Rest and Sleep

Proper rest is very important for the body's ability to heal itself. This includes a good night sleep. When you are resting/sleeping your body in its wisdom is at full throttle repairing itself. This is when most of the work gets done, all your cells can concentrate on recuperation and repair. By design this is one of the things your cells know how to do best.

When your body is active physically and emotionally with your daily tasks, your cells can't fully concentrate on repair because they are to busy processing everything that your body is doing like digestion, muscle movement, mental thoughts, the list goes on and on. Just think about all the processes your cells are going through with your 5 senses; taste, touch, smell, sight and hearing.

When you go to sleep at night all of your muscles are still, you're thoughts are calm and digestion is completed. All of your physiological processes are resting allowing your cells to recuperate and rebuild.

Have you ever driven on a busy highway during the day when there is construction going on. It takes a lot longer to get things accomplished when you're stuck in slow moving traffic. If you travel this same highway in the middle of the night things move along much quicker. Why? Because you're not fighting with all the other processes going on during the day. You would get a lot more done if it were possible to do all your driving tasks in the middle of the night. If you compare this to the cells in your body you might have a better understanding why sleep is so important to healing. They get a lot more done without interference.

Now I'm not saying that you should stay in bed and sleep all the time. Not at all.  What I am trying to impress upon you is that a good night sleep is very important. Listen to your body, it will tell you how much sleep you need. There are no hard and fast rules as to how much sleep you need. Every body is different.

If in the morning you just can't seem to get out of bed, then go to bed earlier the nights before. There are times when you're not feeling well and you should just stay in bed and rest.

If you must get up early for work or other important appointment, then again, go to bed a lot earlier the night before. Make sure you get the sleep you need, especially if you're fighting an illness or any disease. When your body is at war with a health crisis, it can do a much better job at winning when you're well rested.

Some may find that in the beginning of a more healthful lifestyle change more sleep may be required. This is good! The body is hard at work repairing, rebuilding and cleaning out. In time they will see that when these processes are done less sleep is needed.

Another important thing to remember before it's time to go to sleep is not to eat or drink just before going to bed at night. As a matter of fact don't eat or drink anything after your dinner meal. It saves from having to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and disturbing your sleep. Having that time go by from dinner to bed without food or water gives your body a head start on completing the digestion process over night, allowing more time for recuperation and repair.

If you have trouble getting a good night sleep you will find in time that by supplying your body with more living foods and less processed foods that sleep will come more naturally and more sound. Read a good book before bed, this may help put you in a sleepy state. So here's to a good night sleep,

Good Night zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz