We are 3 and 1/2 weeks into mandatory isolation and for the most part I am feeling calm and trying to use this unexpected time away from my studio as an opportunity for being able to spend more time on some continual professional development aswell as clean the windows, oven etc  and get my backside whooped on x-box sport games. However, there have also been times when I just didn’t want to speak to or be near to anyone.  Thankfully I have a wonderful partner and daughter who gave me this space to check out without any judgement.  Why am I telling you this, well its because it’s a normal response, for many of us the uncertainty of our situation and lack of being in control (I do like to feel in control) is deeply unsettling and we are all dealing with this in our unique individual ways.

I want to help inspire everyone that may be feeling like everything has been taken out of their control and be visible to everyone, not just those in my supports groups, with recommendations on what we all individually can take action on.

Please do reach out to me, I am thankful for this opportunity to help where I can and be of service.

We have a real opportunity to take action on THE most important thing:-

OUR HEALTH and filter that down to our Family.

So many of us if asked how we feel, would not immediately say we felt great, most of us would say we felt ok… or just fine..

We think of so many symptoms such as difficulty falling asleep, waking up during the night, waking up too early, feeling tired in the morning and throughout the day, irritability, depression, anxiety, difficulty paying attention or focusing, or constant worry as “normal”, simply because so many people experience them or that as we age these are just “normal” signs of aging.

This could not be further from the truth, just because so many people experience these symptoms does not mean they are normal, they all come down to the same thing :–

An imbalance in the body, where demand is greater then supply… ie not putting enough back into the body to meet the demands on it  and eventually the body shows signs of distress which gets progressively more aggressive, if we don’t take note of the first warning signs our body is trying to give us.

So…My second oh very sexy topic is Sleep… do stay with me and take a couple of minutes to read and maybe have a better understanding of the vital importance of deep restful sleep and what you can do to implement a positive change.

Good-quality deep sleep is vital for both healing and sustained wellness, as Insomnia in its varying levels can negatively impact your mood, health, and overall quality of life.

While the body appears from the outside to be still and inactive, sleep is a time when the body is quite busy, it performs many important functions while you sleep which supports our immune system, muscle growth, and protein synthesis as during the night, we restock our supply of hormones, process significant toxins, repair damaged tissue, generate white blood cells for immunity and process heavy emotions to name but a few.  So yes, you really do need your beauty sleep, inside and out.

Short-term, or acute insomnia is usually caused by stress, a specific traumatic event, or changes in schedule.  Much as the current situation maybe causing.  There are a plethora of sleep disorders – from trouble falling asleep to often interrupted sleep to actual insomnia, however in more chronic long term insomnia where pro-sleep behaviour is simply not enough it may require an in depth look at the history surrounding the specific sleep issue, covering upstream and downstream root causes in order to get true lasting relief. That being said, there are also several straightforward remedies which can help many people.

Whenever a new client is struggling with sleep, it is always a priority along with hydration that I encourage they pursue in their journey back to optimal health.

Sleeping soundly often increases our motivation to make further changes that may be necessary and we find easier to implement when our body is well rested, such as making healthier food choices to nourish our body.

Sleep is ultimately a gift from a small ant-sized lobe near the middle of our brain called the pineal gland, which secretes a neurotransmitter and hormone called melatonin as a result of our circadian rhythm, which is the light and darkness in our environment.

Melatonin suppresses the activity of other neurotransmitters and helps to calm the brain – in part by countering the stress hormone cortisol from our adrenal gland. As we become sleepier, the brain slowly begins to turn off our voluntary skeletal muscle functions, so we don’t move around too much and  disrupt the body’s internal restorative work. It is also why it’s so hard to move your legs or arms or shout out in response to a nightmare.

For ideal sleep, melatonin should be rising steadily and cortisol should be at its lowest at bedtime.

But here’s a catch: melatonin is largely secreted in response to darkness and our evening cortisol levels are lowest in environments with low noise.

Our evening activity choices such as tv, violent video games, emails and social media scrolling, can get in the way of these natural pro-sleep chemical shifts, as most of these devices display full-spectrum light which can confuse the brain about whether it’s night-time or not. We also, tend to watch shows or view emails or social media posts that can be loud or stressful such as the news, a crime show, look at work emails, or start writing out to-do lists.

