I have finally realized just where my mailing
list program went off track and so I'm trying to
get you back into the loop where I think it left
off...
If you have already gotten this message, please
ignore it. The new ones will start arriving
in about 3 day intervals and will be NEW!
I thank you for bearing with me and hope you'll
enjoy my newsletter, now that you're finally
getting it!
On to this official newsletter:
For starters, I hope this finds you in
excellent health.
And for today, I think a great follow-up topic
would be "better sleep." Which was also a special
request, by the way. So you see, I do take them
into consideration whenever possible.
Do you sleep well? Good for you if you do.
I sleep like a baby these days, but it wasn't
always like that.
For a number of years, I would lie awake, toss
and turn, and only go to sleep a couple of hours
before I had to get up again. As you can probably
imagine, I usually felt like a truck had run over me.
Other times, I was stressed about something, and that
was what was keeping me awake. Not that it helped.
When you're too tired to do anything, you're unlikely
to come up with brilliant solutions for your problems.
Sleep is much more effective here.
So what to do?
What did I do that eventually helped me resolve that
problem?
Various things...
First of all, alternative health nut that i am, you can
imagine that I already used a lot of different things
in my desperate attempts to get some shut-eye.
At the height of my sleep deprivation cycle, I threw
every bit of artillery at it that I could get my hands
on: Herbs, Melatonin, aromatherapy, prescription drugs
(I kid you not), relaxation CDs (Steven Halpern), and
all that on top of making sure that all the other conditions
were met.
And sometimes I STILL couldn't sleep!
Now I still use half a dose of herbs (unless
I forget), and I sometimes I add aromatherapy,
though lately I haven't. Oh, and I
use ear plugs, a special German brand, that I buy in bulk
every time I visit there. Fortunately, I discovered
they also sell them at Amazon.com now, so I can get
them if I run out.
About the earplugs -- I've used them since I was
16 years old, and never weaned myself off them.
Now I think -- why should I? They provide me
with a better quality of sleep. They also signal
to my body it's time to go to sleep.
Okay, so there are still a few sleeping "aids" I use,
but compared to what it used to be, that's nothing.
Here are a few tips I'd like to share with you, just
in case sleep is something that gives you trouble
at times:
First of all, the basics should be met as much as
possible:
Dark, quiet, comfortable room temperature, and a
comfortable bed. Oh, and if it's noisy, do consider
earplugs. The ones I use are called Ohropax, which
literally means peace for the ears! I think that's
kind of cool! Especially since "Ohr" is German
for ear and "pax" is Latin for peace.
Next, if that won't be enough, here are more tools:
Aromatherapy: Depending on where you are, you might
be able to find essential oils that say "sleep" or
"relaxation." Those are synergistic blends that
work well together to help with relaxation and
falling asleep. For individual herbs, try Lavender
or Jasmin.
Slow Deep Breathing: Do a slow deep breathing routine.
Just breathe in for several counts, hold it for a
few seconds, and then exhale as slowly as you can.
Repeat. Imagine yourself sinking deeper and deeper
into your bed while you do that.
Herbs: Valerian is the grand master of sleep-aids.
Other good ones, which usually show up together with
Valerian is hops. Hops is in beer of course, which
probably accounts for part of the relaxing effects
of beer.
Then again, beware of alcohol. While it may SEEM to
help you go to sleep, and in fact does help you go
to sleep, it will wake you up within a couple of
hours -- it causes problems with your sleep cycle.
So skip the alcohol, or keep it to one glass at the
most.
If worries keep you awake, here are a couple of
techniques that can help:
1) Keep a notepad by your bed. If you worry about
something, write it down. Then put it aside and
tell yourself you'll deal with it in the morning.
Repeat as necessary.
2) Depending on your religious persuasion, you
might find prayer very helpful. Basic prayer for
help and guidance is good. Even more helpful is
any kind of prayer that works as some sort of
litany, i.e., repetitive. For Catholics, the
rosary provides that. To the best of my knowledge,
most religions have something along those lines.
Or make yourself a prayer list -- a long list
of people you pray for regarding a variety of
issues: health, happiness, loving relationships,
prosperity, etc. make up as many categories
as you find reasonable, and then add people you
know (even public persons), to the respective
categories, and then pray for them, one at a time.
It helps all around -- and praying for others
gets you out of your own worries.
I joined a prayer team in my own spiritual
community (Unity) and we receive a weekly list
just like that. And I noticed that as I prayed
for them all, I became very calm and practically
forgot about my own worries. And this even worked
to get me out of actual panic attacks.
This never was meant as a "tool" to help me go to
sleep, but I discovered to my surprise that it
worked out that way -- I tended to do my prayer at
night, and after I had made it all the way down
the list, I'd just roll over and fall asleep right away.
Occasionally I even fell asleep halfway through.
Of course, I then would finish the list in the
morning.
Another one, slightly related:
relaxing night-time routines.
I'm sure you've heard about that one, and it
really does make a difference.
Among them could be a cup of warm milk or
hot chocolate. Soothing music. Avoid working
on a computer for at least half an hour before you
want to go to sleep (or even longer).
Well, I do have a few more tips, including one
that has proven to be extremely powerful,
but I think for today this email is quite
long enough.
The sequel will appear in a few days...
So for now, I wish you wonderful refreshing
sleep and sweet dreams, and a great day.
Take care, and till next time,
Elisabeth
Elisabeth Kuhn
P.O. Box 17912
Richmond, VA
23226
US
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