Healthy Household: A Good Night’s Sleep

“Our circadian clocks govern our sleepiness, and circadian clocks are extremely responsive to, and even dependent on, environmental light. Managing your exposure to light, especially blue light throughout the day and night can help you get to sleep at a normal time.”
Mark Sisson of 17 Ways to Improve Your Sleep

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Valerian Extract is a good herbal remedy for short-term sleep problems.

Our hectic lives can sometimes get in the way of a good night’s sleep. To naturally improve our sleep:

  1. Get outside everyday and get lots of natural light during the day. Our circadian cycle is governed by blue light. Use daylight hours for computer use or watching television, another source of blue light.
  2. Get ready for bed by reducing the light in the evening. Enjoying evening meals by candlelight. When the sun goes down do not use computers or watching television. Have enjoyable evening activities that require low or no unnatural light. Red light from fires or candles are fine.
  3. Make your bedroom as dark as possible for a good night’s sleep. If you are still having trouble sleeping try turning off the breakers in the house for a better night’s sleep. Never turn on any technology during the night! (Turn those smart phones off!) Any blue light source during the night will disrupt our circadian cycle.

If you would like more information about how unnatural light is negatively effecting our health please see Mark Sisson on How Light Effects Our Sleep.

If you have an occasional problem with sleep here are two herbal remedies that can help. These remedies are for short term problems with sleep. If you have a chronic sleep problem, don’t ignore it. You have a serious health problem that needs attention. Fortunately, most chronic sleep problems can be solved by lifestyle adjustments.

Valerian Extract
Valerian root helps support healthy sleep and relaxation. Valium was originally made from Valerian. Valerian should not be used long term and may cause dependency.

1 part organic Valerian Root (Valeriana officinalis), dried
3 parts Organic Vodka
Use a small pint-sized glass canning jar with a plastic lid. Put the Valerian root into the jar. Add the alcohol of choice and fill the jar. Label the jar with the name of the plant, percentage of alcohol, today?s day, and the decanting day. Decanting day will be in six weeks or longer. The jar will need to be turned over every day for at least the first week. On decanting day, use a cotton cloth to squeeze out all the liquid from the roots. Store the extract in a dark glass bottle. If available, use a dropper top for easy dispersal.

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Passionflower extract will help with sleep problems caused by repetitive, circular thinking. Passionflower works synergistically with Valerian.

Passionflower Extract
Passionflower extract helps with anxiety and insomnia caused by repetitive, circular thinking. Passionflower works?synergistically with Valerian root extract. Only then (if necessary), another antibiotic aimed at solving a narrower problem is prescribed. At the same time, the results of studies show that antibiotics of the first type can be at least as effective.

1 part organic Passionflower Leaf (Passiflora incarnata), dried
3 parts Organic Vodka
Use a small pint-sized glass canning jar with a plastic lid. Put the Passionflower leaf into the jar. Add the alcohol of choice and fill the jar. Label the jar with the name of the plant, percentage of alcohol, today?s day, and the decanting day. Decanting day will be in six weeks or longer. The jar will need to be turned over every day for at least the first week. On decanting day, use a cotton cloth to squeeze out all the liquid from the roots. Store the extract in a dark glass bottle. If available, use a dropper top for easy dispersal.

For more recipes please see Healthy Household: Staying Clean Safely and Saving Money.