Not many people follow this yet, but applying oil to your feet before bed is a non-fussy way to invite sleep. Your feet have borne your weight for a considerable part of the day. With so many nerve endings housed in your soles, your feet do feel the stress keenly. A gentle massage can boostContinue reading “How to Do a Foot Massage Before Bed”
Tag Archives: sleep
A Short Sleep Routine for a Busy Day
Some days you sail with time, some days you race against it. So on one of those days when you cannot manage to take out time to methodically and slowly pull the brakes and get to sleep, do just the following. Dim the lights in your room. Put a few drops of lavender essential oilContinue reading “A Short Sleep Routine for a Busy Day”
3 Tips for a Peaceful Nap
Waht hapnnes wehn you dno’t nap? You read the sentence above. Understand it too. But maybe, you don’t notice the words are all jumbled up. Ah, you’re reading it again, now! Maybe, had you taken a nap, you would have perhaps noticed those jumbled words right away and had a good laugh over them too.Continue reading “3 Tips for a Peaceful Nap”
Lemon Verbena
Lemon verbena (Aloysia tryphilla; also called Lippia citriodora) is a flowering herb originally from South America with, as the name suggests, a citrus flavor. The leaves and flowers release their fragrance when bruised. Milder than other “lemony” herbs, the leaves blend easily into desserts, salad dressings, soups, jams, and drinks. But that’s not where itsContinue reading “Lemon Verbena”
Passionflower
Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) leaves and roots are good for sleep. The herb’s flavonoids, particularly chrysin, a compound called maltol, and the amino acid GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid) are likely at work here. GABA, also found in your brain, is a calming chemical that makes it easier for you to relax by not reacting to external stimuli.Continue reading “Passionflower”
Nutmeg
The warm, rich, and spicy flavor of nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) can boost your appetite. But that’s not all. It also helps boost your mood by interacting with two nerve networks, the serotonergic and the dopaminergic system, and your memory by inhibiting the breakdown of acetylcholine. It reduces the bad LDL cholesterol and fights the reactiveContinue reading “Nutmeg”
Lemongrass
Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus), a type of grass with a strong aroma of lemon, is used in many cuisines. It has a calming effect on your brain since it has compounds that mimic GABA, a natural nerve-relaxing chemical. This is how lemongrass could also help you sleep better. It also helps your liver by increasing theContinue reading “Lemongrass”
Lavender
The flower lavender (Lavandula angustifolia, also known as L. officinalis) doesn’t only lend its fragrance to the cosmetic industry. It has other benefits for the mind as well. Linalool in it reduces nerve activity by increasing a calming chemical called GABA. It also helps induce relaxing brain waves like alpha and theta waves – theContinue reading “Lavender”
Jatamansi
Jatamansi (Nardostachys jatamansi) is a herb for your mind. It increases the levels of the nerve-calming chemical GABA and happiness hormones like dopamine and serotonin, in effect improving your mood and anxiety. Since it also prevents the quick breakdown of acetylcholine, a memory-consolidating chemical, it could improve learning and memory. By nudging your GABA levelsContinue reading “Jatamansi”
Green Tea
Green tea, considered a healthy tea worldwide, comes from the Camellia sinensis plant which also yields black and oolong tea. While a small amount of caffeine makes it a gentle pick-me-up, EGCG and L-theanine are the main weapons in its arsenal. The “jitters” characteristic of caffeine can be countered by L-theanine, which increases GABA levelsContinue reading “Green Tea”