Español: Amor maternal (cuadro de William-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1869).


Jan Vermeer van Delft
Young Woman Sleeping
Birth name: Jan van der Meer
Date of birth/death 1632-10-31, 1675-12-15
Many of us would love to improve our health and feel better. There are many options out there, but before you go spend a lot of money and time going to doctors and/or buying supplements, take a good look at your sleeping habits. There many good tips for improving your sleep. If you get better sleep, you have better days, and better days mean a happier and more productive life :)

For instance, did you know that if you are trying to lose weight, that you should be getting at least 7 hours of sleep each night? If you sleep less, you are not producing enough of the hormone, leptin. This increases your appetite, and can result in obesity. Also, when we are sleeping, our bodies produce other hormones called cytokines, which help our immune system fight infections.

Our bodies "read" inadequate sleep as stress. That increases our levels of health damaging stress hormones. If you regularly DON'T get enough sleep, then you may also be put you at higher risk for developing mood disorders like depression, and diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.

Sleep, very well might be our long-sought fountain of youth. If you get enough, your body has more time to regenerate your cells, and even repairs UV skin damage. If you body is allowed to repair UV skin damage, then that means less wrinkles over time!

Lack of sleep significantly slows down thinking processes. It also makes it harder to focus on a task, and pay attention. Whether driving around, working, or just enjoying a day you can benefit from getting more sleep and prevent possible accidents.

Some great herb teas, blends that help you to sleep

I have found a couple of herbal teas that can help a person wind down and get some sleep.
The first one is Sleepytime Tea by Celestial Seasonings. It has all kinds of great herbs in it to help enhance rest.

The other one that is really great, is call "Get Some Zzz's". This is a tea made by the Republic of Tea, in their "Be Well Red Teas" line. The main herbs in this tea are Oragnic Rooibos leaf, Orange peel, Spearmint leaf, Chamomile flowers, Passion Flower herb, and Stevia leaf. It also has valerian root extract in it.

Try these a little bit before bedtime or anytime you wish to rest. It is an all natural way to help your body get the rest it truly needs.

Albert Anker: Schlafender Knabe im Heu, 1897

Joaquín Sorolla, Title: Child's Siesta, Year: c. 1918, Technique: Oil on board