health

Hydrotherapy is a powerful external tool for rejuvenation. The Germans are masters at it. Thanks to the electrical properties of water, using alternate hot and cold water on the body can alter the electrical charges of molecules in the body—particularly the low-level voltages which regulate lymphatic drainage—by alternately increasing and decreasing them. In physiological terms this opens up the capillaries increasing blood flow and helping to stimulate the elimination of wastes through the blood and lymph systems. It also relaxes and tones muscles and helps you feel energetic. Here's how: After standing under a hot shower for 3 to 5 minutes so that your body is warm and comfortable, alternate hot and cold water—2 minutes of hot followed by 30 seconds of cold—three times, finishing off with cold. Once you get used to the Blitz Guss protocol you are likely to find that you want to increase the time your body is exposed to cold water just because it makes you feel so good and so alive. Don't do this just before bed or you may feel so energetic that you can’t sleep. And, of course, if you have a pacemaker or any sort of heart condition it is essential that you check with your medical practitioner and get his or her OK before you try it. Be sure to check out the video below: [video src=http://d1vg7rm5xhtxe9.cloudfront.net/video/sd/blitz-guss.mp4 poster=http://d3oy45cyct8ffi.cloudfront.net/health/into-the-bliss/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2012/02/lk-video-blitz-guss.jpg ]

Laughter and humor are much needed in the over-serious world of health and beauty, a world which tends to measure health not as joyous energy and creativity but in terms of cholesterol levels, blood pressure and sedimentation rates. The irony is, that according to the latest research into the mind body relationship, a life which sparkles with laughter is not only good for you because it feels good, it can also help look after the state of your blood pressure, immune system and cholesterol levels. Some researchers believe laughter can help look after the state of your blood pressure, immune system and cholesterol levels far better than high powered medical care and drugs. Drugs, after all, have deeply worrying side effects. The worst of laughter's side effects is joy. When we laugh we shed feelings of judgment, self pity and blame. Our perception shifts and we come to know another level of consciousness. Laughter deepens your breathing, expands blood vessels, heightens circulation bringing more oxygen to your cells, increases the secretion of hormones beneficial to your body, speeds tissue healing and helps stabilize bodily functions. A new philosophy is emerging from studies carried out in France and Canada by philosopher Andre Moreau on the notion that one should seek in all philosophical teachings the keys for releasing innate human tendencies towards humor, laughter and positive energies. It is known as "Jovialiste" which advocates the practice of smiling as a free expression of human vitality and creativity. Meanwhile, hospitals both in the United States and Europe are even prescribing laughter in the form of Jerry Lewis and Marks Brother's films, humorous books and any other simple triggers to put patients into a blissful state of spontaneous giggles. life on the flip side The way that emotions and health are closely related has been investigated for many years. The scientific press is full of papers which show the way that negative emotions such as anger, resentment, fear and despair are major factors in the development of serious illness from cancer to coronary heart disease. Scientists have charted direct pathways between mind and immunity via anatomical connections that link the brain directly to organs such as the spleen and the thymus gland. They have also shown that hormonal secretions induced by emotions and thought patterns create a second pathway between mind and body which is carried on the blood, and there is strong evidence that excess adrenaline from high levels of stress can significantly depress the body's immune system. But until recently most of the focus of mind-body research has been on the negative. Now, thanks to the new fascination with laughter, many scientists are beginning to investigate the biochemical changes brought about by positive emotions and encouraging their use as tools for health and healing. Researchers now find that laughter, relaxation, meditation and hope not only produce beneficial changes such as lowered heart rate and breathing, they can even improve the way your body responds to stress hormones, and bring about a shift in your perception of potentially stressful situations so you can look on them as challenges rather than as insurmountable problems - a vital attitude in preserving and enhancing the health of your mind and body. One of the very best things of all about laughter is that it breaks through the tendency each of us has to take our self and our values too seriously. It breaks down the roles we play and liberates the self locked within. It is our tendency to identify with our own self-created image, fears, beliefs and assumptions that takes us away from the joy which we believe is normal for each of us to feel. Give yourself a chance to laugh, and it will make you feel more alive, healthier and more beautiful. learn to laugh Seek out and spend time with people who make you laugh - often. Look for books that make you laugh, and keep a file of cartoons and magazine articles which you can share with your friends. Learn to be silly sometimes - like a child. Maybe join a drama class where they do improvisation, or make friends with children who still remember how to laugh and play and let them be your teachers.

