Use your body before it expires...Get Fit Today

Hi there,

I mentioned before that I would drill deeper into the science of nutrition & the benefits of vitamin/mineral absorption, but first allow me to discuss the all importance of EXERCISE, because without exercise there is not much point in adjusting your diet!  When we exercise, no matter what the type of work-out or for how long, it will have a positive effect on both your physical & mental well-being.  Just 30 minutes a day will dramatically improve your fitness level, maintain your weight, & leave you feeling generally good about yourself.  You see, when you work-out & your body reaches a certain temperature, endorphins are released into your blood-stream.  Endorphins are the bodies natural stimulant and feels like a shot of adrenaline rushing around your body - its THIS that generates the feel-good factor.  You would be amazed at how good you can feel after a rigorous work-out, combined with a good eating plan.

My particular favorite form of exercise is Martial Arts, which I have been practising for some time now but I also attend the gym for general fitness.  The type of exercise you choose is entirely up to you but I recommend that you attend a a personal trainer/gym to obtain a first assessment because this will gauge your current state of health to determine what your fitness level is & from here a programme can be tailored to meet your specific needs.  If you feel really out of shape & generally fatigued then I suggest that you first visit your local GP just to get a check-up to see if there are any under-lying issues & advise your doctor about your intention to alter your diet & fitness level.  He/She will then make relevant recommendations/safety guidelines etc.  SAFETY is paramount when attempting to alter your lifestyle in a dramatic way.  You must ensure to make these changes gradual because remember, Rome was not built in a day!

Stay tuned for later updates.

SANDMAN

Tips to make you feel Sleep-i

Welcome Back to the Sandman,

In my last article, I mentioned I would explain how nutrition & exercise is essential to good sleep patterns.  Well, I am about to do just that!  Generally speaking the KEY to well-being is good health & HOW do we attain good health? - by looking after ourselves! You see, most people whom suffer from sleep problems are mainly defined into 2 categories - 

• Psychological Problems
• Biological Problems

The people whom are in the psychological category have "under-lying" issue's that require specific attention.  Some of these people may have experienced serious trauma in their past or present & that is the reason for their lack of sleep - they may also be taking prescribed medication - i.e "anti-depressants" or "sleeping pills" which are considered in many professional circles as controversial and unnecessary especially when these people may have already had some form of addiction - in which case you are simply replacing one addiction with another.  That is why Psychologists promote natural/alternative therapy which again, I will go into details in a further blog.

Now the people in the Biological category may not have any serious psychological issue's but rather certain health issues - for example they may be lacking in exercise, proper nutrition, bad circulation, high blood pressure, insufficient quantities of vitamins & minerals etc!  All of these factors can be attributed to a serious sleep problem.  Infact, if you consider an obese person, they will attest that they have a terrible sleep pattern and they are always fatigued & lethargic.  This is because of their eating habits & lack of exercise & nutition. No matter who you are & from what walk of life, all our Sleep Needs are the same.  Exercise is so IMPORTANT  - you should always commit yourself to getting at least 30 minutes exercise every single day without fail.  This can be a brisk walk in the park with your dog or a swim down your local pool, or a workout in the gym - exercise doesn't have to be a chore - it can be FUN if you do it correctly & in the right quantity. Make gradual adjustments to your daily diet to incorporate, a generous helping of fruit, vegetables, fish (oily fish rich in omega 3) preferably & nuts & seeds & vitamin & mineral supplements are fantastic ways of compensating for the lack of these nutrients in our modern western diets. I will again of course explain in detail the specific types of vitamins & minerals available & which are most beneficial to your needs, being sleep & general heath & well being!

CALCIUM believe it or not is an excellent nutrient for inducing sleep because it induces a natural feeling of relaxation - that is why a glass of hot milk has long been a remedy for bedtime - though I recommend that you take Calcium in its pure powder form or you can get it in capsules also from your local health store - this is more potent & you will get a much greater quantity that you would from milk.

You can also draw a hot bath with Lavender & Chamomile oils to relax your muscles & induce a sleepy state - also a few lavender drops on your pillow - these subtle vapours will travel through your head & make you sleepy - Sleep Fast!

Choline & inositol are fantastic nutrients because they have so many roles within our bodies that benefit, one of which is of course sleep.  Much like Calcium, they relax your cognitive functions & allow clean passive traffic through your mind & body while actually giving your body a detox at the same time - Wonderful;)

Well - next time, ill be digging much deeper into the the nutritional science of the vitamins & minerals & giving you some action plan tips that I have used myself to get great results.  I will also be talking about DREAMS & NIGHTMARES, what causes them & what exactly are they about & can we ever truly understand them.

Until next-time!

