In search of golden sleep

First published online on blueheronclinic.com/blog.html on June 7th, 2012.

There are twelve hours in the day, and above fifty in the night.  ~Marie de Rabutin-Chantal

A good night’s sleep works wonders. By contrast a bad night’s sleep can leave one in a state of exhaustion and despair. Insomnia is a common complaint for many adults who are often driven to extreme measures in search of the Holy Grail of 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Ask anyone suffering from this ailment and they will likely tell you that there is nothing worse than staring at the ceiling for hours on end as their mind refuses to switch off in the dark of night.

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, there is a corresponding clock for all of the major organs. Each organ will have a low and high-energy period of two hours. The Heart is said to house the Mind and if it becomes unsettled, it can cause stress and anxiety. The heart has its low time between 11pm and 1am so it really helps if you can be in bed by 11pm. In order to give your mind the rest it deserves.

The Liver has its high time between 1am and 3am.  This means its energy is at its highest as it works to detoxify the body from the previous stresses of the day.

The Liver is also said to house the ‘Hun’ or ethereal soul. This is the part of us that the Chinese believe to live on once the body has died. If the Liver is too worked up eliminating toxins-caffeine, alcohol, etc. it cannot ground the ‘Hun’ and it will in effect start to ‘wander’ which will cause vivid dreams and nightmares.

Avoid products containing caffeine after 4pm and try to eat your last meal before 7pm as going by the Chinese clock again, your stomach is at its lowest point between 7 and 9pm.  Any food ingested after 7pm will thus lead to gas and bloating, making it very difficult to fall asleep while eating at the correct time gives your digestive system a chance to properly process any food ingested.

There is an acupuncture point, which is easily accessible and promotes deep relaxation. It is called Yin Tang and it is located right in between your eyebrows. Massage this point when you get into bed and throughout the night, should you wake.

Meditation is also a great stress buster and doesn’t take long to perform. Try it even when you are unable to sleep.  Sometimes spending a few minutes getting up out of bed and concentrating on calming the mind through meditation can save you hours in tossing and turning.

Hopefully these tips will have you sleeping like a baby!Shhhhh!