Tag: health

Getting a good nights’ Sleep

Today I’m going to write about sleep. Scott has had issues with getting to sleep. So we have been doing some research into sleep. 

One common factor that kept coming up was the development of Sleep hygiene or Sleep habits. Good sleep habits are often referred to as good sleep hygiene.

There are many things that can be done to improve sleep. While most of these are common sense, life is very busy and we often don’t think about them. According to research, there are many things that can be done to have a better night’s sleep.

Sleep habits to consider –
  • Getting sunlight during the day will help you to sleep better at night
  • Try to keep a consistent bedtime. The body has an internal clock and hormones that control sleepiness and wakefulness.
  • Most adults need 7-9 hours of sleep a day. This stays the same even in old age.
  • Limit Naps. Remember that the average adult sleeps for between seven and nine hours a day. Naps will take up some of this time. But if you are taking short afternoon naps without any problems, then you might want to keep doing this. On the other hand, naps in the evening, or dozing in front of the TV, can make it harder to get to sleep at night.
  • Meals should be timed to avoid going to bed on a full stomach, but not hungry either. The evening meal should be at least 2 hours before bedtime. Alcohol might help you get to sleep, but it will make it harder to stay asleep. It makes sleep problems like snoring and sleep apnoea worse as well.
  • Don’t have things in the bedroom that distract you from sleep, like televisions and computers. The blue light of the computer can reduce evening levels of the sleep-promoting hormone, melatonin.  (www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au)

After talking to some lecturers at college, Scott bought some Lavender & Chamomile tea, which he now has before going to bed. It has been quite effective. I have found some information to explain why it works.

Lavender & Chamomile

Lavender is often used to help people sleep. Brewing a few lavender flowers in hot water to make a tea, has been used to induce sleep and relaxation for thousands of years. This is closely linked to the flower’s impact on the nervous system, and can also help to clear your mind of negative thoughts or clutter. The antioxidant components of lavender can also impact the endocrine system of the body to lower the levels of stress hormones in the body. 

Chamomile is another herb well known for its calming effect. It has many health benefits and uses, including the ability to lower stress levels and aid sleep.

This beverage can help increase the levels of serotonin and melatonin in your body, which can successfully eliminate stress and worry, while also slowing down your mind and eliminating the classic symptoms of anxiety. Therefore it can also be an overall sleep aid, particularly for people who struggle with restless, non-restful or rejuvenating sleep. 

Even those struggling with sleep apnoea and other disorders may benefit from the effects of chamomile tea. (www.organicfacts.net)

Till the next post, Sleep well, 

Live Clean n Prosper 

About Turmeric

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Hi all,

So this is week 11 of my blog.

I have received some positive feedback regarding my content, which is awesome. Keep the comments coming. I’m glad that you are enjoying my posts and maybe learning something new along the way, just as I am.

Melbourne treasures

Recently we went to Melbourne for a long weekend to visit friends. We were lucky enough to have great weather, so we were able to spend a lot of our time walking around. We averaged approximately 8 kilometres a day, exploring all of the laneways.

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A visit to the Queen Victoria Markets Deli Hall resulted in a stop at an amazing little spice shop. We purchased some Turmeric Latte mix, a Vanilla Chai tea mix and some Vintage Merlot Salt.

I quite like the Vanilla Chia tea, though Scott is not a fan. That leaves more for me.

The Merlot salt is bright pink/purple and can be used in a number of ways. The store assistant advised that it can even be sprinkled on vanilla ice-cream! We are looking forward to trying that. I did however make a block of Raw Chocolate and sprinkled the Merlot Salt on the mix instead of nuts or fruit. It turned out to be quite a nice Dark Salted Chocolate.

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The Turmeric latte was interesting, I think I will have to get used to drinking it. Turmeric is in the health news a bit lately, however it has been used for centuries for reducing inflammation.

