If you have not read Parts 1 and 2 of this blog series, please click here for Part 1 and click here Part 2. Part 3 builds on the previous blog posts and it would be helpful if you read them first.
In Part 3 of this four-part blog series, we will dig deeper into the second of the three categories of “Natural Sleep Solutions” that was addressed in Part 1 – Informational Materials.
NATURAL SLEEP SOLUTIONS
The focus of this blog series is on how to improve the quantity and quality of your sleep – naturally.
As you probably already know, there is an almost limitless variety of options available for improving your sleep. The following three categories of natural sleep solutions will be addressed in this four-part blog series:
In today’s blog post, we will focus on the second one - Informational Materials.
Sleep-Related Consumer Products will be addressed in the next blog post.
INFORMATIONAL MATERIALS
There is a ton of informational materials out there claiming to be able to improve your sleep naturally. This information comes from numerous companies in many print and electronic forms. Some examples include blogs, articles, websites, books, e-books, newsletters, and many more.
Regardless of the format of this information, there is at least one thing in common with sleep-related natural supplements and consumer products. The quality and efficacy of all these three categories of “sleep solutions” varies dramatically. In all three cases, there is a vast range from one extreme to the other. Some of them provide people with tremendous improvements in their sleep, and others do not help at all.
In some cases, “sleep solutions” that do not help the user are fraudulent, counterfeit, scams, or just plain ineffective. In other cases, these items may work for some people but not for others. As I previously mentioned, the causes of sleep problems are numerous and diverse. As a result, the corresponding solutions are also numerous and diverse.
The key to finding a natural and safe sleep solution – or more likely a combination of solutions – is rarely simple. You should treat it like any other “project” in your life that you REALLY care about. Treat it like you are planning a vacation or even – dare I say it – a wedding.
In my own experience and my observations of many other people, people don’t usually go “all in” on health-related issues. (This is, of course, unless it becomes so serious that they have no choice.) When we have a medical problem, most of us “throw ourselves on the mercy of the court” so to speak.
In other words, we let the four super-powerful industries that control the overwhelming majority of our so-called “healthcare system” handle everything. This group includes (in no particular order) the pharmaceutical, health insurance, medical, and legal industries.
Each of these industries has its own special language and its own indecipherable way of doing things. The average American has almost no idea about how these four industries actually work as far as healthcare and wellness are concerned. Here are just a few examples of my point:
With all this complexity, it’s no wonder so many people just throw up their hands – and maybe their supper – and get on the “medical conveyor belt.” The main problem with this process is that it’s not any fun, it involves a lot of time waiting around, and they make you get off when your money runs out. (It’s a lot like the magical kingdom full of cartoon characters and long lines.)
All you have to do to understand the long-term effects of this conveyor belt process is watch the zillions of class action lawsuit commercials on TV. Then, listen to the unbelievably scary side effects of many prescription drugs. And the weird part is that these same scary commercials are designed to convince YOU to convince YOUR doctor to prescribe those medicines for YOU.
If the potential side effects of a drug designed to clear up your skin include cancer, incontinence, or heart attack – NO THANK YOU!
Now, please understand that if I really NEED a prescription drug or surgery, I will seriously consider it. I am NOT advocating that anyone swear off all medical advice and pharmaceutical products.
What I am advocating that you do is take charge of your own health and wellness as much as possible. Consider natural products (and information) and consult your healthcare practitioner(s) as appropriate. Also, consider “traditional” medical and pharmaceutical advice side-by-side the natural kind. Most importantly, educate yourself and participate in your own decisions.
Now, back to my vacation and wedding analogy… My point here is that we all should devote the appropriate amount of time and effort to our health and wellness just like we do for these two important events. I have often heard of people spending weeks or months planning an elaborate vacation. I have also known regular, middle-class people who spent tens of thousands of dollars on a wedding. Please understand that this is NOT intended to be a criticism or a judgment – just an observation.
