Listen to white noise or relaxation CDs. Some people find the sound of white noise or nature sounds, such as the ocean or forest, to be soothing for sleep. After some time the body will program to shut down when you hear failure music that you associate with sleep time.
Avoid before-bed snacks, particularly grains and sugars. This will raise blood sugar and inhibit sleep. Later, when blood sugar drops too low (hypoglycemia), you might wake up and not be able to fall back asleep.
Sleep in complete darkness or as close as possible. If there is even the tiniest bit of light in the room it can disrupt your circadian rhythm and your pineal gland's production of melatonin and seratonin. There also should be as little light in the bathroom as possible if you get up in the middle of the night. Please whatever you do, keep the light off when you go to the bathroom at night. As soon as you turn on that light you will for that night immediately cease all production of the important sleep aid melatonin.
No TV right before bed. Even better, get the TV out of the bedroom or even out of the house, completely. It is too stimulating to the brain and it will take longer to fall asleep. Also disruptive of pineal gland function for the same reason as above.
Wear socks to bed. Due to the fact that they have the poorest circulation, the feet often feel cold before the rest of the body. A study has shown that wearing socks reduces night wakings
Read something spiritual or religious. This will help to relax. Don't read anything stimulating, such as a mystery or suspense novel, as this may have the opposite effect. In addition, if you are really enjoying a suspenseful book, you might wind up unintentionally reading for hours, instead of going to sleep.
Avoid using loud alarm clocks. It is very stressful on the body to be awoken suddenly. If you are regularly getting enough sleep, they should be unnecessary. A good alternative is to use a sun alarm clock. The Sun Alarm™ SA-2002 provides an ideal way to wake up each morning if you can't wake up with the REAL sun. Combining the features of a traditional alarm clock (digital display, AM/FM radio, beeper, snooze button, etc) with a special built-in light that gradually increases in intensity, this amazing clock simulates a natural sunrise. It also includes a sunset feature where the light fades to darkness over time - ideal for anyone who has trouble falling asleep.
Journaling. If you often lay in bed with your mind racing, it might be helpful keep a journal and write down your thoughts before bed.
Melatonin and its precursors. If behavioral changes do not work, it may be possible to improve sleep by supplementing with the hormone melatonin. This is not available over the counter in Ireland though. However, I would exercise extreme caution in using it, and only as a last resort, as it is a powerful hormone. Ideally it is best to increase levels naturally with exposure to bright sunlight in the daytime (along with full spectrum fluorescent bulbs in the winter) and absolute complete darkness at night. One should get blackout drapes so no light is coming in from the outside. One can also use one of melatonin's precursors, L-tryptophan or 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP).Again these are unenviable over the counter in Ireland so they can be increased in the diet instead. Turkey, dark meat and eggs have high levels of these amino acids.
Eat a high-protein snack several hours before bed. This can provide the L-tryptophan need to produce melatonin and serotonin.
Also eat a small piece of fruit. This can help the tryptophan cross the blood-brain barrier.
Get to bed as early as possible. Our systems, particularly the adrenal glands, do a majority of their recharging or recovering during the hours of 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. In addition, your gallbladder dumps toxins during this same period. If you are awake, the toxins back up into the liver which then secondarily back up into your entire system and cause further disruption of your health. Prior to the widespread use of electricity, people would go to bed shortly after sundown, as most animals do, and which nature intended for humans as well.
Check your bedroom for electro-magnetic fields (EMFs). These can disrupt the pineal gland and the production of melatonin and seratonin, and may have other negative effects as well. You can purchase a gauss meter to measure EMFs on the internet. They cost around $40. One doctor even recommends to turn off the electricity at the main fuse box before bed to kill all power in the house (Dr. Herbert Ross, author of "Sleep Disorders").
Keep the temperature in the bedroom no higher than 20 degrees C. Many people keep their homes and particularly the upstairs bedrooms too hot.
Reduce or avoid as many drugs as possible. Many medications, both prescription and over-the-counter may have effects on sleep. In most cases, the condition, which caused the drugs to be taken in the first place, can be addressed with natural medicine that wont effect sleep.
Avoid caffeine. A recent study showed that in some people, caffeine is not metabolized efficiently and therefore they can feel the effects long after consuming it. So an afternoon cup of coffee (or even tea) will keep some people from falling asleep. Also, some medications, particularly diet pills contain caffeine.
