How to Make your own Sleep Herbs

After the success of my homemade Adrenal Support herbs during the Summer, I thought it was time for another herb experiment!  I think this one may have turned out even better than the first.

What brought this on?  Well, I was just getting ready to spend another $24 on a bottle of Deep Sleep, which is a very nice herb sleep formula I've used, and decided it was time to save my dollars and try my hand at making my own sleep herbs.  I loved getting to know these herbs better, and I think it adds a very personal touch to my healing.  It's great to know that, even if the supplements weren't available anymore, I could make this for myself - very empowering.   The next step would be growing my own herbs.  Maybe next summer! 

STEP ONE: Get some herbs
Since I know which herbs work to help me sleep, it was fairly simple to make a list.  I chose herbs I have taken before, not too many, and fairly small amounts to make one jar of extract.  I spoke with my friend the Herbalist, to get a little guidance.  I keep glass spaghetti sauce jars, and for this project, I cleaned one out really well and ran it through the dishwasher to use to put this formula in.  I bought my herbs at the Herb Room, which is our best local herb place - open until midnight, if you can believe it!  Yes, Santa Cruz is that kind of town.  If I couldn't buy them locally, I would probably order them from somewhere like Mountain Rose Herbs.

I bought the following:

• CALIFORNIA POPPY, 1 ounce
• PASSION FLOWER, 3/4 ounce
• VALERIAN, 1/2 ounce

I had planned on also putting some other herbs in it - Milky Oats and Lemon Balm, but they were out of these, so I forged ahead without them.  I thought about adding Chamomile, too, but my herbalist friend informed me that Chamomile gets very bitter made into this kind of extract, so I didn't.  I thought about taking this in Chamomile tea, but it works great without it.

STEP TWO: Get some alcohol
I used brandy again.  Worked very well.  Still got more left for my next one!

STEP THREE: Sterilize a Glass Jar
Spaghetti sauce jar and top, very clean.

STEP FOUR:  Measure out the Herbs.  Then measure out the alcohol - 1 to 2 times as much as the herbs by volume.
The strength of herbal extractions is measured in parts herb to parts alcohol, and it's not by weight, it's by VOLUME.  Put your dry herbs all together in a glass measuring cup and see what line they come up to on the cup.  Now pour that same volume of vodka or brandy into another glass measuring cup.  That's how much you would need for a 1:1 extract.   The more herbs compared to the amount of alcohol, the stronger the extract.  You will see lots of 1:1 or 2:1 extracts on the market.  1:1 is very strong.  2:1 is less strong, but still very good.  I added about one and a half times as much alcohol as the herbs, to make a 3:2 extract - get it, 3 parts alcohol, to 2 parts herbs, right?  My decision was kind of a compromise.  With a 1:1, it's sometimes kind of hard to get all the herbs saturated because there's so little alcohol, and my jar wasn't big enough for 2:1.

STEP FIVE: Put your herbs in the jar.  Add the alcohol.  Get it all wet.  Shake it up.  Label it well
Mix the herbs together, then put them in the jar.  Pour in the alcohol.  Take a clean stainless steel spoon and stir it around to get all the herbs wet.  Don't rush  - this will take a few minutes.  Wet down any little pockets of dry herbs remaining.  Put the lid on tight.  Label it carefully with exactly what's in it and the date.  Shake it up for around 10 minutes, at least 200 times, all around, upside down, until it looks super wet and saturated.

Don't forget to label your jar.  Write on it the name, the concentration, the date, when it will be ready, and what's in it.  One reason this is important is because the next time you want to make it, you will have forgotten what you used, I guarantee it!   Also it's nice to know at a glance if it's ready to use  And if you don't like how it turns out, you'll know what NOT to do next time!

STEP SIX: Put it in a dark cupboard for TWO WEEKS.  Shake it every few days.
Keep it in a dark place at all times.  Your extract will take a full fourteen days to be ready.  You will want to give it about 50 shakes every 2-3 days.  No big deal - Just slosh it around, up and down, upside down, and put it back in the cupboard.

SEVEN: Strain it sweeten it (optional), and USE it!
After two weeks, you can strain all or part of your extract.  It is ready to use.  I strained a couple ounces into an old glass dropper bottle I had, and left the rest to soak, which it is still doing.   Strain it through a coffee filter lining a strainer, into a glass container.  It will take awhile.

I did not sweeten this one - it actually tastes ok on it's own.  At first I tried adding it to chamomile tea, but didn't really want to make tea every night, and it didn't work great for me that way.  What I finally ended up doing with this is using the little dropper to squirt this into empty "00" veggie capsules, and taking it that way.  I found that for me, 1 capsule didn't get me to sleep, but 2 did the job really well!  So now I have almost a lifetime supply of sleepy support that works for me, for less than $10 in herbs and alcohol! 

