How to Tackle your Travel Anxiety with CBD
Individuals who have fantasized about biting into a piece of candy while waiting for their flight
at the airport may now do it! Many feel anxious before getting on a flight, so we have a solution
for them.
We're going to expose you to the world of CBD travel in this article. CBD gummies are already
available and are very delightful. As a result, CBD is gaining popularity among travelers and
people for different reasons.
The CBD dosage or product that is most successful for you may be different from the dose or
product that is most helpful for someone suffering from jet lag and seeking to sleep the whole
flight. On the other hand, CBD comes with its complexities and nuances. Additionally, CBD is
accessible as tinctures, body lotions, other topical therapies, and candies and capsules. When it
comes to CBD consumption, it's also essential to consider the legal ramifications. According to
the WHO, CBD remains banned in many nations worldwide. Even its usage is increasing in the
United States; limitations vary significantly by jurisdiction.
Before delving into how CBD helps in travel anxiety, first, let us know about what CBD exactly
is –
What is CBD?
CBD or cannabidiol is one of the compounds in the cannabis sativa plant, sometimes known as
hemp or marijuana in certain circles. CBD extracted from hemp has been shown to have anti-
inflammatory properties and it is a cannabidiol derivative. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is one
of the plant's most active chemicals, and it is the one that most people identify with cannabis.
Although CBD and THC are chemicals originating from the same plant, they are vastly different.
While CBD may not have the same dramatic effects as THC, it can aid in relaxing and reducing
pain. THC has been observed to promote sensations of pleasure, relaxation, and increased hunger
in some people who have taken modest amounts of it. It's a viable alternative to marijuana.
CBD oils and tinctures are the most frequent methods of ingesting CBD for most individuals.
You may either sprinkle a few drops on your tongue or combine a tincture with your beverage to
attain the desired benefits. You may purchase CBD gummies and CBD tablets as well. Although
smoking or vaping is not permitted while traveling, you may still consume CBD in this manner.
Why does CBD appeal to travelers?
To understand why CBD is becoming more popular among travelers, let's first look at the
legality of using it while flying or driving in a car. First and foremost, it is a well-known anxiety-
relieving therapy. If you're a nervous flier or traveling with loved ones and find yourself
becoming tense, CBD is a great way to relax your shoulders and go back to enjoying your flight
experience again. For people whose internal body clocks have been out of sync due to traveling
across time zones, CBD sleep aids are available on the market. If you're a regular traveler who
has aches and pains due to lengthy amounts of time in a car or on an airplane or sleeping on an
Airbnb mattress, you may want to try using CBD to reduce your pain.
With CBD medications, which are now readily available, it is possible to reduce anxiety during
airplane journeys. Instead of vaping or swallowing pills, CBD gummies are preferred while
traveling by airline or helicopter. Throughout this article, you'll learn how CBD gummies may
help you overcome your fear of flying.
Safe and Efficient Methods of Therapy
As an alternative to typical anti-anxiety drugs, cannabidiol (CBD) has recently gained popularity.
To overcome a fear of flying (which manifests as an acute concern, increased sweating, rapid
pulse and respiration, and nausea), you must take an emergency remedy that is both simple to
swallow and clinically advised.
CBD's safety and effectiveness as an anti-anxiety medication should be taken into consideration
in the following ways:
- Hemp, which is used to make the overwhelming majority of CBD-based products, is
grown for its tiny amount of psychoactive cannabidiol. - WHO research conducted in 2017 found that CBD is safe regardless of dose and well-
tolerated in animals and humans in its purest form. - Less amount CBD may be taken orally for up to four weeks without causing any
significant side effects, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). - Easily Available
Whenever you're feeling anxious, CBD gummies are at your fingertips. They're ready to eat and
swallow. Those who do not want to go through the inconvenience of acquiring a prescription
every time they encounter anxiety may benefit from using this CBD medication to manage the
signs and symptoms. In addition, it prevents people from getting dependent on typical anti-
anxiety medications, which may have dangerous adverse effects.
Enhance your Travel Experience
CBD gummies, for example, often take 30 to 60 minutes to start working their magic. This
means that anybody may now participate in any form of a travel adventure. Taking CBD gummy
30 minutes before a trip may help alleviate flight anxiety, whether you're flying domestically or
internationally.