Alarm clocks and other electrical devices. If these devices must be used, keep them as far away from the bed as possible, preferably at least 3 feet.
Avoid alcohol. Although alcohol will make people drowsy, the effect is short lived and people will often wake up several hours later, unable to fall back asleep. Alcohol will also keep you from falling into the deeper stages of sleep, where the body does most of its healing.
Lose weight. Being overweight can increase the risk of sleep apnea, which will prevent a restful nights sleep
Avoid foods that you may be sensitive to. This is particularly true for dairy and wheat products, as they may have effect on sleep, such as causing apnea, excess congestion, gastrointestinal upset, and gas, among others
Don't drink any fluids within 2 hours of going to bed. This will reduce the likelihood of needing to get up and go to the bathroom or at least minimize the frequency.
Take a hot bath, shower or sauna before bed. When body temperature is raised in the late evening, it will fall at bedtime, facilitating sleep,
Remove the clock from view. It will only add to your worry when constantly staring at it... 2 a.m. ...3 a.m. ... 4:30 a.m. ...
Keep your bed for sleeping. If you are used to watching TV or doing work in bed, you may find it harder to relax and to think of the bed as a place to sleep. The same goes for the bedroom – try to restrict the activity in this room to sleeping and relaxing.
Have your adrenals checked by a good natural medicine clinician. Scientists have found that insomnia may be caused by adrenal stress (Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, August 2001; 86:3787-3794).
If you are menopausal or perimenopausal, get checked out by a good natural medicine physician. The hormonal changes at this time may cause problems if not properly addressed
Don't change your bedtime. You should go to bed, and wake up, at the same times each day, even on the weekends. This will help your body to get into a sleep rhythm and make it easier to fall asleep and get up in the morning.
Make certain you are exercising regularly. Exercising for at least 30 minutes everyday can help you fall asleep. However, don't exercise too close to bedtime or it may keep you awake. Studies show exercising in the morning is the best if you can do it.
Establish a bedtime routine. This could include meditation, deep breathing, using aromatherapy or essential oils or indulging in a massage from your partner. The key is to find something that makes you feel relaxed, then repeat it each night to help you release the day's tensions.
Go to the bathroom right before bed. This will reduce the chances that you'll wake up to go in the middle of the night.
Wear an eye mask to block out light. As said above, it is very important to sleep in as close to complete darkness as possible. That said, it's not always easy to block out every stream of light using curtains, blinds or drapes, particularly if you live in an urban area (or if your spouse has a different schedule than you do). In these cases, an eye mask can help to block out the remaining light.
Put your work away at least one hour (but preferably two or more) before bed. This will give your mind a chance to unwind so you can go to sleep feeling calm, not hyped up or anxious about tomorrow's deadlines.
In Health
Gabriel
Why medicinal herbs must be grown organically
After many years researching herbal medicines, and what improves their efface in treating illness, I have come to the conclusion that it is essential to use organically grown plants if one is going to use herbs as medicine. Herbal medicine is big business world wide now and with big business comes big corporations mass producing product, using raw materials that are grown using fungicide and pesticide chemicals and after harvesting them are manufactured them inappropriately. The resulting product will have little medicinal value.
The basic truths of herbal medicine have been known since antiquity but, recently, reductionist analysis has helped explain much of it in modern terms. We now know that key phytochemicals essential to a plant in order for it to become a good herbal medicine in most cases is based on its content of Secondary Metabolites. Secondary metabolites are organic compounds that are not directly involved in the normal growth, development or reproduction of plants. Unlike primary metabolites, absence of secondary metabolities results not in immediate death, but in long-term impairment of the organism's survivability/fecundity(1).
Secondary Metabolites
The immobility of plants in diverse and changing physical environments, along with the possibility of attack from animals and pathogens, has necessitated the development of numerous chemical mechanisms for protection and offence. These chemical mechanisim are its secondary metabolites. Under most conditions, plants produce several thousands of these compounds, and invest huge amounts of their metabolic energy, sometimes up to 90% of their nitrogen resource, into producing them.