The word charisma literally means "talent, grace, a favor specially vouchsafed by God". The charisma approach to good looks focuses not so much on specifics as on the over-all impression you create - an expression of your personal and idiosyncratic feeling for who you are and what looks best on you. The charisma approach to good looks is bold, assertive and often witty. And, contrary to popular opinion, it is not the exclusive province of the special elect - women with perfect size 10 bodies and not a wrinkle on their faces. Far from it. Charisma is ageless. It exists in every culture. It is the icing on the cake - the external expression of your unique authenticity which gives you panache, boldness and humor, and transforms physical limitations like wide hips or giraffe necks into assets. It can make a wonderful statement out of a nose that by conventional standards is too big. Charisma makes you stand out in a crowd. Developing charisma of your own can not only be a lot of fun and have a dazzling effect on your outside world, it can even empower you to live more and more from your core. Charisma is something of far greater value than a docile conformity to conventional notions about fashion and beauty. affirming what's authentic What gives you charisma? The Chanel suit you wear? The car you drive? The way you have been taught to use your body or speak your words? Not really. For, stylish or charming as these things may be, they are more often than not chosen without any consideration of whether or not they have a connection with the individuality of the woman who wears them. It is rather like hanging Christmas baubles on a willow tree. As such, they offer little more than the appearance of charisma. And like pastiche, appearances never deceive a discerning eye. Developing your own charisma is first a question of acknowledging that how you look matters. Second, you need to make time to care for yourself and to explore who you are. Finally you have to rediscover the art of play. Your unique nature can be expressed in a myriad of ways, from the most simple and playful to the most profound: In the colors you like best, in the way you choose to wear your hair, the kind of make-up you wear, as well as how you think and talk, and in the deep values you embody; even in the dreams you dream and in the things you do and make - whether they be creations of art, intellectual or physical feats, or your simple day-to-day ways of being. That is why at its essence, charisma is both disarmingly simple and immeasurably complex - neither more nor less than living day by day from a full and honest outpouring of your individuality - that spirit which is unique to you.

For decades I’ve warned men and women not to take calcium supplements—whether in pill form or by drinking and eating many cows’ milk products. All sorts of well-formulated scientific studies now confirm that such advice is right. Having long been bombarded with ill begotten misinformation about calcium it is time we learned some simple truths. For instance, supplementing your diet with calcium can not only be toxic to your body: It may even shorten your life. DANGERS OF TOO MUCH CALCIUM Thomas E Levy, M.D. is one of the world’s leading experts in vitamin C and antioxidants used to treat and protect against a myriad of medical conditions and degenerative diseases. A board-certified cardiologist whose work I have long admired, Levy has also written an excellent book, Death by Calcium, which I urge every man and woman who cares about health and truth to read. Here are a few surprising truths you need to know about calcium: All degenerative diseases, from heart disease to cancer and Alzheimer’s, show increased levels of calcium inside the cells where they do not belong. As calcium deposits both inside and outside the cells increase, this raises the chance of malignancies and encourages the development of cancers. A healthy diet based on organic fresh fruits, vegetables and protein foods can supply all the calcium your body will ever need, so long as you are getting plenty of sunlight or taking a good quality vitamin D3 supplement. Women who have the highest calcium consumption have a death rate two and a half times higher than those with a lower consumption of calcium, according to a long term study of 61,433 women followed over a period of 19 years. We have long, wrongly, been urged to supplement our diet with calcium to avoid osteoporosis. Someone who has unwittingly followed such advice is far more likely to die of a heart attack or stroke than from a bone fracture. Women with osteoporosis do not have an overall deficiency of calcium in the body. They have a deficiency of calcium in their bones while they have an excess of calcium in the rest of their body. While calcium supplementation can increase calcium density in bones, this does not decrease the chances of bone fracture. What it does do is lay down potentially dangerous deposits of excess calcium outside the bones. Excess calcium circulating in the blood is far more dangerous than high cholesterol when it comes to strokes and heart disease. Excess calcium over time, without adequate magnesium, sets the stage for the formation of atherosclerotic plaque build-up in the arteries. THE BOTTOM LINE The proofs for all this and much more are overwhelming. Get your calcium from fresh, organic vegetables and a healthy diet while shunning packaged convenience foods, sugars, grains and cereals, and you’ll not have to worry about doing it wrong ever again. So simple really. Meanwhile, I highly recommend that you read Levy’s book Death by Calcium. It’s a great read—clear, honest and so important for your health.