CBD candies and creams are generally safe to carry into most countries since they are legal in
the great majority of those nations. To decrease anxiety before, during, and after a stressful event
or scenario, you may carry these CBD products with you.
Eliminate or Relieve Anxiety-Inducing Pain
Traveling might be incredibly stressful if you suffer from rheumatoid arthritis or migraines. The
use of other options, such as CBD gummy, lotion, and tinctures, is simple and easy to
understand. These items may help alleviate or eliminate the discomfort contributing to flight
anxiety.
Applying CBD cream to the affected joint, the temples, or the forehead may provide relaxing
benefits in addition to pain alleviation, depending on the concentration. Anxiety and panic
episodes are minimized as a result of this support.
Conclusion
CBD candies and CBD creams are two of the most efficient CBD treatments for anxiety relief
that are currently available. It is a more discreet method of consuming CBD that does not draw
undue attention to one's person. CBD gummy anxiety supplement uses natural and full-spectrum
CBD (with no THC) to assist you in finding that much-needed moment of calm as the weekend
comes to a close. Also included are enough vitamins D3 and B12, which will help your energy
recovery after having your fun travel experience.
Travel anxiety is no longer a problem when you use CBD candies or lotions, which may help
you relax and enjoy your holiday activities more thoroughly.
Bio
Noah Johnson has been a freelance writer since 2017. He is passionate about writing healthy
living content to help others find alternative ways towards a healthier lifestyle. One of his
expertise is reviewing CBD products like Sunday Scaries gummies and sleep oil to make it a
regular part of our life. In his free time, he's a certified volunteer arborist, an avid theatergoer,
and a literacy volunteer. Mr. Johnson has a passion for natural health care, fitness, and food.
References
[1] https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/cannabidiol-cbd-what-we-know-and-what-we-dont-2018082414476
[2] https://www.discovermagazine.com/sponsored/best-cbd-oil-for-anxiety-and-depression
[3] https://www.healthline.com/health/best-cbd-oil-for-anxiety
Featured image photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
This Is How Nightmares Are Linked To Brain Creativity
By Tiffany Harper
Etymologically speaking, the word ‘nightmare’ is weird itself. It's obvious why it has a night in it, but there's a history to the mare part of the word. ‘Mare’ was the word used to describe demons thought to people during their sleep in old English. So the word 'nightmare' originally was a term used to describe spirits. It was much later that it was used to refer to dreams these demons caused.
This term has remained, even in our modern world; however, there seems to be a new twist to the whole idea of nightmares. There's more to nightmares, and they may indicate something in people. According to psychologist Michelle Carr, who works on dreams at the Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, University Of Montreal, there are two dominant theories to explain nightmares. The first is that nightmares are a reaction to some negative experiences people have during their waking hours. The second one is the ‘threat simulation theory.’ This is the idea that humans evolved to have nightmares to prepare them for future adversity, so when something terrible happens in real life, they can handle it much better.
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It’s hard to say if nightmares are rehearsals for negative real-life experiences. However, one thing that has been noted is that nightmares have benefits for those that have to live and fight through them in their sleep. According to a study, as stated in college paper reports in 2013 [1], people that suffer from frequent nightmares tend to be more empathetic towards others in real life. They also tend to mirror other people unconsciously in different ways, like contagious yawning, which studies have revealed is a good indicator of empathy. Meanwhile, Carr's studies [2] have found that people that have nightmares constantly tend to think outside of the box when dealing with word-association tasks. There has also been other research to support the idea that there's a link between nightmares and creativity in people. A previous study by Ernest Hartmann, a sleep researcher, and psychiatrist at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, during the 1980s, discovered that people that seek therapy for nightmares didn’t do it because they were more anxious or fearful, but because they were generally sensitive to all emotional experiences. According to him, the driving force for intense dreams is sensitivity. When a person’s sensitivity is heightened towards fear or threat during the day, they're likely to have nightmares and bad dreams. In the same way, if a person has their passion or excitement heightened during the day, they may have intense positive dreams. It's also possible that both forms of dreams find their way into the person’s waking life and may increase their distress after a nightmare or promote their empathy and social bonding after positive dreams.