Secondary Metabolites are usually produced in response to even low level competition. In the semi-sterile cultivations favoured by non-organic chemical methods of farming, plants have no effective competition and so no need to produce these compounds. In the total absence of natural competition, selection pressures favour the production of plant mass either devoid of, or with reduced proportions of these metabolically expensive compounds. One consequence of this is that even though they may give an impression of quality, the appearance and color of an herb are not necessarily indicators of its therapeutic quality. Indeed, plants grown under adverse conditions may sometimes have a poor appearance but higher levels of secondary metabolites.
In recent years considerable attention has been paid to the specific ecological roles of secondary metabolites, which were often formerly regarded as waste products (2).
Alkaloids
Alkaloids are thought to play a defensive role in plants against herbivores and pathogens(3). The alkaloids are said to be the active constituent responsible for the stomachic(has a medicinal action on the stomach) action of the herb Wild Yam (Dioscorea spp.)(4). Atropine is an alkaloid and main active constituent of Deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna). Alkaloids are central to the effece of other medicinal herbs such as Damiana (Turnera diffusa) and Celery seed (Apium graveolens)
Glucosinolates
Glucosinolates play a role in protecting the plant against insect attack(5). Black Mustard contains the compound ‘sinigrin’ and White Mustard contains ‘sinalbin’, both of which are metabolised to glucosinolates. These glucosinolates are thought to be key to the rubafacient action of the herb.
Tannins
Tannins act to preserve the wood in living trees from microbial decomposition and insects(6). Tannins are key constituents of the following medicinal herbs Black cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa), Green tea (Camellia sinensis), St john's wort (Hypericum perforatum) and Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria).
Several classes of secondary metabolites are induced by infection, wounding or grazing. Variation in the speed and extent of such induction may account at least in part for the differences between resistant and susceptible varieties(7). Both salicylic and jasmonic acids have been implicated as signals in such responses. Toxic chemicals formed in response to damage, especially from fungal attack, are called phytoalexins(6). In legumes, secondary metabolites are involved in interactions with beneficial microorganisms (flavonoids as inducers of Rhizobium symbiosis) and in defence against pathogens (isoflavoniond phytoalexins)(8)
Plants have also developed defence against other plants, a phenomenon known as ‘allelopathy’. Many compounds are implicated, including phenolics(9) and terpenoids(10), again both key active constituents in medicinal herbs.
Positive interaction, or facilitation, among plants is also becoming increasingly recognized(11). UK based company Natures Defence are currently researching this phenomenon. Chief research Anthony Daniels recently told me that a current focus of research is on a gaseous defence mechanism that exists in plants. “If a plant is being attacked by pest or fungus it secrets a certain gas that initiates the production of secondary metabolites in neighbouring plants exposed to the gas”. This is amazing as it shows that there is a very intelligent communication mechanism between plants that result in the production of more (protective) medicinal constituents within the plants, when there is a pest or fungus in the area.
Research on Secondary Metabolites is in its infancy, but so far it has indicated very strongly that if one is going to use herbs medicinally then they should be either grown organically or wild crafted to maximise the potential of the plant as a medicine. This can also be extrapolated to all other members of the plant kingdom too, specifically your fruits and vegetables.
In Health
Gabriel
Reference
(1) Gibson, Shawn. University of Saskatchewan, Pl Sci 416, 2002
(2) Mills and Bone, Principles and Practice of Phototherapy; Modern herbal medicine, Edinburgh, 2000, Churchill Livingstone
(3) Castells E, Penuelas J. Towards a global theory of chemical defence: the case of alkaloids(French). Orsis 1997; 12:141-161
(4) Bruneton, J, 1995, Pharmacology, Phytochemistry, Medicinal Plants, Lavoisier, Paris, France, p 546
(5) Oleszek W. Glucosinolates: occurrence and ecological significance. Wiadomosci Botaniczne 1995; 39(1-2):49-58
(6) Laks PE. Wood preservation as trees do it. Scottish Forestry 1991; 45(4): 275-284
(7) Bennett RN. Tansley review no. 72
(8) Dixon RA. Metabolic engineering: prospects for crop improvement through the genetic manipulation of phenylpropanoid biosynthesis and defence response: a review. Gene 1996;179(1):61-71
(9) Inderijt. Plant phenolics in allelopathy. Botanical Review 1996; 62(2):186-202
(10) Langenheim HJ. Higher plant terpinoild: a phytocentric overview of their ecological roles. Journal of Chemical Ecology 1994;20(6) : 1223-1280
(11) Callaway R. Positive interactions among plants. Botanical Review 1995;61(4): 306-349
Medicinal Herbs - What Defines Quality?
