Download The Satisfying Sleep Class Handout (2 Pages)

 

 

“Sleep chief nourisher in life’s feast” Shakespeare, Macbeth

Why is sleep deprivation an epidemic now?¹² Millions of people are getting an average of less than 6 or 7 hours of sleep each night.  And, some of that sleep is low quality, too.

After I had children, sleep was a rare blessing even though my kids slept really well.  I had horrible sleeping habits. While the children slept, I was up getting stuff done and then not really sleeping deeply when I did go to sleep.  My mama brain wouldn’t sleep deeply, I was always on alert (on duty) in case the children squeaked in their sleep and might need mama to come to the rescue!  Sounds familiar?

I didn’t learn how to sleep properly until I started cleansing my body with nutrition, essential oils and implementing other sleep practices.  When sweet sleep finally came, my healing accelerated so rapidly that within less than 6 months, my arthritic back, hands and joints were better.  My mood improved and I had so much mental clarity!  My skin cleared up and I looked younger!  Here is what I know about the topic of sleep.

Sleep Deprivation

Humans need about 8 hours of sleep each night. ³ Short term sleep depravation causes many health problems.  Long term sleep deprivation may lead to early death.

What happens when we don’t get enough sleep?

Short Term Problems

• Loss of attention
• High level of Micro-sleep
• Failure to process information
• Slow reactions and lowered performance
• Impulsivity & loss of empathy
• Memory impairment
• Reduced cognition & creativity

Long Term Problems

• Immune suppression
• Increase infection/cancer risk
• Increase cardiovascular disease
• Risk of Diabetes II
• Metabolic Syndrome

Psychiatric Problems

• Mood instability
• Anxiety & Depression
• Increase stimulant/sedative use
• Increase risk of a mental health crisis

Sleep restores health

What happens while we are sleeping?

We all have a circadian rhythm.⁴  This is a 24 hour natural cycle and pattern that helps us know when to sleep and wake.  This circadian rhythm determines whether we are Morning Larks or Night Owls or some where in between.  Melatonin is a hormone in our brain and body to initiates sleep.  When we are in the right environment, our body produces more melatonin.  When we sleep this is what is happening:

• Processing information & creativity
• Emotional processing
• Developing & stores memories
• Brain regulates growth & repair
• Replacing energy reserves
• Removing waste products
• Rebuilding metabolism
• Strengthens immunity

 

Sleep helps with the most basic functions of the body.  It strengthens the immune system.  When you sleep, your body stimulates meaningful absorption of nutrients for growth and repair.  The body produces more enzymes to aid digestion when we sleep well.

Your body has several types of sleep.  Rapid Eye Movement (REM) and Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) sleep.  You repeat the cycles of REM and NREM in uneven patterns as you sleep.

REM is the deepest sleep.  It is the most beneficial sleep and happens just before morning.  Loosing 2 hours of sleep from the required 8 hours may mean you are loosing 60-90% of your total REM sleep.⁵ This sleep is when we dream.  REM is the reflection stage. This is the time your body is paralyses so you can dream safely.  

REM sleep dreaming helps with creativity and inspirations.  That’s why we are asked to ‘sleep on it.’  Right when wake, we usually have some great ideas.  Many famous inventions, stories and songs come from people who awaken with these inspirations. We are more productive and efficient at work when we awaken like this.

Infants who lack the proper amount of REM sleep have less developed brains compared to others.  When infants get too little sleep they can develop neurological conditions such as autism.  Children need more sleep than adults.  Their bodies knows when it is time to nap.  As they grow the circadian rhythm takes years to develop.  Deep sleep plays a big part in brain development, reasoning abilities and skills.

NREM sleep moves short term memory to long term memory.  It is the sleep that helps us integrate information.  As we age, our brain neurons atrophy when we don’t get enough sleep.  NREM sleep helps the brain think more accurately.

