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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781504902816 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | AuthorHouse |
| Publication date: | 04/25/2015 |
| Pages: | 88 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.21(d) |
Read an Excerpt
How to Sleep Like a Baby Without Drugs
Mind-Body-Spirit Series
By Janeska Smith Asante
AuthorHouse
Copyright © 2015 Janeska Smith AsanteAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-5049-0281-6
CHAPTER 1
A) What's Wrong With Us?
Here's what's wrong with us. We've been programmed to participate in a 21st Century '24/7 out of control' lifestyle of gigantic proportions.
According to American statistics in 2012, over 40 million Americans have had some problems sleeping. Sixty percent of those are long-term chronic problems and every year the numbers rise.
And, OF COURSE, we would have sleeping issues here in the U.S. We eat WAY TOO MUCH food. We eat WAY TOO MUCH crappy food. We don't even know how to spell 'exercise' or even try to fake doing it, if we don't have to.
'Quiet time' is akin to a four-letter bad word, or akin to sticking one's 2-year old in a corner for punishment, instead of treating our child like someone we actually cherish.
Many of us are watching violence and horror on TV, 10 minutes before we put on jammies. Many of us are so stressed about money, jobs, no jobs, our families; you name it, that we act like walking zombies on a 'midnight body hunt'.
With all this happening and more, I'm surprised anybody sleeps, ever!
Everyone appears to be on an unending treadmill going 200 miles an hour, and has no idea how to get off & where they're going, or even how to stop speeding down this virtual highway.
So, we're not just 'Sleepless in Seattle', we're sleepless from LA to New York City, and we're kickin' it all back to our 'already frazzled nerves'.
So, the $2 Billion Dollar questions happen to be: "What's Wrong With Us?" "And What Do We Have To Do To Get Some Sleep Up In Here?"
CHAPTER 2B) Do You Wind Up or Wind Down?
Most people don't even know what 'winding it up' means. Well, let me tell you. There are several things that simply keep us 'sleepless'. We just have to be aware of it and learn how to reverse those things, after the sun goes down, where we have that after-dark, after-hours wide-eyed thing, going on.
Back in the day, people literally sat on the porch at night and talked (without screaming) or sat in the swing and rocked back and forth, while the summer breeze blew in their faces. Not everybody had a porch or a swing, but you get the point. Right?
Some families had some warm milk and Honey Graham crackers by Nabisco, while they started getting quiet, long before bedtime. Some families even walked their kids into their rooms and actually read them a bedtime story and said prayers with them before bed. (Imagine that!) Or, they simply took a warm bath and soaked in the tub while Calgon took them away. The water's heat, melted their worries and brought imaginary sandbags to their eyelids.
Nighttime was TLC (Tender Loving Care) time, so everyone in the house organically knew to mentally prepare for bed. They didn't even have to think about it. It was subconscious.
In today's world, we've made 'over the top' noise and 'over the top' activity, a subconscious thought that overwhelms us. Yikes! The TV's blastin', video games and music are running marathons in the kids' rooms. Everyone's talking on the phone or texting like 'text messaging' will be obsolete in 48 hours.
Parents are screaming from one end of the house to the other; dishwashers and electronic devices are glowing like Christmas lights on steroids, and the household is on a decimal barometer above 1,005 and this is even an hour AFTER the time most of the family coulda or shoulda been in bed.
So here's the deal. Modern day families have the chance to reach back in time to grasp SOME 'good ole school' habits and some long-bearded wisdom from the 50's-60's playbook in the universal thought world. Are we going to actually go back in time and make ALL the 'clatter/chatter' go away? Of course, not! We just want a little balance, babee, "a little balance', said the wise man.
It starts with a dash of TLC, a scoop of quiet and a Big Dose of Common Sense reality, to soften some of The Challenges we face. Are you following me here?
CHAPTER 3C) What Challenges, You Say?
Here's what you DON'T do before bed.
1) Don't drink sodas or coffee with or without tons of sugar (which includes Diet Soda, of course) and/ or caffeine in it. Sugar and caffeine are stimulants; which, in translation, it keeps you looking like an owl in the middle of the night; for those of you who don't know what stimulants are.
2) Don't allow hours of horror or violent images to seep into your subconscious mind just before going to sleep. (Sidenote: One night, my whole family ... kids, housekeeper, and myself, watched a television show that had a very sick daughter, and the family went through a harrowing, scary, life-threatening emergency situation, where they had to rush their daughter to the hospital, and spend hours in an emergency room, while her life hung in the balance. To show you how powerful that was, visually, with all of my family, watching that story at the same time, we woke up the next morning and had the exact scene played out at our home. And I don't mean that it was similar; it was so close to exact, that it was downright scary. Visual and audio images are extremely powerful & can bring various situations into your consciousness. Will it always be as dramatic and exact as mine? Of course not! Can it follow the same tones and scary physical scenarios and create 'negative scenes" to happen to you? Absolutely!!!
3) Don't eat crazy stimulating foods after 9:00 pm ... cereal, lots of sugar, spicy foods, or even constipating foods like cheese, potatoes, and bread. Keeps you awake or 'zonked out' with bad dreams; not to mention, messes up your digestion.