Medicinal herbs are sourced from nature
and hence, unlike conventional chemical
drugs, vary from batch to batch. This can
be readily understood by comparison with another
plant product — wine. In technical terms, wine is
the fermented juice of the fruit of Vitis vinifera.
However, factors such as the grape variety, climatic
conditions, soil type, time of harvest and fermentation
conditions can all determine whether a batch of
wine will be either poor or good quality (which is
subsequently reflected in the price of the wine).
In the case of wine, factors such as the texture,
colour, aroma and taste determine if the product is
of good quality or otherwise. For medicinal plants,
the situation is much more complex. Most of the
chemical components of herbs which are important
for therapeutic activity are secondary metabolites.
By definition, secondary metabolites are not
thought to be important for the growth and survival
of the plant, although they are sometimes produced
in higher levels in response to infection, insect
attack and adverse growing conditions. One consequence
of this is that even though they may give an
impression of quality, the appearance and colour of
a herb are not necessarily indicators of its therapeutic
quality. Indeed, plants grown under adverse
conditions may sometimes have a poor appearance
but higher levels of secondary metabolites. One
corollary of this is that while herb batches which
have a good appearance and a pleasant taste might
be suitable for a herbal tea, they may not be optimum
for use as medicines. An example is chamomile.
Chamazulene is considered to be an important
active component, and varieties of chamomile have
been bred which have higher levels of this compound.
Since chamazulene imparts a bitter taste to
the flowers, these high medicinal grade varieties are
not suitable for a herbal tea taken for pleasure.
How can the medicinal quality of a herb be determined?
One approach adopted by the various
pharmacopoeias and used by manufacturers is to
set minimum levels of marker chemical compounds
for a herbal raw material. These are seen to give an
indication of activity, and hence quality. This
approach is fraught with difficulties. Even where the
marker compound is known to contribute to the
therapeutic activity of the herb (and this is not
always the case), herbalists stress that the chemical
complexity of the plant confers the sum total of its
activity. But until we better understand how individual
herbs work in their chemical totality, it is a
good starting point.
The uncertainties can be
lessened by choosing phytochemical classes of
marker compounds (flavonoids, essential oil,
oligomeric procyanidins etc) rather than just
individual chemical components. In addition,
testing for different marker compounds (or groups
of marker compounds) in the one plant can lead to
a better assessment of activity. As one researcher
recently commented: “If a batch of a herb contains
low levels of one marker compound, and then by a
completely different test also shows low levels of
another class of marker compound, we can begin to
form the conclusion that it is of poor quality.”
Why medicinal herbs must be grown organically
After many years researching herbal medicines, and what improves their efface in treating illness, I have come to the conclusion that it is essential to use organically grown plants if one is going to use herbs as medicine. Herbal medicine is big business world wide now and with big business comes big corporations mass producing product, using raw materials that are grown using fungicide and pesticide chemicals and after harvesting them are manufactured them inappropriately. The resulting product will have little medicinal value.
The basic truths of herbal medicine have been known since antiquity but, recently, reductionist analysis has helped explain much of it in modern terms. We now know that key phytochemicals essential to a plant in order for it to become a good herbal medicine in most cases is based on its content of Secondary Metabolites. Secondary metabolites are organic compounds that are not directly involved in the normal growth, development or reproduction of plants. Unlike primary metabolites, absence of secondary metabolities results not in immediate death, but in long-term impairment of the organism's survivability/fecundity(1).
Secondary Metabolites
The immobility of plants in diverse and changing physical environments, along with the possibility of attack from animals and pathogens, has necessitated the development of numerous chemical mechanisms for protection and offence. These chemical mechanisim are its secondary metabolites. Under most conditions, plants produce several thousands of these compounds, and invest huge amounts of their metabolic energy, sometimes up to 90% of their nitrogen resource, into producing them.
Secondary Metabolites are usually produced in response to even low level competition. In the semi-sterile cultivations favoured by non-organic chemical methods of farming, plants have no effective competition and so no need to produce these compounds. In the total absence of natural competition, selection pressures favour the production of plant mass either devoid of, or with reduced proportions of these metabolically expensive compounds. One consequence of this is that even though they may give an impression of quality, the appearance and color of an herb are not necessarily indicators of its therapeutic quality. Indeed, plants grown under adverse conditions may sometimes have a poor appearance but higher levels of secondary metabolites.