SLEEP-WELL

SANDMAN

We all sleep - We all NEED to sleep

Welcome Back,

We ALL SLEEP - We all NEED to Sleep - without sufficient time-out for the brain to relax & re-configure, we simply cannot function in our day to day lives. There are literally 100,000s of people in the world who have at some point in their life suffered from some form of sleep deprivation. The causes of this are broad & vary anything from "stress" to "depression" but the problem is that most people do not know that they have a problem - or indeed how to resolve it! There is the existing recommendation from notable doctors (general practitioner's) that you should try get at least 8 hours recommended sleep every night BUT that is easier said than done especially in today's fast paced society. There is no doubt that western culture & society has evolved so incredibly fast that we are all racing to catch-up in the rat race. For example, according to various polls/surveys carried out independently, there are quite a lot of people aged between 18-30 whom are oblivious to the long-term health strains of today's life-style - I mention this age category specifically because it is a very significant age-group because it is at the age of 30 that the metabolism slows down & the body begins breaking down protein. This is very important & extremely relative to sleep so I will explain why a little later. When it comes to getting a good nights sleep, there are many simple efficient techniques you can implement to improve or induce a healthy sleep pattern (as well as more complicated methods).

Stimulation is a big problem when attempting to fall asleep. You should avoid television or computer games for example because these cause an enormous amount of stimulation in the "cognitive region" of the brain - cognition is used for problem solving & lateral thinking etc so the more ACTIVE your mind is, the LESS likely you are to fall in to a sleep induced state. Reading is a fantastic way to relax, especially in the correct setting. You should read in bed or on the sofa which ever you prefer & use a lamp with a relatively low light ambiance & make sure the room is quite - read a book that is somewhat reserved in content, meaning nothing too exciting or thought provoking - REMEMBER - the less stimulated your mind is - the easier it will be to drift off to the clouds above! Reading is good initial form of therapy for very busy minds that find it hard to stop thinking or ruminating. Rumination is usually the main culprit for lack of sleep because the person may have things on their mind that are causing distress - i.e. a death in the family, too many bills to pay, job interview, exams etc - etc! Rumination also occurs "during sleep" in the form of dreams & nightmares but I will cover that in a later blog.

Sleep from a psychology perspective is a very interesting but complex issue and there are so many factors that contribute to either induce sleep or prevent it - and in my upcoming blogs I am going to go into these issues in greater detail & explain how nutrition, exercise & a healthy balanced diet of supplementary vitamin's & minerals can work WONDERS to get you that much coveted beauty sleep.

Keep logging back to my site for more insightful tips on sleep, health & well-being.

Sleep well!

Sandman;)

Top tips to a perfect sleep review

Hello friends,

I am the SANDMAN & may I welcome you to my site.  I am very happy you have knocked - so PLEASE - do come in:)

I myself have also experienced difficulty sleeping in the past, for a number of reasons, which I will share with you a little later!  I have a great deal of personal & professional experience within the area's of Psychology & Nutrition, & I can assure you that "SLEEP" along with nutrition & exercise is the most important thing that the body needs in order to function correctly.  Within my site & blogs, I am going to teach you some secrets & techniques that I have learned from experts & professionals, that you too can put to great use in catching those much needed Zzzz!  I am an extremely active person, so when I am not working, I enjoy a number of activities to keep me busy & keep my mind off the negative things in life & the world.  I am a keen Martial Artist in my spare time - I practice the Japanese art of Aikido (Art of Peace), I am also an animal lover so I am an active member of the WWF (World Wildlife Fund), Amnesty International also benefits from my online activism - they campaign against Human Rights Violations around the globe.

I am also a collector. A collector of what you ask? Well - where do I begin - vinyl records, antiques, premium format statues, music/movie memorabilia, autographs, rare coins - the list goes on:)  I imagine, if I were to put it all on ebay, I would make a small fortune but its all too valuable to me on a collectors/sentimental level!

I am very enthusiastic about my passions & hobbies - & this is a new hobby I decided to venture into - I noticed there are a lot of people out there who are looking for  HONEST answers to HONEST questions - so here on my site, I am going to do for you what I have done for my many friends & family, which is use all of my knowledge to help you get those answers that you cant seem to find anywhere else! Make sure read on through my coming blogs & if you like what you read, by all means feel free to check back to my site because I shall be posting exciting, humorous & thought-provoking articles which I hope will both enlighten & entertain you. The many topics I will be writing about will include, Sleep Deprivation, Dreams & Nightmares, Alternative Remedies, Psychological facts, Fitness/Weight-Loss, Improving your Mental Capacity, videos & much-much more!

Stay tuned in the coming weeks & months to read these articles & I will happily answer any questions you may have. I look forward to hearing from you my friends! Until then - take a leaf out of Garfield's book above and -

SLEEP WELL;)

SANDMAN