My name is Laura Silva Quesada, and I'm the President of Silva International. After my father Jose Silva passed in 1999, I've dedicated my life to spreading his teachings across the world. If you want to learn more about the Silva Method and what it can do to change your life for the better, feel free to browse through my blog. You'll find plenty of valuable information on the fields we specialize in, from meditation to intuition to healing. Enjoy, and may the rest of your life be the best of your life :).
INSOMNIA
Noun
inability to sleep [Latin in- not + somnus sleep]
I was out a few days ago with a friend of mine I haven't met for quite a long time. She didn't look too good and I started to worry about her.
Let's just say she's not the same energetic and positive person she used to be. She's tired, unproductive and can even get very grumpy sometimes.
I should have known the reason.
She's been having sleeping problems.
Stress from Work
Making Ends Meet and Paying the Bills in the Midst of this Harsh Economic Crisis
Nightmares
Dealing with the Loss of a Loved One
They've all taken a toll on her.
The good news is, she's not the only one going through this. In fact, after going through many recent emails from all of you, I noticed a clear trend.
She's not alone. YOU are not alone.
One of the top problems many of you seem to be facing is sleep deprivation.
The following article in the New York Times sheds more light on our challenge:
An estimated 30 million Americans wrestle with chronic insomnia. Many suffer in silence. A 2005 National Sleep Foundation survey found that only one-third of patients with insomnia were asked by their primary care physicians about the quality of their sleep. Insomnia sufferers are equally unlikely to raise the issue with their doctors, studies show. And that’s too bad, experts say.
...
Remedies to help people fall asleep have been around for centuries, from laudanum in the 1800s to barbiturates more recently. “Unfortunately, most of them were addictive and potentially deadly," said Dr. David Neubauer, associate director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. “The history of sleep medications is really a tale of improving safety.”
As you can see, this isn't a pleasant situation to be stuck in. That's why I spoke to Laura and convinced her to take time off her busy schedule to give some urgent attention to this.
If You're Suffering from Sleep Deprivation and Insomnia, I Want To Help You, BUT...
... I need your help first.
Please tell me:
- How bad the situation is for you?
- How are you dealing with it?
- How many hours of sleep do you manage to get everynight?
- Is it good, quality sleep, or interrupted?
Your answers will help Laura craft a way for you to leverage The Silva Method more effectively to deal with your sleeping problems.
I've seen my friend and I now know how terrible insomnia and sleep deprivation can be.
Pills from greedy pharamceutical companies will only get you so far.
Please share your answers in the comments section.
Better and better,
Jill
Hello.. I sometimes will struggle with sleep when anxiety gets high.. but this only happens to me now when I forget to find my center.. or trust that the universe will provide everything I need. I have experienced many miracles, which I relate to whenever I feel the temptation not to trust. Also.. if there is a situation particularly close to me, making relaxation difficult, I do take melatonin to sleep and it will knock me out within half an hour.. I also practice regular meditation and visualization. I hope this helps.
I have had trouble sleeping for 16yrs. The side effects from both of my medicine is restlessness, sleeplessness. All night I know I am awake, and DO NOT get any sleep all night. I would like to sleep the night through.
i've had insomnia since i was a child but also have multiple sleep disorders that are inherited from my mother they include walking, talking, and i can even cook and carry on a conversation in my sleep. my husband says i look and act awake and function like i am awake but he can tell when i'm asleep now after 28 years my eyes are glassy and appear like i am looking off at something in the distance. the effects are i'm usually tired have gained weight an experiance anxiety attacks. i've tried everthing even hypnosis. any help here would be appreciated . thanks paula am still a work in progress.
i have recently been diagnoised with insomnia. even since i was a child (today im 23yrs) my brain would force me to sleep in the afternoons. i get tired very easily - even with serious exercise and serious adrenalin pumping through me my brain would force me to sleep. its getting to the stage where its affecting my work. i work 8hrs a day and no amount of coffee, sugar, or serious energy drinks will keep me awake. im fighting everyday to stay awake. i have had a sleep study for both night and day sleeping. my night sleeping is textbook perfect. my daytime sleeping however i can fall asleep within five minutes every two hrs throughout the day even with perfect sleep the night previous. my specialist has me on a drug to cope with the problem but the drugs are very expensive. there is no other remedy the he can prescribe me. the drugs are helping but if there is any other way to help with my disorder im open to suggestions. i dont have a sugar problem cause of the amount of sugar (chocolate, V drinks - high caffaine drinks, dont like coffee) has no effect on me. my diet is healthy, im not overweight and i exercise regulary. i can wake up in the morning feeling exhausted and headaches when i wake up (especially when i am forced to sleep during the day) are common. i can sleep for an entire day and still feel like i havent slept at all. i also suffer from depression which in turn doesnt help me and im very grumpy 80% of the time. i am hoping that what this program has done for countless others will help me. please if there is anything please reply as soon as possible.
I have travelled from over seas and come to the US. I have been in the US since 14th May, 2009. My sleeping pattern is gone haywire I feel sleepy during the day. Incase I sleep during the day then I do not get sleep at night. If I need to sleep at night I have to go to bed only around 1.00AM of so to be up by 7.00AM. Incase I feel tired and go to bed by 10.00pm then I am up by 3.00am. please help me
Jill- I don't know if Laura is still answering this column, it's pretty old, but I'll try anyway.
2 years ago I was diagnosed with a sleep disorder. What was happening was that I was never really falling asleep. In my sleep test, I would start to fall asleep and my body would twitch and I'd be back on a level between wake and sleep. I was never getting any REM sleep, which is essential. My doctor said that this had been going on for a long time, years, and I had not become aware of a problem until it got so bad that I was trying to sleep 14-16 hours a day.
Sleep deprivation can cause all kinds of weird and strange behaviors one of which is personality change. I went to a psychologist for depression during this time and was put on medication that helped but did not cure the problem. I knew there was still something wrong but not what. I evidentally began spending money and shopping to excess but was not aware of the amount I was spending. My cheerful and positive outlook became crabby. My family despaired and my husband finally decided he wanted a divorce. About that time was when things got so bad with all the hours I was sleeping. Finally, an astute doctor sent me to a sleep clinic. I was put on medication which helped me to sleep and even dream again. I got back to normal and managed to save my marriage but now there are about 8 years I have little to no recollection of. They are just wiped out. Sometimes someone will talk about an incident during that time and I might have a vague recollection of it.
Having done a lot of research now on sleep disorders, I can tell you that weird consequences are entirely possible. Also, sleep deprivation is worse than being legally drunk and that was a test done on people who only slept 3 hours a night for 3 nights. They thought they were perfectly normal. We are concerned about drunk drivers but with society today having more and more sleep problems, we should be concerned about sleep deprived drivers as well.
I am now using Silva as well as brain entrainment music to help me sleep. The medication I am on I will eventually get used to and will no longer work so I am using this interval to cure myself so I don't need it at all.
If you have any specific, helpful actions I can take, I'm happy to hear them. Thanks for your help.
I also wrote this to alert people. If you suspect you have a sleep problem, including continuing insomnia, please, please find a sleep clinic and get tested. This is not just an inconvenience or an everyday ailment, it can be life threatening. It can kill you, folks. Get help, then get Silva and cure yourself. Like many things, it can be a stress induced illness and as we all know, there's enough stress in the modern world to go around to everyone in it two or three times. Get help, get Silva--learn how to use your mind to relax and to heal. Illness takes time. You have better things to do.