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You know you feel better when you’ve had a good sleep, and yet sleep can be elusive for so many of us. Whether its difficulty falling asleep or that pesky wake-up in the early hours that you can’t resettle from, be assured there is herbal help at hand to support you to a sweet slumber. We’ve also included our top lifestyle tips for improving sleep quality.
• Too Much of a Good Thing: Avoid over-indulging in caffeine, coffee, tea and even dark chocolate. These can all keep you awake, especially having them after 3 pm.
• Turn Down the Stress Right Through The Day: Use mindfulness techniques right throughout the day to calm your nervous system and re-set the stress button. Expecting your body to switch off after a frantic day is often too much, you need to keep it calmer throughout your waking hours helps us to rest easier at bedtime.
• Utilise a strong quality herbal tea, infused for at least five minutes, to maximise the benefits of the brew. Choose your favourite cup and sit to savour the tea, letting the ritual create a small window of space to relax into. Drink a cup after work or dinner, and another before bed to gently support a calmer nervous system and quality sleep.
• We talk about taking herbs internally, but did you know there are also amazing benefits in being around plants externally too? Time in forests, around trees and in green natural spaces helps to reduce our stress hormone levels, allowing for a greater feeling of peace and calm and, yes, a better sleep!
• Unplug: By now we all know the blue light from devices interferes with our biological clock – it acts like the sun, telling our brain its daytime, therefore, delaying our body’s ability to wind down when we want to sleep. Put down the devices by 8 pm!
If you need additional support, we’ve got some lovely new herbal solutions for you.
Kiwiherb Sound Asleep is a powerful liquid formula combining New Zealand grown Skullcap with Withania and Passionflower. Passionflower and Skullcap are traditionally used in Western Herbal Medicine to help reduce the time it takes to fall asleep, relieve restlessness and disturbed sleep, and decrease sleeplessness. Withania is traditionally used in Ayurvedic medicine to induce sleep and support the nervous system. The addition of honey makes this an easy to take herbal tonic.
Combining the natural potency of Valerian with Lemon Balm, Skullcap and Licorice. These herbs are traditionally used in Western Herbal Medicine to ease anxiety and nervous tension, to increase resistance to stress, and to aid relaxation & sleep without over-sedating or causing unwanted drowsiness.
ALWAYS READ THE LABEL AND USE AS DIRECTED. IF SYMPTOMS PERSIST, SEE YOUR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL. PHYTOMED, AUCKLAND.