I’m not saying or implying that anything is wrong with these decisions. Vacations and weddings are important events and, for most of us, we have more of the former than the latter. In any case, what I’m advocating is that you give your own health and wellness the attention it deserves. After all, vacations, weddings, and health/wellness have one thing in common. They can all be VERY EXPENSIVE.
NATURAL SLEEP RECOMMENDATIONS #3
Take control of your health and wellness. By that, I mean many different things. Here are a few of the most important steps you can start taking TODAY:
NOTE: There are many more aspects of health and wellness than those listed above. This is not intended to be an all-inclusive list. There are a gazillion (mostly) helpful health hints out there in written form and on the internet. I suggest that you use discretion about what information you take to heart and what you ignore.
Bill Pickard, Guest Blogger for Hoppy Dreams Sleep Company
Founder of Success Business Communications
Primary Focus: Copywriting and Content Writing for the Natural Health Industry
Relevant Experience: Internet and print sales with BellSouth Advertising & Publishing and AT&T Advertising.
Natural health industry sales experience with Gaia Herbs, Inc. (an industry-leading manufacturer of premium herbal supplements), and Braven, Inc. (a successful e-commerce reseller of top-quality natural supplements).
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In Part 2 of this four-part blog series, we will dig deeper into the first of the three categories of “Natural Sleep Solutions” that was addressed in Part 1 - Natural Supplements.
NATURAL SLEEP SOLUTIONS
The focus of this blog series is on how to improve the quantity and quality of your sleep – naturally.
As you probably already know, there are a HUGE variety of options available for improving your sleep. The following three prevalent categories of natural sleep solutions will be addressed in this four-part blog series:
Natural Supplements
Informational Materials
Sleep-Related Consumer Products
In today’s blog post, we will focus on Natural Supplements.
Informational Materials and Sleep-Related Consumer Products will be addressed in the next two blog posts.
Natural Supplements: There are probably thousands of natural supplements that claim to help improve the quality and/or quantity of your sleep. Natural supplements are not regulated by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to the degree that pharmaceutical products are regulated. As a result, the availability of accurate information about natural supplements is lacking. (This is certainly NOT to say that all the available information about pharmaceutical products is accurate!)
There appears to be ample proof that many people experience improved sleep with the help of natural supplements. Many of these natural herbs, vitamins, hormones, etc. have been used for thousands of years all over the world to successfully address sleep problems.
GAIA HERBS & SLEEP SUPPORT
I worked with Gaia Herbs in two divisions: Healthcare Practitioner and Specialty. (At that time, the Specialty Division consisted of E-Commerce, International, and Bulk Sales). Most of my time in the Specialty Division was spent on e-commerce because the other two channels were small in comparison.
In my opinion, and the opinions of many experts in the field, Gaia makes some of the best herbal supplements in the U.S. and the world. While working with Gaia, I attended numerous trade shows where I spoke with many thousands of customers and prospects.
I also attended dozens of educational webinars that Gaia hosted, which featured some of the leading experts in the natural products industry. During that time, I learned a great deal about Gaia’s products and the natural supplements industry as a whole.
Gaia manufactures some tremendously popular sleep products for their Healthcare Practitioner (AKA “Professional Solutions”) and retail lines. In both of my roles at Gaia, I sold large quantities of their products. Also, I was able to get tremendous amounts of customer feedback on the products. The overwhelming majority of the feedback I received was positive for both product lines.
Gaia sells a large variety of single-herb products and multi-herb formulas. Their products are available in both liquid extracts and liquid phyto-caps (a vegan-friendly capsule). All of Gaia’s products are highly concentrated, and either organic or ecologically wildcrafted.
I will not be getting into the specific details of Gaia’s products in this blog, but I may do so in a future blog.
You can research Gaia Herbs and their excellent products at www.GaiaHerbs.com.
As you can see for yourself, Gaia’s website is amazing. It includes lots of extremely useful tools. You can use the “Search” function to identify products by a specific herb, a health issue (e.g., sleep), or a product name.