A complaint I often hear from men and women who have been on long term medication for low thyroid is this: “I’ve taken the pills for years but I only gain more weight. Why?” Having worked with scores of men and women all over the world, I am continually surprised by the number of people who, having been prescribed thyroid hormones, struggle long term with mounting weight that they cannot seem to lose no matter what they do— people who, nevertheless, shed weight consistently and keep it off permanently on Cura Romana. Let’s look at some of the common assumptions about the relationship between thyroid function, weight gain and weight loss, then maybe explore why Cura Romana is so successful for them… INACCURATE SCIENCE Thyroid hormones have long been used as a weight loss tool with little success. Only small amounts of weight tend to be lost. Once thyroid hormones are stopped, weight lost is usually regained. Often it is regained even when thyroid medication is continued. Sadly, there can be significant negative consequences from the use of thyroid hormone to help with weight loss—for instance, the loss of muscle tissue. And when the dose of thyroid hormone is increased, it can create other problems such as disrupting hormone balance. For good health, the endocrine system—which functions as a whole—needs to become balanced. HOLISTIC REBALANCE All the glands in our bodies depend upon one another to function properly. The thyroid gland, for example, depends upon the pituitary gland to help control the production of thyroid hormones. The pituitary gland produces thyroid stimulating hormone (or TSH). This hormone promotes thyroid hormone production, and releases the hormones into the blood stream. When the thyroid hormone level is low, the pituitary gland senses this and releases TSH, which in turn tells the thyroid gland to make and release thyroid hormone into the bloodstream. This process is often compared to the working of a furnace: a thermostat senses cold air, tells the furnace to turn on and produce heat, and when the air is warm enough, the thermostat tells the furnace to shut off. Any hormone introduced into the body, whether drug or nature-identical, can disrupt not only the functioning of the gland it has been targeted to treat, but the balance of many other hormones as well. OUTDATED NOTIONS It was almost a hundred years ago that scientists discovered the thyroid gland controls metabolism—in other words, the rate at which your body consumes its fuel. Doctors way back then came to believe that giving thyroid gland itself, or prescribing thyroid hormones to overweight people, would make them lose weight. Such notions have proved to be deeply disappointing. You see, the abnormal fat deposits we want to shed don’t get involved in the turnover of energy. This is one reason why weight loss diets don’t get rid of excess fat from so-called difficult areas, like bellies in men and waists and thighs in women. Nonetheless, many still prescribe thyroid medication to people who complain they cannot shed weight. Simeons, who created Cura Romana, understood that giving thyroid medication to an overweight man or woman just forces the body to consume its normal fat reserves—which are already depleted and which no one should lose—and then to break down structurally essential fat without touching the abnormal deposits. A DOCTOR SPEAKS “In this way,” Simeons said, “a patient may be brought to the brink of starvation in spite of having a hundred pounds of fat to spare.” In the thirty years he spent studying the cause and cure for obesity, and in all his successful clinical treatments, Simeons found that the majority of overweight people have a perfectly normal thyroid gland. Some, he discovered, even have an overactive thyroid. Only occasionally did he come upon an obese person with a real thyroid deficiency. He says, “Much misunderstanding about the supposed role of the thyroid gland in obesity is still met with, and it is now really high time that thyroid preparations be once and for all struck off the list of remedies for obesity. This is particularly so because giving thyroid gland to an obese patient whose thyroid is either normal or overactive, besides being useless, is often decidedly dangerous.” CONSOLIDATION BLESSINGS I often ask myself why so many people who have been on thyroid medication seem to thrive on ESSENTIAL SPRAY+FOOD PLAN and then make their weight loss permanent through the CONSOLIDATION process. In truth, I do not know the answer to this question. But it is a wonderful thing to witness taking place. And frequently, with the help of their doctor, they decide to reduce the hormones they have been taking, or to stop taking any thyroid medication whatsoever. I strongly suspect that it is the remarkable balancing that Cura Romana brings, not only to the fat control centers in the brain, but indirectly often to the endocrine system as a whole. For I also see women frequently able to eliminate the use of both drug and nature-identical hormones that they may have been using for years. “I just don’t need them any more” they tell me. The hot flushes are gone, the PMS has dramatically reduced or been eliminated altogether. As one participant said to me last week, “I feel like I’ve been released from a drug-built prison and it’s great.”

