I found a few articles, and thought I combine with my thoughts and would share themto help capture the importance of sleep. I hope you find this valuable!

How is your sleep?

Lack of sleep is killing us:

A “catastrophic sleep-loss epidemic” is causing a host of potentially fatal diseases, according to professor Matthew Walker, director of the Centre for Human Sleep Science at the University of California, Berkeley. In an interview with the Guardian, he warns that sleep deprivation is not being taken seriously enough by employers and everyday people alike — according to his research, there is a “powerful” link between a lack of sleep and cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and other conditions. “No aspect of our biology is left unscathed by sleep deprivation,” he says. “It sinks down into every possible nook and cranny. And yet no one is doing anything about it. Things have to change: in the workplace and our communities, our homes and families.”

Sleep in numbers:

■ Two-thirds of adults in developed nations fail to obtain the nightly eight hours of sleep recommended by the World Health Organisation.

■ An adult sleeping only 6.75 hours a night would be predicted to live only to their early 60s without medical intervention.

■ A 2013 study reported that men who slept too little had a sperm count 29% lower than those who regularly get a full and restful night’s sleep.

■ If you drive a car when you have had less than five hours’ sleep, you are 4.3 times more likely to be involved in a crash. If you drive having had four hours, you are 11.5 times more likely to be involved in an accident.

■ A hot bath aids sleep not because it makes you warm, but because your dilated blood vessels radiate inner heat, and your core body temperature drops. To successfully initiate sleep, your core temperature needs to drop about 1C.

■ The time taken to reach physical exhaustion by athletes who obtain anything less than eight hours of sleep, and especially less than six hours, drops by 10-30%.

■ There are now more than 100 diagnosed sleep disorders, of which insomnia is the most common.

■ Morning types, who prefer to awake at or around dawn, make up about 40% of the population. Evening types, who prefer to go to bed late and wake up late, account for about 30%. The remaining 30% lie somewhere in between.

The Sleep Doctor…

Michael Breus, PhD, DABSM

Sleep – Essential Oil Summit Aug 2016
http://www.thesleepdoctor.com/
You can get a better night sleep!

• Sleep- realize that no-one has perfect sleep every night.
• Our bodies age and our sleep evolves.
• Don’t set your goal to high, but at the same time, we can help things.

How do we break the cycle of insomnia, with cleaner natural techniques.

People who are currently taking meds:

1. Do not ever go off medications cold turkey.
2. Never change a dosage the medicine without speaking to the doc first. They will give you a taper schedule.
3. Work with other natural options at the same time of tapering off.

Slowly put your foot off the gas, and slowly put foot on brakes. It takes on the average of 20 minutes to fall asleep is normal.  If you fall asleep to fast it is a sign of sleep deprivation, that you are not getting enough sleep.

Risk factors:

• Alcohol is the number one sleep aide out there in the world.  Alcohol will not allow you to go into the deeper stages of sleep. It takes the average 1 hour to digest the alcohol.
• Coffee has a life of 8 hours before it gets out of your system. Don’t drink coffee after 2:00, because it won’t let you have a good deep sleep.
• Your environment, everything stops flooding into your head when you put your head on the pillow and anxiety creeps in.
• Electromagnetic frequencies,   does have an effect.  If you can create an EMF Free zone, you would have a better sleep..  Turn off the wi-fi in the house if you can’t sleep.  We are living experiment for what goes on.  Go camping and see if you can sleep better.  The body needs a break.

Light: Blue color spectrum light, sends a signal to our brain to turn off the melatonin.  You can actually find a bulb for the bedroom that will filter out the blue light. The sun is blue light.  The moon is orange light.  You can also put on orange light…   F.lux  program is available for the computer that when you’re working on the computer at night, you will get a better sleep because it filters out the light.

Sounds:  Ocean sounds will help you sleep. The beats are slower and will slow things down to help you sleep.  Music, as long as the sleeps.

Get a new pillow. Your head needs to align and if it is not, the pillow does break down and should be replaced every year.  When the pillow is broken down, your head is not aligned. And it causes strain.

Melatonin 101: Melatonin, not a magic bullet for sleep.  This is a hormone. This is not a supplement.  This is not FDA regulated. The quality standards are suspect, make sure it is trusted resource.  Most are sold in an overdose and that is not good for you.

If you have insomnia, you should never nap.  If you do, you should never nap more than 20 minutes.  A power nap – very useful.

Which Essential oils can help!

You can defuse any of these oils or try a combination of some of the oils!   Aromatherapy is wonderful, we like to use a diffuser that on and off puffs the oils into the air and it runs all night long. I also have a roller bottle blend of Serenity and Vetiver, and keep this on my night stand. I roll it under my nose, and on my feet before going to bed.  Some people also like to drink their favorite citrus oil, such as bergamo or wild orange in a warm tea before going to bed!

Do not use aromatherapy in candles, it doesn’t work – it is the wrong light.  Don’t go to bed with the fireplace still on, you don’t want to have it get out of control, it is more of a safety than not.

How to get started with essential oils.

There are new essential oil companies popping up everyday, but you must rely on purity and potency and doTERRA is the only company that has CTPG, that is certified therapeutic Grade essential oils that are highly tested and the leading oil company in the world. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

So if you’re looking for essential oils that will support healthy sleep, help your mind relax at the end of the day,  give me a call, email me, or visit mydoterra.com/liveloveessentialoils for viewing the product line.

RESOURCES:

doTERRA Living Magazine.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/sep/24/why-lack-of-sleep-health-worst-enemy-matthew-walker-why-we-sleep

Dr. Axe and Dr. Z

Essential Oils Summit on Sleep

The Sleep Doctor