Are you Sleeping well?
Photo by David Clode on Unsplash
If you don’t know yet, sleeping is very important for your health. Research continues to show how sleeping helps us repair our mind and body, helps with food cravings, and balances our weight. Many people come to see me for various health issues and say they are sleeping well. But digging deeper often we uncover together that they are not sleeping as well as they could.
There are many reasons why people don’t sleep well including stress, diet, low activity, and nutritional deficiencies just to name a few. Here are a few suggestions you may want to consider to assist you in better sleep.
Exercise
It seems like in every article I write, I mention exercise. It isn’t a complete solution for all health issues, but it is definitely a huge part of getting healthy. Our bodies are meant to move, not be stagnant. If you are not moving your body regularly, toxins build up in your elimination systems. I often equate it to sleeping next to a dumpster. How can your body rest if it is so toxic? If you are not getting toxins out, it is challenging for your body to rest. Exercising helps eliminate stagnation and gets toxins out of our eliminate channels and allows your body to focus on repairing tissues, instead of trying to neutralize toxins. Your body only has so much time and energy each moment. Where do you want the energy to be focused?
Polarity
Much like the earth, our bodies have a polarity, which can be described as the way the energy moves in and around our bodies. It is obvious that we are all affected by the energies around us. We are constantly bombarded with energy coming at us from other people, technology, and stressful situations that can throw off our polarity balance. When this happens, my clients tell me they are tired during the day and have what could be referred to as nervous fatigue that either keeps them up at night or may allow them to sleep lightly, but prevents them from getting truly deep sleep. There are Chinese herbal combinations that can assist with this issue. I have also found the Tibetan Rites aka The Fountain of Youth exercises are also helpful to reset the body polarity, especially the first exercise which is spinning to the right to negative energies that harm the body and balance the body to the proper frequency. One of my friends says it’s like screwing her body into the ground, to keep her grounded for the day and not be influenced by unproductive energies coming toward her during the day.
Minerals
There are several nutritional supplements that can help with sleep. Two of the most popular are magnesium and calcium. You may have heard of drinking milk before bed to help you sleep. Yes, milk does contain calcium but it isn’t the most absorbable source of calcium for most people. You can read more about the issues with milk HERE. There are different types of calcium forms, a few of them are calcium carbonate (which is basically chalk), calcium citrate, calcium amino acid chelate, or gluconate which is how calcium is formed in plants. The problem is what happens when we take calcium. When you take calcium carbonate, for example, the acid in the stomach turns it into calcium chloride which is considered harmful to our bodies. This does not happen with the citrate or other forms. I remember taking organic chemistry and we had to do an experiment with anti-acids (like Tums) that contain calcium carbonate. During the experiments we did, the lesson talked about how harmful that form of calcium was to our kidneys. Many people take these anti-acid products to neutralize their stomach acid, which doesn’t really fix anything but causes more health problems down the road.
Magnesium is a mineral that is very beneficial for helping the body to rest. Just like calcium, magnesium comes in many forms, oxide, citrate, amino acid chelate, etc. It isn’t that one form is better than another, but rather, what would be best for you for your specific situation. Regardless, magnesium is a laxative. Magnesium oxide is stronger than the citrate form, and the amino acid chelate (the form directly from plants). And then there is magnesium sulfate or Epsom Salts. So knowing which form is best depends on your current bowel situation. You can also purchase magnesium oil or lotion. Magnesium is considered a mineral for muscles. There are foods high in magnesium of course which you can easily google, however, many people are considered deficient in this valuable mineral. So adding a supplement of magnesium can be beneficial for many to help with sleep. Here is another article with more detailed information on the various types of magnesium to help choose which form is best for you.
Herbs
You may have heard of valerian. Valerian is a strong herb that is very high in calcium. In fact, approximately 1 cup (100gm) of valerian contains 4,200mg of calcium, versus an average glass of milk that contains about 300mg. You can take a small amount of valerian and get a punch of calcium from a plant-based form which you may find useful. Working with many customers on sleep issues over the years has taught me that not everyone has a good reaction to valerian. If you have ever taken Nyquil and it has kept you awake, valerian will probably do the same thing. This has to do with the parasympathetic nervous system. You may benefit better from one of the herbs below.
Three other herbs that can help with sleep are hops, skullcap, and passionflower. Many people may recognize hops as it is used to make beer. But the herb itself is good at repairing nerve endings in the body and helps the body to relax. Skullcap is another herb that is harder to find, and I have found it works better on men for some reason. Passionflower is a very gentle herb that works well for many people, including children to help sleep.
One other supplement which can be beneficial for sleep is Vitamin B12. B12 is often used to give energy, but it also helps many people sleep. Vitamin B12 is only available to our bodies from animal products, not plants, so if you don’t eat animal foods, you may be deficient. Another reason people can be deficient is if their digestion isn’t working optimally, or they may have organisms in their bodies that are depleting their bodies of vitamins. It’s important to know that there are two types of B12 most commonly sold. Methylcobalamin, and cyanocobalamin which is man-made (notice the similarity to the word cyanide — aka rat poison). The methyl form is recommended as a better form for people to take.
Wishing you a restful sleep tonight….zzzzzzz
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About the Author
Kasara is educated as a Mental Health Therapist, Master Herbalist, Traditional Naturopath and Energy Worker with over 35 years of helping thousands of clients find alternative health options that work. She writes articles on Medium, and on her website http://truhealth.com/. You may subscribe to her Medium account or her newsletter to stay connected.