Disclaimer: The techniques and information expressed within this book are not medical or legal advice, but

represent the authors opinions and are solely for information and educational purposes.

Copyright and legal notice:

You do NOT have permission to copy, re-distribute, resell, auction, or otherwise give away copies of The Stress Free Study Guide, whether in e-book or physical book form. E-books are protected by international copyright laws. If you attempt to do any of the above methods of distributing this e-book or book, you are in violation of international copyright laws and are subject to fines and imprisonment. Do NOT risk getting yourself in legal trouble by illegally distributing this ebook. You DO however have permission to print one copy of this book for your own use, or copy the files from the program to a back up on your hard drive or CD.

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Contents
Introduction............................................................................. 4 Sleep Myths.............................................................................. 6 Environmental Factors Affecting Sleep...................................... 8 Food, Drink and Sleep............................................................... 10 Psychological Factors................................................................ 12 Emergency Actions/Other Tricks............................................... 14 Final Thoughts........................................................................... 16

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Introduction
Good sleep is essential to everyone. Any given person - academic, athlete, or professional - will perform better after a good nights sleep than a poor one. Anyone whos tried to sit an exam after a poor nights sleep will know what Im talking about.

Sleep performs the following important functions:

Tissue growth and repair (growth hormone secretion is highest at night). GH is also important for: Erythropoesis (red blood cell production). Red blood cells carry oxygen around the body and brain, and so are essential for energy. Increases lipolysis (fat burning) through growth hormone secretion. such as Immune system benefits: Immune system chemicals such as interleukin and tumor necrosis factor increase during slow wave sleep. But probably the most important benefits to people studying or sitting exams are: Regulation of stress hormones: Serotonin, which helps us relax and be happy, increases with good quality sleep. Memory consolidation Intelligence and speed of thought The brain sorts out information learned during the day while you sleep. We've all experienced sleeping on a problem and waking with the solution. The neurons of your brain are hard at work while you sleep categorizing, organizing, and repeating information assimilated during the day. So one of the easiest ways to get better results in your exam is to sleep better!

Ignore the importance of sleep at your peril:

As well as harming learning, regeneration, and immune functions, lack of sleep or poor quality sleep will lead to... Daytime lethargy and drowsiness Negative mood shifts: Depression and/or increased irritability, less ability to handle stress.
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 Reduced enjoyment of socializing. Weight gain: Lack of sleep is associated with glucose intolerance and insulin resistance which can cause diabetes in the long term. In the short term you can put on weight. And again, most negatively for those trying to study or sit exams: Reduced productivity: Concentration, critical thinking, attention span, creativity, motivation, decision making, communication skills, complex task management, problem-solving, short-term memory, fine motor skills and coordination all suffer with poor sleep.

So sleeping better is actually one of the easiest ways to get better academic results! No extra studying, memory drugs or missing out on your social life. All you have to do is get good quality sleep. When you think about it, thats great news. Im not telling you to work harder, spend more time at the library or give up your chill time with your friends or any of the stuff you probably feel like youre doing too much of already. All Im telling you to do is a get a good nights sleep. What could be more enjoyable than that? This book will show you how.

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Sleep Myths

You need 8 hours of sleep every night

Probably the biggest sleep myth is the myth that we need precisely 8 hours every night. Its not a bad rough estimate, but it does not apply to every night. For many people, counting down the hours they have left till dawn is just another anxiety that keeps them awake. Forcing yourself to go to bed when youre not tired will just get you in a place of frustration - which will keep you awake for longer! After a marathon, athletes sleep for longer. Often under stress, we sleep for less time. So the amount we need each night does change. It depends on how much work our brain and body have done in the day, our mental state, our hormone balance and how much we slept the night before. The key is to get up at the same time every day, not to go to bed at the same time every night. Naturally as you get up each day, youll go to bed at a similar time - probably within an hour or two. You should go to bed when you feel drowsy. Dont ignore drowsiness, as once youve powered through it youll be waking your body up and making it hard to sleep when you do go. On the other hand, dont go to bed when youre still wide awake as all it will do is frustrate you. Similarly, once youre up, get up. Im not talking about the middle of the night here. But if you get up an hour earlier than you expected, dont go to sleep thinking that another hour will make you feel better. It will probably make you feel worse. Just get up and be glad you have an hour longer in the day than you thought!

