Time to Priortize 40 Winks

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Did you know that sleep is nature’s panacea? 

Sleep is more powerful than any drug and is not only essential for a sharp mind, but also for good decision-making.

New research suggests that getting the right amount of good quality sleep actually helps you shed a few pounds. When you are asleep your body burns between 50 and 100 calories an hour.

My colleagues now believe that sleep is essential because it removes the build-up of amyloid proteins in the brain, which have been linked with Alzeheimer’s Disease.

Approximately half of American adults, or 70 million people, do not get the recommended 7-8 hours of shut-eye each night. Did you know that the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention consider insufficient sleep a public health epidemic? 

If brain cells don’t get their needed break every night they become like over-worked employees on consecutive double shifts — eventually, they collapse. And let me remind you that once brain cells are gone, they’re gone for good.

Who among us doesn’t like to dream? Dreams are the most potent anti-depressants known to humankind. Dreams cause that “give-me-more” insatiable neurotransmitter dopamine to naturally rise, just like when you experience creativity during the daytime.

Did you know that Sir Paul McCartney came up with the melodious melody for Yesterday in a dream?

During sleep the brain toggles back and forth every 90 minutes between non-rapid eye movement and rapid eye movement. Your brain cells shrink and spinal cord fluids slosh back and forth between them, and all the free radicals that shouldn’t be there are flushed away.

So how do we get more restful sleep? 

  • Don’t watch television news before bedtime.
  •  Leave electronic devices outside the bedroom.
  •  Take a warm bath.
  • Burn a beeswax candle.
  • Put a drop of lavender essential oil on your pillow.
  • Practice breathing and let your mind drift off to sleep and enjoy those dopamine-spiked dreams! 

Earth Dr. Reese Halter is the host of Earthcast SOS. Please support The Ochre Project.