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There are still other effects to this. During Hartmann’s study, he found that people's sensitivity spills into their thoughts and perceptions. So, people that have experienced nightmares constantly also experience some dreamlike qualities in their waking thoughts. This is the kind of thinking that gives them an edge and heightens their creativity. Studies reveal that people like this may have higher artistic expression and creative aptitude. This is something that Carr confirmed in her research with two of her subjects, Chris and Jess, scoring exceptionally high on a boundary thinness scale, which was a test measuring their artistic expression and creative aptitude. It comes as no surprise that both of them are artists. Chris is a musician, while Jess is a photographer and painter. As nature likes to balance things up, Carr also discovered in her research [3] that people that experience frequent nightmares also have a higher tendency to experience positive dreams than other people. There is evidence pointing to the idea that instead of interfering with their normal activity, people that unfortunately suffer from lots of nightmares also have an opposite dream life that’s as vivid, positive and creative, as they have the terrifying and distressing one as well. It’s also interesting to note that their imaginative richness isn't confined to when they’re asleep alone. It permeates through to their daydreams and waking thoughts. So after these people shake off the demon and wake up from their nightmares, there are still traces of it left behind, which they possess throughout the day. As Carr admitted, these new views of nightmares have their roots in the work of Dr. Hartmann and his research associate, Dr. Van Der Kolk. Their research found that nightmares play a role in a person’s mental life, even though they were more speculative with their conclusions at the time. During their research, they studied 50 women and men reported to have at least a nightmare per week since childhood. These subjects were recruited through an ad in the Boston newspapers.
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The commonest nightmares that people had were being chased, hurt, or threatened by someone or something. However, unlike ordinary dreams, nightmares mostly come in colors and also have other sensations that are very vivid, like pain that people rarely experience in ordinary dreams. One thing that struck Dr. Hartmann was that many of the research subjects had trauma-free childhood. From his research, he indicated that when a disturbing incident occurred very early in the subjects’ lives, such as being raped or mugged, that incident found its way into their nightmares for weeks. It combined with old themes before fading out later. Traumatic incidents
like that caused them to have frequent nightmares for a while, just like other stresses like having a hard time at work or school. In his view, one thing that stood out for him significantly is that the nightmare sufferer has a general personality. People like this are primarily defenseless and open and have failed to develop the psychological protection most people have. According to him, they have what he called thin boundaries. As a result, they’re likely to let things through. The majority of his study subjects also described themselves as being unusually sensitive from their childhood. They’re hurt easily and particularly more responsive to other people’s feelings.
They weren’t happy as children even when they weren’t experiencing any family problems. It was also common among them that some of their relatives were hospitalized for schizophrenia, and even some of the subjects themselves claimed to be schizophrenic. These are why Dr. Hartmann proposed that people who continue to suffer from constant nightmares through their adolescence have a greater risk of suffering schizophrenia. When reporting his study in an article for The American Journal of Psychiatry, he wrote that his study subjects were not particularly anxious and weren’t neurotic. However, he also noted that his subjects are biologically vulnerable to schizophrenia, but most of them hadn't developed any chronic mental illness signs. According to him, the same factors that set these people apart and make them more susceptible to suffering mental illnesses have also allowed them to be more creative in pursuing activities in the arts. This will enable them to use their vulnerability, openness, and sensitivity more positively and creatively. Dr. Hartmann’s study subjects included people mainly in creative arts, such as musicians, poets, movement therapists, and art therapists. However, many of the other people saw themselves as artists somehow even though they were doing other things to support themselves. This was the first link between nightmares and brain creativity before Michelle Carr’s more recent work. There has also been other research over the years to support this claim. So, the next time you find yourself trying to escape from zombies in your movie, wake up and remember that you can put that energy into creative use.
Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash
Featured image Photo by Soundtrap on Unsplash
Tiffany Harper is a training guru who’s been working in the corporate sector as a technology expert for several years now. She is a management graduate and loves to share her experience through blogs and expert articles. For her love of writing, she provided online consultations for one of the dissertation help writers, while working with UK Best Essays. Please do not hesitate to contact her on LinkedIn.
