For some time now it has been common knowledge among athletes that getting enough rest is essential for muscle growth and repair. What has been a more recent discovery is just how much our sleeping patterns affect our waking performance. Now, I’m sure this news may not be earth shattering. We all know that if Read More…

If the body doesn’t get regular, healthy sleep, it gets sick. Sleeping fewer than six hours per night causes changes to genes and hormone activity that negatively affects health. But nearly half of us don’t get the recommended 7+ hours we need each night, and as the infographic below demonstrates, sleep deprivation is something we should Read More…

Having a few glasses of wine or a few beers before bed might seem like an obvious way to relax and help you sleep better, but the reality is that alcohol will affect the quality of your sleep, not to mention create a habitual behaviour that will become increasingly harder to break. 1. Reduced Rem Sleep Read More…

There’s being tired and then there’s sleep deprivation. One poor night’s sleep might result in a lot of yawning and lack of energy, but this is easily overridden by some exercise and plenty of water. In fact, poor sleep over two nights is fairly easy to get past, but after three nights of little sleep, Read More…

During my research into early man, modern-day hunter-gatherer communities and urban vs. rural sleep patterns, one reoccurring theme emerged; early waking is conducive to better quality sleep. This simple fact became a staple part of my personal insomnia cure, and the creation of the subsequent Six Steps program. I have been forced to continually test Read More…

Years ago, 4 or 5 hours straight sleep was bliss compared with the 2 or 3 hours of broken sleep I usually got each night. If I got 6 hours of sleep, I was over the moon.Yet recent research has discovered that those who sleep less than 6 hours per night over several nights in Read More…

As we descend further into the era of tablet computing and super bright, highly pixelated laptops, our sleep is being increasingly affected by an unregulated biological clock. More and more people are staying up late into the night on Facebook, playing games or answering emails. And, although we may feel tired when we shut the Read More…

Insomnia becomes a habit. It becomes something you do most nights. We get used to the cycle as it manifests its presence n our lives. “I didn’t sleep well last night” becomes a normal thing to say, so much so that you needn’t bother mentioning it anymore to friends and family. The nightly routine goes something like Read More…

Using a computer before bed can cause stimulation of the hypothalamus that interferes with sleep. For those who sleep very well this isn’t necessarily a problem, as such people can go from laptop to deep sleep within minutes. But for those who struggle to fall asleep quickly and/or suffer from periodic waking, the stimulation caused by Read More…

How to get good sleep is a question I answer on a daily basis, and there are a number of variables and parts to the answer. Relaxation plays a key part in sleep, but many of us find it difficult to relax, and in truth, the modern day definition of relaxation is a far throw Read More…