Sleep

When sleep is an ever-elusive dream...

One of the reasons I first tried essential oils was because of the testimonies I'd heard that told of the incredible improvement in the quantity and quality of sleep.

For years I'd been a night owl, to my own detriment. Even if I tried to go to bed at a reasonable hour, I would be left tossing and turning for a couple of hours until my never-ending thoughts finally melded into vivid dreams. And it often wouldn't matter if I was exhausted - I often still couldn't get to sleep quickly. Then I will arise in the morning like a moaning zombie, with matching posture and slack jawed face, until I can finally perk up some time around mid-morning.

Having children meant that my sleep was disturbed further, but my inability to shut off my brain at night still continued despite my exhaustion, leaving me in a dreadful state of sleep deprivation. Somehow, I learnt to survive and partially function. But the effects of sleep-loss can be very harmful to the body. It's amazing really, how long we go on with a sleep issue before doing something about, considering how incredibly vital it is to your health and well-being to get good sleep. 

For mums, well your cause is most often your kids, and you're not going to be cured of having kids. The effects of sleep deprivation from parenthood can last for years, long after the newborn waking in the night for milk. And even when the kids are a little older there are bad dreams that disturb the night, and kids that just want to co-sleep, and wet beds, and illness, and the wrong layers of pyjamas, and "my drink bottle is empty", and "I drank too much water - I need to go to the toilet" etc. (Palm to face, and shake your head along with me).

You need to find what works best for you and your family, and get as many z's in between that you can. 

So aside from issues with children...
Do you have difficulty falling asleep (taking longer than 30 minutes)?

Do you wake up in the middle of the night and have a hard time getting back to sleep again?

Do you find yourself waking up too early in the morning?

Whilst everyone will have a different need with regard to amount of sleep, it's important to make sure you're not just brushing off the amount you truly need with what you're just managing to get.

Causes are numerous but there are some common factors that a generally regarded as the most likely issues and therefore there are strategic things that we can do to ensure we are giving ourselves the best chance for a good night sleep.

The experts from the documentary series 'The Human Longevity Project' (I'll call it HLP going forward) did a segment on Sleep, Light & Disease have some enlightening things I'd like to review for you.

So...

Are you getting enough?

The experts noted an unhelpful cultural view that Western society has of sleep. 

"We've made sleep lazy...for the non-productive, non-motivated." 

I have to say that seems true to me. We think of sleep as relative to doing nothing, and therefore we cast a negative association onto something very important. The experts went on further to offer the positive retraining that they encourage for people with sleep issues: instead of thinking of sleep as what happens at the end of the day and therefore somewhat expendable if you're too busy and still need to get things done, think of it as "your day BEGINS at the time that you sleep, so that you actually account for it as the FIRST thing in your day that you have to ACCOMPLISH". 

So, for starters I think many of us need to re-address how we view sleep before we're going to be able to prioritise aiming to get enough of it.

How are you feeling?

Did you know that a depressed brain and a sleep deprived brain look remarkably similar? 

I think our society is coming to terms, more and more, with the need to address our mental wellness as well as our physical wellness and the two are really inextricably linked. We know that physical activity has a positive effect on our mental health, as well as proper diet, and feeling tired and lethargic is a quick way to dampen your mood. 

When I prepare essential oil samples for people and ask for their greatest health need that they want to improve, the top two answers have always been sleep support and stress! One of the biggest causes of sleeplessness IS stress!  Stressed out people tend not to sleep well.

How did you feel about your day? Those thoughts tend to race around in your mind when you try to close your eyes and stop focusing on the other various tasks that distracted you during the day. And just as importantly, how do you feel about your tomorrow? Facing what the next day will bring, and what makes you get up in the morning (or what makes you want to just stay in bed and hide under the covers) can greatly affect your sleep.

Addressing these negative thought patterns can be a battle unto itself, but there is help out there. And it is worth seeking to ensure that you can get a restful night.

WHAT are you eating and WHEN are you eating?

You've probably heard lots of helpful info about eating right these days, although even that can get confusing depending on which doctor/nutritionist/dietitian/naturopath/expert that you ask. 

Generally, we've seen a huge increase in the eating "window" for the day in our culture. People who are living long lives in the other cultures the HLP interviewed, seem to have had a more structured view of what and when (and how) they eat. As a mum who loves to glean those last few hours of the evening after kids’ bedtime to keep as solitary, peaceful mummy down-time, I know that I also have a tendency to snack late into the evening, long after dinner time. Hey, I want to eat this, without the kids begging me for some - and well, I'm more likely to consider what nutritious food they're getting than myself. 

The experts from the HLP noted that this can affect your sleep. Ideally, we should be aiming for a 13-hour fasting window at the end of the day. As in, your last meal should ideally be a light meal, 13 hours before you intend to have breakfast the next day. This gives your digestive and immune system a break, before and during your sleep so that it is well prepared for your next day. Also, trying to eat at the same times throughout each day can ensure that the patterns of your organs’ functions (when they release hormones and go through their processes etc.) will be well in tune with your body clock for the day.

Do you have an established sleep PATTERN?

