A Good Night’s Sleep Can Improve Your Life and Your Health

Oriental Medicine teaches us that we need to rest.   Our active yang side needs to be balanced by our receptive yin side.  Just as day turns into night, activity gives way to rest.  This is one of the primary rhythms of our lives.  Western science is finding evidence that this can be verified by studying the brain. 

Scientists have known that memories are formed and consolidated during sleep.  In addition, a study published in the journal, Science, provides evidence that waste products that accumulate in the brain are removed to a much greater extend during sleep.  Those zzzzs are truly important.

Most people need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep.  For some of us, we just don’t allocate that much time.  In our fast-paced culture, it’s easy to burn both sides of the candle.  So it’s important to ask, “Am I allowing myself to get sufficient rest?”  If not, it’s time to take a look at your calendar and make some adjustments. 

• Spend a week writing down everything you are doing.  
  
• Review your schedule and place activities into three categories – essential items, items that bring you joy, and items that merely make the time pass.
  
• Remove items in the third category from your daily routine and replace them with additional time for sleep.
  

Other people are in bed at a reasonable hour, but have problems falling asleep and/or staying asleep.  Here are some suggestions. 

• No caffeine after 12pm.  
  
• Reduce your intake of sugar.  
  
• Only use your bed for sleep and sex.  
  
• Keep all electronic devices out of you bedroom.  Give those phones a rest.
  
• Stick to a schedule.  Go to sleep and wake up at the same time each day.
  
• If you have trouble falling asleep, count backwards from 100 to 0.  If you’re still awake, get out of bed and read for a half an hour.
  
• Try chamomile or lavender tea before bedtime.
  
• If your mind is buzzing with thoughts, take a pad and write everything down.
  
• I often use the acupuncture point, Kidney 1, located on the bottom of the foot for people who have trouble sleeping.  You can massage this point at home before bedtime.

---

Here's to sweet dreams!