5 Tips on How to Get a Good Night's Sleep

1... 2... 3... 10,001... 1,897,657.876... Oops, it's time to get up!

Think about it.  We spend a third of our lives in bed.  Say, what?  If you are 24 years old now, then 8 years of your life were spent lying on bed, sleeping.  Amazing fact isn't it?  Since we are spending that much time sleeping, it just makes perfect sense to get the most out of it.  After all, a good night's sleep recharges the mind, body and spirit.

Here's some tips for you to get a good shut-eye:

1.  count sheep.  Mee-eee-eehhh.  No, I mean consider your activities for the next day.  Let us say you have an important appointment early in the morning at 8 am.  Count the number of hours you should be sleeping so you will know what time to go to bed.  Research shows that we sleep in REM cycles.  REM stands for Rapid-Eye Movement, the state wherein we are in deep sleep.  Each cycle is believed to be one and a half hours.  To feel completely rested, a cycle should be completed.  So, if you will sleep for 4 complete cycles, that's a total of 6 hours of continuous sleep time.  Add about 15 minutes because your body does not automatically go into REM cycle after lying down in bed.  All in all, considering the 8 am. appointment and the 6 hours and 15 minutes of sleep, then you should go to bed around 11:45 so you can wake up at 6 am. and have ample time to prepare for your appointment.  There are applications you can download from on-line stores websites that compute for the time you should go to bed in order to complete your desired number of REM cycles with a target wake-up time.  Now, isn't this cool?

2.  remove electronics and gadgets from your bedroom.  TVs, DVD players, HIFI stereo, tablets, mobile phones, computers, playstation, gaming consoles, and other electronic devices will only distract you.  Playing games or updating the wall of your accounts in social media sites might even cause you stress.  The time you spend in these activities would fly so fast.  Before you know it, the time you should spend sleeping is already gone.  Proof!  Just like that.  The bedroom should be the one place in the house where you can spend time to relax and rejuvenate the body.  Therefore, it is essential that there are no electromagnetic smog and unwanted diversions in the bedroom.  Remove them.  Let the bedroom be that place of just "calmness" and "peace".

3.  drink chamomile tea before bedtime.  Chamomile tea is fragrant and said to calm the nerves.  It relaxes the body and mind.  It is a great way to put your body in a state ready for slumber.  This type of tea is actually an infusion of chamomile leaves and flowers, and usually infused with other herbs such as limeflower or lavender.  This infusion does not contain caffeine.  Stir clear of caffeine at night.

4.  use calming scents such as rose or lavender to fill up the entire room.  Caution: do not leave candles or oil burners unattended.  Unless you are totally sure that your oil burners won't catch fire, do not leave them burning while you are sleeping.  There are safe commercially available burners that make use of light bulbs instead of tea light candles.  Scents are a great way to put you in a good mood that would later on induce sleep.  Perhaps you can use a room spray with natural ingredients to fill your bedroom with delicious fragrances.  Remember to not use cheap room spray with artificial and harmful chemicals.  You can also use potpourri, of course.  

5.  lastly, try praying before sleeping and be grateful for the wonderful day that was.  They say when you pray earnestly, your brain waves jump to a different level where you feel very calm and relaxed.  Hence, don't you notice that when you are praying intently, you sometimes yawn?  Sleepy?  I think not.  I believe that our mind just went to a different and higher mode, and our bodies followed suit.  The body has to be very calm and still so that the thanks we say in our prayers fill our hearts with joy, and the things we ask and hope for are all sent out to the universe.

Try one, two, all, or none of the tips I just shared to you.  Whatever you do, remember that resting gives your body the much needed time to mend and rejuvenate.  Just get a good shut-eye every night and live a long, happy, and prosperous life!