Insomnia / Stress Relief Dvd Suggestions

[Fit Gal]

Hi Everyone

I have trouble falling asleep and then when I do, I wake up in the middle of the night. Does anyone have suggestions for dvds for insomnia and/or stress relief? Thanks so much

[fuzzie]

Sorry you have to deal with insomnia - I do too from time to time and it's not fun

A few years ago a VFer recommended Brain Wave Therapy Sound Sleep: http://www.brainsync.com/sound-sleep.html It really helps!

Another option I love is Rod Stryker's Relax Into Greatness - it's a mediation that is not meant to help you sleep but it REALLY relaxes me and I have often done it in the middle of the night when nothing else works. It is available by itself or on his "Four Desires" cds (which I love and adore): http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss...0rod%20stryker

A VF friend recently suggested I try Lee Holden's practices... and that is next on my list

[Irish Eyes]

Lee Holden! He has a DVD specifically for Insomnia but I find even doing his 7 Minutes of Magic (on YouTube) really calms me down.

[JackieB]

Lee Holden. He has an insomnia freebie...but I agree 7 Minutes has been helping me. Here's the Deep Sleep freebie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyLWf-oNJT8

Anything Classical Stretch helps me, too...esp mellow ones like back pain relief.

Jackie

[dianestjohn]

Also the Andrew Johnson MP3 downloads and iTune apps , they are sort of hypnosis anti-stress programs, about 20 minutes each - a lot of different ones - there is one specifically for insomnia (Deep Sleep) but I have about 8 others and they all put you in a light sleep, there is usually an option of sleep vs. wake-up at the end. They are WONDERFUL. You can google "Andrew Johnson apps" or the website is withandrewjohnson.com.

[Fit Gal]

Thanks everyone, I'm going to take a look at all your suggestions.

[mspina]

I struggle with this at times, and find that when I'm on a very strict and very demanding workout schedule, I sleep like the dead. It's been a huge motivator for me to stay on this somewhat ridiculous Spinervals 32 day challenge - I am asleep before my head hits the pillow and out cold all night. Nothing else works for me - I have to completely tire myself out.

[sherry7899]

I have the same issue (hi Fitgal!) so I will be making note of these suggestions also. I was using a sleep cd a sweet VF'er sent me, but since I've used it so often it has stopped working...

Sherry

[BrusselsSprouts]

I got over insomnia by respecting my circadian rhythm. I try to go to sleep, and the crucial part, wake up at a regular time each day. No caffeine within 8 hours of wanting to go to sleep as it stays active in your system for 8h. No reading in bed either, to keep the mental association of the bed for sleeping and not for concentrating on something fascinating. I always bathe before bed to unwind. It's best to do thing that wake up your system such as working out as early in the day as possible to help you with the feeling of needing to wake up at the regular hour. Also I avoid eating a lot before bed. I let my body get the night time signal by keeping the house nice and dark without lots of loud stimulating noise two hours before I want to hit the hay. Imagine how you would want to put rowdy toddlers to bed: would you want a tickle game and the lights blazing all over the house right before bed? It's the same thing for you.

Eventually I could get to sleep much better so I have slacked off on many of the more rigid guidelines, but if I have trouble getting to sleep one night waking up early the next day is what puts me on track. Now I can have noise and late-night eating (which might n ot be good for fitness overall, though). DH is watching a movie now in the darkened living room and I'm stifling a yawn at my usual witching hour: it works, try it!

[bzar]

throughout this year, i've been working on enhancing my sleeping. i was in recovery this past year after a major illness.

in addition to the tips posted thus far regarding going to sleep the same time each day, avoiding caffeine, eating light, etc. i found that my brain needed "resetting" the most, not so much my physical energy. i could be dead tired, but not being able to sleep well. i kept my workouts light this year mostly because my endurance had to be monitored.

DVDs:
element yoga for stress relief and flexibility
gaiam AM PM meditation yoga with Maritza and Rodney Yee
Gaiam Rodney Yee Relaxation and Breathing for Meditation
Barbara Benagh yoga for stress relief (lots of short practices)
Yoga Zone Yoga for Conditioning and Stress Release (longer)

CDs:
i borrowed many from the public library and liked:
Andrew Weil Self Healing (has 1 or 2 tracks with his voice, the rest are instrumental music)
Deepak Chopra Chakra Balancing (has 1 or 2 trancks w/his voice, the rest are new age music)
Gail Chiarella AM PM Yoga Meditations (good)
John Daniels Meditation for a Good Night's Sleep
Jon Kabat-Zinn (guided meditation with instructions on breathing; no music)
Self Hypnosis for Dummies book w/CD (good breathing instruction on the CD)
Nubia Teixeira Pranayama (guided instruction with breathing and yoga; eclectic music)
Jack Kornfield Meditation for Beginners (excellent; lecture with a couple of short meditation practices)

bought from Ross's a few years back:
Alan Finger Life Enhancing Meditation CDs (guided/seated meditation)

i bought the following CDs from Amazon:
Yoga Zone Garden of Peace
Gaiam Meditation
Gaiam Sleep

coming in the mail for christmas :
Gaiam Stress Relief
Gaiam Breathe (with Rodney Yee)

our company had 2 wellness lectures hosted by one of the health care providers (HMSA) and they gave us 2 different CDs, one for stress relief the other for meditation. both are good.