Showing posts with label Asleep. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Asleep. Show all posts

How to Fall Asleep and Stay Asleep

Do you have difficulty sleeping? You're not alone, people across the world complain of difficulty sleeping. Of course if you have a bad night then this generally leaves you feeling crabby the next day. It's not something we can hide if our bodies don't get the required rest they deserve and need then it's going to come through in our day to day activities and attitude. So the big question is how to fall asleep, or is it maybe better how to stay asleep? Can you go to sleep and rest through out the night un disturbed? It is a challenge in today's twenty-four seven lifestyle.

If you're one of the lucky ones that is able to fall asleep easily, and also hold it until the morning for eight hours congratulations, you're further ahead then most of us. For some reason this is becoming more and more of an issue, when you'd think it would be going the other way. Todays high tech mattresses and beds are light years ahead of what our parents used. With today's latex and memory foam designs we should be more comfortable then ever. How ever has it ever occurred that maybe it's not our comfort but our lifestyle that keeps us waking up through the night? One thing that contributes greatly to poor sleep is stress. It may be stress from parenting, work, or other areas of life, not matter what it is that stress stays with you through your sleep effecting your ability to stay asleep through the night.

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Learning how to deal with that stress through day to day work and life is important for your overall health and sleep patterns. Whether you need to learn some basic relaxation techniques, or take a long bath before bedtime each night learning how to wind down and relax will do wonders for your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep.

Other ideas to help you fall asleep and awake feeling fully rested are reducing your caffeine intake. Even if you're not someone who drinks caffeine close to bed time it can still effect your sleeping patterns at night. Professional assistance from a sleep therapist is always an option, but often difficult to get as there are waiting lists from all the others having difficulty sleeping in your area as well. Don't discount the Internet as a place to find good quality sleep and relaxation tips. A few searches from your favorite search engine might yield the solution you've been hoping for.

How to Fall Asleep and Stay Asleep

For tips and articles on relaxation techniques to help you release the stresses of daily life visit our site All Relaxation Tips.

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Falling Asleep Instantly

If you are looking for techniques on how to fall asleep instantly then you are not alone. More and more people around the world are now dependent on some form of medication to get a good night's sleep. And, who really wants that? You don't want to rely on sleeping pills for the rest of your life, do you?

Whereas some people fall asleep the second their head touches the pillow, others lay awake tossing and turning the rest of the night. How unfair. If you belong to the second group and want to learn how to fall asleep instantly, then you've come to the right place.

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Falling asleep may be a complicated matter. You may feel sleepy and tired at the end of the day but still suffer from a lack of sleep during the overnight hours. However, there are several techniques that can help you to finally get some shut eye.

1. The room you sleep in should be pitch dark. Block all outside lights from coming through the windows and eliminate all interior light. Consider covering the alarm clock since you won't be obsessed about the time and get rid of the light.

2. Consider an exercise called progressive relaxation. It works by going from your toes to your head and FEEL every body part, go from your toes to your knees to your upper legs to your thighs, etc.
FEEL the weight of each body part and then slowly relax the body party as you slowly let it go into the bed. Include every body part that is connecting each one to the next, and go from your toes to your head with a short pause in between.

3. Meditation is a perfect way to fall asleep instantly. Choose a place in the house where you won't be disturbed for at least an hour. Ensure that it's quiet and conducive to meditation. Do deep breathing exercises as you sit on a chair or floor and let the worries of the day go by. By doing this each day, you'll have the chance to unload your worries and stress, allowing the body to accept relaxation and, ultimately, sleep.

4. If you're working in shifts and need to sleep in the daytime, it can be hard to block out the distractions of the outside world. By covering your eyes with a sleep mask and using earplugs, you can find the peaceful setting that you need to finally drift off to sleep.

5. Another tip on how to fall asleep instantly is to consult your doctor about herbal sleep aids. Ask for herbs that are considered effective and are safe to use as an insomnia treatment. Chamomile is an herb that is mostly taken as a calming tea; take a cup of this herbal tea before you retire and you will find yourself more relaxed and less stressed, ready to hit the covers!

