A real jewel of a book, it is gentle reminder that we are very closely connected to nature, encouraging us to be more present in the now and to enjoy every moment. Tolle achieves this by providing us with glimpses of the secret lives of our pets and their joy in every moment.

“More than a collection of witty and charming drawings, the marriage of Patrick McDonnell’s art and Eckhart Tolle’s words conveys a profound love of nature, of animals, of humans, of all life-forms. Guardians of Being celebrates and reminds us of not only the oneness of all life but also the wonder and joy to be found in the present moment, amid the beauty we sometimes forget to notice all around us.” Book description from Amazon Books.

Story by Asti Renaut, photographed by charles howells

Did you have a good sleep last night? If so, you are one of a group whose numbers, in the industrialised world, are in rapid decline. If not, your club is getting more popular by the day, but I’m sure you and your club-mates won’t be celebrating. A recent study showed that 75 percent of women have at least one bad night’s sleep a week due to stress.

Sleeplessness is no cause for joy. In fact, a year of sleeping problems is the best known indicator for future depression. We all know that we feel worse after a bad night’s sleep, but there are other, unseen, implications too. Inadequate sleep is increasingly linked to all manner of health problems: lowered immune function, increased risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, obesity and car accidents. Poor sleep increases inflammation, the cause of many common health conditions, and increases hunger… and it ages you faster, bringing a whole new meaning to the idea of ‘beauty sleep’. The long-term effects of chronic sleep deprivation are still largely unexplored; something that some sleep researchers see as a scary social experiment with potentially dire consequences. As Robert Stickgold, a cognitive neuroscientist specialising in sleep research, said in Harvard magazine, “Sleep deprivation doesn’t have any good side effects.”

Researching sleep:
Essential Processing Research into the functions of sleep has been revived in recent years, following a 40-year gap since initial researchers explored the landscape of the sleeping mind, charting and naming territories such as the now familiar ‘stages’ of sleep, including REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. New research points specifically to the importance of a good night’s sleep in storing, learning and integrating complex information. One study gave participants the simple motor task of typing a sequence of numbers as quickly and accurately as possible. Participants plateaued in their progress after twelve minutes. Those who came back the same evening showed no improvement, but those who came back the next day, after a night’s sleep, showed 20 improvement in speed and up to 50 percent improvement in accuracy. Other studies back up this key finding, that it is not simply time that makes the difference but sleep itself. Thus sleep is not simply a blank space where the human computer is switched off, but rather an essential and cohesive part of the programming system. One researcher noted that when listening to electrodes in the brains of sleeping rats, there was a moment where the sequence of the neurons firing echoed the same sequence as when they were running through a maze earlier in the day. It seems we live out events from our life during our sleep, allowing us to integrate new ideas more deeply and effectively. Creativity and problem solving is also improved by a good night’s sleep. If in doubt, always tell them you’ll sleep on it. With these findings in mind, what does it mean to miss out on sleep? For children, it may be as detrimental as diagnosis with a behavioural disorder. The symptoms of sleep deprivation closely mimic those of ADHD. One study found that lack of sleep can impair IQ as much a lead exposure, while another demonstrated that the consistent loss of one hour’s sleep was equivalent to losing two years’ worth of cognitive development among sixth grade children in the USA. These are the people who will be our leaders in the future.

Sleep:
Numero Uno In our dispensary and clinic, sleeping problems are probably the number one concern that people present with, and the pattern is similar in other areas of medicine. There are some obvious culprits; caffeine, sugar, alcohol – yes, alcohol. Some people think alcohol is a relaxant, and helps them sleep. In actual fact, alcohol depletes not only B vitamins, zinc and magnesium, which are essential for nerve and muscle relaxation, but also tryptophan, an amino acid which is a building block for the sleep hormone melatonin. Added to this, the liver detoxification involved in processing alcohol can wake us in the night. It is truly remarkable the number of sleepless people who respond well to simply reducing coffee and alcohol.

Light, Dusk, and Circadian Rhythms So if coffee is an obvious contributor, what are the not-so-obvious ones? If you’re the sort of person who likes to stay up late with artificial lights blazing, you may be dismayed to learn that light is an important contributor too. Sleep therapists remind us that our natural biorhythms go way further back than electricity, and that in our modern society we have lost the awareness of dusk. We switch the lights on when night starts to arrive, and have bright light flooding our eyes till we switch off at bedtime, expecting our minds to do the same. Not only light, but also activity; dusk is not only about light, but about slowing down, relaxing, removing stimulation, preparing for sleep. Interestingly, the effects of light on sleep have been proven to be more effective than melatonin, even in blind people. Apparently it is light (or its absence) that is the most powerful influence on our circadian rhythm. We all know that it is best to sleep in a dark room, but consider also our lack of exposure to natural light in the daytime, which also has an effect.

