Happy November to all of our listeners! We want to begin by apologizing for the delay in releasing this newsletter as well as making you wait longer than usual for new releases.

When we sold our condo and moved to our new home in the country in September, we thought it would result in a couple of weeks of disruption to our normal schedule However, this proved to be a fantasy.  The truth was, there was so much to be done around this house before snow & cold temperatures set in.  There were things that had to be updated, fixed or dealt with before the weather turned and judging by how November has been so far in Ontario, it’s a good thing we got stuff done.

Lately it’s been snowy and cold here, but we are nice and warm with our new propane furnace (we changed from oil) and our very large wood burning stove in the basement.

Finally things are mostly settled and we’re back to doing what we love, creating new sleep meditations for our subscribers!
Thank you all for your support, your patience and your understanding during this longer than expected transition!

What we are working on

Tis The Season - A Christmas sleep meditation featuring Christmas music and an original poem to warm your heart while helping you relax.

Motivation to Exercise -  This long play intensive sleep meditation will help you discover the benefits of exercising versus the potential pitfalls of not exercising. We hope it will help you look at exercise time as a more positive experience and give you the encouragement you need to make it a priority in your life. This meditation will be released early for gold subscribers.

Back To Sleep - Cozy Ramble  - Suggestions to help you relax more and more deeply so you can get the deepest sleep possible before you need to wake up in the morning.

More Fables - We’re searching our archives for the perfect fable to help you fall asleep and will be releasing the next episode in this series very soon.

Bereavement Session

We are doing research and in consultation with one of our associates who is training to help people with bereavement issues. We will be using what we learn to create a unique session to help people dealing with these feelings in the near future.

New way to listen…

We’ve added a couple of new ways to subscribe and listen to Tracks To Relax Sleep Meditations!

TracksToRelax.net

Hosted by Libsyn, this podcast platform makes listening to our sleep meditations straight forward and easy.  Just become a subscriber and you’ll be able to stream all of the premium episodes easily in your browser.

We also have plans to create a Tracks To Relax APP using the Libsyn Platform!  When the app becomes available, our subscribers on this platform will be able to download it from the App Store or Google Play and listen or download episodes using the exclusive Tracks To Relax APP.

Subscriptions are available for $9.99 per month or $24.95 for 3 months.  Visit www.TracksToRelax.net  for more details.

You can also CHECK OUT ALL THE WAYS TO SUBSCRIBE HERE!

What our listeners say

Ellen’s Story

“I have dealt with anxiety and depression for most of my life. When it's really bad, especially the anxiety, I have a very difficult time getting to sleep. I have found that guided meditations really help in this process. I used to make my own. However, since finding Tracks to Relax, I am not concerned about finding time to do that. The quality and variety of the sleep meditations are wonderful. There are so many to choose from that I have the ability to pick what resonates just for that evening. Whether it is the Positive Affirmations 3 meditation or the Campfire meditation, I can find something that feels appropriate. I really like that are meditations of various lengths too. I tend to head for the long ones because, until recently, I would wake a number of times before truly settling into the night's sleep. I'm having success with improving my sleep though, so I'm getting ready to try some of the shorter meditations. Looking forward to that.”

Thank you for everything! - Ellen (Gold Patron)


Brooke’s Story

“I have PTSD and anxiety, along with those I have had years of insomnia. I listen every night! I don’t go anywhere without my headphones! TTR on Patreon has gotten me through rough flights, hospital stays, and sickness. I honestly don’t know how I survived without my meditations before.”  - Brooke (Gold Patron)

Until our next newsletter, we wish you peace, love, relaxation and an amazing sleep.

Warm Regards

Alan & Nikki
www.TracksToRelax.com

Wouldn't it be great if we didn't have any problems or stress? Imagine climbing into bed every night, closing your eyes and instantly drifting off into a deep sleep. Then, in the morning, you awaken to enjoy another perfect problem and worry free day.  Unfortunately, that's just a dream. 

The reality is that we do have worries, stress, anxiety and problems.  During the day, we're so busy that we don't have time to focus on everything that's wrong or stresses us out, but for many of us, bedtime has become a time when all that worry, stress and anxiety fills our heads. Since we having nothing else to do but try and fall asleep, most people think about it a lot. Soon your mind is racing, your muscles are getting more tense instead of more relaxed and for some perplexing reason, you just can't get to sleep.