Seven years ago, Leslie and I launched our original Cura Romana. We started to work with men and women in countries all over the world. What we learned from these wonderful people went far beyond anything we anticipated. This was not only about how to experience lasting weight loss, but how we could help participants raise their health to levels that are life-changing. We came face to face with the fears, frustrations and addictions that some of you have long wrestled with, and we learned how to help you overcome these challenges. Since then, year by year we have put into practice an enormous number of new tools, techniques and breakthrough guidance about how making simple yet profound changes in how you eat, think and live can help keep you lean, strong and healthy for life. The response to all of this from every one of you continues to inspire our work. Let me share with you a typical description of the updated 2016 Cura experience. We received this report from Yvonne, three days ago: “Doing Cura has been the best decision of my life. I have shed stored fat effortlessly, I no longer experience joint and body pain. I sleep really well and I have more energy and greater emotional stability. This journey has been life changing for me physically, emotionally and spiritually. I am now medication free. I’ve learned to feed my body with the food it thrives on, and maintain my weight permanently. I’ve learned to love myself and my life” Our success with Cura has been no accident of fate. It’s a clear reflection of the commitment Leslie and I have brought to a world filled with hype and confusion. It is our gift to a public who deserve the very best, most reliable experience of safe, natural weight loss and wellbeing that the participants we work with tell us can be life-changing. We love working with you on a highly personal level, especially on the Inner Circle Gold. We are completely dedicated to the goals we have set so that each and every one of you can come to live with a sense of joy, freedom and ongoing self-discovery from the core of your being. You won’t find all this in Leslie’s earlier Cura Romana books. Why? Because Cura has become a rapidly evolving phenomenon. To get the very best Cura now has to offer, you will need to do one of our online programs. Meanwhile, here are a few vital snippets of information we want you to have to help you create a vital new you in the next few months: Cura 2016 has one simple weight loss goal—to restore balanced functioning to the parts of the brain that no longer function correctly in overweight people. It can only do this thanks to the combination of our Specific Food Protocol used together with our unique Essential Spray. It’s your brain that exerts centralized management over all the physiological functions in your body. It does this by generating patterns of activity in specific control centers for hormones, appetite, weight gain, weight loss, hunger, satiety, emotions, mental functions and stress. This process demands no strenuous efforts on your part. Your body itself makes all this take place naturally. It releases unwanted fat naturally as it restores good functioning to these control centers. As these changes take place in the body, other powerful gifts to mind, body and spirit begin to happen. There is literally nothing else in the world that works the way Cura does. Here is just a sampling of Cura’s benefits: Yes, Cura is a powerful way to shed unwanted fat fast. •And yes, Cura’s Consolidation shows how to avoid regain and eliminate food cravings permanently. •Yes, Cura often improves health so much that participants’ doctors report their decision to severely cut back on drugs and/or eliminate altogether medications they used to prescribe before their patients began their Cura experience. And there are so many other Cura rewards in addition to health and fat loss that I couldn’t list them all. Our people constantly tell us these include mental clarity, emotional balance, more energy, better sleep, renewed self-respect—even a new lease on life. For such transformations to become part of your own life, there are two things you will need to do: First, follow Cura’s food and Consolidation protocols to the letter. Second, you must use Cura’s Essential Spray accurately. Nothing else can bring about hunger-free fat burning while bringing mental clarity, emotional balance, increased energy, better sleep, renewed self-respect and wellbeing. It is this combo that gives Cura its power to help you transform your body and your life. In the words of Brooke in the United States, who just last week finished her Inner Circle Gold 45 program: “I encourage you to begin this amazing process that will allow something truly wonderful to happen in your life. It’s a guarantee of weightloss and incredible health, consciousness and vitality. It’s simple to do and you are NOT HUNGRY...Don’t tell yourself there’s no help for you. The money you spend will bring what seem to be miraculous results. Give yourself this gift!” Brooke shed 20 pounds working with Leslie on her online program. The physical, emotional and spiritual transformations that take place on Cura come in the form of simple functional shifts in the way your body works. Cura begins by encouraging your body to let go of toxic wastes that may have been held in its tissues for some time. This decreases a body’s toxic burden. As wastes diminish, your body’s fluid, dynamic, continuous webwork of energy, physical substances and light become vitalized. Your senses become heightened. You become transformed. The only way to experience all this for yourself is to sign up and work with us by participating in Cura’s online programs—especially Cura’s Inner Circle Gold. Have a great new year. Leslie and I look forward to working with you. If you would like to learn more visit us at curaromana.com