Overstimulated Its not just the buzz of the electric bulb and the caffeine jangling our nerves that keeps us up, but also the sheer busyness of our lives and our overexposure to the flashing hype of television, computers, information. For most of the day, many of us are working fast, reading fast, typing fast, thinking fast, doing, going, juggling, and then we expect to be able to just… stop. The myth of relaxing at night in front of the telly is like the one about relaxing with a glass or two of wine. They work for some, but if you’re sensitive, they’ll do the opposite. Our nervous system needs time to relax first, to rest. A hot bath (heat increases melatonin), a cup of lemon balm tea, abdominal breathing.

Sleep Hygiene Have you heard this buzzword yet? While it reminds me of stickers by the basin at primary school saying “Wash Your Hands”, I like the implication that we need to remember to take care of our sleep, and the phrase also has an element of ritual about it. Sleep Hygiene refers to all the habits around sleep. It is recommended that bedtimes be regular, that relaxation techniques be employed before bed, that the bed be reserved for sleep only (and sex), that a snack be had before bed (one with tryptophan, such as banana or warm milk), that coffee and alcohol be avoided 4-6 hours before bed, and various other sleep tips. Google ‘sleep hygiene’ and you’ll find a wealth of information. Most of it comes down to common sense. Sometimes it’s not what we’re doing at night, but what we do every day, that is the heart of the problem.

Nourish Thy Nerves Stress, depression and anxiety all contribute to sleeping problems. The best way to sleep better is reduce stresses and calm the nerves during the day. Elevated stress hormones will have a detrimental effect on sleep, and as sleep deprivation feeds stress, this is a cycle that must be broken. Nourish your nervous system with foods rich in B vitamins and magnesium (whole grains), adequate protein and beneficial fats (flaxseed oil, oily fish). A good whopping dose of magnesium, in an easily assimilated form (eg. citrate, aspartate, or amino acid chelate), can do wonders for sleep. Many of us, due to our magnesium-stripping diets, are low in magnesium, and this mineral, along with calcium, is essential for nerve and muscle relaxation. Also beneficial are regular doses of exercise, joy, peace and laughter.

Herbal Help The plant kingdom has much to offer the bad sleeper. I am consistently impressed by the ability of herbal tonics to calm the nervous system and break long standing patterns of insomnia and sleep disturbance. And each herb has its own unique biochemistry and therefore its own unique offerings. If you have only ever tried a herbal pill from the supermarket, you really haven’t explored the powerful potential of herbal remedies, and I would always recommend visiting a registered medical herbalist for your own tailor-made sleeping formula. Valerian is a very effective sedative, for example, but for some people it has the absolute opposite effect. Passionflower nourishes the nerves and promotes relaxation while Skullcap helps to reduce nervous excitability and restlessness. Chamomile, Hops and Lavender are other favourites, while Kava is often an exceptional addition to a mix, especially if someone has physical tension. If the adrenals are depleted from chronic or long-term stress, Withania or Rehmannia come to the rescue. Its all about the right herb, in the right form, at the right dose, for every individual person. We are not carbon copies of each other, and herbs have the ability to match our individuality, and the individual reasons why we aren’t sleeping as well as we deserve.

So tonight, lace your bath with lavender oil, make a cup of lemon balm and ginger tea, sip it quietly by the fire in your pyjamas, then slip between clean sheets, let your feet find the hot water bottle and count your blessings. May you sleep well tonight and every night.

For references or further information please contact the author:
Asti Renaut Naturopath and Medical Herbalist
BHSc (Comp Med), Adv Dip Nat, Adv Dip Med Herb, BA, MNZAMH.
Quintessence Natural Health Dispensary, 402c Titirangi Rd,
Titirangi, 817 1530. www.qhealth.co.nz

Couture couture by GL WOOD

Tin City by Sonny

Spell Bound By Michele Aboud

Raven By Richard Freeman

Animalia by Sarra Fluer Abou-el-haj

The New issue is now out in Australia, NZ and sailing around the globe to reach you in the next couple of weeks. Here is a little teaser if you have yet to pick one up. We love it. Nothing fainthearted in this “you are beautiful” Issue. I hope you enjoy a little peak and you enjoy the whole magazine when it gets to you.
We are planning the next one already with an amazing swim story shot at Swim Fashion Week already.
love to hear your thoughts
xxx marian

A story on Immunity by Natasha Berman and Asti Renaut, Naturopaths. Feature  in KAREN mag 2007.
Click on this link for the PDF version of this article Immunity.