Even the hustlers who claim they “grind” 24-7 and survive on three hours of sleep, can’t debate that eventually the human body will crash if you do not get enough rest. Not sure if you all heard about Ariana Huffington’s come to Jesus moment where her lack of sleep let to a serious injury an stitches in her face, chronicled in her book Thrive. Even a CEO needs rest, and she discovered that she actually performs better and makes better decisions when fully rested rather than trying to run the rat race on empty. It’s clear that this AHA! moment was the catalyst that eventually caused her to leave the Huffington Post and move onto found Thrive Global where she promoting health, wellness, and good old sleep.
Recently, a friend reached out to me who was having sleeping problems about whether or not she should take medication. It has become all too commonplace for those with sleeping issues to resort to taking sleeping pills which can have a myriad of side effects known and unknown. She unfortunately lives in Los Angeles, where popping sleeping pills is like eating candy. Everyone seems to do it. The better solution is to look at your lifestyle, caffeine intake, stress, or racing thoughts and get to the bottom of what you can change to get some real long term sustainable rest.
After giving this advice to my friend, I then told her as she is working on it to give Valerian Poppy a try as a natural remedy to help her sleep on the interim. I used Valerian Poppy as a sleeping aid when recovering from a bad car accident that left me in so much pain it was hard to get to sleep. I would put a few drops in water and I was usually out in 10-15 minutes. Again, I believe dealing with the source of the issue is always best, but this herbal remedy may be something you want to give a try if you are really struggling. Like any herb, can have interactions with other medications so I recommend you take it alone or speak to your doctor about any potential adverse effects of mixing with your current medication. The exact effective dosage isn’t exactly clear either, so the safest bet is to experiment without overdoing it. I usually put one dropper full into a glass of water.
Want additional information about sleep that could help you revolutionize your rest? Check out the book Power Sleep by Dr. James Maas, a world renowned sleep expert. That book changed my life and made me a bit of a sleep natzi in college. I’m sure you will find once you have experienced true, good quality rest, you’ll start getting a little gangsta about your sleep too. -XO