According to Traditional Chinese Medicine Doctor, Guy Lindsay, Americans do not take the time to relax, eat well and take good care of them selves.

If you step back and take a look at what the average American does for food and entertainment, you can see what he is talking about. The average American consumes 150 1bs of sugar a year.  Most of this sugar consumption comes from soda pop. The average American drinks 57 gallons of soda pop a year. One third of all Americans eat fast food every day.

(One of my favorite rants are the commercials that show some one eating tons of fast food and then popping a pill to handle indigestion.)

Whole entire blogs on written on managing time. You see article after article on surviving the "rat race". Whew! it make me tired just thinking about it.

Traditional Chinese Rituals -

• Sitting down to meals.
• Eating small nutritional meals.
• Taking tea time...time to relax and enjoy.
• Caring for family members. You will find grandmothers traditionally taking care of grandchildren and children caring for the elderly.

When preparing meals the Chinese put attention on providing for the 5 major organs of the body; heart, liver, lungs, spleen and kidneys. Their diet stresses good nutrition to maintain health. Food and medicine are the same. Chinese use herbs to prevent and cure illness.

Did you know that the Chinese traditionally see the doctor in order to stay healthy. Getting sick is cause to fire your doctor.

When you are sick, Traditional Chinese Medicine, treats the cause of your illness and not the symptoms. This is totally different than Western medicine which generally gives a drug to stop the symptoms.

Now I am a big advocate of Traditional Chinese Medicine. My husband and I have had huge successes.

You can have big success in with relaxation and sleep by following more a Chinese philosophy of life. Eating healthy, taking good care of your self, and finding ways to relax go a long way to remedy sleep problems.

Sheila

What would you do if beating your sleeplessness was as simple as listening to a sleeping CD?

I've experienced sleeplessness all my life, but the past year I saw a ten-fold increase in me waking up in the middle of the night and having trouble falling asleep again.  I've reached the age where I've become my own "personal space heater".  "Hot flashes" woke me up in the middle of the night, then my mind would race for hours (menopause sleeplessness).  Soon after the "hot flashes" became severe, my mother required major surgery which resulted in a two month stay at a hospital. (Even more to worry about when the hot flashes woke me up.)

Waking up in the middle of the night means you can't take sleep aids to fall asleep fast, because you can't wake up in the morning and function properly.

I was getting desperate, but then I experienced extremely good fortune when I met Trapper Sherwood.  His quiet confidence in his product, "The Sleep Secret Audio" and his low pressure sales approach impressed me, so I bought his sleep CDs.

As I first listened to the sleep CD, I thought, this is too simple, can't possibly work. But . . . LATER when I "woke up" long enough to turn off my MP3 player, I was able to fall asleep fast. I realized I had found what I "desperately needed" to control my sleeplessness.

However, what happened last night with "The Sleep Secret Audio" solidified my belief that this CD for sleep is awesome, bordering on spectacular.  For the past thirty years, I have taken call at a hospital.  In bad weather, I sleep at work in order to be able to respond quickly enough when there is an emergency.  The noise and discomfort in the place causes restless sleep, but it must be done in order to take care of the patients.

I used "The Sleep Secret Audio" for the first time at the hospital last night. I slept for six hours straight. Woke up at 4:00 am and figured my sleep was over, but I listened to the CD again and slept soundly for another hour. I feel fantastic.

I can't say enough good things about this product.  The music by Claus Jensen is very soothing. It literally "makes" me fall sleep fast EVERY time I use it.

Kate

P.S. I also highly recommend Claus Jensen's other sleeping CDs.

For quick energy.