Trying to get to bed at the same time every night can seem like a daunting task. As we discussed before, sleep is often pushed back if there's things we feel we have to finish getting done for the day, so depending on your schedule, you may feel that a set bed-time is stretching things too much. And as I mentioned for me, being a night owl in general plus now needing to just have that time to sit in the relative quiet after kids have gone to bed, be able to watch something on the TV that's not ABC Kids or Paw Patrol, and not need to move every 5 minutes because somebody wants something from me, is another reason why I keep pressing into the nightly hours to try and feel like myself again after a day of four kids. I know it's not overly healthy and right now, I'm trying to find a balance. I NEED that alone time, but I do also need to aim for more time sleeping so that I can be the best mum I can be the following day.

But did you know that it's also important to get up at about the same time every day? How tempting it is to sneak in those extra hours (or minutes, if you have kids - because they don't care if it's a Saturday) on the weekend, but a couple of days of sleeping outside your pattern can put you back to the starting line again come Monday morning.

|| So what now? ||

Make sleep something that you prepare for: take a relaxing bath an hour or two before bedtime, shut off technology in the evening, avoid excessive junk lighting, listen to soft music, and aim for some kind of calming activity whilst you're waiting for bed time.

De-stress: take up meditation or yoga, start a journal to get your thoughts out of your head before you try to sleep, try aromatherapy, get some regular physical activity into your weekly routine.

Give your body a 13-hour eating window at night: if you're having breakfast at 7am, aim for a 6pm dinner and avoid the temptation to snack every night once the kids are in bed - yeah, that's me talking to myself.

Decide on your wake time and bed time... and stick to it as best you can.

|| Aromatherapy options ||

Generally when people think of essential oils and sleep, they think Lavender. But not everyone responds the same way to every oil. Take my kids for example: the older two will be knocked out in 5 minutes with a blend of Lavender and Cedarwood diluted in a roller bottle and applied to the back of the neck and bottom of the feet, or in the diffuser - but not Mr O, our third child! He'll still be dancing after 12 times putting him back into his bed. His sleepy concoction turned out best in the combination of Vetiver and Tangerine. Zzzzzzz.
Other useful essential oils include Bergamot, Roman Chamomile, Sweet Marjoram, Mandarin, Neroli, Sandalwood, Petitgrain, Sweet Orange, Sandalwood and Valerian. 

Young Living also have a range of blends that can support a good nights sleep: Stress Away, Dream Catcher, Tranquil Roll-On, Gentle Baby, Peace and Calming, Peace and Calming II, and RutaVala.

Be sure to select an essential oil or blend of oils that you actually like and enjoy smelling. Studies seem to indicate essential oils you really like work better compared to ones you can‘t really stand but are trying to use for a healing effect.

You can create diluted rollers to apply topically or put the oils in your diffuser in the bedroom - just be sure to keep the room ventilated (crack a window and leave the door ajar).

Make a Lullaby Spray

It's really up to you to decide what sleepy oils you want to put into this bottle, so choose what is most pleasant and relaxing for you or the child that you make this for. This recipe works well in our household:

5 drops Lavender essential oil

5 drops Cedarwood essential oil

5 drops Gentle Baby essential oil blend

a splash of witch and topped with cool boiled water in a 100ml spritzer bottle.

Spray on pillows, linens, and favourite cuddly toys to create a relaxing environment around bedtime.

Try this 'Restful Evening Detox Bath' from The Healing Power of Essential Oils by Eric Zielinski, D.C.


"You may not have time for a full-fledged bath every night before bedtime, but taking even one detox bath each week will help your body process the stresses - and toxins! - you encounter each day. This should be the first step in your nightly bedtime ritual.

3 drops Lavender essential oil
2 drops Roman Chamomile essential oil
2 drops Ylang Ylang essential oil
1 tablespoon jojoba oil
1 cup Epsom salts (plain)
4 cup organic apple cider vinegar

Supplies:
Medium glass bowl

Method:
Mix the essential oils and jojoba oil in a glass bowl
Add the Epsom salts and vinegar and mix
Fill your bathtub with the warmest water you can stand
Slowly pour the oil/vinegar mixture into the running water
Soak your whole body for 20 to 30 minutes
Exit the bath slowly by first sitting up, then kneeling, and finally standing to prevent feeling faint."

You can try any of your favourite sleep supporting oils in a relaxing bath by adding up to 5 drops of essential oils to a tablespoon of full cream milk before adding it to your warm bath water and swirl it around.

Make a Dream Pillow

You don't have to be an amazing seamstress to put this together and it won't matter if it's a bit rough around the edges.

Method 

• Place your chosen stuffing (gauze, cotton balls, pieces of cotton fabric or sheep wool – make sure the stuffing is of a natural nature) inside a zip lock plastic bag. 
• Add as much essential oil as you like — usually 3 or 4 drops will be enough. Don‘t make it too strong, you don‘t want a pillow that is too strong to sleep with. Remember that your body heat will also intensify the scent. 
• Let the essential oil(s) and stuffing mingle in the bag for at least a week. 
• Sew a small pillow from cotton or silk. 
• Stuff the pillow with your essential oil infused material. 
• Sew shut or sew on a button and make a button-hole for closure and easy access to stuffing. 
• Place inside, under your pillow, or cuddle up to it and enjoy! 
• When the scent starts to fade, you can simply add more essential oil or create a new one.

Make one in a fun print and give it to your restless kid to sleep with too!

The facets of this topic could go on and on, but for now I hope this has equipped you with some great ways to naturally, positively influence your quality and quantity of sleep. 

Until next time, BE WELL!