Have you ever wondered how sleep can play a role on hair-loss, depression, obesity, cardiovascular disease. The media is always informing us how Americans are a nation of sleep deprived workaholics that are sacrificing their well being for overloading and over-scheduling themselves to maintain the modern lifestyle. But what about those people that sleep beyond the seven to eight hours per night.
There are new studies that have concluded that sleeping nine hours or more per night may have a negative impact on health. The evidence however, is much more conclusive that too little sleep can lead to illness, accidents, and lowered productivity. We also know that depression can rise about in individuals who suffer from insomnia.
Here are some tips for better sleep, which will yield to better health.
Do not use sleep to overcome emotions: When some people become overwhelmed they can become lethargic and start to fall asleep when feeling threatened. While this may not seem that harmful, it clearly shows that a person is not dealing with the issues at hand and is not a good indicator that their night sleep will be disruptive. Try going through the period of discomfort with a different activity such as exercise to lessen anxiety.
Do not nap too much: Lately naps have gotten some bad press in the United States, but there has been a trend in the last few years to try a power nap. Power naps are basically a short 15 to 20 minute sleep session that will act as an afternoon refresher, and it was speculated that Leonardo Da Vinci used this method often. Current studies show that these power naps are an excellent way to revive yourself and sustain your energy and focus for a more productive day. However, if the power nap turns into a traditional multi hour nap, this amount of sleep will disrupt your sleeping pattern at night.
Do not use the weekends as a sleepathon: When our work schedules keep us busy we may sometime indulge in sleeping in on the weekends. This behavior falls into the same pattern as overeating, and has no benefit at all. You cannot catch up on your sleep, its all about consistent hours of sleep every night.
Nutritional Supplements help with sleep: There are many great nutritional supplements that will condition you to fall asleep and stay asleep. The first of these is Melatonin, which is secreted by the pineal gland and with age becomes less. Supplemental Melatonin may help with this condition, and many users report its effectiveness form the first night of use. Another great supplement to relax and get you ready for bed is Valerian root, this is an herb and is usually taken in a capsule or brewed as a tea. Lastly, taking calcium before bed may also help in assisting with better sleep.
If you’ve ever had trouble falling asleep – or staying asleep – you may have thought of turning to either a prescription medication or over-the-counter sleep aid to help you ease your sleep difficulties. But before you turn to those options (which have potential negative side effects), you may want to consider an all-natural option instead: 5 
