Sleep facts: You will not Believe What Happens to Your Sleep

Sleeping poorly is a common complaint these days, but bad sleeping patterns have a knock on effect in your health and everyday life. The most common causes of poor sleep include depression, stress and anxiety. There are also medications that can disrupt sleep, such as blood pressure drugs, painkillers and some other prescribed medicines.

You may consider turning to sleeping tablets, but they aren’t helpful in the long term, and could even worsen the situation.

As well as trying some relaxation techniques, why not try this natural and effective sleep aid – banana tea!

Bananas and their peels are high in magnesium and potassium, and magnesium is beneficial in cases of sleep disturbances. If you decide to give the tea a try, make sure your bananas and their peels are 100 percent organic, as they will be pesticide and chemical free.

The tea takes ten minutes to prepare, and you should drink it just before going to bed.

You’ll need:

• One organic banana

• A small pot of water

• A dash of cinnamon

How to prepare:

• Cut off the ends of the banana and peel it

• Place banana and peel in a pot with the boiling water

• Boil them for ten minutes

• Strain the tea through a sieve or colander

• Sprinkle on some cinnamon

• Enjoy!

Sleep Facts You may not Know

• 12 percent of people dream entirely in black and white. Before color TV, only 15 percent of people dreamt in color.

• Two thirds of a cat’s life is spent asleep, while humans spend one third of their life sleeping.

• The record for the longest period without sleep is 11 days. A student called Randy Gardner set the record in 1964. This isn’t recommended, as people have died trying to stay awake for this long, and Gardner experienced extreme sleep deprivation.

• Humans are the only mammals that willingly delay sleep.

• Sleeping on your front can aid digestion

• People who earn more than $65,000 a year get the best sleep, according to a report by The Sleep Council.

• Falling asleep at night should take you around 10-15 minutes. If it takes you less than five minutes to sleep, chances are that you are sleep deprived.

• Within five minutes of waking, 50 percent of your dream is forgotten. After another five minutes, 90 percent recollection is gone.