Definitions

Definitions for some of the words or phrases used on this site, with my own thoughts, for your information and delight :)

Insomnia – where a person is unable to obtain sufficient period of sleep due to various circumstances, including:

  • cannot get to sleep when provided with suitable conditions (eg comfortable temperature and place to rest the body, safe external environment, time and space to be able to sleep)
  • waking up during the sleep period and cannot resume sleep
  • waking up too early to be refreshed, too little sleep time

Work – Life Balance - often used in the context of ‘creating a work-life balance’ or of not having this in one’s life. This is a modern concept especially suited to the developed world where people have more of a choice of how they utilise their time/days/activities.

What is the right balance? This depends on an individual’s circumstances and what they view as acceptable. Creating a balance of activities and  expenditure of physical and mental energy. This being the split between what one does for work and non working life. Meaning one’s social time, family time, sleep/rest/eating/hobby time.

Tai Qi Chi Gong, or Tai Chi Qi Gong
This form or healthful light aerobic exercise performed in a standing position but can be adapted for seated eg chronic fatigue, ME sufferers and wheelchair users. It is based on ancient chinese principles of traditional chinese medicine – meridian energy lines, yin and yang, acupuncture points and the ebb and flow of what is know as ‘chi’ or life force energy. It is a well known exercise form done within business, hospitals, schools and privately.

Tai Qi Chi Gong is known for it’s beneficial effects on the emotions and physical body, namely:

  • reduce stiffness, tension or pain (in some cases)
  • promotes a positive mental attitude and outlook on life
  • improved respiratory efficiency
  • creating a feeling of inner peace and calm
  • combating anxiety and stress
  • improvement in general health
  • better concentration
  • lower blood pressure
  • tonification of muscles
  • better co-ordination & balance of the left/right body and mind

Forty Winks

According to Wiki answers http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_origin_of_the_idiom_forty_winks.
A person that didn’t sleep a wink is someone who got almost no sleep at all, and to catch 40 winks is to catch a very brief but refreshing nap. The number 40 has a wide range of citations in the Bible and may have some application to this expression.

I’ll add … 40 minutes is a good enough time to have a quality nap without the body and mind going into deeper sleep mode. If longer than 40 minutes this may create feeling more groggy and the brain befuddled. Siesta time of 40 minutes is ideal as it gives the brain and body a rest.

Bach Flower Remedies

There are 38 remedies in the Bach remedy system. All of them were discovered in the 1920s and 1930s by Dr Edward Bach, a well-known bacteriologist, homoeopath, physician and pathologist who lived in England.

Each remedy is associated with a basic human emotion. They are made naturally from a range of plants, flowers and trees. Mimulus, for example, is the remedy for when we are anxious or afraid about something specific. Taking the remedy helps us overcome our fear and face it with courage.

Dr Bach designed his system to be simple for everyone to use. With such strong evidence of the link between the health of the physical body and the emotions, what better way to help yourself than by selecting and mixing together a selection of remedies that matches your current emotional situation. A healthy emotional life and a balanced personality will allow your body to find its own natural state of health.

SNORING
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snoring

Snoring is the vibration of respiratory structures and the resulting sound, due to obstructed air movement during breathing while sleeping. In some cases the sound may be soft, but in other cases, it can be rather loud and quite unpleasant. Generally speaking, the structures involved are the uvula and soft palate. The irregular airflow is caused by a passageway blockage and usually due to one of the following:

  • Throat weakness, causing the throat to close during sleep
  • Mispositioned jaw, often caused by tension in the muscles
  • Fat gathering in and around the throat
  • Obstruction in the nasal passageway
  • The tissues at the top of airways touching each other causing vibrations
  • Relaxants such as alcohol or drugs relaxing throat muscles
  • Sleeping on one’s back, which may result in the tongue dropping to the back of the mouth

Linzi’s solutions – these are things I do to stop my partner’s nocturnal noises:
1. I copy, duplicate his sound back to him
2. say ‘soosh’
3. place my hand lightly onto his shoulder or back or leg (anywhere)