Is Sleep Loss Making You Sick?

In today's fast paced world, more and more people are getting by on less and less sleep - much to the detriment of their health, their mental and emotional well-being, and their work productivity. 

One of the symptoms of sleep loss is impaired judgment - especially about sleep! 

Yes, you DO need 7 or 8 hours, so don't consider it a badge of honor to get by with 5 or 6 - or even less. 

Along with impairing judgment, lack of sleep impairs attention, concentration, reasoning, memory, and problem solving. That means those extra hours you spend working instead of sleeping aren't making you more productive. In fact, the opposite is true. 

Over time, lack of sleep can lead to depression and anxiety, which leads to insomnia, and even greater lack of sleep. It's a downward spiral that can lead to even more problems - such as increased risk of death from :

• heart disease
• heart attack
• heart failure
• high blood pressure
• stroke
• diabetes

Although less serious, lack of sleep also ages your skin, causing puffy eyes, fine lines, dark circles, and sallow skin. This is because lack of sleep causes excess release of the stress hormone cortisol. 

Cortisol breaks down skin collagen, which is a protein that keeps skin smooth and elastic. 

At the same time it causes the body to release too little human growth hormone, which works to regenerate and repair our tissues.  

Sleeplessness is a public health hazard as well

The National High Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 1,550 crash-related deaths each year are the direct cause of driving under the influence of sleep loss. This is just a fraction of the 100,000 crashes from this cause. 

Sleepiness also leads to job injuries, and accidents with world-wide consequences. It was a factor in the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl, and the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island. 

Are YOU sleep deprived? 

If so, it's time to change your habits, and FeelBach! can help.

 

Because there are a variety of reasons why you're missing sleep, we've created four different flower

essences formulas to help you get back into better sleep habits. 

Sweet Dreams #1 is for those who can't seem to release the day, but instead lay awake worrying about what did and didn't get done, and what needs to be done tomorrow.

Sweet Dreams #2 is for those whose minds just won't shut off, or who are awakened by every little sound in the house, or who are worried about getting up on time. 

Sweet Dreams #3 releases the fears and regrets that keep you awake.

Sweet Dreams #4 is for those who wake up too early, eager to get on with the day and stop wasting time. 

To read more about each of these formulas and choose which is the right one for you, visit the FeelBach! Sweet Dreams page. 

Images courtesy of David Castillo dominici|freegititalphotos.com

Is the sameness in your routine exhausting you?

Are you in a rut that's put your life on auto-pilot?

Do you dread getting up in the morning to "Do it all over again?" Is your life one of excessive routine? Do you lack the energy and incentive to do something new? Are you perpetually exhausted?

Then you may be a Hornbeam personality in a negative state.

The negative hornbeam state can occur after a forced period of focused attention, such as when studying long and hard to reach a desired goal. It can happen due to enforced inactivity due to illness or injury.

Unfortunately, it can also come about due to a job which offers little in the way of mental challenge or variety in tasks. Young mothers who stay home with children or those who care for an invalid day after day, doing the same chores can also slip into a negative Hornbeam state.

When it happens, the sufferer experiences a weariness bordering on exhaustion, but it's primarily a mental, not a physical exhaustion. It stems from an imbalance and a failure of energy systems to communicate and work together.

Most who suffer from the negative Hornbeam state can be jarred out of it simply by having a new and unexpected challenge. However, this isn't always easy, because the sufferer fails to listen to his or her Higher Self and is resistant to change. Ordinary impulses to "do something" are brushed aside.

Using the Hornbeam flower essence developed by Dr. Bach will reconnect the energy systems and bring back the balance needed to enjoy life and welcome new challenges.

Interestingly, Hornbeam used in a compress is also useful in treating tired, irritated eyes and varicose veins. Used with other essences, it has provided help in drug rehabilitation, and it is often used by gardeners as a tonic to revitalize limp plants.

Visit FeelBach! today and fill out our questionnaire to see if you should use Hornbeam alone or combined with others of Dr. Bach's flower essences. 

Image courtesy of renjith krishnan at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Is Your Impatience Damaging Your Life ?

If you suffer from impatience, it probably means that you are a highly intelligent person. You're quick-thinking and quick-acting.

If you're suffering, it also means that you're in a negative Impatiens state, which can be damaging to you and to those around you.

Working with those who proceed at a slower pace is a constant irritant, so you're apt to become tense and irritable. From a physical standpoint, you could be prone to nervous indigestion, sudden pain due to nervous tension, and even hot flashes. You're also apt to tire quickly, simply because the stress combined with inaction is exhausting.

Are you an impatiens personality?

In addition to being highly intelligent, Impatiens personalities are independent, although they're generally open to good advice. The best jobs for them allow them to work alone, at their own fast pace. While their intelligence and efficiency often get them promoted to "higher" positions, this is not where they want to be, nor is it where they belong, because it can put them into a negative state.

Those in a negative impatiens state make very unpopular supervisors, since they'd rather just do a task themselves instead of guiding and teaching a trainee. As bosses, they tend to push employees until they become known as slave-drivers.

They make even worse teachers.

I recall a teacher I knew who was an impatiens personality in a perpetual negative state. She taught algebra, and her students suffered. Those who could grasp the concept from the book alone did well, but students who needed instruction simply ended up hating algebra. She had no patience with teaching and would berate those students for their stupidity.

Impatiens parents tend to do things for their children rather than teaching them to do for themselves – which can be extremely damaging to those children. I've known young people who didn't even know how to sew on a button, or load a dishwasher, simply because their parents didn't take the time to show them how.  

Fortunately, Dr. Bach created the Impatiens flower essence to allow the impatiens personality to enjoy life with their more "laid back" co-workers, friends, and relatives

.

If you suffer from this negative state, visit FeelBach! to order this flower essence today. You'll be much happier, and so will those who love you. 

  

Image courtesy of iosphere at freedigitalphotos.net

Winter depression is no joke. Dr. Bach's essences can help.

February can be a depressing time, even for those not given to depression the rest of the year. It's a time in between the holiday season and Spring, when nothing interesting seems to be going on. 

And for those in the northern states, it can feel like the dark, grey days will never be replaced by

sunshine.

Humans need sunlight, and lack of it can cause the most cheerful person to feel gloomy. That's why some companies sell fixtures with special light bulbs to simulate sunlight.

For those who continually suffer from mild to severe depression, this season is even more trying.

Thankfully, Dr. Bach developed the flower essences Wild Rose and Gorse to lift us out of depression – whether it is seasonal or chronic.

Gorse is the remedy for those who still have some hope, but feel on the verge of giving up. Some use it to get past a temporary setback or a seasonal depression and don't need to continue once they're past the crisis.

Wild Rose is for those who feel like there's no use in trying. For some, use of Wild Rose must be ongoing, especially when they are trying to get at the root of the problem through psychotherapy or self-examination.

In both cases, the flower essences help to re-set the sufferer's energy flow and allow joy into his or her life.

In some cases, it's advisable for family members to use Wild Rose or Gorse along with the sufferer, because like the common cold, depression can be contagious. Prolonged exposure to a person who feels no joy or enthusiasm for life is not just boring and frustrating. It can bring others down – especially loved ones.  

If you're suffering from depression, you owe to both yourself and your loved ones to lift yourself out. Use the power of positive thought, use the Law of Attraction, use simulated sunlight, or use psychotherapy – and let Dr. Bach's Wild Rose and Gorse flower essences help you succeed.

Visit FeelBach! today and get started.