Secrets for a Good Night's Sleep Well
Health issues that might have been insignificant worsen when a person is run-down for lack of rest. Mental stresses can become magnified into severe anxieties or even apparent psychosis from lack of sleep and especially when combined with nutritional deficiency, toxicity or drugs.
Sleep deficiency can make an otherwise balanced, happy person irritable, less efficient and unhappy. It can also slow reaction time and contribute to accidents and injuries.
Sleep troubles are common in our modern world of poor diet, a relatively far more sedentary lifestyle, radiation and electromagnetic "noise" from TV's, cell phones, electric appliances, computers and so on. Our middle daughter has moved to a house deep in the countryside of Oregon. She related to us that at night with her lights off, there is no light whatsoever anywhere in her view other than if the moon shines. She sleeps more deeply out there, she says, than she ever has. But for us who live in the city or suburbs, this solution is not available.
For the rest of us, just about everybody, safe, natural, practical solutions are needed.
Here is information we have gathered over the years to provide help to those who want more deep, restful sleep.
1. Eat properly and with the right timing.
Most natural health advocates suggest not eating late at night or just before bedtime. The activity of digestion requires so much energy that deep, restful sleep isn't possible. A body busily digesting also has trouble going into its natural "cleansing/detoxing" mode overnight. The body cleanses its systems and organs during the night, but only if we are in deep sleep.
Eating the wrong foods for your body type can cause sleep problems. Many people do not process high-carbohydrate diets very well, for instance, and such diets can throw off the sleep cycle. Of course, don't have stimulants such as caffeinated drinks (or chocolate which has caffeine) for several hours before bedtime. The best resource we've found to zero-in on the diet just right for your individual needs is "The Metabolic Typing Diet" by William Wolcott.
2. Restore your internal ecology.
You body is not a single organism; it is a co-operative community of dozens or even hundreds of species of micro-organisms supporting each other's survival. Just one example is the acidophilus bacterium that inhabits the intestine. This tiny creature helps your body digest food, controls hostile organisms such as candida yeast and assists in keeping the intestinal walls healthy.
Together, several dozen species of intestinal bacteria combine to keep you healthy. Remove these friendly bacteria and your health will decline. Your ability to get a good night's sleep is likely to be one casualty.
An excellent supplement that may help restore your inner balance is called iFlora. It contains sixteen different species of friendly bacteria and in our experience works very well.
3. Get regular exercise.
Modern folks generally get far too little exercise, yet this is one of the keys to being able to sleep properly. Our bodies need exertion. Arrange your schedule so you do get some vigorous exercise each day. There's no need for fancy equipment or gym memberships. Running in place at home, vigorous walking, almost any exercise will do. Of course, consult your physician to make sure your body is up to such a program, before starting it and increase difficulty sensibly on a little-by-little basis.
4. Try to go to bed by 10 pm.
Our bodies were programmed by Nature to go to sleep when it gets dark (no later than 10 pm in the summer, much earlier in the winter). Staying up past 10 pm disrupts this natural cycle You may have noticed that you get tired at a certain point in the evening and if you stay up past that, you get a "second wind" and wake right up again. This taxes your body, especially your adrenals. Try to "hit the hay" when Nature tells you to!
5. Leave work, bills and other cares behind you around bedtime.
Make a policy to leave worries outside your bedroom. Relax. If you find this hard, perhaps some vitamin-B complex might be helpful and possibly some extra thiamine, which is vitamin B-1. The B-complex can help if you tend to have nightmares. Calcium and magnesium combined supplements ("Cal-Mag") are also very helpful. Use the kind that you mix with boiling water and that dissolve completely.
6. Make sure that you have had enough water to drink. You don't want to have to get up to pee during the night but we've found that dehydration really interferes with sleep.
7. Use natural herbal nutritionals to support healthy sleep.
While lots of prescription sleep drugs exist, they can be harmful or even dangerous to use, and some are very addictive. Mother Nature provides a bounty of gentler, safer herbs that may assist one in getting a good night's sleep. Herbs such as have been used for centuries by wise herbalists to help people sleep.
We found one herbal combination that is especially helpful. Here's what Evan says she experienced with it: "it works and leaves you feeling just fine the next day... not in the least groggy or woozy...just super-well rested. I took it last night and I slept all night, don't remember turning, tossing, waking up, etc...not 'til the light came in in the morning."
We now offer this combination of herbs in a formula we call Sleep Well Herbal Concentrate.
Please note that even herbal remedies are for occasional use only. If you follow the steps above, you may find that your need for herbal remedies is rare.
---
Disclaimer: The above information is presented for educational purposes only. Statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. Products mentioned are not intended or effective for the treatment or prevention of any disease. Consult your physician for all your health needs.