Other herbs that may be prescribed are California poppy, Passion flower and Kava kava. These are all common ingredients for natural sleeping remedies that not only promote sleep but cure agitation and restlessness as well.

6. A massage can greatly help persons fall asleep instantly. Ask your spouse to give you a massage before going to bed... either a full body massage or a neck, shoulders and back massage. Massaging the tension areas will help reduce stress, which will help you to fall asleep quickly and stay asleep the entire night.

7. Another tip you can try is visualizing something that bores you. You may be able to recapture the tired and sleepy feelings you had during these boring situations. This won't work for everyone, but for those who are good at visualizing this might be the best tip on how to fall asleep instantly.

8. What makes a lot of people instantly fall asleep is music. Listening to soft and soothing music or some other kind of audio sounds can greatly help the process of falling asleep. In fact, there are a few CDs that have especially been designed to help people with insomnia. Some have soothing sounds such as heartbeats, ocean waves, leaves in the wind or something of a similar nature.

9. Some people may experience insomnia because of personal problems that they worry about too much. If this is the primary reason why you cannot sleep, then talk to someone or write a simple journal about your thoughts and the possible solutions for each problem. Unloading your stressors may help you to sleep soundly at night.

10. Environmental conditioning is another way to sleep instantly at night. Remove all things that can distract you from sleeping including the television, laptop, office documents, cell phones, etc. Create a room that you will find comfortable to sleep in. Make sure the mattress is comfortable and adjust the lighting and room temperature to suit your needs.

If all else fails and you still want to know how to fall asleep instantly, then it might be a good time to talk to your doctor. See what he/she advises you to take; they may also prescribe you some type of sleep medication. Be sure you find out about any side effect these medications may have and about the adverse reactions to other medicines you could experience. Your doctor should also suggest how long you can use this type of medication. After all, you want to know how to fall asleep instantly, the natural way.

Falling Asleep Instantly

What if you just can't get to sleep? I know how hard it can be to lie in bed just tossing and turning before you finally get to sleep at 6 A.M., but if you want to fall asleep the second your head touches the pillow you'll just need to learn a few easy methods that work amazingly well. These techniques are simple to pick up and most methods don't take much practice. You can read how to do it here: How long to go without sleep

Don't give up hope, it's NOT impossible. Learn more about herbal sleep aids and how to overcome your sleeping problems by clicking the link.

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How Do I Fall Asleep Fast And Easily At Night?

Are You Wondering How Do I Fall Asleep Fast?

Are you having trouble sleeping and wake up every morning feeling drained and tired? Then chances are that you might be suffering from insomnia, Insomnia affects many people in our day and age and can be brought on upon many different factors, such as stress, depression, Illness, and Inaccurate sleeping patterns. Today I will be telling you how you can improve your sleep and I will be giving you a natural cure for insomnia. If you are wondering and asking your self how do I fall asleep fast then keep reading and discover the secrets to a good nights sleep, that will leave you waking up feeling refreshed and rejuvenated every morning.

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Before I Tell You The Tips And Tricks On How To Fall Asleep Fast, It Is Important To Know Why Sleep Is So Vital For Our Bodies

Sleeping is just as important as eating, drinking and breathing, because without it our bodies would seize to exist. Sleep is a way of our bodies healing them self's and it helps to allow our minds to rest. If we don't get the sleep that we require then we are at risk of getting the following diseases such as Sugar Diabetes, Heart Diseases, and High Blood Pressure. Furthermore failing to get the required sleep allows for our immune systems to weaken making us more prone to catching more flues and viral diseases. It is said that the average adult should obtain at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep and the average teenager should get about 8 to 9 hours of sleep, so if you are feeling tired and weak during the day then chances are that you are not getting the required sleep that your body needs at night.

OK Now Tell Me How Do I Fall Asleep Fast

Today I will be telling you three tips that could help you get that fast much, needed deep sleep that your body needs.

