Vital Force Naturals

Good sleep is fundamental to good health. If you don’t sleep enough hours, and those hours aren’t ‘quality’ sleep then everything else in your life will suffer. Quite a bold statement, but unfortunately quite true.

Adults need around 7–8 hours sleep, teenagers around 9-10 hours and children less the younger they are. We all know people who survive on just 4 or 5 hours a night, and seem to thrive on it, but I wonder how detrimental this is to their overall health over time. I myself need around 7 hours most of the time, but have found 5 hours quality sleep is better than 8 hours of broken and disturbed sleep. We are all slightly different of course. Night owls might find it easier to stay awake at night and catch up on sleep during the day, but your body has a way of working and night time is a time of recuperation.

Many of the systems in your body slow or shutdown at night, such as the digestive system, to give organs like the liver time to detox and the colon to cleanse. Eating late at night forces the digestive system to do something it doesn’t want to do and over time this will make it sluggish causing indigestion, constipation and weight gain, which in themselves can lead to sleep deprivation.

When you’re asleep the brain goes through 5 different cycles and each has a different pattern of brain wave which change your breathing, heart and temperature. Each different phase helps with feeling rested and energised the following day, helps us to learn, have insight and form memories, gives the cardiovascular and digestive systems a rest, releases more growth hormones which boosts muscle mass and repairs cells, releases sex hormones helping with fertility and helps boost the immune system which reduces sickness and aids recovery.

There’s many causes of sleep deprivation – insomnia, anxiety and stress, chronic pain, sleep apnea, caffeine and substance abuse, obesity, the list goes on, but there’s various things we can do to ensure we get as good a shot at a good nights sleep as possible. Make sleep a priority and improve your sleep hygeine. Try to go to bed and wake at the same time every day, even on days off. Practice a relaxing bed time routine and turn off all devices at least half an hour before sleep. Invest in a good mattress, pillows and bedding and make sure the temperature is cool, it’s dark enough and the aroma in the room is not overpowering (no flowers or burning oils) And eat earlier, avoid caffeine and alcohol in the evenings and make sure you’re hydrated – 7 or 8 hours without a drink is dehydrating enough!

If you’re struggling to sleep why not join me on my Better Sleep Workshop where we look at the causes of sleep deprivation, how it affects the body, and how we can treat it with essential oils, acupressure techniques and nutrition. 2 hours of fun with oils and self massage interspersed with refreshments and cake! Sunday 7th August 1 – 3pm here at Pinnock Towers in Woodseats Sheffield. Each workshop limited to 4 people and only £50 each including a workbook, refreshments and an oil you can mix yourself to use at home. Email me at vitalforcemail@gmail.com or call 07973 548858 for details and to reserve your place with a £10 non returnable deposit 🙂

For details of all workshops running in August see here