sleep Archives - Kitchen of Youth

There are many reasons why you should add reishi mushrooms to your diet. Scroll down to learn why you really need to add this powerhouse of a superfood to your daily routine.

Reishi is amazing. It’s a Chinese herb and a mushroom that acts as a superfood. In Chinese medicine, we use it for longevity support and we take it every day. It is available in many different forms, so you can choose the one that works best for you and your needs. This powerhouse of an herb has been used in China for over 2000 years, and is still widely used today.

The Chinese name for reishi is Ling Zhi. It’s also known as Ganoderma. But, whatever you call it, it is like the rockstar of Chinese herbs. This medicinal mushroom really can make a huge difference in your overall health. It’s often referred to as the herb of spiritual potency and it is taken to develop strength, power, longevity, and overall health and well-being.

Reishi comes in many forms. I use a powdered form in teas and smoothies and bowls. There are also elixirs and tinctures available. Also sometimes I like to take a reishi spore oil capsule before bed.

Reasons To Take A Reishi Supplement

1. Reishi Calms The Mind

This is my favorite reason to take a reishi supplement. In Chinese medicine there is a category of herbs that are used to calm the spirit and nourish the heart. This amazing mushroom is one of them. It helps calms anxiety and restlessness and can have a general calming effect if taken regularly. I have a big jar of reishi mushroom powder in my kitchen and I add a spoonful to something almost everyday.

2. Reishi Helps With Sleep

This goes along with the mind-calming effects of reishi. For many years, this mushroom has been used to calm the mind and promote sleep when taken before bed. If you are someone who wakes up or has restless sleep because of excessive dreaming, this may help you. I like to keep a bottle of reishi spore oil capsules on my nightstand.

3. Reishi Is Good For Heart Health

In Chinese medicine, we consider Ling Zhi/Reishi to be a longevity herb. This is one main reasons to add reishi to your diet. A little bit goes a long way to keeping you healthy. It’s used by eastern practitioners to help with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and coronary artery disease. For this purpose, I like to recommend making a reishi tea and drinking it on a regular basis.

4. Reishi Boosts Your Immune System

This powerhouse of a mushroom can help with asthma, coughs, and sinus conditions. It can be help with both viruses and bacterial infections. Research has also shown that when used together with traditional cancer therapies, it can help with overall immunity. When this healing benefit became more widely accepted, the price of reishi soared here in the United States.

For more info on how to boost your immune system, you can download my free ebook here.

5. Reishi Can Help With Diabetes

This amazing mushroom has been shown to help lower blood glucose levels in diabetic patients. There is still a lot of research being done on this use and I’m excited to keep learning more about this.

More and more research is being done every day on the reasons to add reishi to your diet. I’ve been reading a lot about the positive effects it may have on the digestive system, specifically for gastric ulcers. I am looking forward to see where this goes…

Everyone is looking to improve their amount and quality of sleep. Here are 5 natural ways to sleep better that really work.

Sleep Is So Important

You can’t be optimally healthy without enough quality sleep. But, you can’t get good quality sleep unless you are healthy. It’s the epitome of a Catch-22. And really, what is more frustrating than not being able to fall asleep or waking in the middle of the night and having a hard time going back to sleep? Not much. But, don’t lose hope. There are many things you can do to help yourself sleep better, which will in turn give you more energy during the day and keep you healthier and feeling awesome.

Yes, I did say that there are many ways to improve your sleep. And there are. But, as with everything else involving food, herbs, and supplements, each person reacts differently to each method, each product, and each ingredient. This article focuses on 5 natural ways to sleep better that really work for almost everyone.

I would love to share all of the other ways with you too, but that’s better for a personalized one-on-one session so I can really delve into what’s going on in your wonderfully unique — albeit tired — body. We can even chat about it in a free phone consultation (I just love meeting all of you this way). So just CLICK HERE and you’ll be taken directly into my calendar where you can fill your name into a time slot that works for you.

Download your free copy of my Radiant Skin Ebook now!

Meanwhile, let’s get to these 5 natural ways to sleep better that really work.

Oh, and the reason I am specifically repeating that these are 5 natural ways to sleep better that really work, is because if you are like me, you’ve already tried a bunch of things that claim to do the trick, but…. ummmmm…. not so much…

Ugh. Sleep deprivation is the pits.

Let’s get this under control now.

Try All 5 Of These Natural Sleep Methods

1. Practice Sensory Deprivation In The Bedroom

Yeah, this sounds all sci-fi and tech-y, but it’s actually the opposite. In order for your body to be able to get into a completely restful sleep, your mind needs to be quieted. Quieting the mind is the hardest thing for many people to do. We spend our days running around, fixing problems, putting out fires, trying to be as productive as possible. And when we take our minds to a high level of thinking and productivity, it’s not possible to just turn them off.

So, what should you do?

First, examine your bedroom. Cover up any and all light sources. Cover the neon numbers on your cable box, the blinking light on anything that’s turned on, and make sure that there are no openings in your curtains or shades. Really, I mean NO light. Then, I want you to take it one step further: go buy a sleep mask. And wear it. Every night.