Tip 1

The fist tip I will be telling you about is music, music is used by many people that struggle to fall asleep at night. The reason that music is used is that it seems to have a relaxing effect and helps out minds to calm down and relax. The best way to use music to help you fall asleep is to make sure that when you go to sleep the room is dark and fresh, lie on your bed and get comfortable then play the music. Make sure that the music I calm and relaxing, close your eyes and listen to the music let it calm you and sooth your mind, and in no time you will slowly start to drift of into a deep sleep.

Tip 2

The second tip is to start of with leaving caffeine alone in the late afternoons and evenings, Caffeine contains a stimulant that tends to keep us awake. Then try to avoid any intense workouts and activates that might require brain power right before your bed time as this is just going to get your body and mind over active. Then try to find a relaxing activity to do at least ten minuets before your bed time to help you relax such as taking a warm bath, reading a book or listening to some music, what ever the activity try to do this every night to get your body to link this activity with sleeping. We can't force our bodies to sleep but we can help them realize its bed time.

Tip 3

The final tip is to use what they call sleeping meditation, sleeping meditation is a method used to help relax our bodies and minds. If you are a person that suffers from stress or can't sleep because your mind is over active then I highly recommend using sleeping meditation, as its helps you to forget about you day and forget about your problems, it's a way of opening the door to that deep peaceful sleep.

How Do I Fall Asleep Fast And Easily At Night?

I now invite you to come over to HOW I FALL ASLEEP FAST where I will go more into detail on how to fall asleep quickly and peacefully as this article was just a summery on this topic.

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EFT Tapping and Insomnia - How to Use Tapping to Help You Fall Asleep More Easily

Tossing and turning all night? Read on to discover how EFT, i.e., Emotional Freedom Technique, can help you sleep better.

If you have trouble sleeping, you'll easily get caught up in a vicious cycle. You feel awful during the day because you can't sleep, and every night, you are afraid you won't be able to sleep AGAIN, which will make it even harder to fall asleep.

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So what can you do to break through that cycle?

1) Use EFT for Insomnia

How about tapping, also known as EFT or Emotional Freedom Technique.

You see, one of the biggest reasons for sleeping problems and insomnia is stress. So the more stressed you are, the more badly you need sleep to recover, and yet sleep also gets more and more elusive.

And in order to sleep, you need to give stress a break.

So tapping to help you fall asleep might help, at least a little. And here's how you do it:

Use the following as a set-up phrase:

Even though I have trouble sleeping, I choose to feel calm and relaxed.

Even through I'm afraid I won't fall asleep AGAIN, I choose to feel calm and confident.

Even though I'm worried about how I feel tomorrow morning, I choose to let my body sleep if it wants to.

And then, you tap on the various points (eyebrow point, side of eye, under eye, under nose, chin, collar bone, under arm, and top of head), repeating the negative phrases for a round or two, and then the positive phrases for another round -- or two.

2) Use EFT to Relieve Stress

However, if you're truly stressed, this will only get you so far. You also need to address the stress, and preferably do that first.

You can start generic, by tapping on "Even though I feel stressed..." but you should go deeper and tap on more specific issues.

Tap on what you're stressed about. Tap on what you're afraid will happen.

3) Other Helpful Tools

And even though tapping is generally amazingly effective, don't forget to do a few other helpful things as well.

For example, why not keep a journal next to your bed and write down the things that worry you so you can let them go, knowing they'll be there for you to pick up the next morning, if you should choose to get back to them.

Or write a gratitude list each night before you go to sleep. Reflect on a few things you're grateful for, no matter how small they might seem. And for best effects, do the same thing in the morning, to get the day off to a good start.

Also remember to make it easy for yourself to fall asleep. Make sure you're comfortable and that your room is dark and quiet. And why not scent your pillow with a little lavender or play some soothing music. If you then add tapping, you might wonder what happened to your insomnia.