You need something to distract your mind and channel your thoughts in positive ways that are conductive to helping you fall asleep and that's what our Guided Sleep Meditations are all about.

Our thoughts and imagination are more powerful than you know and can affect our physical bodies in either negative or positive ways.  When we focus our thoughts on our problems and worries, we get tense and agitated. But, if we re-direct our thoughts through guided meditation to relaxing and positive experiences, then our physical bodies will respond to those thoughts in ways that help us relax and fall asleep much more easily.

When you listen to our guided sleep meditations at bedtime, your thoughts will be directed to positive experiences, thoughts and feelings that will allow you to take a break from stress and worry and relax more deeply than you may have thought possible. You may not know exactly when you fall asleep while you're listening to Tracks To Relax, but you'll awaken in the morning refreshed and alert with a more positive mindset and ready to handle whatever challenges come your way more easily.

Here's what some of our Real Patreon Patrons have to say this month about how Tracks To Relax has helped them sleep better. Learn more about becoming a Patron and get instant access to up to 115 guided sleep meditations by visiting TracksToRelax.com

​From our Patrons:

"I first heard of Tracks to Relax while searching for sleep podcasts on the Apple Podcast app. I just fell in love with the voice and the soothing stories that I had to become a Patron. Tracks to Relax has helped me so much through my pregnancy, and the first couple months of my new son's life. Instead of fretting over every little thing, I can turn my mind into peaceful mush and drift off quickly and easily. Thank you!" - Kaeli D.

Become a Tracks To Relax Patron and start sleeping better tonight! Click here for more info.

iPads. iPhones. Androids. Laptops. 60 inch TVs. Work. Commutes. Layoffs. House moves. Screaming kids. Husbands. Wives. Divorces. Families. Even just writing this list is stressing me out! Stress is all around us, 24/7 – heck, if your reading this then you must be on some kind of device right now (don’t click off though…not yet!).

The American Medical Association has ‘noted’ that stress is the basic cause of all human illness and disease. That’s insane. That puts it up there with alcohol, prescription drugs, illegal drugs, cigarettes and crappy food. We need to chill the F out.

But its tricky. It can be all but impossible to get away from this stress. It never really goes away. We can just try to ignore it and deal with it as best we can. Try and calm down once in a while. Try to get some really good, deep, restful sleep.

That’s what I needed. A proper nights sleep. Relaxation. It was like I had forgotten HOW to relax.

I honestly can’t remember what triggered me to try looking up this stuff. I must have had a bad day. I can’t even remember what I typed into search on Spotify. But somehow, the Tracks To Relax Guided Meditation Podcast found me.

Obviously, I was dubious and skeptical the moment I heard the word ‘Meditation’. I’m not a hippy. I can’t cross my legs. I have no desire to explore my subconscious. I don’t give a shit if I breathe out of my nose or my mouth.

But I gave it a shot. What the heck.

It was pretty cool. A guys voice began telling me to relax. There was quiet, peaceful background music. Very tranquil.

I rolled with it and played along. And as I did, I began to feel myself relaxing into the bed. He continued describing a journey down an escalator, describing the lighting, describing a walk down a corridor, down another escalator – all the while reminding me that I was feeling more and more relaxed.
​
And – incredibly – I was...

Read the full article on  The Gem Detective by clicking here

Imagine spending the night in a wonderful treehouse that's located in a tropical rainforest.  The sounds of nature is all around you, a nearby waterfall and soothing background music complete the relaxing scene.  Tonight you are one with nature and all your stress and worries fade away as you become part of the environment around you.  Deep relaxation and restful sleep await you with this new long play sleep meditation episode. Coming soon for our Gold and Silver Patrons.

When we started creating the Tracks To Relax Guided Sleep Meditation Podcast we never expected our episodes would be listened to over 10 million times! We have to thank our over 400 Patrons for making this possible because without you, we'd probably be doing things a lot differently or not at all. 

Patreon has provided us with the platform that allows us to generate the financial support we need to continue to create.  Before we started our Patreon page, revenue was unpredictable and barely covering our costs. Now, with Patrons like you, we are growing and we're able to continue to create new guided meditations for you to enjoy!
Later this month we'll be visiting the Isle Of Wight in England and creating an Ocean Side Sleep Meditation while we're there as well.  Other sessions that are coming soon include  "Island Of Solitude" where you are alone on a Tropical Island with everything you need! The "Dark Castle" were you visit that castle on the top of the hill (as mentioned in A Walk In The Forest) and discover what's inside, and also one that we're calling "The Screening Room" where you sit in a movie theatre and change whatever bad habit or behaviour you would like to change for yourself.