How Acupuncture Can Make You Sleep Better
Acupuncture is an ancient practice where needles are strategically inserted into the skin by a professional, stimulating specific parts of the body. Acupuncture is still popular today to treat many conditions, including insomnia. Therefore, acupuncture could potentially help people sleep better.
How Does Acupuncture Affect Sleep?
Many people believe acupuncture is a neuromodulator, meaning that it can tone down the perception of the brain’s sensory signals, even the pain signals. Various parts of the brain will light up on functional MRIs. Therefore, it is fairly easy to see how acupuncture influences the brain.
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How Acupuncture Can Help You Sleep
Experts are not exactly sure about how effective acupuncture is for insomnia, as there is not enough research done on it yet. However, that does not mean that it is not helpful, nor does it mean there is a lack of studies. Some physicians are skeptical of it, but there is a lot of evidence that can suggest acupuncture can be beneficial. Some doctors who specialize in sleep medicine practice acupuncture on their patients and see good results. While more research would be required to prove that it is truly effective, acupuncture could help alleviate or treat symptoms like:
- Sleep apnea
- Insomnia
- Anxiety
- Sleep apnea
- Restless legs syndrome
- Depression
- Pain
Many professionals like to offer acupuncture to their patients because the potential benefits far outweigh the small risks. In most professional’s eyes, they notice more benefits than side effects, and the patients at least feel calmer after an acupuncture session, helping them sleep well for a few days.
General Insomnia
Many people find it hard to sleep on occasion, but insomnia is a real condition many people deal with. It can impact how a person functions throughout the day due to poor sleep. Symptoms of insomnia can appear for several days, but they can last for months or even longer. Some common symptoms can include:
- Waking up in the middle of the night, difficult going back to sleep
- Finding it difficult to fall asleep
- Waking up earlier than expected
Some common reasons why insomnia can occur include:
- Medical conditions like sleep apnea
- Chronic pain
- Mental health disorders like anxiety
- Improper sleep schedules
Many doctors enjoy offering their patients options, so offering their patients a safe alternative or addition to their medication can make them feel better, at least mentally and emotionally. Moreover, it has fewer risks compared to drug therapy. The current research suggests that acupuncture could help obstructive sleep apnea, anxiety, insomnia and restless legs syndrome. However, the evidence should not get exaggerated because they are somewhat mild to moderate, but it is still there.
Primary Insomnia
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Some evidence suggests acupuncture could treat insomnia if it does not have specific causes. While there needs to be more research before there is a conclusive answer, many patients who have insomnia can benefit from getting it done. Traditional acupuncture is when the needles do not get inserted far into a person’s skin. One study had 72 people who had primary insomnia get this treatment 3 times a week for about 4 weeks. The results found that it was effective at enhancing total sleep time, sleep efficiency and insomnia symptoms during the sessions. Another double-blind study involved 180 patients who had primary insomnia. In this study, they noticed that traditional acupuncture had good results when it came to daytime functioning and enhancing sleep quality compared to sedative medication and sham acupuncture.
Sleep Apnea
OSA, or obstructive sleep apnea, is when a person stops breathing when they sleep, which is a dangerous condition. Even if a person sleeps all night, it causes oxygen deprivation that makes them feel tired the following day. Several studies suggest that acupuncture could alleviate sleep apnea symptoms. However, the evidence is not solid enough to make it a viable treatment option for sleep apnea.
Mental Health Disorders and Insomnia
People who have depression and anxiety are more likely to have trouble sleeping. Limited research is available to state that acupuncture can help. However, one study with 90 people who had insomnia and depression found that electroacupuncture (acupuncture with electro currents) 3 times a week for about 8 weeks experienced:
- Better sleep efficiency and quality
- Depression
- Total sleep time
There are no big studies that study acupuncture’s effects on people who have insomnia and anxiety. However, one review of the 20 studies of the effects of acupuncture on anxiety showed that it can improve anxiety symptoms, so it is not a complete loss.
Pain and Insomnia
Certain people can find it hard to sleep because of chronic pain. Chronic pain is pain that would last for 3 months or longer. One review was done for nine studies that had almost 1,000 participants with insomnia that was from chronic pain. The review found that acupuncture offered better results at enhancing sleep quality when compared to medication and sham treatment.
