Tag Archives: how to get a good night’s sleep

X is for Xanax – Natural Alternatives for AnXiety

Posted on August 20, 2012 | Leave a comment

When the stress of life really gets to you, don’t you just feel like just tearing all your hair out?  Bad hair days are just plain depressing for naturally beautiful women, HELP!!!

Western medical doctors will most likely prescribe a pharmaceutical drug for depression or anxiety.  And if you ever read those ads or watch those commercials, the side effects you can get from these will surely make you anxious and depressed –Dizziness, decreased libido, nausea, erectile dysfunction, confusion, blurred vision, drowsiness, decreased concentration – and the best side effect of all? – Depression.  Isn’t that why you went to the doctor in the first place?

This is just a list of the short-term side effects – imagine what would happen if you took Xanax or some other anti-depressant for a long time!

So what can you do when life gets to be too much?  Don’t worry – there are natural health alternatives that will lift you up and help you to get back on the road to wellness and happiness!

GABA (gamma amino butyric acid)–Reduced levels of GABA, the neurotransmitter that works to calm you down and relax, have been shown to bring on symptoms of severe stress and anxiety.  Supplementing with GABA can have naturally tranquilizing effects.

Ashwagandha– An Ayurvedic herb which can help your body to adapt and reduce the mental and physical signs of stress.

 L-Theanine–Another valuable neurotransmitter found in green tea, L-theanine works on the brain to reduce mental and physical stress.

Valerian–Valerian (see previous post V is for Valerian vs. Valium) reduces the physical signs of anxiety and stress such as muscle tension and helps you get a good night’s sleep – valuable in fighting depression and stress.

Certain foods can help calm you down as well.  Turkey (think post-Thanksgiving dinner) and warm milk contain tryptophan (see T is for Tryptophan – Try it for Tranquility) which will make you very sleepy.  Almonds and bananas contain magnesium which relaxes your muscles and also helps to promote restful sleep.

So don’t reach for unhealthy pharmaceuticals such as XanaX when you need some help with depression or anxiety.  Go for some safe, non-toxic remedies and take care of your natural health!

 

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Posted in Healthy Senior Women, Mind-Body-Spirit, Natural Health

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V is for Very, Very Sleepy – Very, Very Valuable adVice

Posted on June 23, 2012 | Leave a comment

How to Get a Good Night’s Sleep

I’m so tired, I haven’t slept a wink.  I’m so tired – good lyrics for a song, but not a good way to face a new day!  Sleep enables the body to recharge and repair.  Sleep is needed to keep your body healthy.  It regulates hormones and affects the immune system.  And when you’re well rested, you look alive and vital, and therefore you need sleep to maintain your natural beauty.

What can you do to get a good night’s sleep?  Here are 10 tips for getting a great night’s sleep -

1. Make sleep a priority.  Go to sleep when you are tired.  Turn out the lights and close your eyes.  If  15 minutes go by and you’re still wide awake, get up and get out of your bedroom.  When you’re tired again, come back, shut the lights and go to sleep.

2.  Use your bedroom for sleep or for sex only.  Don’t let your body get accustomed to working or even reading in bed.

3.  Set your internal rhythm time by going to bed at approximately the same time every day, even on the weekends.

4. Eat lightly and don’t eat 2 hours before going to sleep.

5.  Avoid caffeine and other stimulants like alcohol and nicotine before going to bed.

6.  Exercise in the morning rather than at night.

7. Choose comfortable bedding.  Find mattresses and pillows that suit you.  Try some soft, try some firm and find out which works best for you.

8.  Naps are great (see previous post - N is for Napping) – but limit the amount and length of daytime sleeping if it’s interfering with nighttime sleeping.

9.   Keep a window open to allow fresh air to circulate, but keep heat and light out of your bedroom.

10.  Go to sleep before midnight.  Research shows that the sleep you get before midnight is more beneficial and deeper than what you get after midnight.

If all else fails, you can occasionally turn to natural remedies to help you get that valuable sleep we all need to stay young and look beautiful.  A little bit of warm milk (not too much so you’re up in the bathroom all night) has calming tryptophan to relax you.  Lavender essential oil sprinkled on your pillow or a pillow made out of lavender over your eyes will shut out the light and lull you to sleep.  Herbal remedies such as Kava Kava and valerian work well, and so does melatonin, the sleep-regulating  hormone we lose as  we age.

 

 

 

 

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Posted in Anti-aging, Healthy Senior Women, Mind-Body-Spirit, natural beauty, Natural Health

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F is for Fatigue – Fight it with natural Fixes

Posted on February 28, 2012 | Leave a comment

Fight Fatigue for Natural Health and Beauty

It’s 4 AM and you’re counting sheep and counting flowers on the wall, and you want to sleep cause you know how tired you’ll be in the morning.  What’s a naturally beautiful woman gonna do???