EFT Tapping and Insomnia - How to Use Tapping to Help You Fall Asleep More Easily

Ready to give EFT a try? Why not download Elisabeth Kuhn Ph.D.'s FREE Easy Intro to EFT and get started right away? To get Elisabeth's guide, complete with an image of the tapping points, just click here: http://www.EasyEFT.info

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Have You Been Falling Asleep at Work Because You Are So Tired?

You close the door to your office, you casually put your feet up on top of your desk, you rest your head back, and before you know it, you are dreaming about becoming the head of the company. When your eyes finally do open, your phone is ringing off the hook, and a very angry supervisor is standing over you. One little nap could jeopardize your entire career.

It has happened to the best of us, where we just cannot wait to close our eyes after our lunch break, or catch a few z's after the morning meeting. But it is important to ask yourself why you are consistently tired throughout your entire work day. It is clear that something must be keeping you up at night, and it is beginning to affect your job adversely.

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Those of us with hectic schedules are certainly no stranger to the power nap, but it is best to remember that there is a time and a place for them. Also, catching up on sleep that you missed during the night will not be resolved in ten to twenty minutes of napping at your place of employment.

Every night you should be getting anywhere from seven to nine hours of sleep. Making time to ensure this is a priority each day can prove difficult, but it is necessary for your health and overall well-being. You should allow your body to feel calm and relaxed at night, so you will be able to sleep the entire time, and then awake feeling totally refreshed and ready to start the day.

It is not worth putting your job on the line for a few extra moments of sleep packed conveniently into your day. You are getting paid to do what they hired you for, and if you are caught sleeping on a regular basis, this does not reflect very well on your overall performance. Even if no one ever sees you napping here and there, you still are not getting things done, and thus your job could be on the line anyway.

When you sleep for a few minutes at a time during the day, your body and mind become confused. Every once in awhile might be all right, but when it becomes a habit, you are throwing your natural sleeping cycle off kilter. The body will feel that it has already slept during the day, so nighttime will consist of you staying up for hours before finally drifting off. If this persists, you will never retrain your brain to truly feel drowsy at the appropriate time.

The best way to save your health, and your job, is to follow the natural sleep patterns that your body needs. Sleeping through the night will allow your body a chance to refresh itself and replenish your organs and cells. Leave the hours between nine and five for some hard work, and then spend the evening relaxing and getting ready for bed. After all, you want to wake up and be able to go to work the next day, right?

Have You Been Falling Asleep at Work Because You Are So Tired?

Sherry Harris is the author of the successful e-book "101 Amazingly Simple Ways to Beat Insomnia". Get the FREE e-book at http://www.ScentToSleep.com Knock-out insomnia for good with aromatherapy sleep mist, so you can wake up refreshed and energized - visit us now.

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How Chamomile Tea Will Help You to Fall Asleep

When bed time approaches the thought of another restless, sleepless night can cause anxiety and stress; the body's natural response to this is an increase in adrenalin, heartbeat and blood pressure. The dread of another bout of insomnia can be enough to cause it.

A warm cup of chamomile tea is a fantastic way to combat the concern and apprehension. The heat of the drink is a great way to prepare the body for sleep, it's comforting and relaxing. Plus chamomile has been used since the days of ancient Egypt to promote calmness and as a mild sedative. It's a totally natural product so there's no need to worry about any man-made chemicals and it contains no caffeine, unlike so many other drinks we may enjoy before bedtime. Many sleep professionals think that caffeine is the number one enemy of a good rest.

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I spent years in a busy corporate job trying to go to bed while still worried about the day at work. I rarely slept well and was tired, irritable and often experience headaches in the morning. It was my habit to have a cup of coffee after dinner, one of many I had throughout the day. On the advice of my doctor I started replacing that coffee with a chamomile tea. The results were almost immediate. I fell asleep quicker, slept better and woke up well rested. I looked forward to turning on the kettle as my body knew it was almost time to enjoy a night in bed.

There are many other health benefits associated with the herb. It has been used to treat wounds, calm stomach aches and helps relive diabetes and high cholesterol in addition to it's use as an anxiolotic and an anti-inflammatory.