Acupuncture for Sleep: What Should You Expect
You can expect a few things when you visit an actual practitioner, which includes:
- An hour-long session
- A very thorough intake from the practitioner, which would include medical history
- Around 20-30 needles were inserted in different points
- The practitioner may palace seeds or needles in your ears
Before any session, practitioners in the acupuncture clinic diagnose what the potential root cause of the patient’s problem would be. For instance, they will try to figure out if stress causes your sleep problems so that they can choose acupuncture points to correspond to the diagnosis.
All in All
Acupuncture could help patients who have insomnia. While there is no conclusive evidence yet, it definitely has more benefits that outweigh the small risks of acupuncture.
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Chinese Medicine Aids Deep Sleep to Revitalize Mind and Body
By Sally Perkins
It is widely recognized that sleep is essential for good health, and new research confirms that irregular and insufficient sleep can lead to a greater risk of experiencing metabolic disorders. Chinese medicine places importance on preventative measures to help the body remain balanced and free from disease, and its treatments and formulas have been shown to be effective in aiding deep and restful sleep. This is when critical body restoration takes place, resulting in increased immunity, the correction of internal imbalances and the strengthening of organ function. In addition, quality sleep, during which REM is experienced, can help stimulate and heal the mind.
Sleep to Stimulate The Mind
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Reaching the REM stage of sleep is important as this is when neural connections essential to health and well-being are made. REM only takes place after 90 minutes of sleep, so to aid a deeper sleep, jujube seed is often prescribed as it strengthens circulation and calms the mind. REM is also the period of sleep where dreams most often occur, as activity in the brain resembles that seen during wakefulness. During REM sleep, it becomes possible to stimulate lucid dreams where control can be exerted over the unconscious self and the fabric of its surroundings. As the wonders of the mind are explored, lucid dreaming can promote emotional healing, help overcome fears and encourage problem solving. Occasionally, even when the REM stage of sleep is successfully reached, some people may experience REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) where they act out their dreams physically, so disrupting their sleep. However, studies have shown that, as well as aiding restful sleep, herbal remedies are as effective as tranquilizers and antidepressants in treating RBD.
Rest to Repair The Body
Sleep is vital for the body to grow and repair muscles, organs and other cells, so ensuring a good night’s sleep is essential to avoid serious health issues. For over 2000 years, a variety of Chinese medicines and formulas have been successfully used for the treatment of insomnia and other sleep disorders. In Chinese medicine, insomnia is typically linked to heart function and so the heart tonic Fu Ling is recommended as it also has a sedative effect. As well as herbal remedies, studies show that acupuncture can improve the quality of sleep. It triggers the release of neurotransmitters including serotonin, which helps to regulate sleep patterns and induce REM sleep.
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A good night’s sleep is vital for health and well being. Herbal medicines and alternative treatments aid restful sleep, and once the body and mind are relaxed, balance and health can be restored.
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Essential Oils for Health & Wellness
By Emma Suttie, D.Ac, AP
A Brief History of Essential Oils
Essential oils have been used by traditional cultures for thousands of years, and were some of the most highly valued possessions of traditional peoples, along with jewels and precious metals. Essential oils are considered to be the distillation of both the intelligence and spirit of the plants they come from. They have been used throughout history for their medicinal, emotional, aromatic and spirit enhancing effects. In recent years there has been a revival in the use of essential oils, many people use them in their homes, healthcare practitioners use them to offer patients an alternative to conventional treatments like medications, and companies are using essential oils in their products as natural alternatives to chemical ingredients.
My own experience with essential oils goes back as far as I can remember. Long before I became an acupuncturist, I used them in my home for things like cleaning, for making skin and hair care products as well as aromatherapy, and in my medicine cabinet to help heal a wide variety of problems. When I began treating patients as an acupuncturist, essential oils were a vital part of my toolbox. I have always loved the versatility that essential oils afford the person and certainly the practitioner. They have been an invaluable part of my practice, and I am always humbled at how powerful they can be to correct a huge number of imbalances and heal on a multitude of different levels.
