Six easy ways to relax

If you are currently suffering from long term stress, or even if stress has just started to affect your life, here are six easy ways that you can use to reduce the effects of stress.

These suggestions and ideas for reducing stress need to be practiced daily if you want to get maximum benefit. Many people find that they have to make changes to their lifestyle to reduce their daily stress. If you are not convinced of this then start keeping a simple diary of how stressed you are on a daily basis - write down a number between 1 and 10, where 1 is completely calm and 10 is very stressed. Notice how your stress levels can reduce as you introduce some of these simple techniques into your life.

1. Get good quality sleep for 9 hours a day

You may have heard this advice before, however, what does "good quality sleep" actually mean? Many depressed people sleep for more than 9 hours a day, in fact it is now known that depressed people dream more than non-depressed people.

The two best known sleep stages are slow wave sleep, and also rapid eye movement sleep. Although many studies have been done on sleep and sleep loss, the benefits that sleep brings are still unclear. However, it is clear that REM sleep is essential for emotional health.

Joe Griffin, who has studied the role of dreaming (which primarily occurs in REM sleep) for longer than two decades theorizes that dreaming is for ridding the emotional centers of the brain of unfulfilled emotional arousal from the previous day. This therefore leaves us more able to cope well with the next day's emotionally arousing incidents. When we don't get enough REM sleep, we can often feel a bit 'hyperactive' or stressed.

Although evidence shows that slow wave sleep is essential for rejuvenation of physical processes, the exact ways in which this happens are as yet unclear. However, it is known that the immune system benefits from a good night's sleep.

Try these ideas for improving the quality of your sleep:

• Don't sleep during the day (unless you have to). Instead use hypnosis, and take breaks as explained below.
• Practice good sleep hygiene:
  
  • Avoid stimulants such as caffeine, and other drugs, for at least 3 hours before you go to sleep.
  • Don't eat large meals just before going to sleep.
  • Don't watch TV in bed.
  • Use the bedroom only for sleep and sex.
  • Do not worry in bed.
  • If you cannot get to sleep for 20 minutes, get up and do something.

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2. Don't use alcohol as a sleep aid

Although one or two glasses of wine can help to relax you, more than that can suppress REM sleep. You may have noticed being more emotional than normal during the day following an evening of drinking.