Relaxation Techniques Can Be an Effective Treatment For Sleep Disorders
These are possible signs of a sleep disorder.
Sleep issues can be very troublesome to a person's health and daily activities.
Fatigue and drowsiness are the most common symptoms and they cause you to be inactive.
This can cause you to be viewed badly at work, school, and home.
When you do not get enough sleep, it can affect your relationships, physical, and mental health.
Relaxation techniques have been proven to be an effective treatment for sleep disorders and can help you manage them.
These methods include progressive muscle relaxation or PMR, deep breathing, meditation, and imagery.
Practicing one or more of these methods regularly can assist any other treatments you may be using for a particular sleep disorder.
Progressive relaxation is a process that helps you relax each muscle group in a sequential order.
During the process you focus on the tension and relaxation of the muscles.
It is recommended that the instructions be read slowly with pauses between each one.
Taping them beforehand can be very helpful.
To start the technique, lie down on your back and become comfortable.
Begin tensing your toes very tightly and then completely relax them.
Do this for every muscle group with the technique ending with your head.
Deep breathing is a technique that allows the body to relax as you concentrate on your breathing.
This particular technique is effectively used in yoga and martial arts for relaxation.
Take a deep and full breath.
It should come from your belly and lower back and not just from your chest and lungs.
These breaths need to be taken slowly and progressively get deeper.
You need to breathe in through your nose and then release the breath from your mouth.
The exhale itself can be longer than when you inhale.
Use your imagination for guided imagery.
This type of technique can ensure good mental health as well as physical health.
The process allows you to guide yourself to a more relaxed state through your own created images.
A therapist, video, or audio tape can also take you through the exercise.
There are two parts to imagery.
The first is reaching deep relaxation using breathing techniques and muscle relaxation methods.
Close your eyes and focus on breathing.
Then begin removing the tension in your muscles beginning with your toes.
After you are completely relaxed, use visualization to reduce stress and sleep.
Meditation can be considered the opposite of imagery because it requires all thoughts and images to be removed from your mind.
To accomplish this you can focus on a particular object, word, or your breathing.
Focusing on a specific item allows you to unwind.
It can be used to help you relax and fall asleep.
These techniques can assist any other treatment for sleep disorders and are helpful even if you are not suffering from sleep difficulties.
When you are having trouble sleeping you can practice these techniques on your own.
A sleep clinic might recommend them along with other treatments for more sever disorders.