I take it with some honey just before retiring. It can be a little bitter on its own so experiment with a few blends to find the one you like best. Taking chamomile tea as a drink before bed is one of the best things you can do for your general health and to help your sleep.

How Chamomile Tea Will Help You to Fall Asleep

Steve N Miller used to dread going to bed. A few trips to the GP and much research later and he now enjoys sleeping and waking up refreshed. A well rested body is a healthy one. For help with sleeping disorders see your doctor!

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Hands Falling Asleep?

Millions of people suffer from these symptoms everyday. The relentless throbbing, numbness and tingling of your hands and fingers can make your life miserable. If this sounds familiar, then you most likely have carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) or at least carpal tunnel symptoms. It is more common in females than males by a 2 to 1 margin. It usually occurs in someone in there 40's or older.

Although repetitive use of the hands has been identified as one cause of CTS there are many other causes of carpal tunnel syndrome. The carpal tunnel is a ring-like or tunnel structure in your wrist and the median nerve passes through this "tunnel". When the tunnel gets smaller or the other structures within the tunnel get larger and pressure is put upon the median nerve, is when you get carpal tunnel syndrome. People with diabetes, Arthritis, hypothyroidism, and obesity are all at an increased risk for getting CTS. Some pregnant women will get CTS, usually due to the increased swelling of the hands and wrist area. Often their symptoms will go away after delivery, but in about 10% of these women, they will still have symptoms 1 year later!

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The classic picture of carpal tunnel, starts with a gradual onset of symptoms which include numbness and tingling of the first 3 fingers and sometimes the thumb. Symptoms seem to be worse at night for a majority of patients. Eventually the numbness and tingling may start to feel like an ache or throbbing feeling, often causing the patient to rub or shake their hands thinking it is a circulation problem.

Conservative or nonsurgical treatment is almost always recommended first. Very few cases should undergo or need surgery right off the bat, unless it is documented with special nerve studies that there is nerve damage. Special carpal tunnel braces are advised as well as a comfortable night splints while sleeping. Ice wraps and pain relieving gels can also help reduce your carpal tunnel pain.

Hands Falling Asleep?

Joe Shaw PA-C

Board Certified and Licensed Healthcare Provider gives you the facts about carpal tunnel syndrome

http://www.carpal-tunnel-symptoms.com

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7 Tips On To Fall Asleep Quickly

When you can't fall asleep quickly, it can be quite devastating. Although it's not deadly, those who suffer from insomnia would argue that point very strongly. A life without sleep is a life without repose. That is why I put together a few tips that will help to get a good night sleep and fall asleep quickly.

1. Exposure to sunlight: Melatonin is the main hormone that controls the sleep-awake cycle. When the body produces melatonin, feelings of sleepiness and grogginess result. The most important aspect of this control mechanism is the degree of difference in melatonin levels between the awake and the sleeping state. The greater this difference is, the faster sleep comes to the person.

Repose

Melatonin production is inhibited by sunlight entering the eyes. More specifically blue light. Therefore, low exposure to sunlight or wearing sunglasses that block blue light will cause the body to continue to produce melatonin during the day. This will in turn reduce the difference in daytime vs. nighttime melatonin levels and may cause a difficulty to fall asleep.

2. Stay active: Activity is great for you health in general. It activates all sorts of different hormones which fights aging and disease. When it comes to sleep, activity is also very important. Sleep serves two purposes: replenish your mental and physical energy. If you stay inactive, you do not deplete your physical energy. This may cause your body not to require sleep and therefore prevent you from falling asleep.

3. Avoid food and drink before bed: Although it may be tempting to have a late night snack, it may also interfere with your falling asleep. Alcohol, nicotine and caffeine are the worse culprits in this situation. Although alcohol may cause sleepiness, it also often leads to very light sleep. To someone with insomnia, this may let you fall asleep only to result in waking up later and not being able to fall back asleep.

