Sleep Diary - A Valuable Tool To Help You Find A Sleep Disorder Solution
January 9th, 2009

One very valuable tool many people have used is a sleep diary. Sleep diaries have many great effects. It helps you discover patterns in your sleep cycle that a doctor can then analyze and treat. You should also include in your sleep diary a section for a dream journal. This section will help you remember your dreams and in some cases people have been known to learn to completely control their dreams. The dream section may be used by a psychologist to help analyze any psychological problems that may be affecting your sleep. Sometimes sleeping disorders are not all physical. Sometime the mind can cause them and in those cases, a psychologist is the best option. Interpreting your dreams may hold the key to you getting a good night's sleep.

Sleep diaries should include the following information:

What you had to eat that day: Sometimes the foods you eat can affect your sleep cycle. Some foods are known to have chemicals that cause dreams, cramps, insomnia, and other things. There are some foods that cause the exact opposite and are good sleep inducers. Knowing what you ate that day can help you see patterns that you can try changing.

What did you that day? You don't have to be extremely detailed on this. Just a basic outline of what was done throughout the day and any significant or stressful events. Some things can cause sleeping problems. Something that was very stressful can also cause sleep problems. For example, if you decided to exercise before bed, you probably will have a problem going to sleep because of the natural chemicals released into the bloodstream. Your activity throughout the day greatly affects your sleep. Knowing what you did that day can help you see patterns that you can try to change.

What time did you get up? If you got up too early or slept in too late, your internal sleep cycle could be all screwed up. Most doctors agree that getting up at the same time every morning and going to bed at the same time every night is best. It keeps your body on a natural and regular cycle and is one of the best ways to treat most sleeping disorders. If you got up to early, your body will be tired all day and therefore you will be sleepy during the day. If you slept in too late, your body will have gotten too much sleep and you will be tired and lethargic all day.

What time did you go to bed? The same thing goes for this. The amount of sleep you have at night has A LOT to do with your sleep cycle. Too many late nights will throw you out of whack for weeks. Scientists believe that your brain releases beneficial chemicals in the body, but only do so when our internal clocks are at about 2:00 AM. We have not yet been able to figure out why this is done and why at that time. Most doctors say that the best sleep cycle is to go to sleep at ten at night and wake up at six in the morning. This schedule keeps your body healthy.

Did you wake up in the night? If you woke up in the night, write it down. Write down if you did anything when you got up. If you got up to go to the bathroom, or let the dog out, or the phone rang, or if you just woke up for no reason. If you can, write down the amount of time it took you to go back to sleep. This will help your doctor see all of your sleep cycle.

What did you dream? Your dreams can reveal things that are bothering you in your waking life. A psychologist can help interpret these and help make the proper changes in your life. Depending on your religious beliefs, a psychic or dream interpreter can be called in to do the same thing.

Regardless of who you trust to view this information, the more details you have in it, the easier it will be to treat you. If you think of any other sections you want to add, then add them. This is just a basic outline that can be changed to suit your needs

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