Nightly sleep is critical for the restoration of health. Research suggests that the amount and quality of sleep we achieve has profound effects on wellness.

Sleep expert and President of the American Sleep Research Institute, Lynn Larson explains that the link between sleep and decreased longevity is due to the immediate effect lack of sleep has on human performance. Missing sleep leads to poor decision making and affects everything we do:

1. Rushing rather than being methodical
2. Forgetting important procedures
3. Being distracted – Loss of attention (such as when driving)
4. Not having the energy to exercise
5. Slower reaction time
6. Increased stress levels
7. Elevated blood pressure
8. Inability to adapt to change

Ultimately, these conditions lead to accidents in the short term, and poor health over the long term.

1. Research at ASRI suggests that the amount and quality of sleep we achieve has profound effects on wellness. Quality nightly sleep is critical for proper function of:
2. Your brain,
3. Your immune system,
4. Your endocrine system,
5. Your digestion,
6. Your energy level,
7. Your recovery from injury or disease,
8. The maintenance and restoration of your good health.;

The lifestyle changes explained throughout this website are all intertwined with good sleep. Sleep gives us the energy, the will, and the foundation to accomplish these changes.

Approximately 100 million Americans struggle with difficulty sleeping. If you have trouble falling asleep, or staying asleep, there are some “tricks” to improve the situation. To some extent, insomnia can be like the old expression about fear: there is nothing to fear but fear itself. Sometimes, just the fear of not being able to sleep causes enough stress to keep us awake. You can be confident, that these guidelines will help.

• Sleep is easiest if you develop positive habits around sleep time. Light a candle or listen to some peaceful deeply calming music. Anticipate good sleep. Look forward to it. Have plenty of stress free time to enjoy it.
• Make your bedroom inviting.
• Don’t look at the clock. Studies have shown that looking at the clock during the night increases insomnia. You will sleep more if you ignore the clock when you wake up during the night.
• Leave work at the office and don’t take it to bed with you.
• If you wake during the night – do not think! Learn how to focus your mind. Mental distraction is the name of the game. You can focus on some mantra or repetitive inspiring phrase. “I am calm and peaceful.” You might count backwards from 100. The first times that you do this technique you might count from 100 two or more times. It’s OK. Eventually you will fall to sleep at about 95. You are training yourself to stop thinking about problems and to fall to sleep instead. It will take time to learn this good habit.
• No caffeine after dinner. The half life of caffeine is about four hours.
• Alcohol makes you doze off quickly, but after it metabolizes it will interrupt sleep later in the night.