtime. Learning
a technique for casting off anger also may help you sleep better. Don't
overlook the power of routines and rituals, from changing into nightclothes
and brushing your teeth, to reading or prayer at bedtime. These behaviors
can serve as cues you learn to associate with sleep.
Commissioned color artwork, appearing on every two-page spread, adds
enormously to the pleasure of paging through this book. The art consistently
evokes a restful mood. The individual artists, unfortunately, are not
identified.
Books and articles by the dozen offer tips to ensure good sleep, aid
coping with an occasional bad night, and overcome long-standing insomnia.
Few offer as ample a smorgasbord of practical do-it-yourself measures
as this one.
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