You shouldnt eat before bed

Many people falsely believe that its bad to eat in the evenings or before bed. If youre watching your weight, a big carb-based meal before bed might not be the smartest idea. But going to bed on an empty stomach will make it hard to sleep. Apart from the obvious mental distraction, hunger leads to increased cortisol release which causes anxiety and other negative emotions that will keep you awake. Eating a high protein or high fiber meal before bed can actually help you sleep. The choice of many athletes is cottage cheese. Unlike regular cheese it is extremely low fat. It also has a low Glycemic Index. Furthermore, its high

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calcium content can actually help with losing fat. The high casein protein content will fill you up and help you sleep. In sports science, this is called sleep stacking. We dont need to go the full way as were not putting our body through the same demands as top athletes, but taking this basic idea can really help get a good nights sleep. Yes, going to bed on a full stomach and feeling bloated will make it hard to sleep. But an empty stomach is just as bad. Eat a small meal or snack to get you through the night.

Counting sheep helps you sleep

Ive yet to meet anyone this actually works for. Actually, as well look at later, moving images are not the best thing to imagine when youre trying to sleep anyway.

TV in bed helps you relax

People like to unwind in front of the TV. Thats fine for many of us, but if you have trouble sleeping, theres a good chance that the stimulation of your visual cortex that comes from the television is a cause.

Hot milk before bed helps you sleep

Well, if it works for you, great. Dont let me spoil it for you. But in reality, hot milk is just full of lactose, a sugar which will cause an insulin spike and wake you up. If you find it psychologically relaxing then go ahead and drink as much as you like, but dont force yourself to drink it if you dont like it - youll likely be disappointed.

Listening to music helps you sleep

Ok so this depends a little on the music, and sometimes music is better than irritatingly noisy housemates. But generally, music incites your body to move or at least pay attention. Again if it works for you, fine, but most of us are just tricking ourselves into putting off going to bed properly!

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Environmental Factors Affecting Sleep.

Light when youre trying to sleep:
Light at night is unnatural. Our bodies evolved their circadian rhythms to match the day-night cycle of earth. In nature, the only light would be from the sun, or the much dimmer light of the moon. Subsequently, our bodies are programed to wake up around light. When light hits our retinas, it actually causes our bodies to release hormones that help us wake up. This is great in the morning. In fact, going out in the sunlight is one of the best ways to wake up in the morning. But at night this is obviously not what you want. It could just be light in the form of the hall-light creeping in under your door. Or maybe you have a street light outside your bedroom window. Maybe there is a computer screen or power light casting light into your room. It doesnt need to be much. To solve these kinds of problems, try: -put a towel underneath your door to block out light -get better curtains/black out blinds -use a sleep mask such as the Hibermate (this is what I use and its a lot more effective than any other type Ive tried).

Light before bed:

Your eyes can also be stimulated by light leading up to the time you go to bed. For example, a very bright reading light in your room and the bright white pages of a textbook. Staring at a computer screen similarly stimulates your eyes and wakes you up. In nature, light would gradually dim as the evening turned into night. So if youre around bright lights right up until bedtime, your body will be confused and part of your brain will think its still a bright and sunny afternoon. A good solution to this is to use dimmer lights in the evening. If you are reading, obviously this is not a good idea, so make sure you have enough light to read by without straining your eyes. If youre using a computer - and I advise you take at least half an hour between using your computer and trying to go to sleep anyway - you could try the following (free) programs, which allow your screen to gradually dim as the evening darkens: Flux for Mac Redshift for Windows and other operating systems.

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Noise:
Kind of an obvious one, this. There are two simple solutions: -Earplugs: You can get them for incredibly cheap on ebay. Contrary to popular belief theyre unlikely to block out the sound of your alarm, but should be enough to muffle housemates who go to bed later, get up earlier or just make a lot of noise. If youre scared of missing your alarm, test it out on a day when you dont actually have to be up, just to reassure yourself. -White noise: Use a fan to generate white noise. As well as providing a cool airflow to help you sleep, the consistent, gentle noise it generates will muffle other sounds. You should still wear earplugs for the best effect, though it can be a worthwhile alternative if you really dont want to wear them.

