When I was a boy, I lived on a ranch in West Texas 50 miles from town. There were no electric power lines into the ranch. When the sun went down, we went to bed because the only lights were kerosene lamps which made the house stink. There wasn’t TV or internet and the AM radio reception was spotty. We ate fresh vegetables from our garden and, in season, had fresh fruits from the orchard. We did home-canning in glass Mason jars so that we could have preserved fruits and vegetables during the winter months. We ate quail, dove, deer and other game animals killed on the ranch as well as some range-fed, range-finished beef. It was Our stress levels were low compared to living in a city. Thanks to our environment and nutrition, we slept soundly and woke up refreshed. People today are under constant stress that interferes with their body’s ability to rest and it is critical to structure your sleep environment in order to rest.
Everyone constantly talks about stress, but what is stress as it pertains to the human body?
Stress is the effect on the body. Stressors are what cause the impact of stress on the body. Stressors include not only mental and emotional stress, but also chemical-toxic stress, microbiological stress, structural stress (mostly from joint misalignments), noise and/or light-exposure stress and electromagnetic stress.
All forms of stress increase adrenaline, which is the fight-or-flight hormone, and which impairs deep delta-wave sleep (the type of sleep that regenerates damaged or worn-out cells or cellular components). All forms of stress cause excess release of cortisol from the adrenal glands, which weakens the immune system’s ability to detoxify and to combat infections. Excess cortisol also damages the parietal cells in the stomach lining, which results in the inability to produce enough hydrochloric acid and pancreatic enzymes to digest dietary proteins and other foods. Bile salts are not released from the liver ducts for absorbing fatty nutrients like vitamins A, E, K, EPA, DHA.
In order to have better sleep, one should avoid/reduce as many stressors as possible. Get free access to how you can achieve high quality restorative sleep by signing up for my Cowden Deep Sleep Plan.