You would always want to fill these capsules right before you take them.  They would probably melt after awhile, even though they don't have any water in them.  The professional capsule companies have special ways of making and sealing their liquid-filled caps that make them way more stable.








Happy herbmaking!

DISCLAIMER: Note that there's a lot to the herbmaking craft that is not included here.  It's important to extract each herb in the way that is well-suited to it, and to carefully construct your blends.  This is just an example of a good beginners blend that might be useful.  Please read up on any herb you plan to use and make sure it is appropriate for you.

Sleep Hygiene

What is sleep hygiene?

Sleep hygiene is a variety of different practices that are necessary to have normal, quality nighttime sleep and full daytime alertness.

What are some examples of good sleep hygiene?

The most important sleep hygiene measure is to maintain a regular sleep and wake pattern seven days a week. It is also important to spend an appropriate amount of time in bed, not too little, or too excessive. This may vary by individual. Research tells us that it is best to spend between 7 and 9 hours a day sleeping.

In addition, good sleep hygiene practices include:

• Avoid napping during the day; it can disturb the normal pattern of sleep and wakefulness.
• Avoid stimulants such as caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol too close to bedtime. While alcohol is well known to speed the onset of sleep, it disrupts sleep in the second half of the night as the body begins to metabolize the alcohol, causing poorer quality sleep.
• Exercise can promote good sleep. Vigorous exercise should be taken in the morning or late afternoon. A relaxing exercise, like yoga, can be done before bed to help initiate a restful night's sleep.
• Food can be disruptive right before sleep; stay away from eating close to bedtime.  And, remember, chocolate has caffeine.
• Ensure adequate exposure to natural light. This is particularly important for older people who may not venture outside as frequently as children and adults. Light exposure helps maintain a healthy sleep-wake cycle.
• Establish a regular relaxing bedtime routine. Try to avoid emotionally upsetting conversations and activities before trying to go to sleep. Don't dwell on, or bring your problems to bed.
• Limit screen time later in the evening.  Try to “wind down” and do relaxing activities not associated with TV or computers.
• Make sure that the sleep environment is pleasant and relaxing. The bed should be comfortable, the room should not be too hot or cold, or too bright.  You spend a third of your life in your bed... make sure you feel good there!
• Minimize sources of EMF’s in your bedroom, especially near your head.  Use a battery alarm clock.  Don’t sleep with your head near your cell phone, laptop, TV, etc.

  

Why is it important to practice good sleep hygiene?

Sleep is important for everyone, from childhood through adulthood. A good sleep routine promotes healthy sleep, daytime alertness, and has many health benefits, from supporting hormones such as melatonin and cortisol, to allowing your body a chance to recharge and replenish minerals and heal itself.  Good sleep hygiene practices can help prevent the development of sleep problems and mood disorders.

How does someone know if his or her sleep hygiene is poor?

Sleep disturbances and daytime sleepiness are the most telling signs of poor sleep hygiene. If one is experiencing a sleep problem, he or she should evaluate their sleep routine. It may take some time for the changes to have a positive effect.

How do I know the best sleep hygiene routine for me?

If you're taking too long to fall asleep, or awakening during the night, you should consider revising your bedtime habits. Most important for everyone is to maintain a regular sleep-wake schedule throughout the week and consider how much time you spend in bed, which could be too much or too little.

If I still can't sleep well, what should I do?
If you have worked on your sleep hygeine, and continue to have problems getting good sleep, give us a call.  We can discuss other underlying reasons your body may not be able to sleep, such as hormone and adrenal imbalances, and suggest some Functional Diagnostic Nutrition treatment for you.

Are there any danger signs to watch for, with regard to my sleep?
If you snore loudly, and feel sleepy or tired during the day, you should get screened for Sleep Apnea.  Sleep Apnea is a serious medical condition in which your body does not get enough oxygen during the night.  It is associated with elevated odds of heart problems and other serious health issues, up to and including death.  It should not be ignored.

Sleep... How much do you Really Need?

Sleep is a great big health issue that many people are – unconscious – of.  You can have great eating habits, exercise regularly and be free from emotional stress, but if you aren't sleeping well, it is virtually impossible to be really healthy.

How much sleep do you need for optimal health?

In this valuable interview with Dr. Joseph Mercola, Dr. Rubin Naiman, an integrative doctor who specializes in sleep and dreams – discusses this question.

Like everything else, the exact answer for each person depends on a large number of highly individual factors. The general consensus seems to be that most people need somewhere between six and eight hours of sleep each night.

