Better Sleep-7 Tips for a Good Night's Rest

Do you ever get frustrated and anxious when you don't  have good sleep?  Have you ever heard yourself say “ I can’t sleep, I never sleep, or  I’m a real insomniac”? Of course feeling so tired can be awful. Yet I believe the more we claim a state of distress for ourselves the more real we make it. You can change your state of mind and body to make sleep easy and comfortable. Leave insomnia behind by preparing to enjoy  good sleep. These tips will help you design a succesful restful sleep routine. 

The Time to Ensure a Good Night’s Sleep Is Not in the Middle of the Night:

1.  Aerobic or vigorous exercise is great but not right before bed. Do this at another time of day. Extreme exertion can be exhausting if you find it difficult to sleep easily all through the night.  Instead light stretching with yoga or tai chi is good to help you unwind

2. Do what it takes to have a comfortable bed with sheets, blanket and pillows that are right for you- so you can relax. The ideal temperature for sleep is about 65F.

3. A few hours before bedtime begin to unwind. Dim the lights and unplug. Turn off all your electronic toys and stop working. Your brain needs to relax for good sleep to happen easily.

4. Bathe at a moderate temperature- not so hot that your energy is sapped and use a hair dryer so that you are not going to bed with a wet head. Know what you like to sleep in whether it is comfy pajamas or your birthday suit and have them clean and ready.

Create an evening ritual:

5. Choose some activities that you only do when you are going to sleep. Listen to your favorite music, read a poem, brush your hair.  Select a soothing routine that prepares the way for soothing sleep. Practice this routine every night.

6. Essential oils can help you relax and encourage restful sleep-lavendar, chamomile, cedar, rosewood, spruce and sandalwood are some good choices. Lightly rub a few drops on the soles of your feet or put 2 drops on your pillow or in your bathwater.

Relax with  Finger Holding and Toe Curling

You are clean, cozy, comfortable and relaxed in your own bed…..

7.  This Acupressure hold relieves tension and clears your energy channels. Curl your hand around the first two fingers of your other hand (pointer and middle) hold gently for 2-5 minutes.  This can be done on one or both hands and is deeply relaxing.  Or you can curl your toes as if you were squenching them against the soles of your feet and then let your toes relax normally. Repeat a few times. This is a well known muscle relaxing technique which is quite helpful.

If sleeplessness is a serious problem get checked out by a health professional. In some cases there is an actual sleep disorder which may require deeper investigation. 

Natural formulas restful sleep include Homeopathic remedies, herbs like valerian, hops, chamomile along with melatonin, L-5-hydroxytryptophan, and L-theanine. Try a few of these suggestions for 30 days and see if you don’t find yourself nodding off easily and staying asleep longer.

I’d love to hear about your experiences.  You can leave them in the comments box below or email me direct at the address listed above.

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                                    Help Yourself with Homeopathy
                                    

 

 

Here's What's Happening on This Blog.

Here’s What’s Happening on This Blog

Thank you to my readers for your questions and comments and support. In the case you are just recently beginning to subscribe to this blog, Here is some of what has been going on, in the form of recent popular posts.  I hope you will enjoy:

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  Your Thyroid Gland And You

  Think of your thyroid as the symphony conductor of your body’s energy levels. Imagine hearing your favorite music playing too fast, too...

   
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  Guest Post by Douglas Walker: Painting is a technology of consciousness

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  Lifestyle Changes for Better Sleep

  The sun rises, the sun sets, the moon shines longer as the month progresses. These natural rhythms of light and dark regulate our body’s cl...

   
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  The physical effects of obesity on happiness

  Did you ever hear  “eat all the food on your plate-somewhere in the world  children are starving”?  A  grave concern  for far too long was...

   
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  How To Find Love And Happiness In Four Steps

  “The most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved.”  Mother Theresa  If only... Did you ever have the sens...

   
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  Three Essential Ingredients for Joy

  The natural state of being for our heart and soul is Joy. When we experience Joy our truest nature is revealed to us -our creativity and c...

   
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  3 Ways to Make Yourself Feel Instantly Better

  Ever have a time when you feel tired, run down, unenthusiastic or notice that your mood or energy is low?  Here are three simple low cost ...

 

                       Super Foods-Fantastic Foods to Heal Naturally

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  Deep Relaxation and Hawaiian Massage

   

  You are standing on a beach…..behind you birds in the coconut palms are singing. The warm water of the wide blue ocean laps at your toes ...

  If you like what you see on this blog, I'd appreciate your comments.
  You can use the comments box on this page or email me @
  drsiotabelle@gmail.com.

 

How Spirituality and Nutrition Can Beat Obesity

Have you tried to lose weight only to regain it later?

Over 90% of those who lose their weight gain it back.4 How can we get our the heart, mind. body and soul in agreement with our plans to lose weight permanently?

Permanent Weight Loss Through Spiritual Integration of Body, Mind and Soul

*Use daily meditation, chanting and regular quiet time to get in touch with what is going on inside. You will begin to know how you truly feel. Learn what your body wants and then chose what your body needs.

* Become aware of your breath-are you breathing shallowly or maybe not that often? You may have more inner tension than you realize-practice breathing deeply, calmly and regularly.