Digesting a heavy meal, or a particularly sugar laden snack later in the evening can also prevent or interrupt sleep.

Simple changes can be powerful and I have seen first hand with my clients how these “sleep hygiene” principles can improve and sometimes fully remedy poor sleep.

1. Choose calmer, quieter evening activities that resonate with you and help you to relax, both mentally and physically such as reading a book – maybe not an axe murder one, as our body doesn’t know the difference between real actual danger and the perceived threat from our response to something that makes our palms go sweaty or our heart race a little faster and effectively puts us into fight or flight mode.  We are looking for things that will help promote our para sympathetic nervous system, aka, our rest and repair state…maybe taking a bath with espom salts, going for a light stroll outdoors if still allowed out in your country.., playing with a pet, folding laundry – what ever it is that relaxes you.
2. Turn off all full-spectrum light for a full 1-2 hours before bedtime. This means no email, TV, or smart phones. This could be difficult right now but maybe think about using softer lamps or candles and turning your phone on airplane mode if for example you are watching the tv so limiting what your brain is engaging with.
3. Avoid activities such as budgeting, balancing your accounts, next-day-planning, or stressful conversations in the full hour before going to bed.

I also recommend no caffeinated food or drink at all after 2pm (e.g. tea (even green), coffee, soda, chocolate, mate); yes, depending on your unique set of circumstance it can affect you that many hours later.

4. If noise is an issue in your bedroom too little or too much, you could consider soft foam ear plugs or the white noise of a fan.
5. Rooms which are too hot or too cold tend to wake us up  as temperature extremes naturally increase our stress hormones which promote waking.
6. Try to develop a relaxing ritual at night, maybe having a herbal tea such as lavender, chamomile or passionflower can help with relaxing and set the tone for sleep. A hot bath with Epsom salts may work well. Or perhaps 10 minutes of gratitude journaling, or focused breathing or reading some thing you find inspirational. A particularly powerful ritual and one that surprises many clients with insomnia or light, restless sleep, is to consider no food at all for a full three hours before bed.  My personal ritual is to practice focused breathing, breathing in through the nose for a count of 4, holding my breath for a count of 7 and then breathing out through my mouth for a count of 8.  I alternate sometimes with a great mindfullness exercise where you breath in starting in your tummy trying to take the breath all the way to the top of your head, and when you breathe out you say the word One, not out loud. 
7. Many people, especially at the moment may be enjoying even just one drink in the evening, though may be surprised to find it that which is impairing their sleep.  Alcohol induces sleepiness by increasing the action of GABA, an inhibitory neurotransmitter, in the brain and blocks the action of glutamate, a stimulatory neurotransmitter. This is how alcohol relaxes our thinking and perhaps makes it easier to go to sleep. The problem is that this affect wears off after a few hours and rebounds, promoting higher levels of glutamate, a stimulatory neurotransmitter. So people may wake up 2-3 hours after falling asleep and only sleep fitfully there after. The amino acid taurine, taken at bedtime could help to reduce the effects of rebound in the middle of the night. Giving a deeper, more restful night of sleep and perhaps stopping the cycle of stress that makes someone feel like they want a drink every evening.
8. Removing all EMF´s from the bedroom, no tv´s, no mobiles etc. Leave them all downstairs or in an other room. on airplane mode and unplug your internet where possible.
9. Being consistent about your sleep patterns, consistency is key, it’s important to train yourself and your sleep cycle with healthy habits. Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time each day.

If you have stayed with me to this point thank you and I just want you to consider this for a minute.

Consider yourself as a tree, your legs and feet are the roots, your torso the trunk and your arms, head and emotions etc are the branches and leaves.

You can not evaluate the health of a leaf on a tree without considering the health of the branch, the trunk, the roots, the soil, the air and the environment in which it is being nurtured or not…

The inter connectedness is key to ensuring that our bodies are getting that deep restful sleep in order to be able to thrive. This is the functional approach to health and wellbeing and optimal wellness.

As always if you are not sure where to begin, or are struggling to pinpoint why you are not feeling your best, please do get in touch.soneill@shirley-oneill.com

My hope is to be a positive inspiration for people at this time.