Doris Young Associates'
Young Thoughts
Volume 9 Issue VI
June 2009
You are receiving this newsletter because you are subscribed. To share this newsletter or cancel your subscription see instructions at the bottom of this page.IN THIS ISSUE
Smoky Mountain Travel
Leadership Training
Five Tips To Deal with Sleeplessness
On The Lighter Side
Smoky Mountain TravelMy husband I just got back from a trip to Gatlinburg Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. One of the fun things we did was take a photography class and a tour through the Smoky Mountains to take pictures. I love to mix business with pleasure so I spoke first and then it was nice for the two of us to relax, enjoy the beauty of Mother Nature, and find some interesting places to eat along the way. I highly recommend the Peddler for their charming atmosphere, scenic view, and fine dinning, the Wild Plum Tea Room for lunch, and the Buckhorn Inn for the beautiful view and dinner.
Leadership TrainingDoris will give a complementary evaluation to the first two organizations who contact her before July 1st. Doris Young, PhD, RN is the author of "LEAD" and"Save the First Dance for You" books that are designed to help nursing leaders deal effectively with the stress of healthcare and expand effectiveness in their work or personal lives. Contact Doris at 757 624 9608 or from her website at www.DorisYoungAssociates.com
Five Tips To Deal with Sleeplessness“Sleep is when all the unsorted stuff comes flying out as from dustbin upset in high wind.” William G. Golding Have you ever wondered why you can’t fall asleep or awaken in the middle of the night? It frequently takes some time to relax enough to fall off to sleep. Not only is this annoying; insufficient sleep has been linked to the development of chronic conditions including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and depression. Tip Number One to sleep better is to deal with anger and frustration regarding home and work life difficulties from an internally focused perspective. It’s not the situation that upsets us; it’s what we say to ourselves about the event. In a search to find answers to my own difficulties I discovered that Oriental medicine might shine some light on the subject of sleeplessness. Oriental Medicine describes the mind/body connection very effectively. According to this 5,000-year-old theory the body is divided into 12 major meridians named after organs because of the predominant connection. Further, each meridian is associated with certain emotions and is active during certain hours of the day. For example, the Gall Bladder meridian is activated from 11 PM to 1 AM and the Liver meridian is activated between 1 to 3 AM. Both are associated with anger and frustration. The Liver is the one organ that is really impacted by stress. Oriental medicine would say that once stressed the liver becomes “hot” and because the blood passes through the liver for cleansing the blood also becomes “hot”. The term "hot headed” comes from the fact that heat rises and expands so angry people have a red head and red ears. Further, when the Liver gets hot it attacks the Stomach and Spleen. The Stomach and Spleen are responsible for digestion and the stomach especially cannot function properly if it becomes too hot. Symptoms resulting from a hot Stomach can be reflux, indigestion, nightmares, constipation plus many more. Tip Number two to better sleep is to deal with grief head on. It’s necessary to grieve our losses whether it's losing a love one, a dream, or losing our focus after accomplishing a long sought after goal. Some people don't allow themselves to grieve only to have it negatively affect them in life like sleep deprivation. Others tend to wallow in their grief for too long, unable to adjust. Grieving is different for each individual and must be worked through so that you can come out on the other side of it and get on with your life. For some insight into how this impacts sleep let’s explore the lung meridian from the Chinese medicine viewpoint. The lungs meridian has its peak activation between 3 and 5 AM and is associated with the emotion of sadness and suppressed grief. The lung meridian is also said to look after the nose, breathing, skin, body hair, the opening and closing of pores. The paired meridian is the intestine meridian with its peak activation between 5 to 7 AM. It's also associated with the same emotions of sadness and suppressed grief. Unacknowledged grief can wakes us through the night or wake us early when we don’t want to be awake. Tip Number Three for better sleep is to maintain a sleep routine that works. We all have a day-night cycle of about 24 hours called the circadian rhythm. It greatly influences when we sleep and the quantity and the quality of our sleep. The more stable and consistent our circadian rhythm is, the better our sleep. This cycle may be altered by the timing of various factors, including naps, bedtime, exercise, and especially exposure to light (from traveling across time zones to staring at that laptop in bed at night). We have biological rhythms that are controlled by a biological clock and affects body temperature, alertness, appetite, and hormone secretion as well as sleep timing. A person's desire and ability to fall asleep is influenced by both the length of time since the person woke from an adequate sleep, and by internal circadian rhythms. Thus, the body is ready for sleep and for wakefulness at different times of the day. If you’re not used to taking a nap it may reduce the length and quality your sleep. Exercise is generally stimulating to the body so don’t do it late in the evening just before bed. Have a routine time for sleep and wake that is fairly consistent. Tip Number Four for better sleep is control intake of stimulating product. It is believed that aging also plays a role in sleep. After the age of 40 our sleep patterns change, and we have more interruptions in sleep than in our younger years. These waking periods directly affect the quality of our sleep and interact with any other condition that may cause arousals or awakenings, like the stimulation of drinking caffeine or the withdrawal syndrome after drinking alcohol close to bedtime. The more awakenings we have at night, the more likely we will awaken without feeling refreshed and restored. As the day ends our bodies go through a number of natural changes as we wind down preparing for sleep. The brain produces Melatonin that helps us relax and prepare for sleep, and the supply of Adrenalin, which keeps us alert during the day, decreases. These changes signal to the mind and body that it is time to calm down and go to sleep. Caffeine suppresses Melatonin for up to 10 hours. It also promotes the supply of Adrenaline. Coffee and caffeinated drinks should be avoided in the hours before bedtime. A cup of coffee in the morning, or regular low doses during the day may help keep you alert or even prove helpful if feeling drowsy but should be restricted to the earlier hours of the day. Tip Number Five for better sleep is to start a nighttime ritual before sleep. Psychological stressors like deadlines, exams, marital conflict, and job crises may prevent us from falling asleep or wake us from sleep throughout the night. It takes time to "turn off" all the noise from the day. If you review all the day's events and plan for tomorrow right up to the time you turn out the lights you simply can’t drop off to a peaceful night's sleep. People worry because they lack knowledge of the future and fear their limited capacity. Mothers worry whether their children will be safe, responsible, well adjusted. Children worry whether they are living up to their parent’s expectations. Individuals worry if their work is adequate and will meet their boss’ approval. The list of people worrying is endless. If worrying is a major deterrent to sleep, try “forced worrying”. Several hours before bedtime spend about 15 minutes to write down worries. Then leave the room where you wrote down the worries, and if worrying recurs, remind yourself that you will have time to think about these worries tomorrow. Set up other peaceful activities in the evening that allows you to relax and prepare for sleep such as yoga, deep breathing, or a warm bath.
|
