Meditation will give you a deep rest from concentration, contemplation, and all of the sensory activities such as seeing, listening, smelling, and tasting. Meditation is a calming effect on the mind and provides it with deep rest. Try to meditate for at least twenty minutes a day for optimal performance.
When you need a break, walk over to a window and mindlessly watch the cars or people pass by for a few minutes until your mind doesn’t think about anything. Find a quiet place and sit down. Close your eyes and just listen to the background noises. Instead of taking a smoke or coffee break for fifteen minutes, try going outside, closing your eyes, and just let the sun shine all over your body while you clear your mind.
This exercise takes your stressed state of being to stillness and ultimately restores and enlivens you. Many people claim to feel energized after resting. Rest does matter and surrendering the need to reenergize, even without sleeping, can provide a much needed break during a busy day.
Since obsessive thoughts tend to increase when you try to suppress them, it naturally becomes more difficult to sleep when you try so hard to do it. Therefore, by taking the opposite approach of increasing the problem will, in turn, reduce it.
Find a quiet place that is comfortable and away from distractions. If you can, make the space dark, as if you were going to bed and try to lie down. Don’t oversleep or the exact opposite effect will happen – you will become more tired.
Similar to cat napping, try to limit planned napping to twenty or thirty minutes max. Bring a clock or watch with you so that you can set your alarm accordingly.
This type of nap is used during times of fatigue or when using dangerous machinery and are taken out of necessity for safety reasons. If you have to resort to emergency napping frequently, it can become dangerous to your life and health.
Go into the bathroom, run water until it is ice cold, and then splash it all over face. Turn up the intensity of the light in the room to reduce sleepiness and increase alertness. Pinch the end of your nose until your nostrils are completely closed and you feel discomfort.
Be strategic with your caffeine. Although helping you to stay awake, more than 500 mg of caffeine a day can cause headaches, restlessness, or anxiety. If you have to stay awake for a long period of time, drink a 5-Hour Energy, which has lots of useful B complex vitamins. Red Bull and Monster, however, rely mostly on caffeine and sugar, and are not recommended.
Try spreading peanut butter on a whole wheat cracker or on celery sticks. Sprinkle a handful of nuts or fresh fruit on top of your yogurt. Dip your baby carrots into a low-fat cream cheese.
Make sure to refill your energy levels after exercise by eating a meal that contains both protein and carbohydrates. Try not to exercise too late at night. Otherwise, your body will be too active to enjoy a good night sleep. Low intensity exercises include light walking, stretching, yoga, and swimming. Also, consider household chores such as vacuuming, gardening, or washing your car as potential to get your light workout in every day.
Insomnia, the inability to sleep, and narcolepsy, excessive daytime sleeping, are two of the more recognizable sleeping disorders, but cataplexy, sleep paralysis, and hallucinations can all occur if you are sleep deprived. Narcolepsy starts between the ages of ten and 25 and is believed to be caused by a chemical imbalance. There are no known cures so it is treated with medication. Insomnia is a disorder caused by stress, anxiety, depression, medical conditions, and age. Reducing these symptoms will help as will changing your sleeping patterns. If neither works, a doctor will recommend therapy or medication to treat the condition.