• Take a walk. Get out and get some space. Take a brisk walk around a block or two.
• Eat nuts, small amounts of protein and complex carbs. (High fiber foods, grains, fruit and vegetables.) The give a pick me up with staying power.
• Vitamin C - You will like "Emergency" This has a good source of vitamin C along with other vitamin and minerals.
• Do something for someone else. This works great! You put your attention outside of your self.
• Take a short nap. A quick 20 minute nap works wonders for some people. They can lay down sleep well and wake up refreshed.
• Caffeine is a good pick me up. Be careful not to over indulge, especially in the late afternoon. Too much caffeine during the day or late in the day can affect your sleep at night. Beware of energy drinks that are full of caffeine.

Chronic fatigue can be a sign of anemia, adrenal fatigue, yeast infection, potassium deficiency, vitamin B1 deficiency, pantothenic acid deficiency, firbromyalgia and low blood pressure.

Chronic fatigue is not always from lack of sleep. If you are still fatigued after getting plenty of rest be sure to see your doctor, Especially if your fatigue continues for more than two weeks. We like seeing a Nutritionist, Homeopath or Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor. My sister has had huge success with the Chinese Medicine doctor.

Sheila

Sleep tips for what ails you.

Asthma - drink lots of water. Water will thin your mucus. This helps at night to lessen the build up of mucus. Also sleeping with your upper body elevated should help you get a good nights sleep.

Fibromyalgia - A sleep remedy for Fibromyalgia tender points. This sleep remedy is prefect for people with Fibromyalgia symptoms.

Arthritis can cause so much pain and discomfort that lead to difficultly sleeping. Try swaddling like you do a baby. Wrap your self tightly in a sleeping bag or a warm blanket.

With arthritis, it is important to sleep warm, put a wool blanket under your mattress pad and place a wool blanket over your cotton or synthetic blanket and then another blanket if need be.

Restless leg sleep or Restless Leg Syndrome has had a lot of attention because of a new drug out on the market. (A mind altering drug with side effects like gambling.) You will have huge success with taking magnesium and getting enough vitamin D. Restless leg sleep is very prevalent in people with anemia. Be sure to see your nutritionist, homeopath or Traditional Chinese Medicine Doctor if you suffer from leg cramps and restless legs. (This works for kids "growing pains".)

Hope these help you with the restless sleep that can be caused by these health problems.

Sleep well,

Sheila

• Anti- depressants.
• Anti-seizure mediation, Dilantin.
• Betta blockers used for high blood pressure and hear ailments.
• Thyroid replacement drugs.
• Decongestant, pseudoephedrine,  found in cold and allergy medicines.
• Appetite suppressants.

Often anti-depressants are given for sleep help. The problem is that they can be the cause of restless sleep. It is one of those "which came first? the chicken or the egg?" Does depression cause sleeplessness or does sleeplessness cause depression. It is true that the lack of sleep can cause you to feel crazy and even depressed. It also true that depression can cause sleeplessness. Using natural remedies would be the ideal scene. You would be surprised at how much proper nutrition can help depression and sleeplessness.

Any time you are taking a new medication and have sleep problems and can't sleep, be sure to check for the side effects of the drugs you are taking.

Sheila

Healthy Living that promotes healthy sleep.

• Daily exercise.
• Take time to relax.
• Getting out in the sunlight.
• Adding anti stress vitamins and minerals to your diet.
• Keeping a regular sleep schedule.
• Loose weight.
• Drink less caffeine.
• Quit smoking.

Sleeping habits that promote healthy living.

• Sleeping less.
• Regular sleep times.
• Good sleep environment.
• Natural sleep aids.
• Worry outside of the bedroom.
• Meditation.

I know, you are saying "I heard all this before". Yes, you have. The key is to gradually change those old habits. Look at your sleep habits. Look at your daily routine. What will be easy to change? Change that. Take those little steps every day.

What better time to decide on healthy living and healthy sleeping than now, the new year.