A bit about Turmeric

Recently, science has started to back up what the Eastern cultures have known for a long time… it really does contain compounds with medicinal properties. These compounds are called curcuminoids, the most important of which is curcumin.

Curcumin is the main active ingredient in turmeric. It has powerful anti-inflammatory effects and is a very strong antioxidant. However, research has shown that the curcumin content of turmeric is not that high… it’s only around 3%.

Most of the studies on this herb are using turmeric extracts that contain mostly curcumin itself, with dosages usually exceeding 1 gram per day. It would be very difficult to reach these levels just using the turmeric spice in your foods.

Actually, curcumin is poorly absorbed into the bloodstream; however there are ways to improve this situation. It is fat soluble, so it is best to consume it with some healthy fats as this will increase the absorption. Add to this some black pepper, which contains piperine… a natural substance that enhances the absorption of curcumin by up to 2000%.

Chronic inflammation is known to be a contributor to many common Western diseases. Curcumin can inhibit many molecules known to play major roles in inflammation. It turns out that the anti-inflammatory effect is so powerful that it matches the effectiveness of some anti-inflammatory drugs.

Given that oxidation and inflammation are believed to play a role in aging, curcumin may have effects that go way beyond just prevention of disease. (Source -authoritynutrition.com)

There you are, it seems that more Turmeric in your diet, however you get it, will be beneficial.

So, until the next post,

Live Clean n Prosper

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We bought a Salt Lamp

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Okay, so following on from last weeks post on Positive and Negative ions.

Many of our homes and workplaces are usually sealed off from the natural benefits of negative ions.

While I was doing my research I found several articles on ‘Ionisers’ for the home. An Ioniser is a device that creates negative ions in an indoor space. In fact, every home has a built in natural ioniser — the shower. With its stream of hot water and steam, is a good producer of negative ions. That’s likely part of why so many people need a shower to wake up in the morning.

 

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So, we decided to buy a Himalayan Salt Lamp.

 

Why? you may think/ask.

 

Well, studies have found that

Himalayan Salt Lamps can also

clean the air in a different way.

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Real Himalayan salt lamps are hand chiselled solid blocks of ancient crystal salts. They usually have a pinkish orange colour, due to the high concentration of minerals.

 

Inside the hollowed out middle of the salt lamp is a light bulb to generate both light and heat. This is important for their reported benefits and salt lamps won’t work properly without a heat-producing light.

 

How they work

 

Water vapour is always circulating in the air of any room of your house. This water vapour carries with it allergens like dust, pollen, smoke particles, and even bacteria and viruses.

 

Salt is hygroscopic, meaning it attracts water molecules from the surrounding air. The hygroscopic air cleaning effect is the basic science of water vapour attraction and evaporation.

A large block of rock salt, like a Himalayan salt lamp, is especially attractive to water vapour and its pollutants.

The microscopic compounds, once attracted to the salt lamp, remain there and not floating in the air where you can breathe them in.

As the Himalayan salt lamp slowly becomes saturated with the water vapour compounds, the heat from the lamp inside, dries them. This heat also re-releases water vapour back into the air, thus continuing the hygroscopic effect for as long as the light is on.

Importantly, any airborne contaminants attracted to the salt lamp remain trapped there and will not become airborne again.

 

Salt lamp benefits do include negative ion generation. It appears primarily from the moisture evaporating on the heated rock salt.

Some studies point to the cumulative effect of keeping the salt lamp on at all times. This can slowly generate more and more negative ions and improve the air quality over time. However, as a negative ioniser, salt lamps have a limited range and small output. Instead, it’s best to consider negative ions from salt lamps as an added benefit and position them with their short ionising range in mind.

 

The other health benefit claims of Himalayan salt lamps are based on plausible science. Salt in the air really does help breathing problems, and negative ions really are linked to better moods.

 

At worst, we have an interesting night light!

 

Until the next post,

 

Live Clean n Prosper

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