4) Don't rev up the electronic devices.........computers, TV's, laptops, phones, and tablets. Even leaving a lot of these devices on (in your room, especially) will keep you from having a restful night. It's SO NOT GOOD for your sleep and your health. Turn everything off and unplug them. Having protective devices to protect you (from the radiation that emits from these devices) would be a smart thing to do, as well.
5) Don't have arguments before bed, and especially in front of children. This programs children to have negative behavior and teaches your children to follow your lead. It can cause a lifetime of problems within the family ... plain ole arguing is 'verbally fighting.' Yes, it can be just as mentally damaging, as physical fighting.
6) Don't leave lights on. It triggers the brain to think you are supposed to be awake, even though you feel like you're sleeping, you're not sleeping deeply enough to give you the rest and healing that you need. Sleep literally helps the body heal. If you're NOT sleeping; healing is unable to take place. Sleep deprivation (whether forced on a person as a punishment) or sleep deprivation because you don't sleep deeply enough makes us unstable, unable to think clearly, and actually a little crazy. Ever wonder why so many people are 'uptight', full of rage, forgetful, and doing bizarre acts? Not enough quality sleep plays a huge part in these kinds of behaviors.
7) Don't look at bills and things that worry you, just before bed, either. Save those when you feel a little fresher and a little stronger ... in the daytime.
8) Don't become dependent on drugs from the drugstore. These are chemicals. On top of them being chemicals, they cause an onslaught of damage to your internal body, while you sleep. There are too many alternatives to going to sleep to take drugs. Alcohol can knock you out sometimes; however, long term, you can't compare 'alcohol sleep' to 'peaceful sleeping'. And most of you, most certainly, know what I mean.
9) Don't put sugar or most sugar substitutes in your tea. Sugar is a stimulant. Sugar will keep you awake and cause a host of other issues already associated with sugar, that we've been told about over and over again. There are other substances you can use other than sugar to put in your tea. For instance, real honey is a great substitute for sugar. Real honey is filled with nutrients; however, just like anything else, don't overdo it. Honey and Stevia are probably the 2 healthiest sweeteners you can find, in America today. Simply use them in moderation, like anything else. Raw sugar is also another choice.
(Sidenote about Honey & Stevia): Dr. Mercola, a leading holistic physician in the world today at www. drmercola.com has written thousands of articles on every possible health subject imaginable. I'm paraphrasing some of the information on the two best sweeteners, for your own personal information, and why our choices in sweeteners should be vastly different than what we're doing now, based on the scientific data available to us. Honey is literally a miracle food, according to Dr. Mercola and Live Science. Did you know it takes "over 60,000 bees, traveling up to 55,000 miles and visiting more than 2 million flowers, to gather enough nectar to make 1 pound of honey?" The process by which the bees make the honey is absolutely astounding, (Read Dr. Mercola's whole articles on honey at www.drmercola.com.
This is why we depend on bees for extreme health benefits. The current use of GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms), which means that chemicals are being added to our foods daily is literally killing our bee population.
The sprays and pesticides that are being used on our plants and flowers, are extremely detrimental to bees.
Honey has so many health benefits that people are generally unaware of, because this information is suppressed and kept hidden from the masses. In America, sugar and sugar substitutes are consistently being thrown at us and put into our food supply, and unfortunately, we accept that. Why? Because we're ADDICTED to sugar and sugar substitutes (that are literally worse than sugar). All of us need to be more educated about our foods and what they're doing to our health.
Did you know that honey is an excellent cough medicine? Did you know that raw, unprocessed honey treats wounds and infections even better than antibiotics, and that honey diluted with warm water can improve a person's scalp from dandruff, itching and hair loss? Did you know that honey is also a time-released energy boost over a long period of time, which is great for athletes and busy people?
Unfortunately most regular grocery stores and drugstores ONLY sell processed honey, which means that ALL the antibiotic and healing properties have been processed or (REMOVED OUT) of the honey. What you end up with is a HUGE jar of FAKE honey. So be sure your bottle says, "RAW, UNFILTERED and 100% PURE" and make sure it comes from a trusted source. Trader Joes stores do have real, organic, unfiltered honey. I believe Whole Foods and Sprouts may also have some raw, unfiltered 100% pure honey, as well. No matter what, still use any sweetener in moderation. It's still a sweetener. It still has effects on our health. Moderation is always 'the best answer', especially for foods we put into our bodies.
Stevia, is a natural, low-calorie South American plant. The whole Stevia plant is 100% safe and doesn't have any adverse effects that regular sugar has; however, once again, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) in the U.S. has decided to isolate ONE of the properties in Stevia for it to be sold legally in the U.S. The isolated ingredient will possibly be altered by companies, so that it can be patented, which makes the true nature of Stevia compromised. Truvia and Pure Via, which are being sold in health food stores in America today, is about as close as we've gotten to having Stevia close to a healthful sweetener. When we STOP THE MADNESS of taking perfectly healthy products, cutting them up, and adding 'deadly chemicals to them', we will have entered a new world of 'Joy and Pure Magic' for our precious bodies! And trust me, you can tell the difference, yourself, when you EAT better and SLEEP better!
