"O sleep, O gentle sleep, Natures soft nurse"
William Shakespeare
Sleep is such a curious part of our lives and has been debated by artists, writers, wisdom keepers and researchers over the millennia. We spend 1/3 of our lives sleeping and can feel completely unregulated, reduced function and emotionally unstable without it. It influences our memory, our skin, our metabolism, immune system and our mood. One would consider it common sense to push it from something we have to do to something we need to do as a number one priority in health & self care?
Generally our society in the last 50 years prioritises work and productivity over sleep, possibly to the detriment of our wellbeing. A wise man recently recommended a book to me called "Why we sleep" by Matthew Walker and along with Bill Bryson's book "The Body" I have retrieved some fascinating studies and discoveries for this blog. Read on if you want to explore the reasons for this freely available body function that most of us try to avoid or reduce in favour of productivity.
Consider this statement for a moment from the book "Why we sleep"by Matthew Walker....
"Scientists have discovered a revolutionary new treatment that makes you live longer. It enhances your memory and makes you more creative. It makes you look more attractive. It keeps you slim and lowers food cravings. It protects you from cancer and dementia. It wards off colds and flu. It lowers your risk of heart attacks and stroke not to mention diabetes you'll feel happier, less depressed and less anxious.. Are you interested?"
You might say "sign me up straight away" or "no way that is true"!
The choice is yours to make, but the evidence supporting these claims according to Walker have been documented in more than 17,000 well-scrutinised scientific reports to date proving the benefits of a full night sleep.
In mediterranean countries such as Greece, siestas were seemingly a sacred part of Greek tradition. There was a sacred law called the "Hours of common silence" which was a way to take a break from the heat of the sun, nap and a break from daily obligations. However since the turn of the millennium there has been an increasing pressure to abandon such siestas. A study was carried out in Harvard University school of Public Health on 23,000 Greek adults over six years as their siesta practice came to an end. At the start of the study none of the participants had a history of coronary heart disease or stroke, however those who abandoned siestas went on to suffer a 37% increased risk of death from heart disease. Countless other studies like this one referenced in the book " Why we sleep" show clear evidence of the necessity of sleep.
My mother, a woman of wisdom (as all mothers are) is a great advocate for sleep. When we were younger she could be heard reminding us "you can't burn the candle at both ends" when we were up late at night and required to be up early for school..... how true it is. I always had a busy mind as a child or a good dose of FOMO, never wanting to miss anything. Sleep didn't come easy to me as my mind was a curious one but thankfully I now have a few tools and tricks in the book for a full restful sleep and anyone who knows me knows I love my sleep!
One of my go to tricks for a good night sleep is aromatherapy.
The "Restful Sleep aromatherapy Balm" which is now undergoing a full rebranding was put together purely by accident by my similarly busy minded eldest daughter when she was at the magic age of 8. It was one of those evenings where I had brought her back up to bed for the umpteenth time, the other pair of rascals were fast asleep but she just "couldn't".
I had tried all the tricks and as I sat down in the sitting room beside my husband we tentatively waited hoping she was finally asleep. Was the sitting room door going to creak open again with her little red curls peering in? Alas impatient and exhausted parents sighed as yes she appeared again, so at this point I merely nudged her toward my box of essential oils in the kitchen and suggested she choose 4 of her favourite to help her sleep. Looking back she used her wisdom and instinct to put this balm together and as it turned out the synergy of the essential oils she chose was spot on! She called it her "unicorn blend"and she most definitely doesn't call it that now at the age of 16! In fact she doesn't even need it now as the one thing about teenagers is they love their sleep & make it their number 1 priority without exception! How right they are!
This balm has been the most popular and most effective of all, if I am to go by the anecdotal evidence clients provide to me. I recently travelled with my husband and kids to stay with one of my husband's lifelong friends, his lovely wife and their children. I brought along some of the "restful sleep"balms as gifts for his wife and daughter. My husband's friend is a man's man, and my husband gifted him some whiskey as men do, growling mumbles at each other as they muttered about the joys of drinking it. Little did I know that he had used the balm I had given his wife in an act of desperation to help him sleep. He works hard and long hours so finds quality sleep hard to come by. I received a text from him to say he was a "reformed man" and had gone from poor sleep quality to a great night sleep. He sent me data from his Apple Watch showing the increase in the depth & length of his sleep. I really didn't see him using one of my aromatherapy balm's on his feet, how wrong was I! Tough men need balms too! (This is one of many stories & I love a good story so stay tuned for the re- brand which I am currently working on.)
In fact author & researcher of sleep Matthew Walker suggests children are not getting enough sleep due to the school education system and the busy schedule children have at weekends which takes away from their need to rest. Schools teach about the importance of exercise, diet and social issues but rarely about the importance of sleep. His studies show the importance of sleep both REM and NREM in how the brain retains information, memory and acts like a filter of unnecessary information to free's up space for the intake of more information. This is particularly important for school going children. Matthew states "I hope we can break the parent to child transmission of sleep neglect and remove what the exhausted, fatigued brains our youth are so painfully starved of. When sleep is abundant minds flourish. When it is deficient they don't".
Sleep is not an inconvenience but an essential part of living well.
Generally in the society in which we live sleep isn't really rated as essential, instead productivity is prioritised to the detriment of our wellbeing. As a nurse I have worked night shifts over the years and in recent years returned to night duty due to family reasons as myself and my husband were working opposite each other to manage childcare. After a year of night duty, a house move and taking on a mindfulness course ( crazy combination) I was in hospital with a haemoglobin hovering around 8 and all the knowledge in the world of how to be mindful but not using the information for my own wellbeing. I haven't looked back since then, my wellbeing is a priority and the sleep I always loved is now back on track.
I agree with this statement Matthew concludes in his book.."I believe it is time for us to reclaim our right to a full night of sleep, without embarrassment or the damaging stigma of laziness. In doing so we can be reunited with that most powerful elixir of wellness and vitality, dispensed through every conceivable biological pathway. Then we may remember what it feels like to be truly awake during the day infused with the very deepest plentitude of being"
The next blog will be part 2 of this sleep blog where I will share some of the simple things we can do to have an effortless restful nights sleep.
References: "Why we sleep, the new science of sleep and dreams" by Matthew Walker (Penguin)
"The Body, a guide for occupants" by Bill Bryson (Penguin)
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