In recent years considerable attention has been paid to the specific ecological roles of secondary metabolites, which were often formerly regarded as waste products (2).
Alkaloids
Alkaloids are thought to play a defensive role in plants against herbivores and pathogens(3). The alkaloids are said to be the active constituent responsible for the stomachic(has a medicinal action on the stomach) action of the herb Wild Yam (Dioscorea spp.)(4). Atropine is an alkaloid and main active constituent of Deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna). Alkaloids are central to the effece of other medicinal herbs such as Damiana (Turnera diffusa) and Celery seed (Apium graveolens)
Glucosinolates
Glucosinolates play a role in protecting the plant against insect attack(5). Black Mustard contains the compound ‘sinigrin’ and White Mustard contains ‘sinalbin’, both of which are metabolised to glucosinolates. These glucosinolates are thought to be key to the rubafacient action of the herb.
Tannins
Tannins act to preserve the wood in living trees from microbial decomposition and insects(6). Tannins are key constituents of the following medicinal herbs Black cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa), Green tea (Camellia sinensis), St john's wort (Hypericum perforatum) and Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria).
Several classes of secondary metabolites are induced by infection, wounding or grazing. Variation in the speed and extent of such induction may account at least in part for the differences between resistant and susceptible varieties(7). Both salicylic and jasmonic acids have been implicated as signals in such responses. Toxic chemicals formed in response to damage, especially from fungal attack, are called phytoalexins(6). In legumes, secondary metabolites are involved in interactions with beneficial microorganisms (flavonoids as inducers of Rhizobium symbiosis) and in defence against pathogens (isoflavoniond phytoalexins)(8)
Plants have also developed defence against other plants, a phenomenon known as ‘allelopathy’. Many compounds are implicated, including phenolics(9) and terpenoids(10), again both key active constituents in medicinal herbs.
Positive interaction, or facilitation, among plants is also becoming increasingly recognized(11). UK based company Natures Defence are currently researching this phenomenon. Chief research Anthony Daniels recently told me that a current focus of research is on a gaseous defence mechanism that exists in plants. “If a plant is being attacked by pest or fungus it secrets a certain gas that initiates the production of secondary metabolites in neighbouring plants exposed to the gas”. This is amazing as it shows that there is a very intelligent communication mechanism between plants that result in the production of more (protective) medicinal constituents within the plants, when there is a pest or fungus in the area.
Research on Secondary Metabolites is in its infancy, but so far it has indicated very strongly that if one is going to use herbs medicinally then they should be either grown organically or wild crafted to maximise the potential of the plant as a medicine. This can also be extrapolated to all other members of the plant kingdom too, specifically your fruits and vegetables.
In Health
Gabriel
Reference
(1) Gibson, Shawn. University of Saskatchewan, Pl Sci 416, 2002
(2) Mills and Bone, Principles and Practice of Phototherapy; Modern herbal medicine, Edinburgh, 2000, Churchill Livingstone
(3) Castells E, Penuelas J. Towards a global theory of chemical defence: the case of alkaloids(French). Orsis 1997; 12:141-161
(4) Bruneton, J, 1995, Pharmacology, Phytochemistry, Medicinal Plants, Lavoisier, Paris, France, p 546
(5) Oleszek W. Glucosinolates: occurrence and ecological significance. Wiadomosci Botaniczne 1995; 39(1-2):49-58
(6) Laks PE. Wood preservation as trees do it. Scottish Forestry 1991; 45(4): 275-284
(7) Bennett RN. Tansley review no. 72
(8) Dixon RA. Metabolic engineering: prospects for crop improvement through the genetic manipulation of phenylpropanoid biosynthesis and defence response: a review. Gene 1996;179(1):61-71
(9) Inderijt. Plant phenolics in allelopathy. Botanical Review 1996; 62(2):186-202
(10) Langenheim HJ. Higher plant terpinoild: a phytocentric overview of their ecological roles. Journal of Chemical Ecology 1994;20(6) : 1223-1280
(11) Callaway R. Positive interactions among plants. Botanical Review 1995;61(4): 306-349
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