BSI Guide to a Good Night’s Sleep

A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s book.  ~Irish Proverb

Now that we’ve come to appreciate more the benefits of proper sleep, I’d like to discuss some good habits that will help facilitate a restful eve’s slumber.  Remember that sleep is just as important as being awake, as the two help balance out that basic biological pattern I spoke about in my last post, the ‘circadian rhythm’.  Ever wonder why it’s almost considered normal these days if you have trouble falling asleep, but if you ever have trouble waking up, and I don’t mean just feeling groggy in the morning, but actually waking up, then you’ve got a first class ticket to the emergency room?  Double standard, I say.  Anyhow, our brains sometimes won’t shut off, and we tend to just shrug it off as not much of a big deal.  Little do we know we are contributing to some serious problems down the road.

This circadian rhythm helps manage your natural, internal sleep clock.  When this cycle works correctly, sleep comes easily and you will tend to sleep through the night.  Your body asks for sleep on time, and wakes on time, not even needing an alarm clock – ever had that happen?  When the cycle comes off its axis, then the sleep clock gets damaged and no telling when you’ll get to sleep or how long you will remain asleep or when you’ll awake for that matter!  As a result, your whole body and metabolism suffers and then a host of problems associated with your appetite, weight gain, hormones and energy levels soon follow.   These are the first signs of sleep deprivation, and others much more serious can develop over time.

Deep sleep allows your body to produce human growth hormone, also known as hGH, and this is the most potent anti-depressant and mood-elevator there is.   Furthermore, this hormone is an essential player in cellular regeneration, helping your body to repair damaged, worn out cells, and replace them with new, fresh, healthy cells.  Do you have some illness you’ve been struggling with for some time?  Well then get too sleep.  Are you tired, achy from a hard day’s work and subsequent exercise session?  Get some sleep.  Are you feeling run down with a cold or the flu?  Sleep it off.  On the converse, are you feeling energetic and vibrant?  Maintain that state by relying on good sleep.  Sometimes it’s easier said than done.

So, here’s my top 10 (plus 1!) things to do to get some shut-eye:

1. The attitude of gratitude.  This I learned from a friend a few years back and since then, I’ve seen this method employed by many people with great effect.  In the spirit of journaling, write down everything you can think of that you are grateful for, that very day.  No need to go over 1 full page, but just write and think about people, places, events that you are grateful for.   Start your sentences with “I am thankful/grateful for…..”.    This helps keep one’s world in perspective, as it is quite easy to allow the mind to get wrapped up in the trials and tribulations of the day.  As you write, the heart will soften and you will tend to entertain feelings of greater confidence in that things will work out just fine.  The mind can have ‘a mind of its own’ and it can easily get whipped up into a frenzy of anxiety and worry — the attitude of gratitude can swiftly soften these tensions.  This step may be the most important one for you – please do not overlook.
2. The golden rule.  Look at your day and think about one nice thing that you did for someone that nobody asked you to do.  Write it down.  Then think about one nice thing that someone did for you.  Write it down.  Then write down anything you may have learned in the process, any valuable life lesson that taught you how to be a better person, a greater person.  This takes honesty and humility and can be challenging, but life surely ends up rewarding those who display these very same qualities in due time.
3. De-clutter and darken your bedroom.  Make your bedroom a sanctuary.  Make it a dark sanctuary for the purposes of relaxation and regeneration.  This means, get black-out curtains if you need them and shut off all sources of light.  Better yet, move out any electrical appliances such as TVs and radios, entertainment systems – multiple studies have shown the hazardous effects that even small amounts of light have on our body’s internal clocks by upsetting the release of various nighttime hormones such as melatonin.  Yes, even the small lights from an alarm clock – it’s true!  Turn it around or stand it on its face.  Have a sleep mask at hand if your loved one insists on staying up to read.  If you need to get up in the middle of the night to use the restroom, do not turn on the light.  Some folks will need to even remove all electrical appliances that are plugged in to the wall of their bedrooms because of the radiating electromagnetic fields that these cause, and how they potentially upset brain waves (more on this topic in the future).
4. Avoid carbohydrates and sugars before bed.  This is especially true of processed, refined starches such as breads, crackers, cereal and the likes – not to mention candy or even fruit for some.  The reason is that these can provoke a low-blood sugar response hours after you eat them (reactive hypoglycemia), stressing your adrenal glands and this will cause you to wake between 1 – 3 am.  Ever had that happen?  A snack of just a small handful of nuts can be helpful if you need, as these contain magnesium and tryptophan which can relax the nervous system.
5. Eat a light dinner.  This is for those of you who lie down and feel heavy, uncomfortable, and perhaps suffer from digestive reflux.  No chance for a good night’s sleep when this happens.  Eat light, and have at least 3 hours between the end of dinner and bedtime.
6. Drink in moderation for best sleep.  This one has to be mentioned because it applies to many people.  One glass of a nice fine wine can do wonders to help many people de-stress, but more than one can end up interfering with a good night’s sleep.  It has to do with the liver’s detoxification mechanism which gets up regulated during the night, and more so if it has to process more alcohol.  Alcohol is a toxin and toxins are dose-dependant.
7. Drop the temperature.  Now this is very interesting.  Research has shown that optimal sleep temperatures are somewhere around 65 degrees Fahrenheit.   I can remember in more than one client of mine, that nothing helped them improve their sleep, absolutely nothing short of sedation, until they dropped the temperature in the room to at least 70 degrees.  Try it.  Best to pile the covers on, as there is nothing worse than being uncomfortable at night just because your body temperature is up.
8. Do some simple stretching.  This provides amazing benefits to the nervous system.  The best stretches for relaxation are those that you hold for 15 seconds and breathe deeply.  Target the lower back, hamstrings and neck for best effect.  Try a light yoga workout if you are more adventurous.   If you can’t do any of this, then lie on the floor, and prop your legs on a chair or on your bed if it’s not too high.  Lie there for 5-10 minutes while you focus on breathing deeply – this helps to activate your parasympathetic nervous system which is the first step towards your body relaxing.
9. Use aromatherapy with or without a bath, along with a cup of ‘sleepytime tea’.  Essential oils like lavender, and certain herbs like chamomile and valerian, have long been staples in homes across the world for their restorative properties.  They help bring about a sense of ease and calm, very gently and naturally, and can even be used with children.
10. Instead of the nightly news, watch a comedy.  Laughter is golden, one of nature’s best cures.
11. Take your supplements.  This is the last one here, and I won’t go into details about which supplements to use because there are many, and in my practice, as many of you are already aware, I test people for what nutritional supplements they are best suited for individually.  What works for you may not work for your friends and family members as we all share both similars and differences.   Most people will do fine with the first ten steps, and if you really have further problems, then consider getting tested with our (click here) bioenergetic assessment. 