Gaia’s website also includes an amazing tool called “Meet Your Herbs” The MYH tool enables you to track every product “from seed to shelf” using the “Herb ID#” on each bottle. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the MYH tool provides more information about the products than you could ever want to know. Try it for yourself to see how user-friendly and informative it is. This extremely high level of transparency is one of the things that has helped Gaia become so successful.
I DO NOT make any money from this general overview of Gaia Herbs and their products. I am using them as an example but there are other great brands in the industry. As with anything you buy, online or in a bricks-and-mortar store, buyer beware. Do your own research including reviews, ratings, customer feedback, etc.
I recommend that you consult the Gaia Herbs website for any health issues. I also suggest that you do your own research and consult your healthcare practitioner before taking any nutritional supplements. Nobody knows your unique health situation better than you and your healthcare practitioner. Before taking any natural supplements, you should also research independent product reviews, competitive products, and outside resources (e.g., WebMD).
One of the most important things to remember about improving your sleep naturally is that there is almost never a “silver bullet.” Since sleep is such a complex issue, the solutions are usually just as complex. In most cases, there are multiple factors that are contributing to your sleep problems. As a result, multiple solutions are usually required to achieve substantial and long-lasting improvements.
Check back next week for more detailed information and specific recommendations concerning how you can improve the quantity and quality of your sleep - naturally.
NATURAL SLEEP RECOMMENDATION #2
Take the information you have documented in your sleep journal and start evaluating what you ARE doing correctly as far as experiencing good sleep. Then, evaluate what you are NOT doing correctly. Based on this information, determine what changes you need to make to improve the quality and quantity of your sleep.
Continue to keep your sleep journal and monitor your results. If you see that your sleep is getting worse, reevaluate based on the information in your sleep journal and make the appropriate changes.
Unfortunately, sleep problems are not a “one and done” kind of thing. The quality and quantity of your sleep can suffer for many reasons, including seasonal/weather changes, physical changes, emotional or psychological changes, medical conditions, work schedule changes, increased stress levels, and much more.
You might find it helpful, especially for some of the stubborn sleep-related habits that you need to change, to implement some SMART goals. Although I have seen several variations of SMART goals, let’s use the following acronym for our purposes:
Specific (Your goals should be precise about exactly what you want to accomplish.)
Measurable (Your goals should be quantified so that you’ll know if you’ve met them.)
Achievable or Attainable (Your goals should be realistic - not too difficult or too easy.)
Relevant (Your goals should be applicable to YOU and exactly what YOU want to accomplish.)
Time-Bound (Your goals should include specific milestones and deadlines to keep you focused.)
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Bill Pickard, Guest Blogger for Hoppy Dreams Sleep Company
Founder of Success Business Communications
Primary Focus: Copywriting and Content Writing for the Natural Health Industry
Relevant Experience: Internet and print sales with BellSouth Advertising & Publishing and AT&T Advertising.
Natural health industry sales experience with Gaia Herbs, Inc. (an industry-leading manufacturer of premium herbal supplements), and Braven, Inc. (a successful e-commerce reseller of top-quality natural supplements).
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It’s no secret how vital sleep is to your overall health.
EVERYONE who experiences sleep problems is painfully aware of the impact sleep has on their daily life. What EVERYONE doesn’t know is how to address those sleep problems.
People who are fortunate enough NOT to have chronic sleep issues may not be aware of the impact poor quality sleep has on the rest of us. It can cause concentration problems, low productivity at work, vehicle accidents, numerous diseases, and much more.
As a long-term Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) sufferer, I am dependent on a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) device. I know from experience about poor quality sleep. Regardless of which sleep problem(s) you are experiencing, you would probably like to know how to improve the quality and quantity of your sleep - naturally.
2 MAIN TYPES OF SLEEP PROBLEMS
There are two different, but overlapping, types of sleep problems:
Although there are some overlapping symptoms and treatments, these two sleep issues should be evaluated separately.
The following list of potential sleep improvements is NOT complete by any means. Additional details and recommendations will be provided in upcoming blog posts. In the next several posts, I will provide additional information that is likely to improve your sleep substantially.