First of all, you’re going to drink more water – but not right before you go to sleep.   The very first sign of fatigue is dehydration when you wake up.  Your body needs a lot of water to keep it going and keep it flowing, so drink water the very first thing when you open your eyes – and keep on drinking it all day.

Make a to do list right before you go to sleep.  That will help you to stay asleep instead of waking up in the middle of the night worrying about what you need to do tomorrow.

Get some exercise during the day.  Research has shown that just a short and brisk ten-minute walk can help reduce fatigue.  A short walk  can amp up your energy levels and keep you going for the rest of the day.

Reduce the amount of sugar in your diet as it will spike your energy and then let you down, making your whole body work harder to keep up the with ups and downs that will exhaust you.  A balanced diet, full of healthy proteins, carbs and fats will keep you going at a steady level, and allow you to calm down and relax and be ready to rest and sleep.

There are some essential oils like lavender  that you can sprinkle on your pillow to make you sleepy.  Or you can make a lavender and chamomile eye pillow to really put you to sleep (see L is for Lavender – Make your own Lavender Dream Pillow).

Stay tuned for some Fabulous Fixes for Fatigue!

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Posted in homemade beauty products, Mind-Body-Spirit, Natural Health

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B is for Baths – a Bodacious Bounty of natural Beauty

Posted on January 30, 2012 | Leave a comment

Baths are great for Natural Beauty

Most of us get up in the morning, jump into a shower, clean ourselves, and go on with our day.  Showers are great and they serve their purpose.  But a bath – AHHHH!  It’s so much more than just a way to get clean.

A bath is a place where you can sink into a warm wave of relaxation, a place where you can be alone and wind down from the chaos of your ordinary life.  The benefits of the water itself is called hydrotherapy, and it’s a practice that’s been in use since the days of the early Greeks and Romans (see previous post -H is for Hydrotherapy – Hot [or Cold] Water for Natural Health).  It will soothe away the ache of your injuries or tired muscles.  Baths can lower your blood pressure if you’re under stress. It can reduce the problems associated with the common cold or sinus congestion.

But more than that – it can be a loving, sensual, private experience that will connect you to your senses, your natural health, and your natural beauty.  Adding salts to your bath will increase the results, whether they be plain old Epsom Salts or fancier Dead Sea Salts.  Adding some aromatic essential oils like lavender or neroli will go right to your head and make you feel relaxed and very feminine.

A candle and some soft music can help you to meditate and de-stress while you’re in the bath.  If you’re looking for a super romantic way to get you in the mood for love, adding some rose petals for their scent and their romance can’t be beat.

If you’re tired and can’t sleep, that lavender oil in the bath will help you get some Z’s.  And for dry skin (a nemesis to our natural beauty), a little sweet almond oil will soak in to your pores and moisturize your whole body at once.

So it’s not just about getting clean, it’s about getting into yourself and indulging in a very special experience that is all about you!  Bathing for Beauty, Bliss!

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Posted in Mind-Body-Spirit, natural beauty, Natural Health

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V is for Valerian, Valium and the Value of Sleep

Posted on January 8, 2012 | Leave a comment

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been having a hard time sleeping lately.  And when I don’t sleep, my whole life seems to go crazy.  I get irritable, I don’t look good, I drag myself around – and who wants any of that?  Not I!  Sleep is vital to our overall well-being and natural health.  It enables the body to rest and recharge and repair itself, and sleep is also needed for important physiological processes such as hormone regulation, which affects immune function and overall health.  And when you’re well rested, you look alive and vital, and therefore you need sleep to maintain your natural beauty.

But even the most health and beauty conscious of us toss and turn occasionally.  And that will never do!  I’m not a big fan of pharmaceutical drugs as you can probably tell, so I don’t use things like Ambien or Valium.  I think the side effects and risks of dependence are far too great a consequence to my natural health.

So when I’m troubled and I can’t sleep, I turn to the natural ways of getting a good night’s sleep – lavender essential oil, warm milk (not too much so you’re not in the bathroom all night), kava kava, melatonin, and valerian.

Melatonin is the hormone secreted by the pineal glad, which regulates the biological clock, but as we age our bodies produce less and less of this.    Instead of the high dose melatonin that was on the market years ago and made you feel like you had a hangover the next day, you can get low dose melatonin and use it to supplement what’s necessary for a good night’s sleep.

Valerian root has been used  for centuries to reduce anxiety and tension, and as an aid for sleeplessness.  Valerian works to relax you and reduce stress, which will help you to sleep better and longer.

Kava kava is a South American herb which, in small doses, is a very effective sleep enhancer when used correctly.  Simply put a few drops of Kava extract into a bit of water and an hour later, be prepared and ready to sleep.   Get into bed, close your eyes and relax, and next thing you know, you will be enjoying the deep and restorative sleep we need for our natural health!

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