i’m only sleeping 2

Last week I began talking about sleep, how much is enough and how to get enough. I definitely came out in favor of quality over quantity, and offered up a list of important factors in getting the most out of your time asleep, going over the first two and leaving the next four for this week:    

• early to bed and early to rise
• sleep in the dark
• avoid strong electro-magnetic fields
• develop regular bed time habits
• move your body during the day
• avoid food and water before bed time

Since it is now this week, let’s dive right into some thoughts around electro-magnetic fields and a good night’s sleep.

do androids dream of electric sheep?

Cell phones, wifi, bluetooth, hi-def television, electric lights, the ubiquitous desktop or laptop…if you are reading this you are probably swimming in a sea of electro-magnetic currents. And depending on who you read, this is either nothing to be concerned about in the least, or the end of humanity as we know, with brain tumors, liver cancer, massive chromosome damage and sterility the increasing wave of same-old same-old for the average westerner.

As usual, I’m happier navigating the grey zone, the in-between, the open-minded check-it-out-and-see-what-happens territory when it comes to looking at the effects of this sudden flood of electro-magnetic radiation that we find ourselves awash in. And as ususal that means no easy answers. Sorry.

I sing the body electric

So how does this relate to sleeping? Well, since our own personal bio-electric field as so crucial to our own health and well-being, it does stand to reason that the electrical grid of our homes is going to have some sort of effect on our organism, on our health and behavior. And since sleep is so crucial to our health and well-being as well, it stands to reason that the electro-magnetic field of our sleeping area, the manner in which our field and our bedroom’s field interact, will have a large effect upon the quality of our sleep and a resulting effect upon all areas of our health; physical, emotional, energetic, and psychological.

So here’s the skinny on electro-mag fields and sleep. 

• Because they are the most bio-electrically active ares of your body, external electro-magnetic fields near your head and heart have the largest effect upon your sleep and your health. Think lamps, alarm clocks, cell phones and other small electric items on your night stand.
• All outlets leak a field that can interact with your own personal field.
• Metal bed frames and metal spring beds will conduct this energy and help to create a field the size of your bed….like sleeping on a cloud of radiation.

What’s a body to do? Well, be sensitive first off. Experiment with things like bed placement, pulling the circuit breaker on the bedroom before going to sleep, clearing the night stand, etc. The biggest thing is to get tuned in and experiment.

Tune in to natural rhythms

As much as we have isolated ourselves from the natural rhythms of nature over the past several centuries, our bodies, conservative animals that they are, remain tethered to the natural rhythms of night and day, the phases of the moon, and the changes of the seasons. Ever notice what happens when you go camping and leave all the modern conveniences at home? Sleep with the night, rise with the day. The body gets great comfort from this regularity.

Living as we do in lights and electricity, we are much more stimulated and tend to stay up later as a result. We can still establish natural rhythms for ourselves, however, simply by setting up consistent bedtime routines. The body can gain a lot of comfort from knowing when it’s time to sleep and when it’s time to wake-up, and being able to count on that from day to day, week to week, with occasional shifts in pattern followed by more consistency.

So even if we aren’t sleeping with our old clock the sun, at least we can offer up some conssitency by sleeping with our new clock the clock!

Active bodies sleep better

This one is pretty simple, and works with another idea of natural rhythm: the pulsation of effort and relaxation. By using our bodies during the day, we set ourselves up for a natural body response of deep rest at night. And if you work the night shift then reverse what I just said! A few things to look at in this regard are:

• daily or at least weekly walks
• a fitness routine several days a week
• ditto for yoga
• dancing or other physical night time activity
• make like the big lebowski and go bowling
• golfing, hiking, birding, or other outdoor activity

Anything that gives you a chance to use the amazing movement abilities that your body offers you will also give you a chance to experience the amazing capacity for stillness that your body also possesses. And there is no sleep like a still sleep.

Fasting and resting go hand in hand

Ever wonder why they call it breakfast? And why it comes right after you wake up? Yep. Avoiding food and water after you’ve finished your dinner make it that much easier for for you to get a good nights sleep, stomach, digestive system, kidneys and bladder focusing on their night time maintenance routine and leaving you free to sleep without those crazy dreams that “a bit of undigested beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese” might bring on.

Sleeping off the food hangover

Ever notice how blaaa you feel after eating just before (or after!) going to bed? I call that a food hangover and i’m happy to have been mostly free of that for the past few years. Compare that to the beauty of having hunger wake you up along with the sun and a perfectly timed bladder. Beautiful, especially compared to the feeling of waking up full.

Happy resting

Hopefully somewhere in these past two week’s postings you will find some help in your own quest for optimal rest by night and vitality by day. And don’t forget to tune in next week as we cover two other sleep related topics: children and the full-on alarm clock lowdown. Until then, restful sleeping, vital waking, and happy experimenting!

Charles Faris, hhc

“i ain’t no doctor”

Do you have a question about health and nutrition that you don’t want to ask your doctor? 

Ask Chas right here in comments, or via our contact form. We’ll get an answer for you asap.

A comment about your own adventures in sleep?

Start a conversation. I do love to talk!