Essential Oils At Home
I think that many people may not be aware of the enormous versatility of essential oils that you can use in your home to make everyday products. In an age where we are bombarded by toxins (you can read more about this here - 5 Toxins to Avoid for Better Health - essential oils offer the ability to make these products knowing they are pure, health-promoting and toxin free. You can make household cleaners, skin and hair products (some of the worst offenders in terms of toxicity), soaps and lotions as well as using a diffuser to gently release certain oils into the air to detoxify, cleanse the air and for health reasons - like certain oils that act as decongestants when you or your family are suffering with a cold. There are oils for relaxation and stress, you can add them to the bathtub to help calm - I use this often for my very high energy 2-year-old baby boy, and it works smashingly. Oils can also be put into laundry soap, on rags in the dryer instead of dryer sheets, and a drop or two placed onto a pillow or bed sheets to help freshen things up or aid with things like insomnia, stress or depression.
This lovely photo by Amy Treasure on Unsplash
Essential Oils In Health Care
I use essential oils every day in my clinic with my patients. They are simply another tool that I have in my healing toolbox. There are many ways in which to use essential oils for healing. In Chinese Medicine theory heat and cold are properties that contribute to health and disease. Essential oils also have heating and cooling properties, as well as having affinities for certain organs and meridians, so with this knowledge, I am able to use them on patients depending on both their constitution as well as what is ailing them. There are many ways that I use them - sometimes I apply them to specific acupuncture points, sometimes I mix them into massage oil to massage into certain points of areas of the body and sometimes I put oils into the diffuser for a more subtle effect. I often prescribe their use for patients at home, suggesting adding them to a bath, or massaging them into specific points when certain symptoms appear. For patients to participate in their own healing is the goal and essential oils are a wonderful way to help the process.
Using Essential Oils with Children & Babies
Since I have had children - and I have two, a two-year-old and a six-month-old - I have found that massage and essential oils are the most useful things I have to deal with everyday health matters. They also serve calm an excited child before a nap or sleep at night, dealing with anxiety, excessive crying in a colicky baby, and just keeping a chaotic house as relaxed and delicious smelling as humanly possible. Acupuncture is difficult on small children mostly because they have a hard time sitting still, so essential oils have been my go-to for everything that has to do with my babies, from their overall health, the state of their emotions and their wellbeing.
But, because they are so small and their systems so delicate, dosages and dilution are very important. You would always use way less of an oil on a child compared to an adult, and a good rule of thumb is to put any oil you are using medicinally into a carrier oil (I use coconut oil most of the time) and apply it to the feet as they are the farthest away from important organs. When my son gets a cold, I use various oils in this way which always helps clear his congestion, makes him more comfortable and I find that he gets over things a lot faster. With my baby girl, I tend to put a few drops of various oils into the diffuser when she isn't feeling well and I always find this helps her feel better, calmer and helps her sleep (which when you have 2 babies in your house is vital!!).
The other thing I have found is how powerful our olfactory senses are and the connection they have to our health and emotions. I find that just a drop of my favourite scent on my pillow after a long, intense day with 2 small children has a hugely calming effect on my nerves and psyche. A few drops on the sheets freshens up the room and makes for better sleeps. Some lavender on the temples helps you relax and all that tension you had in your jaws, neck, and shoulders, seems to just melt away. The therapeutic effects of essential oils are really limitless, and I know I am so grateful to have an arsenal to help me keep my children healthy without toxic chemicals while also being kind to the environment. Win/win!
Essential Oil Safety
It is important to remember that essential oils are medicine, and need to be used with caution. Like herbs, they can be very powerful and it is important to educate yourself about the oils properties, as well as any contraindications before using them therapeutically. Most commercially produced essential oils are used in the food and perfume industry (about 95%). However, when using them in your home for cleaning, skin or hair products or anything that will come in contact with your body, please be sure that you use high quality, therapeutic grade oils, that are extracted in a clean way and not using toxic chemicals. Here are some very good safety guidelines for using essential oils. When using essential oils directly on the body (and the best advice is to never use them directly on the body without diluting them or using a carrier oil) is to be careful of how much you are using or how much to dilute them. This is especially important when using them with children. You can find useful information at the link above about how to dilution ratios.
