Things to Avoid for a Good Night’s Sleep

Photo Courtesy Of:  Creatas/Thinkstock

According to a 2010 poll from the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), about 60 percent of the US population suffers from poor or inadequate sleep. Prior to light bulbs, people slept an average of 10 hours a night. Nowadays, the average American gets less than seven hours of shut-eye during the week, and slightly more on weekends.

While I don't believe there is a hard-and-fast rule as to how long you must sleep, it is crucial to get enough to feel well-rested—something that can be nearly impossible if you're suffering from insomnia.

Lack of sleep can have far-reaching ramifications. In fact, you can have an excellent diet and exercise regimen, but if you're not sleeping well, optimal health will remain elusive. I've previously detailed the many health hazards of lack of sleep, so for a refresher, please review the hyperlink provided.

It's important to understand that while herbs are far less problematic than prescription sleep-aids, ultimately even these natural supplements are just symptomatic band-aids. If you're suffering from insomnia, you are far better off seeking to correct the problem at its root, which I'll discuss below. That said, let's first review a couple of natural remedies that may offer some temporary help.

Can Herbal Remedies Help Insomnia?

Valerian is one of the most commonly used sleep remedies for insomnia. Studies have found that valerian improves:

  • Deep sleep
  • Speed of falling asleep
  • Overall quality of sleep

Bear in mind however, that herbs can affect people differently, and about 10 percent of people who take valerian tend to actually feel energized by it, which may keep them awake.

In the featured study above, 30 percent of the post-menopausal women participating in this randomized, triple-blind, controlled trial showed an improvement in the quality of their sleep after taking 530 mg of valerian twice a day for four weeks.  The authors concluded that:

"Valerian improves the quality of sleep in women with menopause who are experiencing insomnia. Findings from this study add support to the reported effectiveness of valerian in the clinical management of insomnia."

  • <
  • 1 of 5
  • >
Read More @ Source

"Raw Food" Episode 30 - Brian Clement on Holistic Healing (Raw Food)

Raw food: information. In this episode Jenna Norwood interviews Brian Clement, Director of the Hippocrates Health Institute. Clement discusses the importance of Holistic Medicine. www.JennaNorwood.com

Video Rating: 4 / 5

Diet and Nutrition: A Holistic Approach

Provides a holistic and comprehensive overview of nutrition, including Eastern and Western perspectives. Can be read cover-to-cover or used as a reference. Includes a history of dietary patterns in America, advice on how to plan a balanced diet, and an insightful account of the effects of food and eating habits on the mind and emotions.Provides a holistic and comprehensive overview of nutrition, including Eastern and Western perspectives. Can be read cover-to-cover or used as a reference. Includes a history of dietary patterns in America, advice on how to plan a balanced diet, and an insightful account of the effects of food and eating habits on the mind and emotions.

List Price: $ 19.95 Price: $ 19.95



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Disapproving Faces: Not Everybody Will Like You

Image
Not everybody we meet will like us and it is ok to move into acceptance rather than trying to make somebody like you. It is not necessarily a pleasant experience, but there will be times in our lives when we come across people who do not like us. As we know, like attracts like, so usually when they don't like us it is because they are not like us. Rather than taking it personally, we can let them be who they are, accepting that each of us is allowed to have different perspectives and opinions. When we give others that freedom, we claim it for ourselves as well, releasing ourselves from the need for their approval so we can devote our energy toward more rewarding pursuits. While approval from others is a nice feeling, when we come to depend on it we may lose our way on our own path. There are those who will not like us no matter what we do, but that doesn't mean that there is anything wrong with us. Each of us has our own filters built from our experiences over time. The...
Keep reading

Proven Holistically Healing Heartburn

Image
by kyz Article by robtboldizsar An estimated 75% of patients with asthma also suffer from chronic heartburn or GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease). People with asthma are twice as likely to suffer GERD as compared to those who do not have asthma and of those who have a more severe chronic form of asthma resistant to treatment are most likely to have GERD.acid and reflux Disorder is a disease in the digestive tract that is mainly caused by a relaxed or weak lower esophageal sphincter also known as LES. Thus any factors causing the LES to do otherwise would then cause the backflow of harmful digestive acid bile and enzyme into the esophagus causing irritations and even damage. A lot of factors may be the cause to the weakened or relaxed LES bringing forth the symptoms of acid and reflu...
Keep reading

Azurite and malachite

Image
by The Online Jeweller Magazine Article by Jimmy Reinard Azurite and malachite are both crystals formed by the weathering process that breaks down natural copper ore deposits. Azurite is a striking brilliant blue colour, with a hardness of around 3.5 to 4 on the Mohs scale as well as a specific gravity of around 3.77 to 3.89 and a refractive index of 1.655-1.909. Azurite is mined for use in paint pigments, often producing a range of blues dependent on the mineral's natural color.Malachite is the Greek translation of moloche, meaning mallow, due to its color.Unfortunately, azurite is unstable in most conditions and loses its brilliant blue color over time or is replaced by its more stable cousin, malachite. Malachite shares the same properties as azurite but appears as a vibrant green mineral. Unlike Azurite, malachite does not require the special handling making it more suitable for use in jewelry but i...
Keep reading