Humans need sleep like food. Much as with recipes, there are many elements that make for good, joyous sleep. Just as a checklist won’t make you a great chef, this checklist may not give make you a great sleeper. But every little bit helps. 1. My sleep place is as cool, comfy, dark, safe as […]
Stress, Overeating, and Sleep
Stress makes you sleepless. Insomnia makes you hungry, especially ravenous for fat and sugar. You eat more, gain weight, get more stressed. Then repeat. When expectations exceed realities stress becomes one’s constant companion. The plane flight to see your ailing mother is delayed, then cancelled. Your kid forgets his homework and you can’t leave work […]
Thoughts that keep you up at night (3/8/11)
Thinking, Not Sleeping “Honestly, I cannot sleep at night because I get so excited about doing good things for the world, changing the world,” says Miley Cyrus, the Hannah Montana star. Sadly, most of my sleep patients don’t complain of excitement at the wonderful things they are about to do to save our volatile, environmentally […]
How to sleep anywhere (1/19/11)
Can You Sleep When You Need To? You’re exhausted, strung out, and can’t wait to fall asleep – but you can’t. You’re on an airplane or bus or holed up in a hotel waiting for the weather to turn, a place where a nap or long, restful sleep would be very welcomed. Yet you feel […]
Why can’t I rest Part 2 – how to not worry about sleep (1/4/11)
Feeling Restless Today, many feel restless and tired much of the time. Partly this is due to people’s thinking that only one kind of rest exists – passive rest – sleep and “doing nothing.” Active rest, especially physical and social rest, is available to most everyone and can be used to quickly you. Yet paradoxically […]