Post subject: Ideal way to sleep ???

Just curious. Is there any ideal way to sleep? Like warm up your bedroom and sleep? Make your bedroom kind of cold and sleep while you put 3 - 4 blankets on you?

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That is individual, especially if you have a health condition.
Do you mean for healthy invdiduals?
If you are newborn than you definately should not sleep on your stomach!

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I am going on a one day workshop soon about Sleep & its related problems, so I shall keep you informed!

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Speaking of sleep, I have a question. Can sleeping for many many hours resolve the problem of minor depression?

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Signs and symptoms

According to the DSM-IV-TR criteria for diagnosing a major depressive disorder (http://www.behavenet.com/capsules/disorders/mjrdepd.htm) (see also: DSM cautionary statement) one or both of the following two required elements need to be present:

* Depressed mood, or
* Loss of interest or pleasure.

It is sufficient to have either of these symptoms in conjunction with four of a list of other symptoms. These include:

* Feelings of overwhelming sadness or fear, or seeming inability to feel emotion.
* Marked decrease of interest in pleasurable activities.
* Changing appetite and marked weight gain or weight loss.
* Disturbed sleep patterns, either insomnia or sleeping more than normal.
* Changes in activity levels, restless or moving significantly slower than normal.
* Fatigue, both mental and physical.
* Feelings of guilt, helplessness, anxiety, and/or fear.
* Lowered self-esteem.
* Decreased ability to concentrate or make decisions.
* Thinking about death or suicide.

Depression in children is not as obvious as it is in adults; symptoms children demonstrate include:

* Loss of appetite.
* Sleep problems such as nightmares.
* Problems with behavior or grades at school where none existed before.
* Significant behavioral changes; becoming withdrawn, sulky, aggressive.

In older children and adolescents, an additional indicator may be the use of drugs or alcohol. Moreover, depressed adolescents are at risk for further destructive behaviors, such as eating disorders and self-harm.

One of the most widely used instruments for measuring depression severity is the Beck Depression Inventory, a 21 question multiple choice survey.

It is hard for people who have not experienced clinical depression, either personally or by regular exposure to people suffering it, to understand its emotional impact and severity, interpreting it instead as being similar to "having the blues" or "feeling down". As the list of symptoms above indicates, clinical depression is a syndrome of interlocking symptoms which goes far beyond sad or painful feelings. A variety of biological indicators, including measurement of neurotransmitter levels, have shown that there are significant changes in brain chemistry and an overall reduction in brain activity. One consequence of a lack of understanding of its nature is that depressed individuals are often criticized by themselves and others for not making an effort to help themselves. However, the very nature of depression alters the way people think and react to situations to the point where they may become so pessimistic that they can do little or nothing about their condition. Because of this profound and often overwhelmingly negative outlook, it is imperative that the depressed individual seek professional help. Untreated depression is typically characterized by progressively worsening episodes separated by plateaus of temporary stability or remission. If left untreated it will generally resolve within six months to two years although occasionally depression becomes chronic and lasts for many years or indefinitely. In many cases (but not all) treatment can shorten the period of distress to a matter of weeks. While depressed, the person may damage themselves socially (e.g. the break up of relationships), occupationally (e.g. loss of a job), financially and physically. Treatment of depression can significantly reduce the incidence of this damage, including reducing the risk of suicide which is otherwise a common and tragic outcome. For all of these reasons, treatment of clinical depression is seen by many as very useful and at times life saving.

Some people can experience anhedonia for long periods of time before they discover it is a mental illness. The inability to feel pleasure can advance negativity already present in a depressed person's mental state.

The document was originally published at Wikipedia and the document is licensed under GNU Free Document License. If you'd like to find out more about depression, you might be interested in visiting this page in Wikipedia.

Not being able to sleep is a symptom of depression, so I guess trying to sleep well can be a cure or therapeutic, but it doesn't seem like over-sleeping will cure depression definitively. Also sleeping too much is a symptom of depression as you point out.

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In Spain some years ago, there was a lot of talk about 'curas de sueno' or sleep cures.

I googled sleep cure & came up with this, which I found interesting.

"People who don’t get enough sleep risk getting fat.... Not getting enough sleep leads to increased appetite and a craving for carbohydrate-based foods." This in fact does happen! You suddenly get a craving to eat at 3am!! I know this from experience!

"Growth hormone is suppressed, for example, in people who don’t experience deep sleep. Children ... who sleep poorly ... —are often small as a result." I think I mentioned this in another thread here!!

"Some steps you can take to solve sleep problems .... staying awake." That's what I do!! People think I'm crazy when I say the best way to fall asleep is to try & stay awake, but it really works!!

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I find that following a ritual or routine each night sets up the body for sleep. I will usually take either a hot shower or a soak in the hot tub followed by a small cup of hot chocolate (made with real milk) and lay back with a good book and maybe some soft music.

Avoid alcohol five hours prior to sleep. Those who use alcohol to fall asleep do not achiev REM sleep and will find themselves "popping awake" in four hours and be anable to fall asleep again.

Avoid exercise prior to falling asleep. This stimulates your adrenelin. No sleep for you for awhile.

Sexual activity prior to sleeping is a good thing. Even though it is considered physical exercise the orgasm floods the pleasure centers of your brain and helps you sleep.

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Good sleep routines and a healthy sex life also keeps the depression away!!

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Critterpuss wrote:

Good sleep routines and a healthy sex life also keeps the depression away!!

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I do not have good sleeping habits at all I am so not on a sleep pattern or anything. I have to wake up like 5 times throughout the night to use the rest room (I have an overactive bladder).

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