Sleep helps us maintain healthy weight, reduces risks of Type II Diabetes & Cancer

The best and easiest way to lose weight and maintain healthy weight is to sleep it off.  I don’t need to workout as hard to keep the extra weight off anymore.  Sleep deprivation reduces your body’s ability to manage calories.  Two hormones control our appetite: Leptin & Ghrelin.  Leptin is a hormone of energy expenditure and signals a sense of feeling full.  Ghrelin is the hormones that triggers hunger.  Inadequate sleep decreases Leptin and increases Ghrelin.

Sleeping causes the proper production of the hormone insulin.  Without the proper production of insulin, there is greater concentration of sugar in the blood.  Over time, this may lead to Type II Diabetes because the body is now less receptive to insulin due to lack of proper sleep.

Sleeping less reduces the body’s immune system to fight disease and protect cells making it susceptible to DNA damage causes many forms of cancer.

Sleep helps with fertility

Men suffering from sleep disorders and sleep deprivation has significantly lower levels of testosterone.  This also has an affect on the brain’s ability to focus.  They often feel tired and fatigued.

Women who suffer from sleep deprivation produces lower levels of hormones required for ovulation and conception.  Pregnant women who sleep less are more likely to have miscarriages in the first trimester.

Sleep allows your brain to clear out toxins in the brain!

Our brains ‘cleans house’ while we sleep.  I’ve read so many articles but I remember a good one from the New York Times called Goodnight. Sleep Clean.  They say, when we sleep, the brain uses a liquid that acts like the brain’s version of lymphatic fluids to flush out the brain!  So the brain weighs less when we wake.⁶

Sleep organizes emotions.  It helps us differentiate one emotion from another when we are awake.  When we awake from a good sleep, we are more confident and make more accurate emotional responses to the social world.  The outside world is a more threatening and cruel place with the lack of sleep.

Heavy metals are toxins that can be stored in the brain causing a lot of damage.  Clove & Cilantro oils on the big toes can help encourage the body to detox heavy metals stored in the brains.  Make a roller bottle of these oils, diluted when necessary and use it morning and night.

Sleep and Brain Health – Feed the brain!

Taking care of our brain is another natural and important thing we can do for sleep.  Since the brain is mostly fat we need to feed the brain with lots of omega oils.  Omega oils can come in many forms.  One fantastic source is the dōTERRA xEO mega supplements with a variety of plant and marine source of omega fatty acids.

Besides omega oils the brain needs vitamins and minerals like folate, calcium, zinc, potassium, and vitamin B’s are great for the brain functions.  Sometimes our health problems are simply nutritional deficiency problems.  Once our body gets enough of nutrients, it functions properly again.

Lastly, drink lots of water to hydrate the brain too.

Sleep and the Body Clock

Did you know that our body has an internal body clock where the organs takes turns functioning?  If you wake up to go to the bathroom several times a night, it maybe an organ concern.  If the large intestines or kidneys aren’t happy, you’ll be up at 5am to go to the bathroom!  You might think it’s because you drank too much water.  The body knows to hold it in until morning if the organs are well.

One suggestion is to cleanse your body and organs.  We usually suggest the 30-day Cleanse & Restore program for most people.  For some, you might want to start with Juniper Berry, Zendocrine and citrus oils internally daily.  Rub the Juniper Berry on your tummy before bed and/or drop 2 drops under your tongue to ‘put the organs to bed.’

Some Sleep Solutions

I believe the holistic approach is always the best approach to health.   Sleep is a way to give the body time to fully focus on it’s job of health maintenance.  Sometimes our health problems are simply due to lack of sleep!

Below are some solutions for you if you’ve experienced some sort of sleep difficulty or even sleep deprivation.  Remember that proper hydration, good foods and supplements are important building blocks to provide the body with as it work at night.  Follow the suggestions to help relax the brains, the organs and body for quality, restful sleep.

