~ Food Has Power ~
Do you all know about our 10PM Bedtime Club? We are working to heal our stressed out adrenal glands.
Want to join us?
Our circadian rhythms provide hormones based upon our historical usage. Evolutionarily, we were active at daybreak and resting in the dark. As we disrupt that natural cycle with artificial lights and activity, our hormones are stressed to keep up.
They say that each hour of sleep BEFORE midnight is worth 2 hours of sleep AFTER midnight. If awake around 11pm, the body dumps a bunch of cortisol out due to the "stress" of being alert and awake during "rest" time. This amps one up to get that "second wind" and keep going until the adrenaline and creative brain energy are exhausted.
For people who are chronically stressed and tried, we may wake up about 1am with our mind going round and round analyzing and organizing our thoughts, the cupboards, our lives and our problems. This "stress" of being alert and awake during "rest" time, dumps adrenaline into our body and we can't wind down for several hours in the middle of the night.
Sound familiar?
There is some indication that "night owls" may have a genetic component.
Cortisol demands stress the adrenals when we work against our evolutionary biology. It becomes a vicious cycle of "too tired to sleep".
Here are a few articles about adrenal fatigue:
http://doctorkatend.com/blog/have-you-been-waking-in-the-middle-of-the-night-since-menopause/
http://www.drlam.com/articles/adrenal_fatigue_and_sleep.asp
http://blog.adrenalfatigue.org/adrenal-fatigue/sleep-adrenal-fatigue/
So, join our 10PM Bedtime Club. Restful sleep has changed my health as much as any food. (and no naps)
It is ALL interconnected. Food Has Power - the power to harm and the power to heal.
I did a bunch of research about adaptogens and adrenal support herbs and ordered this product. I used it on our 8600 mile drive around the US last April and I LOVE IT!!!~!
This is a terrific diagram of chemical "Pathways to Happiness and Sleep" (Serotonin and Melatonin). Zinc, Vitamins C, B1, B3, B6 and Magnesium, will help you sleep.
Valerian - Your "Sleepy" Friend, by Yvonne H. Laine of Holistic Herbal.
Dr. Osborne Discusses the Importance of Sleep for Good Health.
For exhausted mamas: I need Sleep...Sleep...SLEEP! (many tips and tools).
Overwhelmed? Where to Start?!
Pat
P.S. a few tools to 'get back to sleep' that I've learned over the years are to get up, bend side-to-side and forward repeatedly, or rub your abdomen down-leftside up-rightside for a minute or so. These seem to unblock digestion/stagnation.
Also, firmly rubbing the cartilage area on the upper ears for a minute or so each. There are some calming nerves (or something) there. These are my interpretation of some TCM ideas that I've heard.
I've also found that taking a spoonful of raw honey and/or a small cup of orange juice (potassium) if I'm restless helps me to get back to sleep.
I avoid Melatonin as I've always heard of people becoming more and more dependent upon it and requiring increasingly larger doses. I'm not convinced that supplementing exogenous hormones is a healthy alternative, especially long-term.
However, there is a liquid Melatonin which can be dosed in miniscule amounts. Only a few drops are needed for sleep inducing benefit. Most people find that Melatonin wears off after about four hours and they wake up. (Don't take it after about 4am as Melatonin can make you feel groggy in the morning.)
There is another herbal product with Valerian, called "Deep Sleep". Both are available from Vitacost.com inexpensively. Again, you only need drops of the herbal product and it helps to keep the deep sleep, once the Melatonin wears off, ime. But, I'd only use it for a week or two to change up the sleep cycle. Both can be taken about 30 minutes before bed and help to drift off to sleep.
I prefer Nettles infusions which are nutrient-dense and magnesium-rich sources of whole food nutrients to help balance the body's hormones. :-)
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Pat Robinson, Wellness Educator
P.S. Favorite Posts:
• The Beet Test (stomach acid?)
• Nettle Leaf herbal infusions 101.
• Overwhelmed? Where to Start?!
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Even on the weekends? lol
I shall try. Can't hurt.
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“Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food.” --Hippocrates (460-377 B.C.)
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