Sleep Solution, and My Experience in a Float Tank

It’s been a long time since I used lavender essential oil for any medicinal purposes. Lavender oil was a big part of my earliest (we’re going back to my undergraduate years at Wesleyan now) allies; I used it as a sleep aid, a hair treatment, a perfume, and a skin soother. Internally, it has no purpose as far as I know.

But my husband and I began having troubles sleeping; this started about 2 weeks ago. We’d fall asleep just fine, but wake up here and there throughout the night. If you have a bed partner, you know what that means: he wakes up and starts moving around, and you wake up. And vice-versa.

Insomnia is the worst. Sleep is so essential. I can’t possibly express how important lots of good, deep sleep is. Our bodies repair and replenish themselves in sleep. We dream, also a critical body function. Our internal organs renew themselves, our digestive tracts rest, our breathing becomes deeply restorative, and we process vital elements like Vitamin D. For me, sleep is the time for lucid dreaming, which has become mandatory for my health. Not to mention wildly interesting and stimulating.

This past weekend, we took a several-pronged approach to correcting this problem. First, my husband cleaned our bedroom, top to bottom. He scrubbed the windows and windowpanes, cleaned the ceiling fan, washed and vacuumed the floor, dusted the furniture, and wiped the walls.

I replaced the somewhat starchy bedsheets with new, soft ones, and washed the blanket. Then, we removed the heavy, brightly-colored bed quilt and replaced it with a new, neutral-toned, lightweight but very warm goose down comforter. I bought this one at L.L. Bean; it’s supremely warm, but light as a feather. We were both a little down on how heavyweight the old quilt was. 

I bought a bottle of Eden’s Garden lavender essential oil from Foodworks on Saturday. I filled the essential oil diffuser next to our bed with water and added 5 drops of the oil. Then I placed a few drops of oil on a Kleenex, and placed it between my millet hull pillows and the pillow cases.

We both enjoyed awesome, uninterrupted sleep last night. Todd woke up smiling. We did a slow dance in the kitchen. By purifying our sleep environment, clearing away clutter, removing dust and dog hair, and changing the bedclothes, we banished our insomnia.

Now, a doctor would have prescribed pills. A sleep specialist would have ordered expensive tests and invasive procedures. A pharmacist would have suggested something like Nyquil (how horrible is that). All of this, when a holistic, hands-on solution was right there at the ready.

I can’t emphasize enough the importance of taking the matter of your health in your own hands in seeking a solution to a pain or problem. Your body tells you what it needs. Listen to it carefully. The solution is virtually always found in an adjustment in nutrition, activity, or hygiene practice and/or a shift in your environment. There’s nothing more critical than that holy trinity – nutrition, hygiene, and environment. Tackle those issues in earnest before you even think about seeking a doctor’s or ‘specialist’s' input.

I did the float tank this weekend! Incredible experience. Floating nude in warm, mineralized water for an hour is the way to go. I went into a calm dream state that I think was punctuated by moments of light sleep. I couldn’t feel my body at all and had no awareness of it. There was no sound, no sight, no taste, no touch, no smell. I had no issues with claustrophobia. I emerged feeling completely refreshed. I recommend it to everyone; it was the best Christmas gift ever.

Today, my friend and I started our 3-day cleanse. I’m going with veggie broth and raw honey; she’s doing just broth. Time to give our tummies a good rest.

Here’s to deep sleep and happy dreaming.

ཞི་བདེ

Peace on Earth