Natural Medicines
I am a firm believer that the cure for every disease that exists on this planet is available in its forests, rainforests, and jungles. Natural medicines have been healing human beings since the beginning of time. So many cultures have the wisdom to cure using these natural, plant-based medicines. This wisdom has largely been forgotten by Allopathic (Western) medicine that chooses to use petroleum-based pharmaceuticals to treat symptoms that are the result of our modern diseases.
This beautiful photo by Trần Anh Tuấn on Unsplash
From everything that I know about Chinese medicine, and indeed many of the wisdom traditions that have been around for thousands of years, the key to staying healthy is to live a healthy and balanced life. This has been increasingly difficult because many of us live in an unbalanced, toxic culture. For us now, I believe that living in the most natural way possible is the key to health. Eliminating toxins, eating clean, natural, fresh foods, drinking clean water, getting enough sleep and when we do become sick, using natural medicines to get us well again. Acupuncture, herbs, exercise, a healthy diet (using food as medicine) as well as things like essential oils are the best ways I know of to keep us all healthy, and if we fall ill, to bring us back to health again. Incorporating as many of these into our lives and our homes will ensure that we stay as healthy as we can, and empower us to heal ourselves when we are sick.
This beautiful photo by Vero Photoart on Unsplash
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Calming & Balancing Congee for Better Sleep
By NourishU
Insomnia in Chinese Medicine
There are many factors contributing to insomnia such as an unhealthy lifestyle, irregular sleeping habits, eating the wrong foods or eating too much, external disturbances, stress, psychological issues, illnesses or drug-related problems, etc. Western medicine uses vitamins, amino acids, and minerals such as magnesium and calcium for prevention. Sleeping pills, hormones and tranquilizers are commonly used to fight insomnia but they can be habit forming and are not addressing the root of the problem. They should only be used very briefly when absolutely necessary because prolonged usage can make the matter worse and create more health problems. The lack of genuine sleep can deprive the body of the critical body functions being performed at night and can lead to lower immunity, internal imbalances and organs malfunction.
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To treat insomnia, it is necessary to treat the root of the problem. Eating too full at dinner or eating too late or eating the wrong foods such as coffee, tea, alcohol, spicy food and hard to digest food can all affect sleep and can be easily avoided. If it is due to external disturbances such as light, noise or electrical smog, etc.; follow the rules to make your bedroom a sleeping sanctuary so that you have the perfect conditions to induce sleep. Don’t under estimate the power of ear-plugs which can numb your senses and lower your guard effectively. They do work for easing anxiety too. If it is due to other illness such as digestive problems; treat the illness and sleep will return. If it is due to psychological reasons; try to peace your mind by meditation, relaxation exercise, journaling, music, hypnotherapy, etc. Exercising outdoor, such as jogging, can force you to breathe more deeply and with more oxygen intake, it can help to relax your mind and body. Sweating helps the body to expel toxin and therefore helps to release tension. Also, you will get tired after exercising which makes falling asleep easier.
When insomnia persists for a long period of time, it is important to focus on repairing the damages done to the body especially to the liver, kidney and heart. If the damages remain in-repaired over time, they can become both the causes and effects of insomnia and treatment will be more difficult.
L-tryptophan
According to science, food rich in L-tryptophan such as red meat, dairy products, nuts, seeds, bananas, soybeans, soy products, tuna, shellfish, and turkey can promote sleep because L-tryptophan is the essential amino acid that helps the body to produce serotonin and melatonin, the hormones that regulate sleep. Serotonin can also impact our mood, psychological health and behaviour. Serotonin is found in greatest concentration in our gut so it makes perfect sense to nourish our gut flora for optimal serotonin level to promote better sleep.
Calcium and Magnesium
Deficiencies of calcium and magnesium may cause easy waking. Dietary sources of magnesium include dried beans, soybeans, pumpkins seeds, wheat germ, almonds and leafy green vegetables such as spinach and Swiss chard. Calcium can be found in many different foods, including dairy products, fish, broccoli, almonds, dried figs, kelp, prunes, rhubarb, seaweed, soybeans, sesame seeds, watercress, dandelion greens, amaranth and chickweed. Taking a combined calcium-magnesium tablet 30 minutes before going to bed is helpful. Kiwi fruit is extremely high in calcium, taking 2 everyday will find great improvement in sleep quality. The enzyme in kiwi can calm gut swelling, also helpful in promoting sleep.
