Your Sleep Remedy

Your Sleep Remedy Better sleep starts here. Tips, advice and the latest sleep research with a focus on diet, lifestyle,

You're dreaming!
23/06/2023

You're dreaming!

Herbs for Sleep: California PoppyAlthough it belongs to the same plant family California Poppy lacks the narcotic proper...
02/12/2022

Herbs for Sleep: California Poppy

Although it belongs to the same plant family California Poppy lacks the narcotic properties of the O***m poppy. It’s a gentle and generally safe nervous system herb.

Lower doses are a helpful support for anxiety while larger doses are more sedating. California Poppy is useful for the type of insomnia where you wake up several times during the night. It’s helps support deeper sleep.

Conversely, it’s also been used in children who wet the bed at night because they sleep too deeply that the urge to urinate doesn’t wake them. A great example of how a herbs are balancing in their actions.

Scientifically speaking it’s thought to activate GABA receptors and inhibit adrenaline and noradrenaline. Even in the higher doses used for sleep it doesn’t leave you feeling groggy the next morning. I have found tinctures from the fresh plant to be superior to the dried version or tablets.

Please consult with a qualified herbalist or Naturopath to ensure this herb is right for your specific situation and doesn’t interact with any medications you may be taking.

Truth
30/11/2022

Truth

If you have a toddler that doesn’t sleep well, is restless and irritable it may be worth getting their iron levels teste...
28/10/2022

If you have a toddler that doesn’t sleep well, is restless and irritable it may be worth getting their iron levels tested.
Iron is needed to make some of the neurotransmitters involved in sleep.

This can sometimes be an issue in children who consume a lot of dairy as calcium and iron compete with each other for uptake.

**Don’t supplement though without testing as too much iron is also not a good thing.

People who are lonely are 25% less likely to sleep well with shallow, fragmented, and frequent awakening sleep.Humans ar...
26/10/2022

People who are lonely are 25% less likely to sleep well with shallow, fragmented, and frequent awakening sleep.
Humans are social beings at heart and if we feel isolated it triggers and evolutionary response. This results in hyper-viligence and triggers the stress response.
We are increasing connected online but less in real life and it is 1:1, face to face contact our psyche craves.
Make the time to spend time with family, friends, and community. You’ll sleep better or help someone else sleep better.

Insufficient Sleep SyndromeAccording to natural sleep medicine expert, Dr Catherine Darley, at least 10% of people who t...
21/10/2022

Insufficient Sleep Syndrome

According to natural sleep medicine expert, Dr Catherine Darley, at least 10% of people who think they have insomnia actually have insufficient sleep syndrome.

This means you don’t have an issue with your sleep cycles or architecture you just aren’t getting enough time between the sheets. Parents of young children (unavoidably) often have these kind of sleep issues.
However for many others this is caused by simply not getting enough time in bed to get your level of required sleep. A red flag is if you say - ”I get by on 4-5hrs sleep a night”. Yeah, you might get by, but are you thriving?

Do you really need to spend that extra hour at the computer working (how productive are your really being) or watching netflix? Could others in your house help out with domestic chores?

Make sleep a priority, go to bed, hit your ideal sleep number and feel the difference in your life.

If urban noise is making it difficult for you to sleep. You might want to consider a white noise generator. While some j...
19/10/2022

If urban noise is making it difficult for you to sleep. You might want to consider a white noise generator. While some just generate white noise, some have the options for oceans, creeks (beware if you have a week bladder!!), log fires or chimes.

A DIY option is the noise from a simple fan.

Do you use any kind of noise therapy to help you sleep? Let me know what you’ve found useful.

3 ways zinc helps your sleep1. Relaxes the nervous system via it’s role as a cofactor for GABA production2. Balances the...
11/10/2022

3 ways zinc helps your sleep

1. Relaxes the nervous system via it’s role as a cofactor for GABA production
2. Balances the stimulating effect of copper
3. Increases the amount of restorative, slow wave sleep.

You might be at risk for low zinc if you have:
• An exclusive plant-based diet
• Type 2 diabetes
• Moderate to high alcohol consumption
• Chronic stress
• High physical activity
• Inflammatory bowel disease

Before supplementing get your levels checked. Avoid long term use of supplemental doses over 20mg/day as this can interfere with iron absorption.

Insomnia as an early warning sign of liver diseaseInsomnia could be an early warning sign of liver disease in moderate t...
15/09/2022

Insomnia as an early warning sign of liver disease

Insomnia could be an early warning sign of liver disease in moderate to heavy alcohol drinkers. (> 2 standard drinks per day).

The classic liver disease symptoms of yellowing of skin and swelling (oedema) usually develop once there is more severe damage to the liver function.

If the liver is slightly impaired you’ll be less efficient and breaking down the toxic by products of alcohol metabolism. These build up in the brain and mess with the mechanics of sleep. You’ll also compromise your melatonin production.

Other early warning signs of liver disease include:
• Pain under the right-side ribs
• Decreased appetite
• Nausea
• Fatigue
• Loose stools

Liver function tests from the GP can remain in normal range but it the numbers are creeping up this could also be a sign that it’s time to give your liver some love.

The first step is to reduce or eliminate alcohol. Herbal medicine can be a helpful support here with herbs like Milk thistle and Dandelion. Be sure to check with your medical professional before using them though to make sure they are suitable for you.

Ah, Rest. You do indeed complete me!It’s been an ongoing lesson for me to learn but I’m know I perform better in all are...
15/09/2022

Ah, Rest. You do indeed complete me!

It’s been an ongoing lesson for me to learn but I’m know I perform better in all areas of my life when I “work easy and rest hard”.

Try adding more rest into your life.

Are you getting up frequently during the night to use the bathroom?If other causes such as kidney conditions or just dri...
02/09/2022

Are you getting up frequently during the night to use the bathroom?

If other causes such as kidney conditions or just drinking too much before bed have been ruled out you might want to investigate sleep disordered breathing / sleep apnoea as a cause.

Why? Well, during the reduced oxygen episode (hypoxia) that happens during apnoea episodes your heart produces a hormone, atrial natriuretic peptide which among many other functions causes increased sodium and water excretion and makes you want to urinate more frequently.

A spot of reading before bedtime improves your chance of getting a restful sleep. A 2009 study showed 6 minutes of pre-b...
31/08/2022

A spot of reading before bedtime improves your chance of getting a restful sleep. A 2009 study showed 6 minutes of pre-bed reading gave a 68% reduction in stress.

Reading a book was more effective than herbal teas or relaxation music in reducing insomnia.

The theory is that losing yourself in a story alters your consciousness and allows you to distance yourself from stressful events in your day.

You can also use reading as a strategy if you wake up during the night and have trouble getting back to sleep. Instead of trying to force yourself back into slumber (we all know how well that goes!), get out of bed and read under some warm coloured lamp light for 20-30 minutes.

You'll need to go analogue and choose a paper book over e-readers as the screen light will mess with your melatonin secretion.

I’d also suggest that while you want an engaging book you perhaps don’t want it to be too engaging - keeping you up all night to finish it!

Reference: Lewis, D. (2009), Galaxy Stress Research. Mindlab International, Sussex University, UK

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