*Look at your feelings -both the negative and positive ones. Are you actually hungry or are you using food to calm yourself down or “stuff” your feelings.

*Practice gratitude by observing things to be thankful for each day.

*Use a daily journal to keep track of what you are eating and chart your progress along with any important observations.

*Spend a few minutes twice a day loving yourself no matter what size you are, or regardless of how successful you are with your weight loss plans. An affirmation can help with this “I love myself no matter what” is one example or you can design one for yourself.
Did you know Asia has 60 % of the world’s population yet makes up only 13 per cent of the world’s weight?  While the  US, Canada & Mexico make up a small % of the world’s population yet account for 33% of the world’s weight.Today many countries in Oceania, the Middle East and Europe are close to the same obesity  levels found in North America. Obesity rates for both adults & children have doubled since 1980.1 

As people exchange traditional foods and native diet for the Western diet obesity increases and numerous health challenges develop. Obesity causes diabetes, heart disease, joint problems, gall bladder and liver problems and is now linked  with higher risk for various cancers. 2 



The World Health Organization has a plan to change how wide the world is becoming: 

           *reduce how much fat and sugar we eat regularly

           *increase fruits & veggies, make legumes, nuts and whole grains
             part of our diet  

           *exercise regularly about 30 minutes a day for adults and 60 minutes
             a day for children 3

These are great suggestions yet-people already know that too many calories  from fat & sugar and not enough exercise puts on weight.

Changing how you think about:

   *food

   *your body                                                                                                    

   *loosing the weight                                                                      

   *keeping the it off

 

--requires more than diet and exercise for most people.


Take Two Key Nutrition steps: reduce or eliminate sugar and wheat (& the gluten containing foods like rye, oats, corn and barley.)

Sugar and gluten have a dramatic effect on our brains and are highly addictive. Eating even a little-makes us want more and more. If you feel that it is not possible to completely eliminate them….. eating them once a week instead of several times a day will reduce your cravings for more, improve your energy and for most people result in natural weight loss.

When to expect results   

It takes about 30 days of doing something regularly to make it a permanent habit. Give these suggestions a month or so to become part of your new healthy lifestyle. 

If we don’t change our way of being with ourselves and our bodies- emotional stress and life’s challenges may always keep the food cravings active-urging us to regain our weight. Once you are in harmony with new spiritual awareness and good nutrition- your chances of success improves dramatically.

 I’d love to hear your results. You can write your comments in the box below or send them to my email listed above.

References:

1. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/

2. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/obesity

3. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/

4.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3174765/Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2011 September; 301(3): R581–R600.


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Acceptance As A Spiritual Practice: Guest Blog by Rev. Alice Reid

Oh how we love to think we are in control of our destinies; and in the grand scheme of things we are. But not because we have control over other people, places, and circumstances. No, we can only control how we see and relate to the world around us. I, like most people, tend to confuse the two and when that happens I begin to take on too much responsibility and I feel stressed out, usually all in the name of love and service.

Here's how it works for me.
Something big happens in your life and you begin to get all wrapped up in what you need to do to remedy or deal with the situation. The more involved I get the more "powerful" I think I am and the more I forget that you are powerful too. Before long I'm trying to solve your problem and I find myself not taking care of my own life. It's very subtle and often I don't see it happening until I'm knee deep in trying to control your outcomes.

Sigh... This is where acceptance comes in.
The reason I'm all wrapped up in your situation is because some part of me finds it unacceptable. I'm judging you and I'm judging your situation. My purview is limited because I'm reacting to my judgements and in fact I'm probably seeing the situation through my own self judgement and laying it on your situation.

What if my first reaction is to accept the person, place or situation as being exactly perfect. Rather than judging it, I can remember that there is a Divine Order to life even in the midst of tradgedy. What I know from my own life experiences is the things that were the hardest were also the things that helped me grow stronger and shaped me in to the person I am today. How do I know that the lost job, bad relationship or health challenge isn't exactly the right friction required to bring about the next right thing in your life.

Let's be clear-
I'm not talking about apathy - apathy is when we suppress our emotions and are indifferent. True acceptance on the other hand is allowing ourselves to love exactly what is happening in the moment it is happening. It's trusting that there is a higher order to life. When we enter into acceptance we make ourselves more available to a myriad of possibility.

Acceptance keeps me right sized and paying attention to how I see the world and the people in my life. Once I can accept something I can release judgement and approach the situation with real Love. This is how I master my own destiny, by deciding to see the world through the eyes of Love, to see the higher truth and the perfection in the most imperfect situation. And therein lies what I'm responsible for - just me, my thoughts, my perception and my choices.

I'm always at choice and I choose Love and Acceptance.

This is Rev Alice Reid. I'd like to thank her for sharing her thoughts on Acceptance As a Spiritual Practice. She is the Spiritual Director at the Center for Spiritual Living Central Maryland and she can be reached at:

www.facebook.com/CSLCentralMD.com

www.TheSacredHarvest.blogspot.com


Thank you for writing to me about your healing journey. Do you have a comment or story to share? You can email me at the address listed at the top of the page or leave it in the comments box below.

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