Sleep
This week the press seem to be full of articles on sleep, ranging from recent research to the reasons why we lose sleep – the top reason being a heavy workload.
I am sure that most people reading this blog post know that if they have a good night’s sleep they wake up feeling refreshed. So the recent discovery by scientists from University of Wisconsin which shows sleep restores your brain will be of no surprise. (For any geeks out there the research showed that sleep boosts myelin which is essential in the growth and repair of our brains. The research also revealed that deep sleep doubles the rate of reproduction of some cells.) While over in Stockholm researchers have discovered that people think sleep deprived individuals “look sad, unhealthy and unattractive”. For anyone that is struggling to get a good night’s sleep knowing science has proved that they look as awful as they feel isn’t exactly helpful either! So I wanted to share a few tips with you on getting a good night’s sleep.
- Try to go to bed and get up at the same time as bodies like routine and it will help you sleep better.
- Ensure your bedroom is quiet, dark, restful and the right temperature i.e. not to hot and not to cold. Remember it isn’t ideal to watch TV or work in your bedroom that includes trying to sleep while keeping one eye on your blackberry.
- Try to mentally and physically relax before going to bed by turning of the TV or computer and having a warm bath, listen to some relaxing music, read a book or simply sip a cup of Chamomile tea.
- Valerian is a dietary supplement that has been used since ancient times to help with a good nights sleep as it is known for combat insomnia and nervousness.
- While exercise is great to combat stress, exercising too close to bedtime can actually make it harder to sleep.
- It is best to avoid alcohol before your go to bed as for some people it will interrupt their sleep pattern later in the night.
- It is best to avoid coffee from later afternoon onwards as for some people it will keeps them awake.
Finally some of my clients have reports that Reflexology has helped them by because they find they sleep deeper and hence wake up more refreshed.
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What can help period pain – Part 3?
While taking nutritional supplements suits some women, I know others don’t like taking tablets. So here are a couple of other ideas to assist you with your period pain. There is scientific evidence that from a trail of women who suffer from period pain that certain yoga poses e.g. cobra, cat and fish reduce both the intensity and duration of period pain. The cobra pose is where you lie on your front, with your hand underneath your shoulders and gently push yourself up bending your back as you come up. The cat pose is when you are on all fours and then round your spine like a cat. The fish pose is when you lie on your back, keep your pelvis and head on the floor and an arch your spine towards the ceiling. As an aromatherapist there are a variety of essential oils that you can use to help reduce the severity of period pain. Aromatherapists split period pain into two categories:
- Congestive dysmenorrhoea – where the pain starts a few days before the period and can cover the whole abdominal area.
- Spasmodic dysmenorrhoea which comes in spams of pain in the pelvis and/or lower back.
Mundance superfoods – part 5
My final swap is nettles for spiralina. Spirulina's deep blue-green color reveals its active ingredient — chlorophyll — clearly. Health.com explains it as one of the oldest life forms on Earth and possibly consumed in Aztec and African diets centuries ago. Today it's touted for its ability to strengthen the immune system, reduce fatigue and combat allergies. Nettles are another plant with chlorophyll that even rivals the amount found in spirulina, but they're often found in ditch banks, forests and riverbanks. It's sometimes called "stinging nettle" because it does just that; if you touch it without wearing gloves, the tiny hairs on every surface sting like a bee due to the presence of formic acid, leaving small red welts. But internally, Bon Appetit asserts, it acts like a tonic:
"Taken over time, nettle will strengthen your circulatory, immune, and endocrine systems to promote peak function. The stronger these systems, the better position our bodies are in to deal with whatever might come our way."
Cooked or dried, though, this pesky stinging problem goes away completely; good thing, too, because this free foraging food is highly nutritious, containing fiber, lecithin, chlorophyll, sodium, iron, phosphorus, sulfur, potassium and vitamins A and C, according to Mother Earth News. It's been used in birth rooms and battlefields to stop bleeding, both internally and externally, and is considered to purify blood, as well. As a tea:"It has been found to help cure mucus congestion, skin irritations, water retention and diarrhea … stimulate the digestive glands of the stomach, intestines, liver, pancreas and gall bladder. Applied externally, nettle tea … relieves rheumatism in both people and animals, makes a first-class gargle for mouth and throat infections, helps to clear up acne and eczema and promotes the healing of burns."
To complete the series I want to point out that brocalli is arguably one of the most nutirtious vegatables readily available in supermakets. Not only does it support normal cell function and division, it helps your body detoxify and reduces inflammation and damage from reactive oxygen species (ROS). Another vegatable that I would highly recommend is rocket. It has many of the same nutrients and healing compounds, including fiber, vitamins A, C (to boost the immune system) and K (for bone strength), folate, calcium, potassium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus and manganese that are found in cabbage and brocalli. One study showed that rocket can be a powerful aid against gastrointestinal ulcers, psoriasis and skin, lung and mouth cancers. Many more vitamins and minerals help lower blood pressure and improve blood vessel function. References Bon Appétit July 19, 2017 Health December 27, 2016 Mother Earth News March/April 1981