Conventional diets for shedding unwanted depend on self-denial and willpower. They are full of complex methods for dealing with what is commonly known as cheating. Here's an example. Say you go off your diet by eating a piece of chocolate cake. Then you're supposed to tell yourself, "Never mind, tomorrow I'll skip dinner to make up for it." Except that by the time tomorrow arrives, you've developed even more cravings for even more chocolate, carby stuff and sugary drinks. Anybody trying to lose weight this way is doomed to fail. As soon as their diet ends any fat they've shed begins slowly but surely to creep back on. Then they're back where they started. Cura is different Cura is different. Let me tell you how. The secret behind Cura's life-changing success rate is hidden deep within the brain. Yes, really. Here's how it works. On any Cura program, unwanted fat is shed not as the result of strenuous effort or willpower but gently and progressively thanks to Cura's unique ability to restore healthy functioning to the control centers in your brain. Few people—this includes the majority of scientists—even know that the body's fat regulating system is located in an area of the mid-brain called the diencephalon. Probably the most sensitive and complex locus of control in the body, it houses a collection of vital structures including the thalamus, hypothalamus, and pituitary which govern emotions, stress and moods. It oversees the entire autonomic nervous system. The hypothalamus itself links directly to the nervous and endocrine systems via the pituitary. It regulates both hunger and thirst and, with the help of the other members of the diencephalon team, decides whether your body is to lay down fat or shed unwanted fat on your body. Other powerful centers in this area of the brain determine mental functions and emotional balance—even the perceptions we have about ourselves along with heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, electrolyte balance, sexuality and our sleep cycles. Following Cura's specific food protocol and using the Essential Spray—from beginning to end—allows these control centers to function correctly. This is how natural, progressive, effective fat burning takes place without willpower or manipulation. Cura's celebrated success is both as simple and as profound as this. not your fault What few of us realize is that unwanted fat, insulin resistance and the blood sugar issues that come with them are not their fault. Nor are they some accident of fate. These things occur as a result of vital control centers of the brain not functioning as they are meant to in a healthy body. And what messes up the functioning of these control centers? This is important: For more than 70 years we have been misinformed and let astray by governments, pharmaceutical companies and multinational food corporations. We've been told that the way to stay lean and healthy is by following a low-fat high carb diet. We have eaten artificially made foods promoted by the media, multinational food manufacturers and governments. We've told to buy and eat convenience foods, chockablock with carbohydrates, sugars and chemicals. increase in degenerative diseases Doing this has resulted in the rampant increase in degenerative diseases and the widespread dependence on dangerous pharmaceuticals, used only to suppress symptoms but unable to bring true healing to the body. High carb low-fat eating is a major cause of worldwide obesity, addictions and food cravings, as well as the struggles so many experience trying to lose weight. This includes feelings of hopelessness, confusion, self-blame and fear that they will never be able to shed excess fat from our bodies, keep it off, and restore high-level health. Back in the mid-1940s, there were very few poisons sprayed on the foods we bought. They were organically grown on small farms. Today agriculture is big business in control of gigantic corporations whose only goal is fattening their bottom line. In animal farming, drugs such as antibiotics and hormones are injected to boost an animal's growth and cut down on feed requirements virtually all over the world. Residues of these drugs are as hazardous to your own health as they are to the animals that receive them. They undermine your vitality and make those of us with a tendency to gain weight get fat. The level of harm from exposure to pesticides, animal antibiotics and hormones is dose related. This means the more you consume, the greater your potential risk not only of illnesses and long-term degenerative conditions from Heart Disease and Cancer, to serious hormone disorders, depression, Alzheimer’s and distortions in the brain—in many cases from the time of birth to death. Meanwhile all this continues to increase exponentially. convenience foods The convenience foods that line the shelves of supermarkets everywhere are filled with pesticides, chemical additives and GMO. Corporations are intent on selling products that can themselves be destructive to life long term, rather than helping the public learn about the power of natural healing that is carried in the body itself. Eating these foods are responsible for insulin resistance, blood sugar issues and dangerous levels of obesity. If you want to shed excess fat from your body and restore high-level health we need to stop eating them and feeding them to our families. The goals of Cura online programs are two fold: First to guide you progressively through the natural process of shedding unwanted fat from your body. Second they show you how to build whole new ways of living and eating to set you free for to experience long term leanness and radiant health. To my knowledge, no other online program has ever been able to accomplish all this at such a scale. Do join one of our online programs and experience all this for yourself.

