Sleep, sleep, I couldn't sleep tonight not for all the jewels in the crown...

As you can see by the time on this post, it's very very late in the night. So, why does sleep elude me? I have been tossing and turning for the past few hours, trying to sleep but unable to.There are reasons and reasons as to why a person cannot sleep. A good many of them have to do with our lifestyle.It's really quite easy to make the minor changes needed to get a decent night's sleep. Here's help:

• Stress -- physical and mental -- is a major cause of insomnia. 
• Alcohol after 6 p.m. at night and caffeine can keep you awake nights.
• Keeping your bedroom cool rather than warm, dim rather than bright, and dry rather than humid is the way to go for optimum sleeping conditions.
• Your bed  and pillow need to be adequate for relaxed sleep.
• For snoring problems that can disrupt sleep, try raising your head by taking an extra pillow and also sleeping on your side instead of your back.
• Avoid  bringing work or your laptop into bed at night. Instead, look to do something that helps your mind unwind -- like reading or listening to relaxing music and the age old relaxation remedy...yes, sex!!

And if none of this works try out the following. Works for me every single time. (except when I am too excited to run to me notebook and write to you all about my lack of sleep!! So I got it! the reason for my insomnia today is you guys!! Excitement is top of MY list today ;))

So, I was saying, a sure shot way of getting the z'zzzzs is what is called the "Shava-Asana" in Yoga. Read all about it here: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shavasana

As I said before...works for me each and every time and I get up rejuvenated and extremely relaxed....rearing to go!!!

Oh! and do read my post "The Spa"..another great sleep inducing technique.

Here's one of a happy sleeper! Our darling Sultan :))

The Spa

It is not just the “teeth”; it is the “feet”. As a kid I wondered about the value of the round rough, heavy stone (actually it was a part of my grandma's wheat grinder, being used as a pumice stone) lying in the bathroom of our home. The shoe rack was in a space outside the bathroom, and after a tiring day out, when I would be putting my shoes on the rack, I would catch my dad humming and often rubbing his heels and the sides of his feet on this rough stone. Then he would come and sit on the bed outside, take the small towel kept neatly folded under the show rack and meticulously wipe each feet. Sometimes he would tell me, “Beta, you must wash your feet properly every night before retiring to bed.” But, seldom did I pay heed. But then, I had never been told this at school, or in the poems I learnt. It was always “Brush your teeth…brush them everyday and polish your shoes and wash your face but never ever scrub your feet, scrub them everyday”!!

And, by jove, it is the best thing my dad ever told me!! Just you try it Henry Higgins,just you try.Washed feet each night, it is the most relaxing state of being. The feet that have been dipped in a tub of warm soapy water, scrubbed clean feet, dried and creamed feet, every night, night after night and Aah! Blissful is the sleep. The tiredness, it just vanishes. And the mornings, they are with a zing in the feet and a spring in the stride. Try it my dears and you will not be the sorry.