Mom and daughter Ria were very excited. The next day the little six-year-old would have her children’s ballet performance. Ria and her class had trained for several weeks for this performance. Ria is a very lively intelligent girl. She loves her kindergarten class and is a great student. But more than anything else she looks forward to her ballet class. Therefore, this children’s performance was anticipated with great expectation for many weeks.
 
So excited, how could Ria go to sleep?
The evening before the great day time came to go to bed. Mom talked with Ria and told her how important a good night sleep would be for her. Without that sleep she could not be at her best the next day. Ria told her mom she knew that and she would sleep extra well.
 
Relaxing music and talk therapy.
But sleep would not come! Mom quietly talked to her again to help her settle down. Then she put on some quiet sleeping music which always worked before. Still little Ria just could not fall asleep. Mom talked some more to her. She told her how the restful night would help her with her performance. They talked some more; you could call it “talk therapy”. To no avail.
 
Under stress we forget.
Now this mom had been to several SciStress workshops. She had used the techniques frequently. She was an expert. She had taught the techniques to her daughter and they had used them together many times. This evening not getting Ria to sleep had created a little bit of a stressful situation for them both. One of the most typical stress reactions is that we forget and we don’t easily see alternatives for action. Why does that happen? The reason is that in stress mode our autonomic nervous system immediately pulls our blood from our thinking brain. There is less oxygen available to think, remember, and make good decisions. This is very natural yet also very unfortunate. It is a very good reason to use our fast-working and effective stress reduction method.
 
Sound sleep for a great performance.
Becoming a little bit worried about Ria not sleeping, mom finally remembered SciStress tapping techniques. And she started gently using them on little Ria who was still quite hyped up. Ria immediately began to relax. Her body melted into bed and pillows. Her eyelids slowly dropped. Her face had a quiet smile. In less than five minutes the little girl was fast asleep. The next day, full of energy Ria did a great job performing at the children’s ballet.
 
By the way, Judy and I both use the technique whenever we have trouble sleeping. It works perfectly for adults too. Many of our clients confirm this. The stress hormone cortisol stays in the blood stream longer. Therefore, it is often the reason we can’t get to sleep or wake up frequently. Reducing the stress response in our brain quickly calms the nerves and no more need to produce cortisol.
 
Sleep better and live longer!

Warm regards,                    Fred & Judy
 
Fred George Sauer, MS, MS Eng, Chief Stress Coach, Performance & Productivity Specialist
Judith Lynch-Sauer, PhD, RN, Scientific Advisor, Clinical Professor of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing
 
PS: Don’t forget to keep up a daily routine of managing stress. That too helps you to better health. Many of you have my book, “The Girl Who Couldn’t Laugh, the Neuroscience of Stress Management”.
 
PPS: Get it out now and check Appendix 2 for quick help with stress. Reread the second part of the book for the full technique and a deeper understanding.