Sheila

• Creating a good sleep environment.
• Taking your worries out of the bedroom. In Dr. Daniel Kripke's video on sleeping pills he suggest getting up and taking your worries into the other room. Your bedroom is for sleep only.
• Getting your thoughts out of your head and onto paper, a new sleep habit.This is a tip from the famous industrialist Andrew Carnegie.
• Taking Cal- Mag as a sleep remedy - Peter Gilliam helps you pick the Calcium/Magnesium formula that is right for you.
• Stress is a major factor in sleep anxiety.B vitamins to relieve stress. Lack of B vitamins can cause stress and forgetfulness. Stress can eat up your B vitamins. This is one of those catch 22's but this works for handling anxiety.
• Taking Kava-Kava. Herbal sleep remedies can help you with sleep anxiety.
• Getting exercise. Getting out in the sun and exercise goes a long way to relieving sleeping anxiety. This is literally taking your worries outside.
• Relaxation sleeping CDs. Taking the time to relax before you go to sleep is a sure sleeplessness cure.

Now this may look like a long list...but most of them are so simple to implement. And when you have long nights filled with sleep anxiety they are worth any extra effort.

Sleep well

Sheila

In the health food stores you will find scores of natural sleeping remedies such as:

• Kava Kava is a root that comes from the pacific islands. It is used to help with stress, anxiety and insomnia.
• Valerian root is commonly used for insomnia.
• Passion Flower is reported to be a calming herb. It is very mild and could help with sleeplessness.
• Chamomile tea that helps to promote sleep. It is very mild.
• Lemon Balm is a mint tea, that helps with sleep.

Dr. James F. Balch and his wife, Nutritionist, Phyllis Balch authors of "Prescription For Nutritional Healing" suggest that you look for a combination of herbal extracts such as Slumber, from Natures Answer or Silent Night from Natures Way.

We are all different. What works best for me might not work best for you. I do really well with chamomile tea, lemon balm tea and kava kava. I alternate between all three when I am experiencing restless sleep.

Remember that herbal remedies are not magic pills and usually take some time to take effect. Choose your herbal sleep remedy and try it out for a week. You will notice that gradually you are getting good sleep.

It is always best to use mix of different herbal sleep remedies. You might want to change from lemon balm tea to chamomile tea. Or change from valerian root to kava kava.

I hope this helps when you make your trip to the health food store looking for natural sleep remedies. Be sure to rotate any natural sleep remedy you are taking.

Sheila

It is understandable when you know just how harmful taking sleeping pills can be. Besides taking a natural sleep aid works with your body and mind to help you relax so you can sleep. Sleeping pills are mind altering drugs...just look at the side effects on the labels.

As the dangers of sleeping pills are being exposed you will see more and more reports of people doing strange things after taking the pills.Like raiding the refridgerator, sleep walking, driving or having sex with out any memory.

I have a friend that runs a drug detox center. Often they need to help their clients with a sleep solution so that they do well during their detoxification.

Often we are lacking in nutrients cause sleeplessness. This sleep solution follows that idea. This is a sleeping tip that works well for me.

Sleep Pack -1

People who are on antidepressants or have taken antidepressants should not take 5HTP - melatonin should be substituted.

All of the detox participants are under doctors care, I suggest you see your Homeopath or Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor before trying any sleep aid. Even any natural sleep aid.

Natural sleeping remedies should only be taken on a short term basis. This includes 5http, Melatonin and Valerian Root, Chamomile tea and Kava Kava. It is best to rotate all natural sleep remedies.

Finding a natural sleep aid that works for your is a dream come true.

Sheila

Experts say that we need to sleep in an environment that has little artificial light. Our sleep becomes disturbed when we are exposed to light. Even small amounts of light can cause hormone imbalance and throw off your biological clock.

This is so true for me. My room has to be totally dark. I can't even stand a glow from an alarm clock. My curtains block out any outside light.

Just last week my daughter commented on how well she slept in my room. When she got up in the morning, she was surprised that she slept so late and had such good sleep.

So if you are wondering why you can't sleep check out the article at Delicious Living. You will be surprised.

Sheila