Here are a few of the most effective ways to improve your sleep – naturally and safely:
Of course, there are a multitude of other sleep issues that people deal with on a daily – or nightly – basis. There seem to be at least as many ways to address sleep issues as there are sleep issues themselves. The most difficult challenge is finding the right combination of sleep solutions that work for you.
NATURAL SLEEP SOLUTIONS
Our focus here is how to improve the quantity and quality of our sleep – naturally. There are a multitude of options out there for addressing your sleep issues. Here are a few of the top categories:
SLEEP PROBLEMS ARE COMPLEX AND SO ARE THE SOLUTIONS
As with most things in life, some of these sleep-related solutions can help you, but others will not. To complicate an already complicated situation, there are an almost infinite number of causes for sleep problems.
In many cases, the specific sleep symptoms that an individual experiences are the result of multiple factors. As a result, two people can share the same symptoms, but the solutions might be different. This complexity is just one of the many factors that makes addressing sleep-related problems so difficult.
In my personal situation with sleep apnea, I have found a variety of ways to address my sleep issues. It has taken many years and a significant amount of time and money to get to where I am today. Although I have not yet overcome all my sleep problems, I have improved the overall quantity and quality of my sleep in many ways. At the same time, I am always on the look-out for new and better ways to improve my sleep.
The most important thing to remember about improving your sleep naturally is that there is almost never a “silver bullet.” Since sleep is such a complex issue, the solutions are usually just as complex. In most cases, there are multiple factors that are causing your sleep problems. As a result, multiple solutions are almost always required to achieve substantial and long-lasting improvements.
Check back next week for more detailed information and specific recommendations concerning how you can improve the quantity and quality of your sleep - naturally.
NATURAL SLEEP RECOMMENDATION #1
Starting tomorrow, keep a detailed sleep journal. Make detailed notes about your sleep every morning. This process will help assess which sleep issues you have so that appropriate natural solutions can be developed. This journal will also help you to evaluate which solutions seem to improve your sleep and which ones do not. When you change something or try something, make notes about what, if any, impact it had on your sleep.
Please include the following information in your sleep journal as well as any additional comments and notes that you think might be relevant:
SIGN UP NOW FOR OUR EMAIL LIST AND FREE PILLOW DRAWING
WE WILL NEVER SELL YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION TO ANYONE.
To stay up to date with Hoppy Dreams Sleep Company, please click below to opt in for our email list. For more information about our wonderful sleep-supporting products, please visit our website at:
www.HoppyDreamsSleepCompany.com
Click “SIGN ME UP” NOW to be entered to win!
Bill Pickard,
Founder of Success Business Communications
Former Director - Specialty Channels, Gaia Herbs
Former Vice President of Business Development, Braven, Inc
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Having trouble catching your zzzzs? Do you toss and turn most nights? While grabbing a “cold one” isn’t exactly the way to get a good night’s sleep, the key ingredient in beer—hops—may just offer some help.
Hops have a long history of helping insomniacs find some relief. They have been used medicinally for hundreds of years to treat sleep problems, as well as anxiety, irritability, and restlessness. Could they help you?
What Are Hops?
Hops are most commonly used as an ingredient in the beer brewing process and are what give it its bitter flavor. They are the female flower from the hop plant, humulus lupulus, a creeping vine that grows in temperate climates.
A Happy Accident
What’s most fascinating is how the sedative effects of hops were discovered: field workers harvesting the crops began falling asleep on the job! This led researchers to conduct more studies on the plant, which has been used for centuries in Europe and by Native Americans, and how it can benefit the sleep-deprived. More recent studies have shown that hops help enhance GABA levels (gamma-aminobutyric acid) in the brain, which is naturally produced to help quiet the central nervous system, lower anxiety, and increase calmness.
Hops have also been shown to lower your body temperature, which brings about drowsiness and begins the body’s sleep process. Lowering the core body temperature is an important physiological step toward sleep.
Luckily, you don’t have to drink an alcoholic beverage to reap the benefits of hops. In fact, drinking too much alcohol can reduce your quality of sleep. You can get the benefits of hops in herbal teas, tinctures, capsules, and even non-alcoholic beer.