Sleep Schedule: Set up your own sleep routine.  It could be a warm essential oil bath, turn down lights, turn off electronics, read etc.  LED light tricks the brain into thinking it is still day time.

Relaxing the Body: Take 2 Serenity soft gels capsules 30 minutes before bed.  Place 2-3 drops of Serenity Restful blend into a diffuser before bed and smell during sleep.  Other essential oils that help with sleep are Roman Chamomile, Bergamot, & Frankincense.  

Help You Stay Asleep: Put your organs to sleep and keep them asleep. Cleanse your organs.
Mix Juniper Berry oil with fractionated coconut oil and massage on tummy and the tummy reflexes on the feet.

Download This Chart

Night Owls: I love the fact that when everyone is asleep the world seems like it has switched off and I can hear myself think and relax.  The bad thing is I am robbing myself of quality sleep.  So after a few hours of ‘my time’ I smell Wild Orange oil, say to myself, “I have plenty of time tomorrow!”

Monkey Brains: Stop the mind chatter with Balance, Patchouli and Vetiver oils. Use one or a combination of these oils. Rub on forehead, back of neck, ears and big toes before bed. Say, “I give myself permission to switch off!”

Reduce Anxiety & Stress: Work on emotional healing.  Rewire your brain by creating new self-talk. Smell your happy essential oils throughout the day.

Jet Lag & Travel: Inhale Balance oil from cupped hands and apply Balance oil across your forehead, on your ears and on the back of the neck.  It helps your brain reset and soothes the nerves when traveling.  Traveling moves us too fast through too many time zones and our body can’t keep up.

 

 

The Rest & Relax Blend

Here is a great blend to help you rest and relax at the end of the day.

Rest & Relax Blend Recipe

• 4-5 drops of Roman Chamomile
• 2-3 drops of Frankincense
• 2-3 drops of Bergamot

Two application methods:

1. Apply to the bottoms of your feet at night before bed
2. Put it in a diffuser next to where you sleep

 

Sleep Tips:

1. Besides what is on this handout, if you often have tense neck and shoulders, massage AromaTouch oil blend on your neck and shoulders to help relax the body before bed.  If it is really tense, try Deep Blue (Ice Blue) or other tree oils too.
2. Sleep the night before studying.  The brain makes more room for learning when you sleep.  Sleep after learning to store memory.  Even muscle memory is stored.
3. Get good lighting.  Make sure you have lots of bright light in day.  It helps reset your Circadian clock. 3000 Lumens is the brightness of the light.
4. Read Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker PhD
5. Cut back or eliminate caffeine.  Adenosine is a chemical developed in the brain that accumulates more and more to help you feel sleepy. Caffeine drinks and pills used to counter Adenosine makes it difficult for the body to produce adenosine again to fall asleep and stay asleep.  The older you are the harder it is for your body to metabolize and eliminate caffeine from your body.  Caffeine causes sleep debt that is hard to break.
6. Cut back or eliminate alcohol.  Alcohol can induce sleep but the sleep is not deep REM and healing.
7. Did you know your body knows when it needs to wake without an alarm.  The alarm shocks your heart!  Regular sleep times helps the body wake up on it’s own without the shock to the heart and blood pressure.
8. Emotional healing is an important part of switching off the mind by feeling safe to rest, let go and sleep.  Work on this too.  Trust God and angels to watch over you and take care of the world while you fully let go and reset. ** Schedule an energy healing session with me **

Nite nite!  Sleep tight.

 

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1. http://www.sacbee.com/latest-news/article175367811.html
2. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/21/us/american-sleep-patterns-vary-by-age-race-and-place-study-finds.html?mcubz=0&_r=0
3. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/wr/pdfs/mm6506.pdf
4. https://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-topics/sleep-drive-and-your-body-clock/
5. Read Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker PhD
6. New York Times By Maria Konnikova.  Jan 11, 2014 Goodnight. Sleep Clean.