I have been thinking a lot about sleep recently – thinking being the operative word! Sometimes I really have to make myself pull the brakes on and realize that the one thing I truly need is a good night’s sleep.  I hear so many people saying that they can do with only a few hours sleep a night, well I can’t relate to that at all, I see sleep as restorative, a balm for tired minds and bodies.

So what’s the big deal about a decent night’s sleep – ask anyone who suffers from sleep deprivation, I’m sure they’ll recount feeling more anxious, more prone to depression, more susceptible to seasonal illness. Prolonged lack of sleep actually affects your mental health, leads to reduced immunity, can increase your blood pressure and have an adverse affect on your weight and fertility.  Each one of these side effects of sleep deprivation can lead to tension, low vitality and constant fatigue – a body low in vital energy is a body having to work harder to get you through the day-to-day.

I know why I sometimes can’t get to sleep, I think this quote pretty much sums it up, “My eyelids are heavy but my thoughts are heavier.” I’m just like every other busy Mum, sometimes it’s only in the quiet of the night that I can take time to acknowledge the worries, the sad feelings, the niggles that I’ve been batting away all day.  It’s taken a long time but I know how to calm myself now, I put a drop of Lavender oil on my pillow, I allow myself to think things through a bit but I also remind myself that a whole night of thinking and worrying won’t do a thing to change whatever is laid out for the following day.

Of course some people can’t sleep due to illness and pain.  First off I want to say, when you are awake at night remember you are not alone.  All over the world there are people just like you awake because they are in pain or unwell.  Never feel that you are the only one.
I often work with clients who can’t sleep due to chronic pain, Reflexology really is a wonderful sleep promoting tool.  It is an amazing way to relax out sore and tense muscles, ease spasms and quiet down a tense mind.

As I write this I am mentally going over all the points in the feet that I can work to help promote sleep.  The idea is to ease a person’s discomfort [whether it be of the mind or the body] and naturally stimulate their body’s own sleep cycle. As a Therapist there is no better feeling in the world than having a client contact you the day after a treatment to tell you that they have had their first decent sleep in months.

If you want to find out more about Reflexology and sleep then please do contact me – it’s one of my favourite subjects!

In the meantime consider how there really is magic in dreaming – as you sleep your body repairs, restores and reboots.  If you know lack of sleep is an issue for you then well done for recognizing the problem – now step two, do something about it!