How long did our great grandparents sleep?
Only 100yrs ago the average amount of sleep was 9 1/2 to 10hrs per night.
People went to bed shortly after sunset and woke at sunrise.
We are genetically programmed to rise and retire with nature, not the alarm clock.
Have you ever noticed just before sunrise there is a slight temperature drop, in the past this would also wake us up, and was a signal to go looking for food.
Nowadays we use indoor heating and air conditioning which interferes with this natural reflex by the body. To make things worse we close up our windows and houses, similar to sleeping in airtight vaults.
We are so worried by the quality of our water, is it filtered?, alkaline?, spring or rain?, yet we only drink on average 2-3 litres daily.
We breathe in roughly 516 litres daily, a third of this quota while asleep. If there is more than one of you sleeping in a closed room, you need to take into account the amount of toxins exhaled into the room is doubled. Stagnant air is a powerful disruptor to your health, causing irritability, tossing and turning, and waking up tired.
If it is too cold to leave windows open, a simple ceiling fan has been shown to clean air better than the most expensive ozonators in studies.
Good sleep starts with waking up!
Our circadian rhythms sync with the sun, simple getting up close to sunrise and going for a brisk morning walk will do wonders for your sleep the following night.
It will reset your body clock and if you can limit using media an hour before bedtime (because of their blue/white light) you will do yourself wonders.
Your body produces chemicals that help you stay young while asleep, these chemicals are costing some pursuers of longevity thousands, yet your body produces them for free.
Common sense
Are you are tired during the day?
Do you need stimulants like coffee to drag you through?
Do you have health problems you just can't shake?
Are you training hard, eating perfectly but not getting the results you'd expect?
Are you overweight and nothing works?
You need more sleep!!!
Start with 15 minutes more than you get now. Do that for a few nights and see how you feel, still tired? add another 15 minutes.
Keep doing this until you start feeling like you have energy spare, not just at work, but a little later in the evening for friends, family, hobbies or that gym workout. Then maintain it and catch up.
My name is Blair Harvey and I have had the pleasure of working at one of Australia's best Health Retreat's for the past fourteen wonderful years. Over those years I have had the delight of working with a spectacular kitchen team, we all have an immense passion for cooking good healthy food that is unique and tantalizing to your taste buds. Together we have not only developed our skills in cooking wholesome, nourishing and out right delicious foods, but we have been committed to broadening our knowledge of healing with whole foods and exploring the beauty of healthy living. Because of our enthusiasm in the benefits of foods and there healing properties I developed a blog to help us SHARE what we have learnt with the rest of the world.
You will find tasty gems of wisdom on health, food and healing, helping to expand your mind and revitalize your knowledge of healthy eating.