Sleep on Time
If you are fighting insomnia, you must firstly observe the proper sleeping hours. It is vitally important to be in bed and in complete rest between 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. even if you cannot sleep. This will enable blood to return to the liver for the important detoxification and renewal process. Staying up at night will draw blood away from the liver. It is equally important to be up in the morning and during the day so that the other yang bodily functions can be performed properly. When necessary, napping for half an hour during noon time can support the heart and provide energy for the rest of the day. Sleeping any longer during the day can disrupt sleep at night.
Chinese medicine regards sleep as number one priority for health and insomnia is most detrimental. For people who are not sleeping between 11 p.m. to 1 a.m., the gall bladder system is highly compromised. It can lead to gall bladder stones, weaker immune system, slower metabolic functions and general weakness. For people who are not sleeping between 1 a.m. to 3 a.m., the important liver functions of detoxifying and replenishing blood are disrupted. Blood deficiency can lead to many illnesses such as premature aging, osteoporosis, blood related diseases and women diseases, etc. When the liver is weakened, it cannot support the other vital organs properly and can lead to stomach and spleen deficiencies, kidney deficiencies, heart deficiencies and lung deficiencies. There is also higher chance of getting liver related diseases such as hepatitis, high cholesterol and eyes diseases.
Chinese medicine treatments are to reinforce qi, replenish blood, nourish yin, clear liver fire, remove stagnant energy, harmonize stomach energy, and calm the nerve and mind. Chinese herbal remedies are necessary to control adverse symptoms and to rectify imbalances. Herbal medicines are non-hypnotic in nature and are not habit forming. Once adverse symptoms are under control, nutritional food therapy will be used to help the body to recover and regain its original functions.
Food Cures
Food cures such as dates, wheat, longan fruit, lily flower and egg yolk are commonly used for nourishing the heart, promoting yin and calming the mind. Seafood such as oysters, clams, fish, shrimp and eel, are high in zinc and copper and are good for calming the nerve and easing anxiety. Oatmeal, sweet potato, banana and tomato are good for promoting sleep. Cherries are naturally high in melatonin. Eating eight ounces of cherries in the morning and eight ounces at night consecutively for two weeks can help to restore sleep. Lemon-scented mint tea is sleep-inducing because it improve digestion and decreased agitation.
Calming the Gut
Our gut is like our second brain which can be easily affected by our mind and emotion. Calming the gut can help to quiet the mind. If a restless mind is keeping you awake, eat a light carbohydrate snack right before sleep such as whole grain cereals with organic milk, bread, biscuits or an organic yogurt with good bacteria can be helpful. The key is to combine carbs with a protein containing tryptophan to help your body better utilize the sleep inducer. If you need this remedy in the middle of the night, make sure you are not turning on any light which can affect your melatonin level.
Calming & Balancing Congee Recipe
Symptoms
Restless sleep due to anxiety and over worrying, pale looking, lack of energy, loose bowel or occasional palpitation of the heart.
Therapeutic Effects
Calms nerves, enriches blood, removes dampness and fire, improves spleen and kidney health, and promotes yang energy of the heart.
Ingredients (2 to 3 servings)
- Job's Tears / Coix Lacryma-Jobi (yi yi ren) 薏米 – 30gm
- Little red bean 赤小豆 – 30gm
- Longan Fruit (long yan rou) 桂圆 /龍眼肉 – 30gm
- Chinese Jujube / red dates (da zao) 大枣 – 4 to 6
- Lotus Seeds (lien zi) 莲子 – 30gm
- Dried lily bulb / Bulbus Lilii (bai he) 百合 – 30gm
- Rice – half cup
- Sugar - to taste
Directions
- Soak all herbal ingredients for about 15 minutes and rinse.
- Rinse rice and put all ingredients in a pot with about 6 to 8 cups of water. Bring to a boil and lower heat to medium to cook for about 45 minutes to about 3 cups of congee.
- Add some sugar if prefer. Eat as meal.
Usage
No restrictions. Most suitable for teens and seniors.