Stress Reducers

It gives you energy, keeps you slim, helps you sleep and calms you down.  What is this miracle potion?  Sex, says the monthly publication, Executive Personal Health Adviser.

Sex hormones promote retention of potassium, sodium, sulfur, chloride and phosphorous – good sources of bodily energy, report Dr. Leonard Haimes and Richard Tyson in their book, How to Triple Your Energy.  Increased sexual activity also increases testosterone levels in men.

Sex can also be viewed as a form of exercise which utilizes most of your muscles and can burn up to 200 calories in 20 minutes, the authors claim.

If you’ve had trouble sleeping lately, the authors maintain that sex is a far safer means of helping you nod off than tranquilizers.  The doctors explain that sleep is achieved because you have “combined an intense period of physical activity and stimulation with feelings of marked contentment and relaxation.”

Sleep.  When relaxation exercises and other techniques have failed to cure a chronic sleep problem, remember: a little psychology can go a long way.

Attributional therapy, that is.  This psychological approach gives the perennially tired the confidence to conquer their sleep disorder without the use of sleep aids, claims Dianne Hales in The Complete Book of Sleep.

The therapy involves concentrating on staying awake instead of trying to fall asleep.  While it sounds paradoxical, it has merit.

Hales reports that Temple University researchers tested five subjects who were told that their disorder stemmed from a lack of information about their pre-sleep situations.

They were instructed to examine their thoughts before sleep and try to remain awake as long as possible.  They were also warned that falling asleep too soon would mean that essential pre-sleep data would not be obtained.

The results?  One woman, who normally fell asleep only after tossing in bed for more than an hour, nodded off in 5-½ minutes.  And a man who usually took 57 minutes to fall asleep was out in six.

The researches explain that some people don’t view their sleep disorders as isolated events, but think of them as deteriorating conditions.  Consequently, each night produces anxiety about not falling asleep quickly and the problems resulting from lack of rest.