4. Take a hot shower 1 hour before bed: You body uses another mechanism to know when to fall asleep and that is temperature. When you wake up in the morning, your body temperature is at its lowest and when you go to bed it's at its highest. Your body knows to fall asleep when the body temperature starts to drop which happens at the end of the day. By having a hot shower about 1 hour before bedtime, it boosts the body temperature temporarily which allows for a sharper drop of temperature. This sharp drop in temperature increases the signal to fall asleep.

5. Clear your mind: Oftentimes, you toss and turn in bed, unable to fall asleep because you are bothered by the day's events or worrying about something. If your mind remains active, it will make it very hard to fall asleep. If something is on your mind and keeping you awake: write it down. The simple exercise of writing down the things that are on your mind before going to bed will literally take them off your mind. Another good exercise is to read some fiction before bed. This will also allow you to put the events of the day behind you and allow you to go to bed on a clear mind.

6. Sound Therapy: The use of music and sound therapy has been clinically shown to affect brainwave pattern. When you can't fall asleep, it's because your brain can't slow down. This is where sound therapy can help. It works much like a tuning fork. As you listen to the soft music, you brain start to get in tune with the music and is then slowed down. This happens very quickly and can help you to fall asleep much faster

7. Supplemental melatonin: If falling asleep is a serious problem for you, but are reticent to use chemical sleep aids, supplemental melatonin may be the solution for you. Supplemental melatonin is available at almost every pharmacy and is completely natural. You should only use it when you really need it because regular use of it will lose its effectiveness. Be sure to use all the above tips before resorting to supplemental melatonin.

In conclusion, if you follow these simple tips, you are definitely increasing your chances of falling asleep quickly. Remember to stay active and get lots of sunlight. Before going to bed have a nice hot shower and read a good fiction book. Finally, take some supplemental melatonin if you really need to fall asleep.

7 Tips On To Fall Asleep Quickly

If you are interested in learning about natural aids to help you fall asleep quickly, please visit http://beatinsomnianaturally.blogspot.com/

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Help Your Baby Fall Asleep - 5 Tips For Using the Weissbluth Method

1. Watch for "drowsy signs." The key to helping babies learn to soothe themselves to sleep is to get them to bed before they become overtired. If a baby is already crying, it is too late. The baby is already overtired. Drowsy signs to watch for include yawning, rubbing his or her eyes, staring dreamily off into space, and an overall decrease in activity level. That last two "drowsy signs" mentioned can be very subtle so you need to watch carefully until you learn to recognize your own child's drowsy signs easily. The decrease in activity level may seem like a slight "lull" in your child's activity or play. If you don't recognize this lull, you may let your baby stay awake too long. Once they become overtired, their energy-level may actually increase so that the baby seems "wired" or over-stimulated. If your baby starts to cry, it means that he or she is already overtired. When a baby or child is overtired their body releases cortisol, a stress hormone, and the baby will actually seem to fight sleep. If you start soothing your baby and get them to bed when they start showing drowsy signs, it will be much easier for the baby to fall asleep than if you start soothing when the baby is already overtired.

2. Respect the 1- to 2-hour window. Newborns and young babies cannot stay awake very long, initially. For the first few days to a week, your baby will likely sleep almost all the time between feedings. You may even have to wake your baby up to feed them, sometimes. After they come out of this early, very sleepy time, Your baby will start to have some more alert times, but you will need to be very vigilant to start soothing your baby back to sleep when you first start noticing drowsy signs - even if it's only been fifteen minutes or so! If you let your baby become overtired, this is when you will likely start getting into the cycle of crying and difficulty falling asleep, leading to your baby being more overtired, leading to more crying... For the first few months, your goal should be to have your baby back in bed no more than two hours after he or she wakes up. This includes feeding time, maybe a little bit of play time or tummy time and the soothe to sleep routine, which may or may not include another feeding. Let me emphasize again that you are not just starting to settle your baby after two hours - you need to aim to be finished soothing your baby and have him or her back in bed by the end of the two hour window. It may seem as though you would be napping your baby many, many times a day if you follow this rule, but it actually fits into Dr. Weissbluth's suggested nap schedule quite nicely. The way it worked for my daughter was that we would start the day around 7:00 to 7:30 in the morning with her first feeding of the day. Then after a diaper change, a bit of tummy time, and another feeding, she would go for her first nap around 9am and sleep until around 11 or 11:30. Afternoon nap started around 1:00pm and lasted until 2:30pm or 3:00pm. Her third nap would be the shortest, around 4:00pm until 4:45pm or so, and then she was naturally ready to go bed for the night around 6:15pm to 6:30pm.