Apart from inadequate nutrition, the primary cause of premature aging - and all the fatigue, cell damage and disease which accompany it - is a buildup of waste products which are toxic to the system. They result in poor circulation to and from the cells and in a stagnation of cellular fluids. A continuous interchange takes place between your body's trillions of cells and their surrounding interstitial fluids. This is where nutrients and oxygen are exchanged for waste products from the cells. Wastes are then picked up by minute lymphatic tubules or ducts and sent through the lymph vessels to be detoxified. It is an exchange regulated by subtle electrochemical processes. Living cells will only thrive when both nutrients and oxygen are well supplied and toxic wastes are concurrently removed and eliminated from the body. The methods for encouraging this are extraordinarily simple yet their effects can be remarkably profound. Many are also immediately experienced in terms of improved good looks and vitality and a newfound sense of calm well-being. long weekend spring-clean This is a method I like to use when for one reason or another (such as after Christmas celebrations or living in hotels) I have not been able to eat the same kind of foods I do at home, or when I am feeling tired and need a lift. It takes three days to carry out. Ideally you should eat all raw foods the day before you begin but this is not always possible. It is an ideal way to regenerate yourself over a long quiet weekend. On rising, or at 9am, each day you begin with a cup of herb tea - not too hot. You can sweeten it with a little natural stevia if you like. Day 1 9am Herb tea 11am 8oz fresh fruit (not citrus) or vegetable juice 1pm 1 cup potassium broth 4pm Herb tea 7pm 8oz fresh fruit (not citrus) or vegetable juice 9pm 1 cup potassium broth Day 2 9am Herb tea plus half an apple - be sure to chew it thoroughly 11am Fresh fruit or vegetable juice 1pm Cup of potassium broth 4pm Herb tea 7pm Cup of potassium broth 9pm Fresh fruit or vegetable juice Day 3 9am A dish of prunes which have been soaked overnight in water 11am Fresh fruit or vegetable juice 1pm Salad of fresh raw vegetables with a little yogurt dressing. 4pm An apple 7pm Fresh fruit or vegetable juice 9pm Cup of potassium broth During this Weekend Spring-Clean you can drink as much spring water as you like. It is important that you take a brisk walk in the open air for at least half an hour each day. You can continue to work if you like but it is especially pleasant to carry out over a long weekend when you have time to yourself. You must not smoke, or drink alcohol, tea or coffee. Herb teas are available from healthfood stores. So is potassium broth which is made from fresh vegetables and herbs and contains no additives. The best you make yourself simply by boiling masses of fresh vegetables. Alternatively you can buy it in little cubes over which you pour boiling water, or in a powder form which I prefer. The best I have found is called Low Salt Marigold Swiss Vegetable Bouillon. You can make your own fresh vegetable or fruit and vegetable juices (half apple and half carrot is a particularly delicious and effective combination to use) provided you have a centrifuge juice extractor. Otherwise look for those processed by low heat to preserve their natural enzymes and nutrients. They too are available in health-food stores. The Biotta juices from Germany are the best. Daily baths are a must during the Long Weekend regime and you will probably find you need to brush your teeth more often than usual since your body will be rapidly eliminating wastes and both teeth and tongue can become coated when this occurs. Skin brushing is excellent for hastening the eliminative processes. Do not take a sauna during the Long Weekend Spring-Clean however. On the fourth day simply return to your normal way of eating, with particular emphasis on raw foods for a day or two.

