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"Go The Fuck To Sleep" is the name of a popular children's bedtime book written for adults but could easily be the mantra of the many who suffer from sleep difficulties. If you're one of these people, this newsletter is for you.
Your biological rhythms keep you healthy and produce cycles of healing and repair hormones. When these rhythms are disturbed by inadequate or insufficient sleep, disease and other complications get the best of us. Studies show that lack of sleep contributes to weight gain, depression, pain, diabetes, heart disease and more.
It is estimated that 70% of Americans are sleep deprived. It's time to make sleep a priority for your good health. Here are some tips to help improve your sleep: * Build a pre-sleep ritual that starts an hour or two before bed every night and includes the ideas listed below. * Stop using all electronic devices that stimulate your nervous system. No emailing, facebooking, web shopping, talking on the phone, watching TV, listening to loud music...or, heaven forbid, doing them all at once! * Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. This helps your body and mind to establish a healthy rhythm.  * Avoid caffeine, alcohol, food and vigorous exercise at night. All people are different and have varying reactions to the aforementioned. Generally speaking, these substances and behaviors, especially in the evening, do not contribute to easy and sustained sleep. * Take a warm bath. Meditate (or download CONSCIOUS RELAXATION: Serenity Now! from iTunes and do it daily). Listen to slow, quiet instrumental music (I like Healing Ragas best) while doing slow, gentle stretches. * Massage your head and feet with warm sesame oil. (Be sure to put an old towel over your pillowcase and wear socks to bed!) This is a thousands-of-years-old ayurvedic remedy that many people swear is the most effective insomnia aid they've ever tried. * Drink chamomile tea, warm milk with a pinch of nutmeg or take Sleep Tincture (pictured above). A tincture is an alcoholic extract of plant material. I make Sleep Tincture with time-proven, sleep-inducing herbs: chamomile, hops, passionflower and lemon balm. You simply add it to warm water or juice and drink it before bed. * Here's one I learned from Dr. Mark Hyman: "Warm your middle--this raises your core temperature and helps trigger the proper chemistry for sleep. A hot water bottle, heating pad or a warm body can do the trick." * Lastly, remember that sleeping is a natural function that restores your body and mind. You are programmed by millions of years of evolution (unless you're a staunch fundamentalist Christian) to sleep when the sun goes down. Use these methods of relaxation, get out of your own way and go the fuck to sleep! | 
