Hello!

Since March is National Sleep Month, I thought I might talk a little more about the importance of getting a good quality, 7-9 hours of sleep each night.

I could go into the MANY, MANY, MANY really bad things that can happen to you if you don’t get a good night’s sleep each night…, but I won’t.

Think of any list of nasties that can or will happen to you if you don’t… (fill in the blank!) and that’s what will, or perhaps will happen to you if you don’t sleep.

If you need to see this list, there are many YouTube videos, and Podcasts and Ted Talks that will describe in no uncertain terms that if you don’t sleep 7-9 hours each night, you might as well put your head between your legs and kiss your backside goodbye!

Honestly, nobody wants that kind of stuff to happen to them, their loved ones, or anyone for that matter. The problem is we all know this stuff and yet… why don’t you get 7-9 hours each and every night?

Good question.

Do you suppose if I wrote out a 4 or 5-page blog about all the horrible fates that possibly await you for lack of sleep that you would jump in bed right now? I doubt it. It will just make you feel bad and give you another “monster” that is out there to get you.

At Paragon Chiropractic we have an expression that we have been using for nearly 25 years or so, and it is simply this…,

“It’s not really a problem of what you “did”, but rather a problem of what you did not take the time to “undid!”

With everything concerning all of the boogey men that are out there waiting to do you in, they can all be held at bay by taking the time to “undo” those things.

Yes, this is rest and recovery. What’s the problem with hiking Camelback? Nothing if you “undo” the hike by resting and allowing your body time to recover. Get the idea?

What’s the problem with getting all stinky and dirty working in the garden if you simply take a shower and launder your dirty work clothes? Nothing.

Heck, even eating cookies, or drinking alcohol, or even smoking- if you take the time to “undo” the negative effects, and allow your body to clean out the bad and repair, you could probably do all three and not suffer too many ill effects. (Apart from cookies, I am NOT advocating the other two!)

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could do something, something very simple and easy that would “undo” and do so at a level that not only repaired and recovered, but left you better off than you were?

Let’s see if you can guess what I’m going to say next…. You got it, it’s sleep! Seven to nine hours of good quality sleep each night.

Space won’t allow me to go into all of the details and there are soooooo many books and tutorials, and lectures and YouTube videos to inform you of all the amazing stuff a good night’s sleep will do for you.  But it is absolutely amazing!

In the previous blog, I referenced Angie Nicolucci’s sleep tutorials (AngieNicolucci.com), and Matthew Walker, PhD’s book Why We Sleep.

You really should read these and check them out.

To this end, and to blow my own horn again and again, if you are not getting enough sleep, or the benefits therein, don’t just try to fix sleeping- look at your lifestyle. Your lifestyle will easily illuminate why you can’t sleep, and correction/modification should improve your ability to sleep. All too often people reach for pills or some other remedies to make them sleep without really looking at what lifestyle outpoint is the culprit. It would be like trying to fill a flat tire without first removing the nail and patching the hole.

These are the types of things we at Paragon Chiropractic would love to help you with. It’s almost to the point that if you are not sleeping 7-9 hours each night, any exercise, diet, or healthcare is probably a waste of time. Yeah, it’s that big of a deal.

Before I end off, I was talking to Angie the other day and she said that sleep should be considered the beginning of the new day, and not that thing we do at the end of the day. Great way to look at it.

Yeah, 7-9 hours of good quality sleep is that big of a deal- it starts you on the right path as you start your day. This coupled with spending time outside and touching, with your bare feet or hands, the earth- wow…, I can’t think of any better medicine for what ails you, or might ail you someday.

Again, I would love to talk to you about the importance of sleep, and help you make the lifestyle corrections necessary to connect once again with the natural world!

Take Care,

Dr. Dave

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