Emotional Wellbeing.
We all want it, don’t we? As we
begin a new year we can’t seem to help but hope for a better future. We want to be happy, healthy, and loved. We want to grow personally and make a
contribution to the world around us.
Many people are starting off the year talking about New Year’s
Resolutions: losing weight, saving more money, getting organized, exercising,
having more patience, spending more time with family and friends. I’m going to start the year out by talking
about SLEEP. That’s right you are all off the hook
- all I want you to do is sleep.
And here’s why…
Sleep
is vital for processing information, emotional processing, developing memories,
removing waste, building metabolism, and “disrupted sleep is a biomarker for
mental illness”. (http://www.wired.co.uk/article/wired-health-russell-foster). Disruption of our biological sleep pattern “promotes
multiple illnesses, including abnormal metabolism; reduced immunity; increased
stress; and abnormal processing of information by the brain.” (https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2013/jul/22/body-clock-biological-circadian-sleep) Disrupted sleep is also
linked to obesity, diabetes, and hypertension (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2011/jul/13/neuroscience-biology), and 100,000 car accidents
each year are related to sleepiness (Foster, doTerra International Convention
2016).
36%
of our life is spent sleeping and this time is imperative for our physical,
mental, and emotional wellbeing. (Foster, doTerra International Convention
2016). As a modern day society we have
taken it upon ourselves to harness nature and to overcome many of its demands
of us. With the advent of the electric
light we became a society that never sleeps.
We see working early in the morning and late at night as badges of
honor. We boast 24 hour work out
centers, 24 grocery stores, and millions of hours of electronic entertainment
available 24 hours a day. We have
dominated the night and submitted it to our will to have more, be more, and do
more. But at what cost?
At our company convention in September 2016 sleep expert
Russell Foster, who is a Professor of Circadian Neuroscience and the Head of
the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Oxford, treated us to a 30
minutes presentation regarding the subject of sleep. He has been
featured on NPR and as a TED Talk speaker.
His presentation was fascinating, educational, entertaining, and in a
British Accent. You know us Americans,
suckers for a nice British accent. J
As
he explained (in his British accent;-) how our bodies depends on our circadian
clock to regulate numerous intricate chemical responses. This approximately 24 hours cycle of light
and darkness, activity and inactivity, determines our core body temperature,
our blood pressure, our alertness, our physical strength and so much more. Without the natural cycles of darkness and
light “sleep and circadian rhythm disruption, or SCRD” can occur potentially
leading to the side effects mentioned above.
We need environmental cues every day to reset the internal clock
and keep our circadian clock in tune with our social clock. We have a “cluster
of 50,000 neurons known as the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), which sits within
the hypothalamus at the base of the brain” which acts as the conductor of an
orchestra regulating the timing of nearly every organ in the body.
(https://www.theguardian.com/science/2011/jul/13/neuroscience-biology) When
we experience jet lag or SCRD it is because the SCN has not received the clues
to do its job correctly and all of our organs are off time with each
other. SCRD can also occur in places such as senior
care centers where low lighting is often used.
The body needs a minimum of
1000-2000 lux of light (similar to sitting near a window) for at least a short
period of time each day to reset the the body clock.
Our conquering of the night has disrupted the natural environmental
cues which allow the body to reset the circadian clock which then orchestrates
the organs and hormones to run effectively to alleviate the previously
mentioned side effects. Even the
computer screens and electronics, with what we consider minimal light, effect
our ability to sleep well. As a result
we have as a nation resorted to artificial stimulants and sedatives. According to USA Today 83% of Americans turn
to coffee daily as a stimulant (http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/04/09/coffee-mania/2069335/). By the end of the day much of the population
is so high strung that they turn to alcohol to sedate them enough to fall
asleep. (Let’s not even go into the
scary territory of those who are mixing alcohol and sleeping pills.) This
vicious cycle of stimulant and sedative does nothing to promote health and
emotional wellness and at best is a terribly inferior imitation of the
circadian cycle.
So what can we do about it?
Robert
Schrier, founding editor-in-chief of the magazine Nature Clinical Practice
Nephrology, said, “We need to convince
100% of the public that good sleep is as necessary as exercise and nutrition
for optimal health.” Make
sleep a priority. Create a good sleeping
environment: dark, cool, and quiet. Have
a good mattress. Be consistent with your
sleep routine. Don’t lay in bed
frustrated. Have a relaxing pre-bedtime routine:
perhaps read and have some gentle music.
Prepare for sleep. Minimize light
for at last 30 minutes before bedtime – this includes light from your computer,
your TV and your phone. Eat regular
meals. Avoid caffeine in the
afternoon. Avoid alcohol. Avoid stressful situations (don’t we all wish
we could do this?) Exercise, but not 3-4
hours before bed. Nap only occasionally
for less than 20 minutes.
In addition the the suggestions above, essential oils offer
natural support for sleeping which help you get the rest you need without
feeling groggy the next morning. Most
people know that Lavender has been used historically to promote sleep, but did
you know that Vetiver, Wild Orange and others could also promote feelings of
restfulness? Each person is unique and what maybe your favorite oil for rest
may be different from your best friend’s.
To find out more about some great new products that are available for
sleep support enter your email here.
The importance of sleep cannot be overstated. All of us would like to avoid the problems
mentioned in paragraph two (remember? poor immunity, stress, obesity,
hypertension, mental illness, etc.) and enjoy the benefits of physical, mental
and emotional well being. So – just for
a little while – let yourself not worry about all the changes you want or think
you need to make as you start the New Year.
You probably stayed up too late last night anyway to be thinking about
such things in a reasonable manner. Just
go and get some sleep – and let the natural goodness of essential oils help
you.
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