Healing Adrenal Fatigue: Deep Sleep Aides (Part 3 of 5)

It’s time for adrenal healing tips part 3… plus a VERY EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT!

(LET’S GET TO THE FUN ANNOUNCEMENT FIRST…)

It feels like absolute ages since I’ve launched a new product, but the wait is finally over because next month you’re getting an entire *line* of my brand new formulas!
I can’t explain what these mean to me… and the relationship I’ve developed with the plants over this past year. With the growth and wisdom gained from herbalism school, I decided to start fresh and revamp everything. All of our existing products will have brand new labels to match the NEW products and logo, and we’re slowly switching over to 100% GLASS!

In July I’m launching 6 liquid herbal formulas: tinctures that I call “juice” because they’re delicious and so easy to take. Alcohol-free and no pills to swallow. These tinctures are designed to be your “herbal first aid kit,” as they are the core blends I believe everyone who uses natural medicine should have in their home or purse. I will introduce each one individually leading up to the launch, starting with the formula that saved my sleep and adrenals: sleep juice. (And since part 3/5 of my adrenal series covers deep sleep aides, this is the perfect time to kick it off!)

Here’s the list of everything I did to achieve deep, restful sleep:

1. HERBAL NERVINES & RELAXANTS: “SLEEP JUICE”

Once I started going to bed early, I wasn’t always staying asleep all through the night… and had the pesky disturbance of having to pee all the time.

An overactive bladder that appears specifically at night is often a result of that overactivated HPA axis, which tricks your nervous system into thinking it’s still daytime (as we’re not in a deep enough slumber). Your body never gets the signal to stop trying to pee and shut down/repair instead. My solution, thanks to my teachers, was a blend of herbs that readjust your circadian rhythm and support deep REM sleep. These include: valerian, hops, skullcap, lemon balm, passionflower & california poppy. They also reduce stress and calm a frazzled mind, like the to-do list you suddenly start making when you close your eyes! I perfected the formula into a blend I call “sleep juice” and took 1 dose one hour before bedtime, then another dose 10 minutes before I hit the sack. I finally stopped peeing and started experiencing that sleep-so-good-youre-drooling!

These herbal sleep aides are an excellent alternative to melatonin as they are non-habit forming and safe for long term use. As you’ll remember from part 2, I only took melatonin a few times the first week to reset my body’s own production of the hormone. I never recommend taking it for longer than that!

2. BLUE BLOCKING GLASSES AFTER SUNSET
Just like I mentioned, the reason I had to take melatonin the first week of resetting my circadian rhythm was because my body wasn’t trained to produce its OWN melatonin at bedtime. Melatonin is an insanely important hormone that actually cleans up cancer cells while you sleep, and the blue light from our phones, televisions, lamps and even street lights can block its production. The easiest way to avoid this blue light is to wear orange colored “blue blocking glasses” right after sunset, and use candles or Himalayan salt lamps around your home. It’s especially important to wear these glasses if you’re watching a show or using your phone before bed!

You can get orange construction glasses on Amazon for under $10, but I chose a fancy pair of Swanwick Sleep aviators so I could wear them out if I had to run errands at night! Click here to check them out. They’re obviously a lot pricier than the construction glasses, but are designed exactly for this purpose and do a much better job at blocking the blue light. Plus, they’re super high quality, right on trend (hello colored 90s glasses), and most people assume you’re making a fashion statement when you walk around wearing them in Whole Foods haha.

3. BLACKOUT CURTAINS OR A SLEEP MASK
Blackout curtains for your bedroom are the absolute best option that will give you the deepest, most restorative sleep of your life.

I live in a studio apartment with huge industrial windows, so that unfortunately wasn’t an option for me. I opted for an extra large silk sleep mask (also from Swanwick) that instead blocks all light from your eyes. Again, no light = your melatonin production is protected! If blackout curtains are applicable for your bedroom, you can get them at a great price on Amazon or bed bath and beyond. Light works like a drug in the body, and if your body senses it while you’re sleeping, cortisol shoots up and melatonin goes down.