“Insomnia? I know a great cure for it... get plenty of sleep” W.C. Fields Do you dread going to bed for fear for fear you won’t sleep? Do you wake in the night only to find that you can’t go back to sleep again? Well, you’re not alone. Over half of the population of both the UK and the United States—where Big Pharma collected $3.7 billion for selling drugs for sleep in 2012 alone—have problems with some form of “sleep disorder.” Many take hypnotic drugs despite the fact that at least two dozen published studies have examined mortality associated with these medications. Eighteen of these report significant connections between using these drugs and increased mortality. Taking sleep inducing drugs is also associated with a greater than three-fold increased risk of death, even when less than 18 pills a year have been taken. Bottom line: Hypnotics ain’t worth the risk. There are better ways of handling insomnia. DANGER WORRIES There’s no doubt about it, disrupted or poor quality sleep can be dangerous. I learned this myself first hand after taking a flight that crossed twelve time zones. I found— unusually for me—that my body never readjusted to the new time zone, and I was sleeping only an hour or two a night, and at very irregular times. This went on for almost two weeks, at the end of which I was in severe physical pain. I went to see my doctor, also a skilled acupuncturist, concerned that I may have contracted some fairly serious illness. He treated me with acupuncture and sorted out the pain within two treatments, as well as my inability to sleep. He also told me that he had seen this in patients of his who are pilots. Research studies show that when healthy male volunteers were deprived of four hours of sleep for a single night, the activity of the natural killer cells in their immune system fell by as much as 30 percent. That’s the bad news. The good news is that a single good night’s sleep brought normal functioning back to the cells. It has also long been known that shift workers, whose hours of sleep continually change, have increasing difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep. They also have more accidents, suffer more illness and die younger than people with normal sleep schedules. INSOMNIA TRIGGERS Anxiety Fear of insomnia Stimulants such as coffee or alcohol Eating too many high glycemic carbohydrate convenience foods which disturb blood sugar Low levels of melatonin Low levels of serotonin Drug use Depression A lot of so-called insomnia is nothing more than the result of worrying about getting to sleep. Many people who consider themselves insomniacs are really victims of the general propaganda about sleep, rather than true non-sleepers. Many people seek treatment because they can only sleep four or five hours a night, although that may be all they need. There is nothing more likely to cause sleeplessness than the worry that you won’t be able to drop off. Sometimes sleeplessness can be normal. After all, we all experience a sleepless night every now and then, particularly if we are over-tired, worried or excited about coming events. Real chronic insomnia is less frequent. There are many things that can cause it, from taking stimulants such as chocolate, soft drinks, coffee and tea, to not getting enough exercise. Nocturnal hypoglycemia is another major cause of insomnia in many people. BEWARE OF BOOZE Alcohol can severely interfere with sleep for a number of reasons. First, it brings about the release of adrenalin giving you a sense of excitement—a totally inappropriate condition for putting your head down on the pillow. It also interferes with the transport of tryptophan into the brain. And since the brain depends on a good supply of tryptophan in order to produce serotonin—the neurotransmitter that brings about sleep—drinking alcohol late in the evening severely disrupts serotonin levels. Alcohol, of course, also has a relaxing effect, which for many people will put them to sleep immediately, provided they have drunk enough of it. Then they find that, two or three hours later, they awake dehydrated and unable to sleep for the rest of the night. LOOK TO NATURE For my money, botanical sleep support wins the battle against insomnia better than almost anything else. There are several botanicals I turn to and recommend to others. Some of the most powerful helpers for insomnia have botanical origins. Many plants, from skullcap (Scutellaria laterifolia) to hops (Humulus lupulus), can be used to help promote sleep. I use them often. Here are some of the most effective. CALIFORNIA POPPY Eschscholzia californica This gentle but effective sedative is also an antidepressant and a mood stabilizer, and the seeds of the plant offer excellent natural relief for someone living with chronic pain. It appears to work by telling the brain to increase your opiate receptors, which automatically decreases pain and brings relaxation. California Poppy is also non-addictive. But it should not be taken during pregnancy as it might stimulate uterine contractions. VALERIAN Valeriana officinalis A natural sedative and anti-hypertensive, valerian has been used on both sides of the Atlantic for generations, not only to induce sleep but to help protect people from the negative effects of stress. A double blind study involving 128 people showed quite clearly that a water extract of valerian root significantly increased the quality of sleep. The study, which was quite thorough, measured night awakening, people’s own perceptions of the quality of their sleep, sleeplessness in the morning and sleep latency—that is, how quickly a person got to sleep. In another double blind insomnia study, 20 people were given either a combination of 160mg of valerian root extract and 80mg of Melissa officinalis extract, or menzodiazapine (Triazolam 0.125mg), or a placebo. (Melissa, by the way, belongs to the mint family and also has a powerful anti-viral activity.) Researchers discovered that the valerian-melissa preparation