Our bodies are undoubtedly affected by the cumulative effects of our daily habits, e.g. caffeine and alcohol disrupts ourl biorhythms and both should be reduced if you’re having problems sleeping.

Rather than resorting to Pharma drugs, which often have side effects, there is a little-known remedy which can calm the mind down and put you into a sweet, deep sleep.

Passiflora – the “miracle worker” for sleep!

We all spend a great deal of time in front of screens and electronic devices these days, and we are generally overstimulated by modern living!

Passiflora incarnata is a herb, also known as purple passion flower, maypop, true passion flower, wild passion vine and wild apricot. that can help us unwind from mental strains and stresses, soothing the nervous system.

The Cherokee Native Americans who historically settled in the southeastern regions of the United States, of Tennessee region knew about its powerful healing properties and called this herb Ocoee. Passiflora is the State Wildflower of Tennessee.

You can also take Passifora in homeopathic form – and I’ve found this to be a wonderful sleep aid if I have to work on my computer later int the night sometimes (as most online entrepreneurs do).

Unlike taking sleeping and anxiety meds, where the body is not actually resting at all, the physical body reads the ‘energy signature’ of Passiflora and acts accordingly.

With Pharma meds, the background state of agitation is still there, but you just become more unconscious of it.  A recipe for disaster!

Alongside taking Passiflora the following steps are important tools to help you regain your equilibrium and should not be overlooked for the ‘quick fix’ of taking the pill alone.

Give your body the ‘energy tune-up’ it deserves!

1) Limit your caffeine to ONE cup of black tea/coffee per day!

If you are drinking 2-3 cups a day, that’s way too much; and some people like to have double and triple shots each time they have a latte or cappuccino!

Once you become used to one cup a day, try reducing it to every other day. Substitute with chamomile tea, mint, nettle, rosemary or thyme tea… if you can get fresh herbs, so much the better!

Within a month, the difference on your ‘energy state’ of mind and body will be noticeable.

If you really love your coffee, then opt for organic decaf coffee – the best decaf coffee uses the Swiss Water Method which doesn’t use harsh chemicals into the process of extracting the caffeine.

2) As a corollary to the first point, don’t drink any caffeine past midday!

It’s really quite astounding the amount of people who still drink caffeine after dinner, especially if eating out.. but this is an unconscious habit.

They say they don’t notice it because their system is often laden with alcohol.

If you really love the taste of coffee, and can’t do without it, then choose to drink organic decaf coffee instead.

3) Drink enough good quality water, aim for about two litres per day.

Make sure you drink enough good quality water – filtered at the very least! Every system of your body is pegged to water, which means it’s vital for a whole range of metabolic processes including the ability to regulate sleep cycles.

4) Take 1-3 drops of the following Bach flowers in a glass of water two to three times a day.

White Chestnut: If your thoughts are going nowhere, circling round and round in your head like a looped recording, this remedy helps us deal calmly and rationally with any underlying problems that might be causing us trouble.

Vervain: this remedy helps us to regain our balance. It encourages the wisdom to enjoy life and the passage of time instead of always feeling the need to be active.

5) Wear a comfortable eye mask, or use blackout blinds

Complete darkness is essential for proper sleep. Today, with artificial lighting and the constant glare of screens, we need to give our eyes complete rest.

As well soothing the eyes, it prevents you disrupting the vital production of melatonin. If you switch on the light at night, you immediately send your brain misinformation about the light-dark cycle since your brain interprets light as “daytime”. Believing daytime has arrived, your biological clock instructs your pineal gland to immediately cease its production of melatonin.

Whether you have the light on for an hour or for just a second, the effect is the same — and your melatonin pump doesn’t turn back on when you flip the light back off!

The hormone melatonin produces a number of health benefits in terms of your immune system. It’s a powerful antioxidant and free radical scavenger that helps combat inflammation. In fact, melatonin is so integral to your immune system that a lack of it causes your thymus gland, a key component of your immune system, to atrophy. Melatonin may even have a role in slowing the aging of your brain.

6) PRANAYAMA – Regulate your breathing before you sleep!

Did you know that sometimes your body will self-regulate by breathing more through one nostril than another at certain times of the day?

Breathing is a semi-voluntary action.  You can become aware and control your breath but most of the time it happens automatically, or unconsciously in response to what we are experiencing in our environment.

We can use some of the wisdom of the yogic “science of breath” to help us sleep.

The following short exercise regulates the two hemispheres of the brain, and will induce more alpha and theta waves, helping your mind slow down and prepare you for a good night’s sleep.

When you lie down, put your left hand on your belly and take ten slow, deep belly breaths into your lower abdomen. Then, practice “alternate nostril breathing” as follows:

First, empty your lungs with a slow, deep exhale… then…

1. Close your left nostril with the ring or index finger of your right hand, then inhale slowly and deeply through your right nostril
2. Close your right nostril with the thumb of your right hand, exhale slowly and deeply through your left nostril
3. Keep your right nostril closed, and inhale slowly and deeply through your left nostril
4. Close your left nostril with the ring or index finger of your right hand, then exhale slowly and deeply through your right nostril
5. Repeat by going back to 1.

Once you’ve mastered this simple breathing technique, mentally count 1… 2… 3… 4 as you inhale, and then count 1… 2… 3… 4… as you exhale.

Once you’ve mastered the simple count of four, try inhaling for four counts but exhale for eight counts. This deeper exhale is a ‘let go’ encouraging your body and mind to fully relax.

In closing, just a little modification to your current lifestyle habits, as well as perseverance in changing ingrained bad habits, will work wonders for you over time!  You’ll soon be having your best sleep ever and keeping it that way!