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Food, drink and sleep.

Caffeine This ones so obvious that I almost left it out. However, some people dont realise how long caffeine stays in your system. It can be between 6 - 8 hours! Some studies even suggest longer. So if you had a cup of coffee at 6pm to help you with your evening study, it might not be out of your system at 1am when you really want to sleep. Try switching from coffee to tea in the evening, and if that still doesnt work, give up tea. There are plenty of other ways to keep awake - one of the best ones is having slept properly the night before! Also, Im sorry to tell you this, but chocolate contains caffeine. It also contains.... ...Sugars: Sugars provide your body with a burst of energy and an insulin spike which is great for short bursts of exercise, but completely counterproductive before bed. This is worse with sugars in chemical-filled junk food or sweets. Nicotine: Another stimulant that can keep you awake. Conversely, some people cant sleep without it. If you smoke you probably know how bad it is already so I wont waste both our time explaining it here. When it comes to sleep, the obvious easy solution is to give up, or cut down. Other foods you probably didnt know could keep you awake like... spinach? Yep. Foods that contain the amino acid tyrosine or tyramine can keep you awake because tyrosine and tyramine cause your body to release norepinephrine, which keeps you awake and alert. Great during a study session, but bad for sleeping. Foods that have a relatively high amount of these substances include: Spinach Tomatoes Potatoes Sauerkraut Kimchi Sausage Bacon Cheese (cottage cheese is an exception) Ham Aubergine Beer
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This doesnt mean you have to totally cut these foods. But if youre having trouble sleeping, consider avoiding them in your evening meal. Too much/not enough water: If you drink too much water, obviously you will wake up and need the toilet. This breaks up your sleep and makes it far less effective. On the other hand, if you dont drink enough then youll wake up thirsty, or with a headache. Try to drink plenty of water during the day so you are hydrated, but stop half an hour before bed time unless youre actually thirsty, in which case you should drink some more. Its a good idea to sleep with a glass by your bed so that you dont have the psychological factor of thinking you need a drink. If you often need to go to the toilet in the night, consider leaving a small torch out so that you can go to the bathroom without having to switch on bright lights which can wake you up and make it harder to fall back to sleep.

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Psychological factors
Stress and overstimulation:
The main culprit. Take action to reduce your stress during the day, and youll find it easier to sleep at night. If you got this book as part of the Stress Into Focus program, dont forget to use the audio program to help you relax. Following the Stress Free Study Guide schedule and to-do list will also reduce your stress since you will feel in control.

Overstimulation/ excitement:
Aside from the overstimulation of your eyes that we talked about in the Light section, you can also stimulate yourself mentally through what you do in the last 30 minutes before bed. For example, while reading fiction helps many people to relax and sleep, reading non-fiction often wakes people up as nonfiction books are often a call to action or memory. Especially avoid How to books before bed. Id even suggest avoiding the books from this program though if youre unable to sleep right at this moment youre obviously not losing out by reading this book now. You could make it easier on your eyes by printing it out though. Super sleep tactic: Brain Dump: If you feel particularly overstimulated before bed, it can be helpful to do a brain dump and clear your brain of any tasks or ideas that are floating around in their. Keep the notepad by your bed so if you think of something as youre drifting off, you can just note it down and forget about it until morning.

Using our room for too many things:

This is a common error for students. Using your bed to watch films, write essays on your laptop or drink with your housemates is a bad idea. You want your bed to be a haven for relaxing. The ideal situation is to revise or study somewhere else completely - a library or cafe - but if you must study in your room, do it at your desk and not in your bed.

A cluttered bedroom:
Your brain indexes what your eyes see. Subconsciously you will stress-out if your brain is indexing a ton of unnecessary stuff in your room. It can be a good habit to have a little clear up before you go to bed. This also gets you away from the computer and can become a kind of relaxing pre-bed ritual.
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It can be difficult to have a tidy room during intense periods, especially if you use it for study as well. In this case consider just piling everything onto a shelf and covering it with a sheet, or stuffing it under your bed. Not elegant I know, but if your brain doesnt have to look at it, it WILL stress less when youre in your room and ready to go bed.