There's compelling research indicating that sleeping less than six hours may increase your insulin resistance and risk of diabetes. And recent studies show that less than five hours of sleep at night can double your risk of being diagnosed with angina, coronary heart disease, heart attack or stroke. Interestingly enough, the same appears to be true when you sleep more than nine hours per night.

Dr. Naiman's recommendation is to simply sleep

    "enough hours so that your energy is sustained through the day without artificial stimulation, with the exception of a daytime nap."

I would add to that guideline, however, the suggestion to watch out for physical or biological symptoms.

For example, when I push myself and don't get high quality sleep or enough sleep, I'm predisposed to hypoglycemia. In other words, I have low insulin resistance so when I sleep poorly, it doesn't take much sugar or carbs for it drop my blood sugar—which also makes me really sleepy.   When I get enough sleep, I'm far less susceptible to it.

Dr. Naiman also discusses this, stating that there's solid data showing the connection between insulin resistance and sleep. When participants slept three or four hours less than normal for just a couple of days in a row, they saw a dramatic spike in insulin resistance.

Insufficient Sleep Puts Your Health at Risk

"There is really interesting data," he says. "I think the data is very strong showing that if you don't sleep enough, you're in trouble."

However, it's important to differentiate between occasional lack of sleep, and a chronic pattern. Everyone loses sleep here and there, and your body is typically resilient enough to allow for that. However, when poor sleep becomes a constant, there's no question your health may be at risk.

To Nap or Not to Nap…

According to Dr. Naiman, we're actually biologically programmed to nap during the daytime, typically in the middle of the afternoon. Some European countries still adhere to the daily siesta and close shop for a couple of hours in the middle of the day when the heat is also at its most pressing. Most employers in Western countries, however, do not accommodate daily snoozing, so when the natural tendency to get drowsy sets in, you may try to alleviate it with coffee, or simply fight the urge to take a nap.

The problem is, you're now training your body to resist the urge to sleep, which can then lead to being unable to easily fall asleep at night.

There are nuances with sleep just as there are with waking. There are so many different ways of being awake, different kinds of experiences. Light sleep is fine. Being half awake and half asleep is fine. In fact, I really believe that in any moment in time during the day and at night, it's a mixed percentage. Right now, you and I are talking; we're probably 98 percent awake. I'm just making up a number. There is a restful part of us. We might say we're 2 percent asleep. Closer to bed time it might be 50/50.

What we call being sleepy is being 'part of awake, part asleep.' In the middle of the night when we get up to use the bathroom, we might be 95 percent asleep still and 5 percent awake just to find our way there. We need to allow a mix of these different forms of consciousness."

Can You Catch Up on Lost Sleep?
This is another area fraught with confusion. Can you make up for lost sleep by sleeping longer on certain days? According to Dr. Naiman:  "First of all, you can't really bag sleep any more than you can bag oxygen. We just need to replenish it. If you're well slept, you'll be more resilient… If you've under slept and you throw in jetlag on top of that, it gets a lot worse.  In terms of making up for sleep, it is a very common pattern in our world that people short sleep during the week and then sleep in [on the weekend]. It's considered delicious. For me, it's kind of funny. It's like starving yourself during the week and then pigging out on the weekend. It's not the best way to eat, as we know.

You can make up for some lost sleep on the weekend but here is the price: it throws off your circadian rhythm.  Again, the infrastructure of our sleep is this rhythmic drum beat of day and night, of light and darkness, of sun and melatonin and so on. What most people do on the weekend is actually go to bed later and sleep in much later. You really confuse the poor brain. It's almost like shifting it to another season. It's almost like a little bit of stationary jetlag. You're yanking your circadian rhythm around. It's not something that's recommended."

Sleep Timing—Does it Matter?
A common natural health understanding is that every hour of sleep before midnight is equal to two hours after midnight. But is that true?  According to Dr. Naiman, this notion is likely more metaphoric than factual.

“[R]oughly the first third to first half of sleep is when we get most of our true deep sleep," he says. "… We spend most of the first part of the night truly sleeping, most of the latter part of the night dreaming… In Chinese medicine, they say the best time to get to sleep is roughly 9:00 or 9:30 pm… roughly a couple of hours after sunset, when there have been enough melatonin raised in our brains that will naturally put us out… [But] I've never seen really hard scientific data. I've seen a lot of anecdotal experience. And there is data that suggests that there is a window of heightened opportunity for falling asleep, which can vary depending on your personal circadian rhythm."

The most important aspect of sleep timing appears to be the consistency of going to bed at the same time every night.

More Information

Dr. Naiman also has a great website, www.DrNaiman.com, where you can read more about all things sleep related. You can also find information about his lectures, which is a wonderful way to learn more about the mystery of sleep, and the most effective solutions.


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