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3. Learn your baby's natural sleep rhythms. For the first couple of months, your baby's sleeping times may be somewhat random, but if you follow the first two guidelines, eventually you will start to notice a pattern as to when your baby starts showing drowsy signs. These correspond to your baby's natural sleep-wake rhythms. Start paying attention to the clock times when you see the drowsy signs. When you see that they are occurring at roughly the same times each day, you can start planning your daily routines around these times and set them as your baby's regular naptimes. Once this natural schedule emerges, you won't have to be as vigilant in watching for drowsy signs, since you know the time by which you need to have your baby in bed. If you are having trouble seeing this pattern, you may want to try keeping a sleep log for your baby in which you record all the times your baby falls asleep and wakes up, for a week or more, and then look at the sleep log to see if any pattern emerges.

4. Develop consistent bedtime soothing routines. Most people are familiar with the concept of bedtime routines, and the sooner you start them, the better. A pre-sleep routine can be as simple as a feeding and a lullaby, or it can include a bath, a story, a walk in the stroller - whatever helps your baby fall asleep. The important thing is to keep the routine consistent. It may change and evolve as your baby grows, but for the most part it should be the same on a day-to-day basis. This helps your child to associate certain activities with sleep and eases the transition from awake time to sleep time. Eventually, the bedtime routines will help your child learn to soothe him- or herself to sleep. Although consistency is important, you can vary it a little according to circumstances. For example, if your child is excited from an unusually busy or fun day, you may want to lengthen the soothing routine a bit to help him or her to calm down and get ready to sleep. You can also use a different routine for daytime naps versus nighttime soothing routines, since daytime sleep differs qualitatively from nighttime sleep. Just keep the daytime routines consistent each day and the nighttime routines consistent each night. One more tip for soothing routines - it is fine to include a stroller walk, a car ride, or some time in a baby swing, if that is what it takes to get your baby to sleep, but once the baby is asleep, you need to stop the movement and, if possible, transfer the baby to his or her crib or cradle. Motionless sleep is best. In other words, babies do not get as deep a sleep when they are moving, as they do when they are stationary.

5. Try an earlier bedtime.This may seem counter-intuitive but when children become overtired their bodies release stress hormones in order to keep themselves awake. These hormones actually create a heightened state of arousal which makes it more difficult for them to fall asleep (see step 1). If you move your child's bedtime earlier each night by about 15 to 20 minutes until you find the time at which your baby or child will easily fall asleep, then you will be ensuring that they do not become overtired before their bedtime. Many parents fear that if they put their child to bed earlier, they will just wake up earlier. In fact, the opposite occurs. Children who previously woke up too early, actually sleep later and wake up more cheerful when they have an earlier bedtime. The more well rested a child is, the easier the child will fall asleep and stay asleep.

While all children are unique, there are certain principles that apply to all children. If you use these 5 guidelines to help your baby fall asleep, you will be well on your way to helping your child develop healthy sleep habits. As with all generic guidelines, however, feel free to adapt them to your own particular situation and child.

Help Your Baby Fall Asleep - 5 Tips For Using the Weissbluth Method

For detailed sleep strategies and how to use them, see Dr. Marc Weissbluth's book, "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child." To read a more detailed review of this book, click here.

C. J. Dever has used the Weissbluth sleep method successfully with her 2 daughters, who are now 2 and 4 years old, and highly recommends it to all new parents.

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