Personally (Heidi speaking here) sleep has been a source of trauma for me for many years. As a new mother I had a  baby who didn’t sleep, then another baby, then when they went to school I started a business and I would work in the evening and be so wound up I couldn’t fall asleep, then I stopped working at night and things improved a little until menopause hit and bought with it hot flushes and you guessed it MORE insomnia.  

So how can we deal with these challenges that affect so many of us from new mothers, to shift workers, to the stressed, anxious and depressed masses to the menopausal and the elderly, all of whom are awake at all hours of the day and night….

I actually think the 8 hours sleep a night recommendation is a mythical aspiration. If
you get that, then more power to you! But I think you’re in the minority.  

According to a study by the Sleep Health Foundation most people average around 7
hours of sleep with an average of waking at least twice due to needing to go to the toilet, over active thoughts, or physical pain or discomfort. I would add to that those being woken by children, pets and neighbours.

So with the odds stacked against a good nights sleep what can we do?

Short of restructuring society, bringing down the patriarchy and forming a new way of living that honours human needs and physiology,  we can at best aim for measures to minimise the impact of insomnia and increase our chances of sleep.  

To maximise our chances of falling asleep:

BEHAVIOURAL STRATEGIES

🤾‍♀️ getting adequate physical exercise during the day of at least 30 to 60 minutes of exercise per day. If you can do this outside then it’s even better as the exposure to sunlight 🔆 helps set our biorhythms and sleep wake cycles.

🕯 At night we can continue this by turning off as much electric light as possible and using candles and firelight which increases levels of the sleep hormone melatonin. At least try to do this for the
last hour before bed if its not realistic for the whole evening.

🛀 🫖 An hour before you want to go to sleep, have a warm shower or bath, a nice relaxing cup of herbal tea and put on candles, relaxing music and unwind.

📓 If you are upset of anxious try journaling or
drawing as a way to express what’s bothering you.

When you go to sleep make the room complexly dark to increase melatonin levels and reduce distractions.

If you use screens in the evening use apps like lumen or twilight to reduce screen glare and help you break away from the excess cortisol that keeps you going even though your exhausted and leads to insomnia due to being ‘over tired’.  

HERBAL STRATEGIES

Herbs can be used throughout the day to manage stress levels and at night to unwind. My favourites during the day are Tulsi and Withania (Ashwagandha).

🌿Tulsi reduces metabolic stress through normalization of blood glucose, blood pressure and lipid levels, reduces psychological stress by improving memory and mental function and
through its anxiolytic and anti-depressant properties.

🌿 Ashwagandha calms the brain, reduces swelling, lowers blood pressure and helps the body adapt to stress by reducing the effects of stress hormones on the body.  

At night herbs can be used to calm the nervous system and help create sleepiness.  

👉👉 Do this! 👇🏽👇🏽

∙Make some herbal tea by adding 1 dessertspoon of herbs to a cup of boiling water.
Let it steep for 10-20 mins, then strain and drink.  
∙Add essential oil of lavender to your warm bath at bedtime to feel a calming effect,
inducing sleep.
∙Massage herb-infused oils of chamomile or lavender mixed with olive, grapeseed,
or coconut oil on certain parts of your body such as your forehead, neck, chest,
wrist, hands, or feet.  
∙ Take an herbal extract supplement


Good nighttime (sedative) herbs include:

Lavender – reduces stress and anxiety and promotes daytime wakefulness and more sustained sleep at night.

Chamomile – reduces anxiety, soothes your nerves, and eases insomnia. It also eases tension in the gut, which is good for those with anxious stomachs and bloating in the evening.

Valerian – reduces insomnia, restlessness, and anxiety and helps relax tension in the muscles

California poppy – Eases physical pain, restlessness, anxiety and insomnia

Hops – Hops flowers contain methylbutenol, a sleep-inducing chemical that is used for insomnia  

Passionflower – reduces stress and anxiety and helps promote sleep

⭐💖 Want to do this but not sure where to get started!?! 💖⭐

👉👉 Find the Chamomile and Lavender Moon Milk recipe in the Herbal Starter Kit:

👉👉 Join us to learn more about Ashwaganda this month at Herb Folk – where you’ll make your own sleepy-time capsules!

The post The Mythical 8 Hour Sleep… appeared first on Everyday Empowered.

“express ourselves with honesty and clarity, while simultaneously paying others a respectful and empathic attention. In any exchange, we come to hear our own deeper needs and those of others” (Marshall B. Rosenberg in Nonviolent Communication: A language of Life)

It helps us understand ourselves and others better, as well as helping us move past conditioned patterns such as judgements, criticism, attacking or withdrawing – in short, any and all of our communication pitfalls.

Why is Nonviolent Communication an Everyday Skill?
If you see and talk to people every day, then this is an important skill. Us humans are a beautiful lot, but we are also messy and imperfect, which means conflict and disagreement arises. Rather than letting our habitual, reactive habits dominate, we can learn this beautiful style of communication which allows us to interact with respect for the dignity and worth of ourselves and whoever we’re talking to.

The quality of our relationships is a really important component of our overall health and happiness. We all know what it’s like to be at odds with someone (or multiple someones) and it hurts. It’s stressful, and it can make us angry, sad or depressed. I’m not claiming we’ll never feel these things, or experience great conflict with people, but by using NVC and communicating skillfully we can help to alleviate little everyday relationship stressors. 

How does it contribute to Self-Connection?
Nonviolent Communication gives us an amazing skillset for tuning into ourselves. NVC Is based on universal human needs. We all have them and the quest to fulfill them drives all our skillful and unskillful behaviour. Using awareness and some techniques we can enhance our ability for moment-to-moment self-connection.

How does it help with Health Sovereignty?
Health Sovereignty is taking a proactive, empowered approach to your health. Relationship stress – whether marriage, kids, co-workers or neighbours takes a direct toll on our physical health. Sometimes these physical symptoms shows up straight away and are easy to link to a particular relationship conflict. At other times, it’s just one more stress that contributes to chronic disease and pre-mature aging.

More than just being concerned with direct physical health, I think having good quality, harmonious relationships with those around us is a priority for most people. We love our family and friends, and NVC gives us a toolkit for putting this love into practice, rather than leaving it aspirationally sitting on a shelf, while we yell at the kids… again.

Events
We don’t have any trainings booked at the moment, but we run Foundation training courses and practice days regularly. The best way to hear about upcoming trainings is by joining the newsletter list – sign-up below.

NVC Practice Groups
Nambour
First and third Sunday of the month. 10am – 12noon at Nambour Community Centre.
Contact: Debs Mosely: 0417 624 417, and Glenda O’Sullivan 0405 210 251

Eumundi
First Friday of the month,  9:30 – 11:30am.
Contact Miho: miho.dance.tree@gmail.com

The post Nonviolent Communication appeared first on Everyday Empowered.

We can use this annual time to ensure we’re living the lives we most want to lead.

Before we get to the questions, let’s take some time to set ourselves up:
The following are best answered from a place of stillness and quiet. So make sure you set aside some time for yourself where you won’t be distracted. If it’s part of your practice, or you think it would help you, you can use ritual, such as lighting a candle, sitting outside, making a cuppa, starting with breathwork – whatever would feel supportive and familiar to you.

In case you couldn’t see the images, the questions (more prompts are in the images)

⭐ What do you value most in life?
⭐ Does your life currently reflect those values?
⭐ Who are you now?
⭐ Who do you want to become?
⭐ What small changes can you make to better align with the life you most want to lead?

I really hope these questions prompt clarity and insight.

The post Reflection questions for Winter Wisdom appeared first on Everyday Empowered.