Trying too hard to sleep:

I spoke above about how enforcing 8 hour sleep schedule on yourself is not efficient. Trying to force yourself to sleep just wont work. Even if youre tired, and you cant sleep, it can be good to give up. I know that sounds strange, but stay with me. Instead of trying to sleep, commit to lying there and resting. Resting isnt as good as sleeping, but it WILL help. Also, once you give up trying to sleep as a goal, its much more likely to come naturally.

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Emergency actions/ other tricks

Belly Breathing: Lie on your back, with a pillow under your head, knees bent and your back flat. You can put your legs out if that's more comfortable, though for most people this puts stress on the lower back. Put one hand on your belly. Once you feel comfortable, you can start the technique. Inhale while you slowly and steadily count to 4. Let your belly expand as much as you can like a balloon. You know you're doing it right when you can feel your belly expand with each breath. Then, exhale to the slow count of 4, just letting all the air out of the balloon. As you exhale, feel yourself letting go of tension. Keep on belly breathing to the steady count of 4. If your mind drifts away, just bring your attention gently back to the counting and the feeling of your belly moving up and down. This exercise will help you relax and let go of thought-trains that can keep us awake. It is the opposite of focusing on the sensation of the breath around your nostrils and lips, which will often wake you up.

Note: some people also report success from using the Tense and Relax exercise from the audio program on Stress Into Focus. Personally, I think the muscle tension involved releases too many endorphins and actually keeps me awake. Its something Id use in the day to release my stress rather than at night. However, if it works for you, go ahead! Switch Ends: For reasons people argue about but no one really knows, this can be surprisingly effective. Switch your pillow to the other end of your bed and sleep that way around. Hot Bath/Shower: This really can help you relax, but you must do it a couple of hours before bed so that your body has time to cool down. Dont do it right before you go to bed, as it will keep you awake. Visualization: Some people find it helps them to visualize an image as they lie in bed. Dont visualize moving things. Moving things stimulate your brain and wake you up. Instead, imagine a still image. A panorama of an outdoor scene often works. Remember, it doesnt have to be real. It could be the fantasy world of Avatar if
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you like. Just make sure its not moving - dont go imagining flying around the jungle. Avoid exercise before bed: Exercise in the DAY can really help you sleep when it comes to night time. But exercise also releases endorphins that wake you up. If youre having trouble sleeping, move your exercise to the afternoon. Hypnosis: Doesnt work for everyone, but if you get a program rather than go see a hypnotist in person (usually a lot more expensive), it wont hurt you to try, and some people swear by it. I like this program as its actually by a professional hypnotist who knows what hes doing: Richard MacKenzies hypnosis downloads page (at time of writing, youll see insomnia on the lifestyles section on the bottom right).

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Final thoughts
Many people have terrible sleeping habits. Set yourself apart from the masses by focusing on your sleep habits. Take advantage of other peoples sluggishness and put yourself ahead of the crowd! Please remember that sleep habits can take a while to change. The most important thing is not to beat yourself up about it. But DO take your sleep seriously. Its one of the most important factors in your performance of anything. If you apply the techniques in this e-book, you WILL see a difference. I know its a lot to ask, but try following ALL of them first of all. Once you start sleeping properly, you can ignore a few of them and gradually cheat a bit watch TV in bed, read non-fiction, let in the bad habits. Youll know when you get to the one that is giving you problems, because that will be the night you dont sleep. Bite the bullet and follow ALL the advice! But most of all, follow this action list: A little action list for you: Get some earplugs Get a decent sleep mask Stop using your computer at least half an hour before bed Eat before you go to bed Get up at the same time every day Avoid caffeine and nicotine in the evenings Good luck with your sleeping. Once you see the improvement, dont forget to email me a testimonial to let me know at info@stressintofocus.com Heres to getting a good snooze! Matthew Macklin Author/Founder www.stressintofocus.com

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