We have big plans for the Tracks To Relax Brand and look forward to continuing to bring you new guided sleep meditations each month on Patreon.

Thank you!, Thank you, Thank you for your support!

Alan & Nikki   
Patreon.com/trackstorelax

Hummingbirds use torpor sleep to survive on the coldest winter nights, a type of deep sleep where the animal lowers its metabolic rate by up to 95%. By slowing it's body and body temperature down to a hypothermic threshold barely sustaining its life, the hummingbird uses 50% less energy. Luckily, we don't have to completely slow down our heart rate and cool our body temperature in order to conserve energy-- what we really need is proper stages of sleep.

There are 4 stages of sleep, including REM sleep;
Stage 1 - Light sleep, you can be woken up very easily
Stage 2 - Eye movement and brain waves slow
Stage 3 - Brain waves are slow, synchronized and oscillating
Stage 4 - Deep sleep which includes no eye movement or muscle activity

Now, all animals sleep even though scientists are still uncertain of the exact purpose of sleep. A study on mice in non-REM sleep showed that sleep allowed space in the tissue of the brain so that cerebral fluid could flow and clear away toxins, which may explain why we feel "reset" in the morning.

Most people end up interested in sleep science and sleep theory because of insomnia. It's absolutely astounding how many people struggle every night with falling asleep. Possibly the most interesting aspect of getting a good night's rest is the science behind mood congruence. When we sleep, we are consolidating information and strengthening our memories. Your level of personal positive attitude can be dependent on how much sleep you're getting. We develop a chemically induced memory of negative emotions, outlooks and self image that continually self-perpetuates as we continue to sleep poorly. Negativity is amplified when we're sleep deprived can can add to a model of depression in adults.

Why do sleep meditations work so well to train new sleep habits?

We associate memories with sounds and subconsciously construct our ideas about the world during our sleep cycles. This is why our meditations allow you to drift further away from consciousness and past the light sleep stages so that your subconscious can absorb positive life affirmations. Because of the stage where these ideas about positivity, gratitude, confidence, etc. are suggested, the brain has an easier way of creating connections and enhancing the information so that it can be useful in your waking life. The style of meditation trains your brains synopses to not be interrupted as the noise decreases and allows you to relax fully so that you can sleep soundly, and your mind can be reinvigorated by a good night of sleep.

The science of sleep is incredibly interesting and this really only skims the very surface of why guided meditations can help you sleep better. To experience this easy method of training your brain and body, you can visit our Patreon Page to learn more. New this week is the podcast about Reflections of Change, as well.

I was surprised recently by some of the facts presented by the National Sleep Foundation regarding how a lack of sleep affects people's performance and behaviours. Here's the top 3 items that caught my eye...

Divorced, separated and widowed people experience more insomnia.

This isn't much of surprise since people in any one of these situations probably have a lot of responsibilities on their mind at any given time. It's important to be able to calm the mind at bedtime and stop all those thoughts about what needs to be done, how things will get done and how the heck we're going to do them!  A calm mind leads to a calm body and helps you fall asleep more quickly.  You'll also be more rested, focused and energized to get all those things done the next day too because you got a good night's sleep!

The body never adjusts to shift work.

This makes sense because our bodies have a natural rhythm. I imagine that if someone was put on a tropical island without clocks or a smart phone how quickly they would begin to go to sleep and awaken in sync with the rising and setting of the sun.  Of course if you've got to work shifts, it would be beneficial to have something that you could listen to to calm you mind and body so you don't have to try so hard to get to sleep when you need to. After all, as with many things, the harder you try... the less likely you are to fall asleep... kinda like pushing a string...

More than eight in ten survey respondents think that people often or sometimes misuse prescription sleep aids.

Lots of people are popping pills to get to sleep which may be completely unnecessary. The more you listen to guided sleep meditations the faster they work, it's like conditioning your mind and body to calm down when it's time to go to sleep. Best of all, sleep meditations are non addictive, allow you to wake up alert and refreshed and are way less expensive that pills.

If you've had problems sleeping, give guided sleep meditations a try! It's as simple as slipping on your headphones, visiting www.patreon.com/trackstorelax  and pressing play.  Pleasant dreams!
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If you'd like to read more sleep facts from the National Sleep Foundation, just click here.