Article: To help cure your insomnia, make your bedroom or sleeping area as inviting and calm as possible. Your environment should also be relatively quiet, although many people can get accustomed to some background noise. Focus on the comfort of your sleeping area and save your bed for only sleep, sex, and light reading as it can lead to higher quality and duration of sleep. Avoid eating, studying, watching TV, texting on your phone or paying bills in bed. If you live in a noisy neighborhood, consider wearing earplugs or buying a white noise machine. White noise (like the sound of static) drowns out other more distracting noises. Make your bed with comfortable sheets that don't make you too hot or cold at night. In general, try to keep your room cool around 60 to 65F (16 to 18C) (though this may be too cold or impractical for some). Wait until you're comfortably drowsy to go to bed and don't try too hard to fall asleep. If you can't sleep, get out of bed after 20 minutes and do something relaxing. For your body to think that it's time to fall asleep, your sleeping environment has to be relatively dark, although many people can get accustomed to some amount of light. Darkness triggers the release of hormones, such as melatonin, in your brain that initiate the "sleep cascade" and promote deep sleep. As such, close all your blinds and turn off all sources of illumination that your can see from your bed. Don't browse the internet on your phone while in bed, as the bright screen can make you more alert and less drowsy. Use thick black-out shades to prevent light from coming in through your windows, or wear a sleep mask over your eyes. Avoid bright (and noisy) alarm clocks and remove them from view. Once you set your alarm, hide your clock so the light and time don't distract you. Watching the time can increase anxiety and make insomnia worse. It's important to develop relaxing rituals in the latter part of the evening to prepare your mind and body for sleep. Work, school, exercise, paying the bills and preparing meals can all be stressful, so having activities to help you unwind before bedtime can help promote better sleep and either combat insomnia or reduce the risk of it developing. Various relaxation techniques are proven to calm the brain and body, such as progressive muscle relaxation and deep breathing techniques. Progressive muscle relaxation or PMR teaches you how to relax your muscles through a 2- step process: first, you intentionally tense muscle groups in your body, such as your neck and shoulders; next, you release the tension, focusing intensely on 1 body part at a time. Try this each night before bedtime. Deep breathing techniques prior to bed can help you relax and get to sleep. Place a hand on your lower abdomen and breathe in deeply so your hand rises (called stomach breathing). Hold your breath for a count of 3 and then exhale fully and watch your hand fall. Do these 3x per night. A warm bath can also help cure insomnia. Make sure the water isn't too hot and add a couple scoops of Epsom salts it's rich with magnesium, which can absorb through your skin and relax muscles. Light some candles. Soak in the tub for 20 to 30 minutes while reading something light and funny. Avoid doing anything too stimulating or stressful on the computer (or phone) and don't watch scary or action movies that get your adrenaline going. Don't eat right before bed because it can lead to a burst of energy (a sugar rush, for example) and increase your risk of painful heartburn but going to bed hungry can also keep you up. A grumbling stomach and hunger pains distracts from sleep and helps to promote insomnia, especially if your mind is fixated on food. As such, don't go much more than 3 to 4 hours without food before going to bed. If you need a snack after dinner, stick to healthy and light stuff, such as fruit, veggies, low-fat dairy and whole grains. Some foods, especially poultry, contain amino acids (tryptophan and glutamine) that promote sleepiness. Thus, consider having a turkey sandwich on whole grain bread for an evening snack. Avoid eating snacks, particularly spicy stuff, within 1 hour of bedtime. This strategy will let your GI system properly digest the food and allow for any energy rush to subside.
Question: What is a summary of what this article is about?
Make your bedroom comfortable. Make your bedroom dark. Develop relaxing bedtime rituals. Don't go to bed hungry.
Article: This is basically oval-ish, round or like a teardrop, your choice. Leave a small straight piece at the base; wind one of the wires around the other to secure the circle shape. You'll need each piece to be large enough to cover the circular shape you've just formed but not so large that it sags. Once you have a good size cut, use that as a template for the rest of the pieces. Wrap green florist's tape around to hold the stocking piece firmly in place. You will need five petals to form one flower. (And obviously, make as many petals as you want flowers in total).
Question: What is a summary of what this article is about?
Bend a piece of wire into a petal shape. Pinch the base together. Cut out the nylon stocking. Stretch the stocking piece over the wire tightly. Repeat four more times.