Improve your sleep quality

In this article, we delve into the intricacies of insomnia, exploring its causes, consequences, and potential solutions. We also introduce an innovative approach to address this widespread issue – the Pranamat massage set. By understanding the relationship between sleep and our physiological responses, we aim to empower individuals to redefine their connection with sleep and embark on a journey toward restful, rejuvenating nights.

What is insomnia?

Sleep insomnia means that you regularly have trouble sleeping. Insomnia symptoms include finding it hard to fall asleep, waking frequently during the night, waking early and not being able to get back to sleep, still feeling tired after waking, not being able to nap or napping too much during the day, feeling exhausted or irritable and daytime sleepiness.

Acute insomnia

Acute insomnia is when there is a short term interruption to your normal sleep cycle. Sleep quality can be impacted by transient short term insomnia when we're in a new place, nervous about a second date, or perhaps a sudden change of climate or time zone. Short term insomnia usually has an obvious underlying cause; and our healthy sleep habits will resume as daily life returns to normal.

Chronic insomnia lasts more than three months

If you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep and your sleep patterns have not returned to normal after three months, you have chronic insomnia. It might be time to talk to someone who knows your medical history to assess your sleeping habits and potentially diagnose insomnia (primary insomnia). You may be asked to keep a sleep diary, or even see a sleep specialist. Your doctor will also want to rule out any medical conditions that contribute to insomnia (secondary insomnia). This may include risk factors such as mental health conditions, other sleep disorders, any physical health condition, the use of prescription drugs or recreational drugs and, most commonly, chronic pain. Long term sleep deprivation can have serious consequences for family life, your work life and your enjoyment of life.

Why we promote sleep for overall health

Lack of sleep wreaks havoc on our health and wellness. The symptoms of sleep deprivation affect every aspect of our biological functioning. Sleep is our life support system and is vital for cognitive function, reproductive health, learning and memory, cardiovascular health, every aspect of immune health and mental health. In fact, the chemical mechanisms of insomnia are similar to those of stress, anxiety, panic attacks and depression. So experiencing any of those factors puts you at risk for the others. It’s even a statistically critical factor in things like car accident rates and suicides. There is a strong correlation between depression and sleep disorders. Studies show that twenty minutes per day of acupressure massage can improve both quantity and quality of sleep in 95% of people.

Why can’t I sleep tonight?

The causes of insomnia fall into two categories. The first would be short-term or temporary stressors. For example, being excited or stressed about planning a trip, an upcoming exam, being thrown out of our sleep schedule by jet lag or a short-term ache or pain. These reasons for insomnia are short-lived and the insomnia resolves once the cause is resolved. Using the Pranamat massage set is highly effective in off-setting the short-term causes of poor sleep, such as stress, anxiety or physical pain.

Long-term sleep disorder

However, chronic insomnia wherein symptoms are experienced for more than three months, occurs when our relationship with sleep has been compromised. We start to stress about losing sleep itself. We enter a vicious cycle in which we dread going to bed because we associate it with a fear of not being able to sleep. This activates the sympathetic nervous system, which means we go to bed in a “fight, flight or freeze” state. Cortisol and adrenaline course through the body, increasing heart rate and blood pressure. This jolts the body into hyperarousal - where the brain is on high alert searching for external threats. That’s why we can be tired but can’t sleep. We’re unable to switch off to any slight noise or physical discomfort, because we’re on “high alert” mentally and physically. Including Pranamat massage into your bedtime routine can help you redefine your relationship with sleep. It also eliminates the “placebo” aspect of sleep problems, because your evening massage moves you away from the mindset of “I know I’m not going to sleep” and towards “I’m taking this pleasurable and relaxing action that will help me fall asleep”.

Why can’t I sleep even though I’m tired?

“I want to sleep , but my body won’t let me”. Does this sound familiar? When we have chronic poor sleep, we enter into a state of exhaustion. This is because our night-time state of hyperarousal and the resulting adrenaline rush burns through our stocks of cerebral glucose. This is our brain food. During healthy sleep, the brain does not use up cerebral glucose, and on waking we have a plentiful supply in order to power our daytime brain function. But when we’re depleted, day after day, night after night, we only drain ourselves further of this essential energy. 

How to treat insomnia

Insomnia treatments that lead to natural sleep for at least eight hours during the night are the gold standard. Sleeping pills, for example, do not produce natural sleep and its essential “deep sleep brain waves”. They are also addictive and the later withdrawal of the medication can make the problem even worse.  

Scientists agree that to truly treat sleep disorders, we should work in tandem with our body’s rhythms. Treating insomnia means redefining our relationship with sleep and its roots in psychophysiological insomnia; the fear of not being able to fall asleep. Pranamat massage naturally resets your system and prepare you for truly restful sleep.

Insomnia help: nine scientific ways to induce natural, restful sleep.

1. A consistent routine: go to bed and get up at the same time on weekdays and weekends.
2. Keep it clean: avoid alcohol, caffeine, nicotine and sleeping pills as these interfere with natural sleep.
3. Chill out: your body needs to drop its core temperature by 2-3 degrees, so aim to keep your bedroom cool (around 65°F or 18°C).
4. Embrace the darkness: your body wants to sleep when it’s dark. Help it along by avoiding evening screen-time and using blackout blinds or an eye-mask in your bedroom.
5. Naps are for cats: as hard as it is, try to avoid daytime napping. 
6. Make your bedroom a haven: just for sleep. That way you create a positive association. 
7. When you’re struggling to sleep: get up and do a relaxing activity, such as reading, meditation or having a Pranamat massage. 
8. Create a new bedtime routine: that you can look forward to every single evening, so it becomes fun and relaxing.
9. Have a Pranamat acupressure massage: for 20-40 minutes at bedtime, this is a fast way to reset your relationship with sleep.

Your Pranamat bedtime routine

If you have trouble sleeping, try this for 30 nights. Include Pranamat massage in your new bedtime routine. After you’ve had your bath or shower, read your book for a while and have started winding down to go to bed, place your Pranamat massage set into your bed, in your cool, dark bedroom. Then lay down so that the lotus spikes press against your skin. You should aim for at least twenty minutes on bare skin. We know that Pranamat is 95% effective in inducing healthy, natural sleep. You can expect to:

• Look forward to a full body massage at bedtime
• Fall asleep faster
• Wake less frequently in the night
• Feel better rested even when your sleep is disturbed 
• Wake up in the morning feeling refreshed and energized
• Create a whole new relationship with sleep and bedtime
• Reduce morning anxiety 
• Achieve truly restful, healthy sleep
• Reset every aspect of your physical and mental health