was comparable to the benzodiazepine drug in its ability to increase deep sleep. However, unlike the drug, it did not cause side-effects—diminished concentration, impairment of physical performance or daytime sleepiness. My only problem with valerian is that to me it smells like dirty socks. KAVA KAVA Piper methysticum From the pepper family, this plant is consumed in liquid by the cultures of Polynesia. It is both an effective sedative and hypnotic. It also acts as a muscle relaxant, anticonvulsant, and anti-depressant. When you take it, it first stimulates then begins to sedate the central nervous system. Small doses can produce a euphoric sense of wellbeing. Larger doses or small doses repeated frequently produce deep relaxation, lethargy and induce sleep. Human studies where kava is given in therapeutic doses have failed to show any toxic effects. Nonetheless, kava should not be used by people who have or have had liver problems, who drink alcohol, or take drugs. Children, pregnant and breastfeeding women are not to take kava either. PASSIONFLOWER Passiflora incarnata This magnificent climbing plant, with its white flowers and extraordinary purple centers, is mildly narcotic and a wonderful sedative for the body. It’s an anti-spasmodic, sedative, hypnotic, hypotensive anti-depressant and nerve relaxant. It is particularly useful if you are someone who tends to suffer from nervous tension as well as insomnia. Not as strong as valerian in its action, it is more calming than sedating, and is therefore a superb alternative to tranquilizer drugs. Passionflower works particularly well for sleep when taken together with 5-HTP as an herb, a tincture, or fluid extract or in dried powered form in capsules. Passionflower was used by the Aztecs as an analgesic and sedative. One of its plant chemicals is called harmine, which has an interesting ability to bring about a contemplative state and a feeling of mild euphoria. It was even used during World War II as a “truth serum”. Harmine and other plant chemicals in passionflower, which work synergistically with it, prevent serotonin levels from falling and therefore works extremely well with 5-HTP against insomnia. HOPS Humulus lupulus The flowers from this common herb are often used together with other remedies to treat everything from indigestion to edgy nerves. Like valerian, hops have a pronounced sedative effect but it is much milder. You can use hops in the form of a tincture, but it can be particularly useful as a tea for people who awaken in the middle of the night. Prepare it before going to bed by steeping the flowers for 10 minutes in hot water and then straining and allowing to cool. Put the tea, sweetened with a little honey or preferably stevia (if you can get it), by the side of your bed so you can drink it if you awaken during the night. Some people also swear by small pillows stuffed with dried hops blossoms which you put under your neck when you go to bed or if you awaken. LET GO OF FEAR Experiment with these wonderful plants. Get to know them. Each has its own personality and its own soul. I have used them all over the years and come to love each one of them for their beauty and their effectiveness. Just as when you meet a new friend, it takes time to experience all their gifts. But you will, and it will be wonderful. Meanwhile, forget worry about sleep. Do what you need to do and then just let it happen. If it doesn’t happen tonight, so what? It will tomorrow night, or the next. Lack of sleep is not likely to kill you, but worrying about it for long enough just might. St. Patrick began each day with a prayer, regardless of how much or little sleep he had, or how he felt when he awakened. It is my favorite celebration of new beginnings and can wipe away worries following a sleepless night: I arise today Through the strength of heaven Light of sun, Radiance of moon, Splendour of fire Speed of lightning Swiftness of wind. Depth of sea Stability of earth, St. Patrick My favorite herbal company is Gaia Herbs who are fanatical in their methods of gathering and processing each and every product. I buy them from iHerb. Here are some of the Gaia products I especially like: Gaia Herbs, Kava Kava Root, 60 Vegetarian Liquid Phyto-Caps Many systems of the body can be negatively affected by stress. That is why achieving a state of calm and relaxation is so important for optimum wellness. Gaia Herbs' Kava Kava is a potent herbal extract which helps support emotional balance. Made from ecologically harvested Kava Kava from Vanuatu, it contains a guaranteed 225 mg of active Kavalactones per serving. Order Kava Kava Root from iherb Gaia Herbs, Valerian Root, 60 Vegetarian Liquid Phyto-Caps Valerian root has long been used to promote deep and restful sleep in those with occasional sleeplessness. Made from Valerian grown on Gaia's own certified organic farm, this extract delivers 1.8 mg of Valerenic acid derivatives per serving. By promoting a sense of calm and relaxation, Valerian Root supports the body in falling asleep naturally. Order Valerian Root from iherb Gaia Herbs, Sound Sleep, 60 Vegetarian Liquid Phyto-Caps Getting a restful night's sleep is essential for optimal health. Sound Sleep is an all herbal formula with botanicals historically recognized to address difficulty with sleep. It works to normalize restlessness, physical tension, and worry sometimes associated with occasional sleeplessness. It may also be used when nervous excitement and/or stress affected normal sleep patterns. Order Sound Sleep from iherb Gaia Herbs, Serenity with Passionflower, 60 Veggie Liquid Phyto-Caps Occasional nervous stress and tension can interfere in the enjoyment of everyday life by disrupting the functioning of body and mind. Serenity provides the support you need to help restore a sense of calm and relaxation your life. Made with certified organic Passionflower and Skullcap, this formula gives your nervous system the nourishment it deserves. Order Serenity from iherb