The repeated loss of sleep over a long period of time can cause a variety of harmful effects

Stress Management by Sandra Prior
Effectively reducing stress with Stress Management: Sleep, Relaxation, Biofeedback, Meditation, Massage.
A friend of mine was reminiscing with her 78 year old mother. She asked her, 'What was the happiest day of your life?' Her mother said, 'Today.' My friend said, 'But I thought your wedding day was the happiest.' Her mother said, 'It was then. But I can't live in the past. Today is my most important day, therefore, today is my happiest day.' The daughter asked, 'What about tomorrow?' Her mother said, 'If it comes, I'll make it the happiest day.'
I wonder if the mother had a problem with stress. Stress is as much a part of life as eating, drinking and sleeping. Learning stress management is often ignored by many people. Fortunately,1984 Ugg Fox Fur Tall Grey Boots, stress management is not difficult to incorporate in one's life. It can be as simple as learning to relax or as complex as using biofeedback to regulate one's own heart rate. Here are some popular techniques used for stress management.
Sleep
If you are normally alert, feel healthy and are in a good humor, you are probably getting a sufficient amount of sleep. No stress management program would be complete without understanding the importance of sleep. The phenomenon of sleep has never been completely understood, but it has been aptly named the 'great restorer.' Sleep is essential to the vital functioning of the body, and natural sleep is the most satisfying form of recuperation from fatigue. Revitalization of the body takes place during sleep, as well as the building of new cells and tissue repair; although these last two also occur during waking hours, the time during sleep allows these processes to take place more easily.
There is no clear cut amount of sleep that people need to achieve complete recuperation. The usual recommendation for adults is eight hours, but some individuals need more and more function very well on less.
The repeated loss of sleep over a long period of time can cause a variety of harmful effects, such as poor general health, nervousness, irritability, inability to concentrate, lowered perseverance of effort and serious fatigue. Under normal conditions, a night of sleeplessness followed by a period of prolonged sleep will restore the individual to his normal self. Sleeping is not always restful. Certain conditions influence the quality of sleep. These include: mental anguish, worry, hunger, cold, boredom and excessive fatigue.
Relaxation, Biofeedback, Meditation and Massage
The stress reduction management techniques of meditation and biofeedback can be considered as relaxation techniques. Relaxation is essential in relieving the tensions encountered in daily life. It can be achieved through massage, meditation, biofeedback, and other relaxation techniques that allow the muscles of the body to relax,then you can be sure it will be very difficult for you to achieve your dreams. You need to put yourself in a receiving position, thereby allowing the mind to be quiet.
The theory in meditation is that if the mind is at ease, then the other systems of the body will be more readily stabilized. The integration of relaxation and meditation makes up the theoretical basis of biofeedback. It is believed that the brain has the potential for voluntary control over all the systems that it monitors. This interaction between mind and body has provided the mechanism through which one can learn voluntary control over biological activity.
The stress response is such a powerful physiological reaction that an equally powerful physiological response is necessary to counter it,because my firm determination that I have to play a bigger role in life. This counter reaction is called the 'relaxation response'. But relaxation is a learned skill that takes practice. The simple truth is that many people don't relax because they don't know how. Learning the relaxation response can be accomplished through simple conditioning and habit formation.
One method of relaxation is called Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR). Because all muscles, to some degree, are in a constant state of tension, one must learn to recognize this tension in order to learn to relax the muscles. The objective of PMR is to induce deep muscular relaxation by gradually releasing tension from various parts of the body, one part at a time.
There are three different positions that can be used to facilitate any relaxation exercise,5685 Ugg Fox Fur Short Chocolate Boots, including PMR. These are:
Lying down on one's back,
Lying Prone,
Sitting in a semi reclined position
Any of the three positions can be equally effective, but beginners may benefit more from lying down. Regardless of the position chosen, comfort is an important aspect of achieving ultimate relaxation. Pillows should be used under the head, knees, arms, pelvis or feet depending on the position used. Any chairs should be comfortable and soft. Some people also find that listening to classical music helps them concentrate and eliminate outside distractions.
To help yourself relax, take your shoes off before getting into one of the three positions. Close your eyes and concentrate on the body's different muscle groups one at a time. You may want to repeat the following self instruction as you try to relax: I'm falling into a nice, relaxed state; I'm breathing deeply, slowly and smoothly. As I breathe, I'm becoming more and more relaxed... relaxed... relaxed. My toes are becoming numb; I feel a tingling sensation as the muscles in my toes become more relaxed and tension free. The numbness is beginning to creep up from my toes to my feet,the corn belt.
This self instruction takes the person all the way up the body from the toes to the head. This is only one example of self instruction - anything can be used as long as it provides a pattern of gradual relaxation throughout the body. The following instructions are given to enhance this technique.
1. Always make comfort the starting point of relaxation.
2. Speak to yourself in a slow, rhythmic monotonous manner.
3. Breathe slowly and rhythmically.
4. Use soft words like relax, soothing and smooth. Avoid words that are harsh and make you feel tense.
5. Don't go to the next body part until the part you're working on is relaxed.
6. When your body is completely relaxed, allow yourself to remain that way for several minutes before getting up to stretch.
This technique has been very successful in relieving such stress related illnesses as hypertension, migraine headaches and ulcers. But for those people who do not suffer these ailments, it still may be necessary to use this technique several times a day during severe stress situations.
Eventually relaxation becomes easier and spontaneous. When a person recognizes how a muscle should feel when relaxed, it becomes a matter of habit and allows a person to relax his or her muscles whenever it's desired. Some find it difficult to learn how a relaxed muscle feels because they have no standard for tension. To alleviate this problem, there's the Tension-Relaxation technique, a system that incorporates conscious tensing of muscles followed by relaxation to teach the difference between the two.
The Tension Relaxation technique is performed in the same manner as the PMR technique. In the Tension Relaxation technique, individual muscle groups are tensed during separate exercise sessions. The sessions are broken down into the following groups: hands, arms, legs, chest, back shoulders, neck and forehead. After the separate groups are mastered, the technique can be used to relax the entire body in one session. Furthermore, the tension part of the exercise will be removed as the body is conditioned to recognize the relaxed state. It's important to have the ability to recognize tension versus relaxation.
Practice Session No.1 - Hands Tension
With hands at your sides, clench your fists as tight as possible. Keep them clenched for at least 10 seconds. At first, you may want to tense only one hand at a time.
Relaxation
Release your hands and let your fingers slowly uncurl and go limp at your sides. Repeat this exercise 3 times. After 3 sets, keep your hands and body relaxed and rested for 20 - 30 minutes.
Tension relaxation technique will allow and individual to recognize even small degrees of tension that occur in the muscles. Like PMR, this technique has been successful in treating a variety of illnesses,Ugg Fox Fur Tall, such as hypertension and migraine headaches. In 2 weeks to 2 months relaxation will become a spontaneous habit that will become stronger every time a person relaxes.