So many of us these days have an issue with sleep. Why is that?
I myself had dealt with insomnia for 7-10 years. I would be up for 1-2 hours in the middle of the night, every night. I got a lot of reading done…but that was about the only good thing. 😉 In the last year, I have healed myself from my chronic insomnia. I figured out that for me to have a good night’s sleep, it took a variety of things working together to fully balance my body.
I feel that it’s not just one thing… 1 magic bullet that will knock us out for the night. I know we all like the idea of the easy fix, but more often than not, that’s not the case. We are complex beings and I feel that we need to treat the multiple areas that affect us, wholistically, to finally get relief. I feel there are many reasons contributing to the insomnia epidemic, some of the main ones are; nutrition, stress, and exercise.
Below are some quick highlights of each of these areas. I will go deeper into each of them in the future, but I wanted to at least give you a quick overview; to get you thinking on the areas that could contribute to your issues and some quick solutions that you can start on right away to start giving you some relief.
NUTRITION
As a nation, we have moved into convenience, especially in our food. Most of those convenient, prepackaged and fast food items are full of chemicals and other ingredients that mess with our bodies and brain and contribute to anxiety and insomnia.
I myself have adopted a pretty clean regimen of eating, by eating lots of fruits and vegetables. One of the best ways to start eating healthier is to have at least half of your meal be either fruit or veggies. One reason is that these foods have the live nutrition that your body and brain need to work properly, and they also help clear out all the nasties that build up in your body, to help it be healthy and balanced.
Our brains run on glucose, not the fat that is the “fad” right now. I had been on a low carb, high fat diet and it actually made my insomnia worse. Once I added more fruit to my diet I started sleeping better and I have even lost 24 pounds while eating this way.
Some of the best fruit you can eat an hour or two before bed is a banana or mango, or a spoonful of honey like in my BEST BEFORE BED BEVERAGE. Both fruits and the honey have certain properties within them that fight insomnia, calm your system and feed your brain. So, don’t be fruit afraid!!! Enjoy, and sleep!
Nutrition also includes herbs. I have listed some supplements and herbs on my website that support sleep. You can check them out here and give them a try to see how they can help you.
STRESS
Our society today is probably one of the most stressful societies in the world. We are very work and production oriented and don’t allow time for the finer things in life that give us joy and relaxation. You only have one life and one body, I think we all can do better in supporting ourselves in this area. Take time to enjoy life, make time for yourself and the things you love.
I know there is NO WAY to get rid of stress entirely, because we do have to work and interact with people, which are some of the most stressful things in our lives; BUT we can learn how to release the stress that we accumulate daily. One of the things that works wonders for me is deep breathing!! Deep breathing has been shown to lower blood pressure and cortisol levels.
I have created 2 video routines from what I have learned in my 16 years of studying natural healing. I do them myself, to help relax and de-stress at the end of the day. I can really tell the difference when I let life get in the way and don’t do it for a while. My sleep does suffer.
One video is more focused on deep breathing and grounding movements, the other has some stretching added in to really help you physically get rid of pent up stress in the body. You can click on the links below to find out more information:
DEEP BREATHING TO RELIEVE STRESS AND ANXIETY
EXERCISE
Exercise is one of the last areas I am going to expound upon today. Yes, no surprise, right? Why don’t we do it or if we do, are we overdoing it?
If we don’t exercise at all, it leads our bodies to hold stress, become stiff and calcified, and is just plain un-healthy. You need to exercise to keep your body young and functioning well.
And for those of you on the opposite spectrum…those who exercise for hours and hours a week. Surprisingly, too much exercise has proven to raise our stress hormone cortisol. Exercising for too long or too intensely for too long, will actually stress your body out more than it is helping.
So, what is the happy medium between those of us who don’t want to spend hours and hours exercising and those who tend to overdo it???
CELLERCISE!!!!!
It is an engineered, safe, trampoline, and IN JUST 10 MINUTES A DAY you get an amazing full body workout that cleanses and de-toxifies your body, reduces stress, and makes your muscles rock hard, even on a 50 year old woman like myself!! You can go to my site for more information, but here is a recommendation from a doctor about the CELLERCISER.
“I recommend the Cellerciser to all my patients. It is the one and only, original mini trampoline that I trust to recommend. This product has literally changed the lives of many of my patients. You could bounce on this all day and only feel more energized and strong. Your joints will never hurt and it complements any other exercise routine a person has. It is great for those who are old and feel they have trouble moving, it builds strength and stability. It helps people who are cleansing or in a detox by increasing circulation and moving the lymph.
For those who want to lose weight, get in shape or just firm up it is a must to their routine. I have even reports of its natural face lift ability. It firms under arms, neck, and butt sags. It is especially good for those needing to start exercising but have little energy and strength; nothing is better at building energy and strength without stress on any level. This Cellerciser is amazing and the only one I have recommended for years. There is no comparison to the others out there.”
Dr. Moira Casey D.C.
That was a brief, well maybe not so brief, 😉 overview of some of the main things that can affect your sleep. I will be talking about each of these things more in-depth in the future, but for now you have at least a good framework that can get you moving towards a better night’s sleep.
Eat, breathe and cellercise!!!
Blessings!!