Folks, remember this old saying –

Early to bed, Early to rise (and proper exercise!), Makes a (wo)man healthy, wealthy and wise.

or…….sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite!  (did I have to go there….?)

Have a great night’s sleep!

The Four Pillars of Supplementation

The Four Pillars of Supplementation

I receive many requests from my clients asking me to give them my opinion on the latest nutritional supplement to hit the market.  No doubt you have seen the many infomercials and slick marketing ads that promise you being pain-free if you were to take their product, or lose weight if you were to drink their special juice.  The end results sound very attractive indeed, and the many health needs we all share provide a fertile market for supplement manufacturers to create their latest product.  Who doesn’t want more energy?  Who doesn’t want to be pain-free and slimmer?  Who doesn’t want to look and feel younger?  Too good to be true?

Though many supplement advertisements border on the verge of the supernatural, there are supplements that have been repeatedly shown to be quite effective.  I did a radio show recently that talked about the importance of taking key supplements and the many benefits such as the reduced healthcare costs that come from preventing bone fractures and deteriorating eye health for example – here’s the link for those of you interested in listening to the recording: Why Take Nutritional Supplements?; A Word 0n Friendship

So, as I said in the recording, we have an environment around us where it is difficult to get all the nutrients that we need in a sufficient quantity to promote optimal health and well-being.  There’s a difference between the amount of vitamin C needed to prevent scurvy, and the amount needed to promote optimal health for the various cells and tissues of your body!  Our natural foods today have fewer nutrients than before due to industrial farming methods which denature the soil food is grown in over time. We also have more and more convenience foods that are readily available to us, and the quality and quantity of nutrients in them tend to be much less compared to natural foods.

So, say you have given it some thought and feel it’s worth a shot to see if you can gain some benefit from taking supplements.  Where do you start? 

To get the most out of your investment, I would suggest to build a stable nutrient foundation first and foremost.  Without this solid platform, many supplements fail to perform because your body is actually missing something of far greater importance that needs to be taken care of first.  There is a hierarchy of nutrition in the body, and that simply comes from how your body is built.  Just like a finely tuned engine that requires the right combination of oxygen and gasoline for combustion, so does your body require these basics which I call the Four Pillars of Supplementation.

Understanding the Four Pillars of Supplementation

1. A good, high-quality multivitamin.  This will cover your basic needs of all major vitamins and minerals.   Of particular interest here are b-vitamins, which I find most people sorely lacking.  They are important for the production of energy in the body, as well as to help support healthy stress levels and good sleep.  Be sure to find a multi-vitamin that has plenty of b-vitamins, or you may wish to take a separate ‘b complex’ or just add more B-12 for more support.  Talk to your practitioner.
2. Omega-3 fatty acids.  These healthy fats are found in cold water fish in the wild, and they are hard to come by elsewhere.  They help counteract all the negative effects of today’s processed vegetable oils which are commonly found in a wide variety of foods, and used in all major restaurants.  These processed vegetable oils promote inflammation in the body, hurting your arteries and all vital organs and so these fish oils have the opposite, anti-inflammatory effect and protect you from heart disease and other chronic illnesses.
3. Probiotics.  These are currently being considered more and more essential to health than we ever realized before.  Probiotics are the beneficial bacteria and yeasts that live in your digestive tract which work with your body to support your immune system and digestion, and since at least 70% of your whole immune system resides in your gut, they are considered essential as research has proven their effectiveness in fighting allergies, improving cold/flu symptoms, strengthening digestion, creating peace in the middle east……..ok – well, maybe not the last one!
4. Antioxidants.  With all the stress your body suffers as a result of today’s environmental pollution, one way to combat that is by consuming antioxidants.  These beneficial compounds are naturally found in certain foods like grapes, green tea and turmeric to name a few, and research also has shown them to be quite effective in dealing with a whole host of inflammatory conditions.  In fact, leading cancer research centers are currently looking into the tumor destroying properties of turmeric and other well known foods like blueberries.  Certain vitamins also act like antioxidants, like vitamins C and E, so depending on your budget and your need, you may just want to choose a multivitamin that has a generous amount of each.  Many multis today carry additional plant antioxidants in them as well.

So, there you have it – my list of the top 4 categories of supplementation – the 4 Pillars.  This is where you really want to start looking as it provides a healthy foundation and covers the most commonly deficient areas in people as well as the most basic needs of the human body.  On my next post, we’ll talk about each different category and some choices you have.

What supplements are you currently taking?  We’d love to hear about it and why.  Thanks!