How To Use Hops To Help You Get Some Shut-Eye
Hops appear to work most effectively when used in conjunction with the herbs valerian root extract, passionflower, or lemon balm. Valerian, another well-studied herb used to aid sleep, has a similar medicinal profile. It is most commonly combined with hops as a sleep aid.
Make a pouch of hops and breathe in the scent before bed, a trick supposedly used by King George III to help him sleep. Fill a pouch or satchel with dried hop flowers and slip it into your pillowcase to help ease sleep troubles. Try adding in a mixture of chamomile, lavender, or passionflower for an added bonus.
Make hops tea, which has long been recommended by herbalists as a tonic for insomnia. Boil 8 oz of water and fill a tea ball with dried hops. Steep for 3 minutes and drink. The tea tends to be bitter, so adding a bit of honey to sweeten it may make it go down easier.
As always, it is recommended to consult your doctor before you begin taking a supplement or making any changes to your existing medication and supplement routine.
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Welcome to the Smarter Living newsletter! Every Monday, S.L. editor Tim Herrera emails readers with tips and advice for living a better, more fulfilling life. Sign up here to get it in your inbox.
Imagine this: Someone walks up to you and pitches you on a brand-new, magical pill.
This pill can measurably improve your memory, overall cognitive performance, ability to learn new information, receptivity to facial cues, mood, ability to handle problems, metabolism, risk for heart disease and immune system.
Would you buy it?
Yeah, yeah, you saw this coming: That pill exists, but not in pill form. You can have all of those benefits cost-free, and all it takes is going to bed a little bit earlier. That’s it.
And yet! The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have called sleep deprivation a public health crisis, saying that one-third of adults don’t get enough sleep. Some 80 percent of people report sleep problems at least once per week, and according to a 2016 study, sleep deprivation “causes more than $400 billion in economic losses annually in the United States and results in 1.23 million lost days of work each year.” If that’s not enough, here is a non-comprehensive list of the ways your sleep deprivation is personally harming you:
Your overall cognitive performance — particularly your visual attention and ability to form memories — deteriorates. (More colloquially, this is that “brain fog” we all experience after a late night.)
Your ability to learn new information is impaired, both by sleep deprivation before you learn new information and afterward.
You’re less likely to correctly read facial expressions, even interpreting some expressions — even neutral ones — as threatening.
You’re likely to be more cranky and react worse when presented with obstacles.
Beyond your severely impaired mental abilities, your body is affected, too: A lack of adequate sleep can contribute to weight gain, puts you at a higher risk of diabetes and heart disease, and makes you far less resistant to the common cold.
That is insane! All of this from just not getting enough sleep!
So what are we to do? We’ve got you covered with The Times’s guide to getting a better night’s sleep.
First, learn how much sleep you need. Generally, if you’re waking up tired, you’re not getting enough. However, the gold standard of eight hours per night might not be right for you. A study from 2015 brought into question whether we need that magical number, so following your body is the best way to figure out the right rhythm. The only real guideline is to get as much sleep as you need to feel refreshed and energized the next day, and then do that every single night. Keeping a sleep diary — like this one — can help you figure this out.
Next, figure out your body’s natural rhythm. Maybe after years of trying, you need to acknowledge that you’re just not a morning person. And that’s perfectly fine! Take this quiz to find out what kind of sleeper you are, and don’t fight your body’s natural sleep tendencies.
Last, keep a consistent sleep schedule. This can be the most important part of your overall sleep hygiene. We’re all equipped with a circadian clock, which is that internal 24-hour timer that naturally tells us when to sleep, and the best way to getting rest and feeling rested is to keep this consistent. Fall asleep and wake up at the same time every day (including weekends), and try to build as much regularity into your schedule as possible, including meal times, exercise routines, screen time (and when to shut off the screens) and morning sunlight time. And don’t forget to keep your bedroom cool.
What helps you get the right amount of Z’s and stay well-rested? Tweet me your tips at @timherrera.
Have a great week!
— Tim