Next, put your cell phone outside of the bedroom. I know, this is hard for a lot of people, but here’s a way to make it easier: go into the settings on your phone and set the important people you are worried about missing an emergency call from as favorites. Then go into your privacy settings and set it up so that between the hours of 10:00pm and 8:00am, only calls and texts from favorites are allowed to come through. Now, you can turn the volume up on the phone so you can hear it from the bathroom, the hallway, or a nearby room. This should ease your mind so that you won’t be afraid of missing an urgent call.

Now, here’s a harder one, but try it: Get into bed about no more than an hour before you want to actually fall asleep. Don’t turn on the TV. Don’t bring your computer or phone with you. Read a book or a magazine, or meditate. The blue light from electronics activates your brain too much for sleep-prep. The longer you can cut yourself off from electronic screens before bedtime, the better you will sleep. And, just as an aside, you can buy a pair of blue-light-blocking glasses and use them for the latter part of the day when you are looking at a screen… this will help calm your mind also.

2. Take A Magnesium Supplement At Night

This really works if you are magnesium deficient… and so many people are. If you are already taking a magnesium supplement, you don’t need to take more, just simply take the supplement before bedtime at night instead of some other time during the day. If you are sure you are not magnesium deficient, then there’s no need for you to take magnesium.

There are many different kinds of magnesium supplements on the market. For sleep purposes, my favorite lately is Neuro Mag. I find that it helps promote sleep without effecting the digestive system. Be sure to check with your doctor to find out if there is a better type of magnesium supplement for your needs.

3. Drink Dark Cherry Juice

Dark cherries contain melatonin, which helps promote sleep. Sure, you can eat a bowl of cherries during cherry season, but my favorite thing to do is to buy a bottle of organic pure dark cherry juice, and drink an ounce or two before bed. Not only does this help with sleep, but it tastes really good and satisfies those nighttime sweet cravings.

In Chinese medicine, we also know cherries to be a longevity food that promotes general health.

4. Take Reishi Spore Oil At Night

Reishi is amazing. It’s a Chinese herb and a mushroom that acts as a superfood. In Chinese medicine, we use it for longevity support and we take it every day in many different forms. The Chinese name for reishi is Ling Zhi. It’s also known as Ganoderma. But, whatever you call it, it is like the rockstar of Chinese herbs. This medicinal mushroom calms the mind, reduces anxiety, relieves restlessness and boosts the immune system. Yup, it’s quite the multi-tasking shroom.

Reishi comes in many forms. I use a powdered form in teas and smoothies. There are also elixirs and tinctures available. But, for sleep, I recommend taking a reishi spore oil capsule before bed.

5. CBD Oil

CBD oil is being touted as the greatest thing since sliced bread. I’m kind of new to it. When clients started asking me my opinion about it, I knew it was time for lots of research and testing on my part. CBD oil is derived from the cannabis plant and has long been used for various types of pain relief. The main psychoactive compound in cannabis is Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) — this is not a part of CBD oil; there is no “high” associated with CBD.

So, I researched. And I tested.

And I tested again.

And again. Using myself and others as guinea pigs.

And, I’m here to tell you that CBD oil as a sleep aid is an awesome thing.

When taken in the correct amount, CBD can calm the mind and stop all of those racing thoughts. And if you can do this, you can sleep.

There is really no danger to trying it. I do know one person who didn’t like the way it made him feel, but there are no real side effects and, in almost every case, myself and my test subjects, slept better. A lot better.

You just need to play with the dosage a little bit because CBD oil is a multi-tasking oil. Whenever something is great for a variety of conditions, it will require different dosages to help with the condition you are aiming to help. You wouldn’t take the same amount of CBD for pain relief as you would for sleep. But, there are no hard and fast rules — you kind of have to play around.

The most common best dosage for sleep that I found, in the brand of CBD oil that I chose to use and test, was about a half of a dropper under the tongue before bed. For me, I tend not to have much trouble falling asleep, but I sometimes wake in the middle of the night and have some difficulty falling back asleep. I found that I didn’t need to take the CBD oil before bed, but if I take it when I wake up at 2:00am, it’s easy to fall back to sleep.

Please, if you decide to jump on the CBD bandwagon, look around and do some research because you need to make sure you buy a quality product from a reputable company. I’m happy to share my favorite brand with you — just ask me in the comments below and I’m happy to share.

Be Patient And These Sleep Aids Will Work

I know how hard it is to be patient. Especially if you are sleep deprived. But, like anything that’s worth it, these things take a little time to build up in your body. Some things, like the CBD may have a more immediate effect. Others, like the cherry juice, will have a great effect if you use them consistently every night.

So, be patient.

And, also, remember, I’m here to help. You can ask me a question in the comments below, or you can sign up for a free phone consultation with me. Either way, I’m here for you. Now, go get some rest. And relax.