Beauty Sleep | A Personal Journey
My discovery of Valerian Root.
This is me sleeping.
3 weeks ago I went through a sleep deprivation. A whole week of groggy, cruddy sleep. Knowing general rules of how to get one’s self into a beauty sleep I decided to take the easy road and swallow a sleeping pill mid-way through my sleep crisis week. I’m not against sleep aids, especially if I have to get up 4 hours earlier than my normal sleeping schedule or have a 15 hour flight. However, if I’m trying to have a normal, productive, and motivated week sleep aids do not work for me. I found myself tired, grumpy, cloudy, and unmotivated with a puffy face and sandbags under my eyes. Which, of course, made me more depressed. I felt hideous. I had to get sleep and I realized I had to try harder.
There are a list of do’s and don’ts by doctors for restful sleep, like; turn off all electronic devices emitting light at least a half hour before bed, don’t eat too close to bedtime, go to bed and get up at the same time everyday, don’t deal with financial problems or other stresses before bed, and keep your bedroom dark and quiet. Don’t doctors realize sometimes we need beauty sleep and we need it fast. Then I tried the fast way and it felt awful.
Resigning to work towards restful sleep I decided no matter how painful — I was going to get up progressively earlier every day. Figuring, I would have to get tired enough eventually to get a full nights rest. Upton telling a friend my sleep woes, he suggested also trying a natural supplement called, Valerian Root. Which is something I’ve never heard of. Excitedly, I ran home to research said remedy hopeful for blissful sleep and a clear mind to go concurrently with my plan of action. I found valerian root to be popular with natural health guru’s. An extract from the valerian flower, valerian root is used medically to treat insomnia, mild anxiety disorders and can be used as an alternative to sedatives or muscle relaxants. Fantastic!
Valerian Root
It worked.
Well…not immediately. Getting up 45 minutes earlier for 3 days with the valerian root and I’m back on to glorious sleep. I sensed my mood getting better because I felt productive by accomplishing my daily activities earlier and the valerian root supplement made my body feel heavy and relaxed at night. Wonderful to say as well, I didn’t feel slow and cloudy anymore.
Here I am 3 weeks later with energy and a smile (look I’m even writing an article). Great sleep took a little work but I can read it all over my face. The sleepless ship has sailed because the bags under my eyes are gone.
I am hoping that you are going to be elaborating a little more on this topic. I was hoping for a little more information.
retpo – Jun 30, 2010 When I first used valerian root, it was after a car aeicdcnt that caused a neck injury. I was going through a bottle of tylenol in a couple of weeks for the ongoing headache plus seeing a chiropractor. I was a machine clerk at the Postal Service which added noise and stress to the neck and shoulders. By the end of each shift, it felt like my shoulders were glued to my ears! I bought some Valerian root capsules, having heard that it will help you relax. I needed to relax on the job, yet stay alert for the high-speed precision work that was required. I started taking it before work and by the end of the week, realized that I felt much better throughout my entire work shift. It relaxed my shoulders but did not cause drowsiness. Plus it dramatically cut my need for tylenol. It was truly a God-send!I’ve recently developed insomnia and tried valerian root tea to help me to sleep. It relaxed me but did not improve my sleep dysfunction.If you’ve never taken valerian pills or tea, be forewarned that the smell is not pleasant! The tea doesn’t taste like it smells, but capsules will stay with you for hours. After the first day that I took the capsules and burped it all evening, I was tempted to stop. But I’d paid a lot for the bottle and was determined to give it a chance. By the end of the first week, my body recognized the smell as being very beneficial and my shoulders would immediately relax when I opened the bottle. The smell, to this day, is pleasant and relaxing even though it offends people around me. It’s worth trying it.Hope this helps.God Bless