By Warren Peters
 Fresh air seems to help many people fall asleep.
Usually during the warmer months we tend to open the windows of our home. Having a gentle flow of fresh air into the room feels relaxing while we sleep and if the weather is pleasant it almost goes without thinking that we keep the windows open, even if just a bit.
Living in a climate where you are subjected to the four seasons in all of their glory, you might find that you suffer from insomnia at certain times of the year. Quite often people find it more difficult to fall asleep during the late fall and winter months. For some, they attribute that to the shortened daylight hours or perhaps a small case of depression as the temperature plummet and time spent outside is rare.
The cause of their insomnia might be the change in weather but the solution might be as easy as opening a window.
When the home is closed up for winter, it becomes a world all of its own. The air doesn't circulate well and quickly becomes stale.
As we lay in bed trying to sleep, it is that air that hasn't been circulated and is essentially used that we are forced to breathe in. For some people that is enough to keep them from sleeping.
In the colder months that becomes a bit more challenging. As we glance out the window to see a frosty scene before us, we don't even contemplate the idea of opening a window when we go to bed. Then we find ourselves tossing and turning as the night quickly becomes morning, and we have to start our day without any rest and feeling the effects of that.
There are several ways you can get the air moving again even when the temperature is cold outside. A few suggestions that you might try are:
An air purifier. You can purchase these at many online retail outlets as well as at many hardware stores. Many are portable and these allow you to use the purifier in your bedroom at night and then take it with you to another room during the day. Again, I love my fan.
A ceiling fan. Ceiling fans are designed with a dual purpose in mind. They help cool a room during the warmer months and then help with the circulation of air during the colder months. Although they do come with detailed installation instructions, you might be wise to hire and electrician to handle the job.
Your furnace. Most newer model furnaces are designed to keep the air in a home in constant circulation. They also keep the air clean and for a climate where the temperature dips very low, having an efficient furnace is very important.
If you do happen to live in a climate where the temperature doesn't dip too low, you may be able to keep your window open a bit the entire year. Keeping that constant flow of fresh and new air entering the room will help lessen your chances of developing insomnia, because your body won't be breathing in the same stale air night after night.
Warren used to suffer from insomnia.
He sleeps like a stone now:
Warren used to suffer from insomnia.
He sleeps like a stone now.Genetic Hemochromatosis
Divorce and Child Depression : Are They Related
By Faye B. Roberts
 Divorce and child depression may very well go hand in hand as parental separation and divorce can be totally devastating for children and teenagers.
Major life changing events are usually the cause of depression, with divorce topping the scale for children and teen depression. Imagine how hard it is to watch the two people you love the most no longer living and guiding you together as it was. With the family unit broken, lives turned upside down you may have to watch for the onset of child depression.
Children and teens often feel stuck in the middle of their parents divorce and not understanding the new rules to which apply to their new lives. They have a very hard time excepting the realism of divorce and finality that comes with the termination of a marriage.
Every persons reaction and coping mechanisms are different. While many children will handle this new situation with relatively few problems or permanent negative effects while for others, the act of divorce can be very traumatic and long-lived.
The trauma created by divorce is determined by the child's experience of the event, not simply the event itself. Every child in the family could have a dramatically different emotional reaction to the changes related to divorce. Some children believe that they caused the breakdown of the marriage.
Your attitude and coping skills will shape your children's attitude. The words and actions you choose can either expose your children to unnecessary emotional pain or help them develop in positive ways.
Depression and anxiety may start at the separation by my occur for years after the divorce. It may also reoccur during special events, weekends, holidays, birthdays or any time your child misses the complete family unit.
Here are some steps to decrease the chance of your divorce and child depression
1. Honesty is the best policy: Be honest with yourself about the potential for emotional trauma in your individual children.
2. Communication: Allow your children to communicate openly with each parent.
3. Choices: By offering your children choices, whenever possible, will increase their sense of control over their lives.
4. Support: Get the proper support for yourself and your children, It may differ for each individual.
5. Normal Activities: By keeping life as normal as you can with the same routine, same activities.
There is nothing more agonizing in divorce than seeing the effect it has on your child? Even though the marriage ending may be a good thing the result it has on children can still be devastating. Learning ways to help your children cope with the negative long and short term effects of separation and divorce can help to prevent depression and decrease the effects of divorce and child depression.
Faye B. Roberts is an independent researcher and author on depression and divorce and is assisting others in their quest to understand the chain reaction this can cause. Discover a new way of thinking and coping with divorce and depression that will change the way you look, feel and live your life. Visit
Facts On Depression For more information on divorce visit
Divorce and your Family Is Medication A "Real" Anxiety Cure?
By Jon Mercer
 "Anxiety and Panic Attack sufferers tend to live lives of quiet desperation."
As a personal development trainer specializing in anxiety issues, and a former sufferer of
extreme anxiety and panic attacks, I can assure you the above statement is true-I've been there. I spent years of my life searching in desperation for an anxiety cure that was effective and would last.
Like many people, I tried the medical route: I was prescribed anti-anxiety medications that doctors assured me would provide a "real" anxiety cure with no severe side-effects or withdrawal symptoms...at least that's what I was told.
Fast forward two years: I had gained 50 pounds, I suffered with chronic heartburn, fatigue, memory loss (my friends began calling me "Mr Short-Term Memory") and sexual "dysfunction" (don't even ask). My relationship was in ruins and I was barely able to function at my job.
And the worst part? My anxiety and panic attacks were still there!
Here's what the medical community and drug manufacturers don't really want you to know: anti-anxiety medications are completely ineffective for most people as an anxiety cure. The best anti-anxiety medications available have success rates that are only slightly higher than a placebo (that's right, a regular sugar pill).
And when you factor in severe side effects like I had, and withdrawal symptoms, it's easy to see why these medications aren't really a good idea for many people.
Now, I'm not saying there's a conspiracy going on (exactly), but I am saying that there is a ton of money to be made by keeping this information quiet. And that's exactly what the big corporations do. Which is great news if you are a stock holder, but terrible news if you are desperately seeking an anxiety cure, as I was for so many years.
So if medication is not the answer, what is?
A "real" anxiety cure must be sustainable, not a quick fix that makes your life progressively worse over time, creating a type of addiction that keeps sufferers feeling like helpless victims. A "real" anxiety cure is all about empowerment-taking back control over your life.
There is no "quick fix" for an anxiety problem. The only real and lasting cure is in dealing with the issue personally, taking full responsibility for it, and refusing to be a victim that waits for someone "out there" to come and "fix" your life. Because the truth is, no one ever will.
"You will overcome your anxiety problem--no one else will do it for you."
Of course there are resources out there that can help you along the way and even coaching programs to guide you step-by-step, but you must make the first big step right now, and that is to take 100% responsibility for your situation. This is not about blaming yourself--it's about taking your power back.
Don't believe the hype folks. The cure for anxiety is not to be found in a pill. I cured my anxiety and panic attacks years ago by following a number of simple techniques, but the very first step along the way, was to understand that "I" was entirely responsible for my anxiety situation, and only "I" could overcome it.
The sooner you take responsibility and recognize your role in the anxiety--the sooner you'll take back control of your life.
Jon Mercer, MA, is a personal development trainer and the founder of www.easycalm.com, a leading anxiety resource site. Can this free anxiety coaching video change your life? Share Your Opinion. (0 posts) |
