"I slept like a baby." "At night I can't fall asleep, in the morning I can't wake up." "I slept like a log." Sleep is so valuable to our health, yet not many of us, myself included, really give our bodies the kind of rest they need. We could be doing great on exercise, a healthy diet and making sure we get all the vitamins and minerals our bodies need, but if we don't allow our bodies to get enough sleep, all of that other stuff will go down the drain. When we sleep our bodies heal themselves, which is something it isn't able to do as well when we are awake. I will be offering a few ideas on how to create better sleeping habits, which hopefully, will help improve your health. I have been implementing some of these as well.
One of the first problems that everyone has when it comes to actually going to sleep is thinking, "I still have way to much to do, how can I possibly go to sleep now!" Guess what?!?! It will still be there in the morning! Whatever your project is, if you allow yourself to get a good night's sleep, you will have more than enough energy to finish it and do it way better the first time. Take a deep breath, relax, and go to sleep. Not only that, but our best sleep time is between the hours of 10:00 pm and 2:00 am. A couple other habits to create would be going to bed at the same time every night and getting up at the same time every morning, even on the weekend. This kind of consistency is extremely beneficial. So much of our health depends on how much sleep we get each night and the quality of that sleep. Here is an article that explains in more detail the habits that will help us to work up to a great night's sleep.
A lot of our sleep problems are related to when we exercise, what we eat just before bed, and the amount of stress in our lives. Try not to exercise just before going to bed. Exercise releases certain hormones that are great when they are released earlier in the day, but not so great when released just before bed. Sleep is hormone based as well. When your body has competing hormones it gets confused and you don't sleep. Coffee, soda, sports drinks and energy drinks are detrimental to sleep when we drink them just before going to bed. Our bodies need 7-8 hours of real sleep every night. When our bodies get less sleep than they need, they start producing stress hormones. So not only is it bad to go to sleep stressed, but if you don't get enough sleep, you will wake up feeling even more stressed. Getting 7-8 hours of sleep, going to bed on time and waking up at the same time each morning aren't the only things that will help your sleep. Leaving a light on in your room, or where it can shine into your room, will affect your sleep in a negative way. Try to have your room completely free from any kind of light, whether it's from inside the house somewhere or from a source outside. If the light is from outside the house and is shining through a window, hang thick drapes or a thick blanket over the window to block it out. If you have a night light, or a hall light on at night, turn it off or make sure it doesn't shine through your bedroom door. Light stimulates your brain in way that your brain shouldn't be stimulated when you are sleeping. You also don't need to keep your room very warm. Our bodies core temperature cools down when we go to sleep and having our rooms warm make it harder for our bodies to get to work healing itself. If you get cold at night, you can always put some extra blankets on for more warmth. Here are some other ways to get a great night sleep.
If you want to avoid using pharmaceutical drug sleep aids, here are some natural options. There are herb tinctures that you can drink for a good night of sleep. You can even drink tea before going to bed, but make sure it is an herbal tea and that it doesn't have caffeine in it. I have this wonderful book called Organic Body Care by Stephanie Tourles. Her book has all sorts of good recipes for shampoo, body lotion, and even a few for aiding sleep. She also shows how to make sleep herbal pillows that you keep inside your pillow case, as well as a few recipes for sleep balms. If you still have some trouble getting to sleep, even after drinking herbal tea, making your room completely dark and doing the other suggestions, here are some essential oils that help. Lavender Essential Oil, RutaVeLa Essential Oil Blend, Peace & Calming Essential Oil Blend, Stress Away Essential Oil Blend, Deep Relief Essential Oil Blend and a few others. I have a couple different ways I like to use essential oils for sleep. The first combination is 1 drop of Peace & Calming on my forehead, 4 drops of Lavender on my spine and then I put Stress Away on the nape of my neck and on my wrists. The second combination is Stress Away on my wrists and neck and Deep Relief on my temples. To get these oils you can go to the Young Living website and not only see these wonderful oils that I just talked about, but many other great products. If you decide to order something while you are on the website enter my member number (which is # 1564241) in the sponsor # and enroller # slots.
I know I mentioned this in my last post, but I am still helping get signatures for the petition to end taxpayer funded abortions in Oregon. Every year $16 million of Oregon state taxes get spent every year on abortions. So far, we have reached just under 1/4 of our goal at 33,798 signatures state wide, and in Jackson county we have reached exactly 1/4 of our goal with 2,621 signatures. This all sounds good, until you look at the deadline. The deadline is Mother's Day, May 11th, and we need a minimum amount of 116,284 signatures state wide. If we reach this goal, it will allow us to vote on the bill in November. We can do this you guys! If everyone would print out just one petition sheet and ask 10 people to sign it and then mailed it in as soon as it was filled, we would reach our goal. It's not that difficult. Start with family members, friends, and then if you are feeling more adventurous, ask your church's leadership if they will allow you to set up a table for one or two Sundays. You can get petition sheets and more information at http://oregon2014.org.
Well, I hope this was a beneficial topic and we are all able to start creating better sleep habits. If you have any suggestions on some sleep habits or aids please share them! What's your favorite routine before bed?
Have wonderful week!
Soli Deo Gloria!
Sources
Organic Body Care by Stephanie Tourles http://www.stephanietourles.com
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