10) Don't use artificial sweeteners ever! The bottom line is, 'artificial sweeteners are chemicals'. Let me say that again. ARTICIAL SWEETENERS ARE NOTHING MORE THAN CHEMICALS. Your body can lack Vitamin A, Vitamin C, minerals and enzymes. Never is your body lacking CHEMICALS! Chemicals are NEVER good for the human body, based on years of research and information from some of the world's leading scientists. Dr. Mercola, and other leading holistic physicians and practitioners, have numerous health-packed articles. on his website www.drmercola. com. There are even many blogs, books, and journals now that talk about original medicine and how our 'plant world' was put here to take care of us, without drugs. CAUTION: If you're taking drugs now. Don't stop taking them, until you can see a professional who is capable of weening you off chemicals, and putting you on some original, healthy alternatives.
Dr. Mercola says that after 20 years, and this is a direct quote from him: "There's little doubt in my mind that artificial sweeteners can be far worse for you than sugar or fructose, and there is plenty of scientific evidence to back up that conclusion. In fact, there's enough evidence showing the dangers of consuming artificial sweeteners to fill an entire book – which is exactly why I wrote Sweet Deception." He goes on to say, "Aspartame is perhaps the most dangerous of the bunch. At least it's one of the most widely used and has the most reports of adverse effects. There are also hundreds of scientific studies demonstrating its' harmful effects."
To name some or most of the artificial sweeteners we have on the market today, there's Sucrose, Aspartame, High Fructose Corn Syrup (Triple Sugar), Acesulfame Potassium, Neotame, Saccharin, which is Sweet and Low, and Sucralose, which is Splenda. There are also Sugar Alcohols, like Sorbitol, Xylitol, and Mannitol. Do NOT use any of these, or eat foods that contain any of these chemically manmade ingredients. You must learn to read labels, and to read them carefully.
If you don't know what the ingredient does to the body, google it and find out exactly what it does, until you learn how to pick products without chemicals, or at least without excessive chemicals, in the foods that you and your family eat.
CHAPTER 4D) What Can I Do About Sleep, Then?
Now, here's what you can actually DO before going to bed.
1) DO mentally prepare to 'Wind Down'. And this doesn't mean drinking on the couch until you literally PASS OUT! Some people smoke 'weed'. If this helps you, so be it. I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with it. I'm saying that if this is something that relaxes you and helps with the 'zzzzssss', who am I to tell you different?
Sidenote: There are Advantages & Disadvantages of Medical Marijuana, Regarding Sleep and Illness:
There has been an ongoing controversy about legalizing Marijuana, for several purposes, including the ability to sleep better and to alleviate all kinds of pain.
Here are many of the facts that are being overlooked:
• Marijuana was legal (and in full use) in America in the 19th and 20th Centuries, up to around 1942, according to the The Huffington Post. After World War II, when more pharmaceutical companies were coming into the marketplace, the government (along with the medical profession) found ways to shut it down, with lies, laws, and anything else they could throw at it. Once again, it was ALL ABOUT THE MONEY, as usual. What would the medical profession and pharmacies do, if you were able to grow 'marijuana in your backyard or on your patio', AND be able to get relief from dozens of ailments, at little to no cost? You can figure that one out, yourself. Right?
• Marijuana doesn't just have to be smoked, either. It can be used in a variety of ways. For medicinal purposes, it can be used in a vaporizer; it can be turned into Hemp Oil; it can be eaten in all kinds of foods, and the high concentration of THC that gets people 'high' can be reduced or taken out, and it still works at full capacity, as a genuine medicine.
• The DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) in the U.S. refuses to distinguish between Hemp and Marijuana, which is another issue, at hand. We are the only industrialized country that hasn't legalized Hemp. Hemp would be excellent for our economy right now and for decades to come.
• Hemp can be made into extreme quality clothing and a myriad of other products. Hemp is actually a cancer deterrent and is effective against Seizures, Autoimmune Disorders, Inflammation, Asthma, Anorexia, Chronic Pain, High Blood Pressure, Glaucoma, Psychiatric Symptoms, Parkinson's Disease, Poor Sleep, and more. However, the DEA and Pharmaceutical Industry refuses to allow people to have this 'incredible' medicinal substance, because any individual can grow it easily and effortlessly, for next to nothing, in cost. This is why the battle rages on against Marijuana.
• Hemp would be excellent for local farmers to grow in an economic crisis because it's highly sought after throughout the world, and makes thousands of very useful products.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from How to Sleep Like a Baby Without Drugs by Janeska Smith Asante. Copyright © 2015 Janeska Smith Asante. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Contents
A) What's Wrong With Us?, 1,B) Do You Wind Up or Wind Down?, 3,
C) What Challenges, You Say?, 5,
D) What Can I Do About Sleep, Then?, 13,
E) Where Can I Find The Real Natural Resources, 22,
F) What is Geopathic Stress and What Does That Have To Do With Sleep?, 30,
Why the Cry It Out Method is Bad for Babies, 37,
Sleep: A Dynamic Activity, 50,