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Page 79
| these techniques during daytime hours for several weeks before trying to use them at night. This will help you avoid premature failures or the disappointment that follows from excessively optimistic expectations. |
| Many people discover, however, that the best way to deal with stress is not by learning how to manage its symptoms, but by learning how to identify and deal with its underlying causes. Most stress management techniques, such as exercise, dietary changes and relaxation procedures, are symptom-oriented approaches. If you're worried about finances or if you're having relationship conflicts both at home and at work, these coping strategies will usually be insufficient. |
| Give Yourself Time to Wind Down. The brain is not a switch. You cannot expect to work at full speed until 11 P.M. and fall asleep at 11:15. Take time to play, read a novel, talk to your spouse or kids. Try not to wrestle with a problem or get into an argument just before going to bed. |
| An excellent way to wind down and get into the proper frame of mind for sleep is a massage, especially if given by the loving hands of someone who cares about you. |
| Reducing Tension and Coping with Stress. A very important technique for aiding sleep is called progressive relaxation. Lying comfortably, you systematically focus on and consciously relax each part of your body starting with your toes, moving up through the ankles, calves, knees, all the way up to the head. Don't forget to visualize the inner organs relaxing when you're at the belly. And don't forget the eyes, ears and brain. Feel the tis- |
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