NIGHT WAKING

Q: Just wondering if you are able to custom blend an herbal sleep combo for me? I am not sleeping for more than 4 1/2 consecutive hours and I feel that is diminishing my ability to cope as well as lowering my immunity. Something that does NOT include valerian... I am a night owl.

A: So the bad news is that our pineal gland dictates a circadian rhythm and the brain begins to use up the neurotransmitters and hormones allotted for the next day between 11 pm and 1 am. This is "second wind" some people notice. It, unfortunately, seems to have little to do with how long you sleep in. It dictates that we go to bed and be asleep by 11 pm!

I have noticed this phenomenon of night waking with:
* People who are postmenopausal (especially associated with needing to empty the bladder)
* People who used to use cannabis daily, or to go to sleep
* People who experienced a trauma that woke them from sleep

I do think it's hormonal in its mechanism.

WALNUTS! One remedy that a big good study demonstrated as more effective than sleep medication is a handful of raw walnuts an hour before bedtime! Nuts may contain nutrients our brain uses to make sleep hormone melatonin and sleep neurotransmitter serotonin. But foods and herbs we know contain so many perhaps undiscovered (or unnamed!) complex nutrients and synergies!

HAPPY TEA A great herbal tea blend for nourishing mood and mind is oat straw, nettles, red clover and raspberry leaf. Throw in some hibiscus for flavour, or peppermint during the day, and chamomile, lavender and rose petals at night. Hops increases sleep time and could be added to the tea, and a sachet of it made for your pillow.

ESSENTIAL OIL BLEND AND/OR HYDROSOL We have two blends we recommend for sleep Go To Sleep http://www.anarreshealth.ca/product/blend-go-sleep and No Worries (if mind keeps going, or there's anxiety) but we can make a blend specifically for you if you like. There's evidence that lemon, lavender and bergamot increase serotonin, but I bet a bunch of essential oils do if studied.

Take 1 tablespoonful of elderberry syrup. 1 teaspoon isn't an effective dose IMO.

Inhale oregano, don't ingest it. Ingesting oregano essential oil just kills your gut bacteria, and then they can't help you digest food, take in nutrients, or make brain chemicals for you. Eat or drink tea from the oregano herb, or inhale its vapours from the essential oil in hot water. Gargle with sea salt water to get rid of germs, including viruses in the mouth and throat.

Let me know what you feel might help. We can make an herbal tea blend or essential oil blend for you, or both.

PERFUMERY ALCOHOL
Q: What is the perfumery denatured alcohol that you sell sourced from? More specifically, I need to know if it is sourced from wheat or corn, etc?

A: It's Specially Denatured Alcohol (SDA) 40B https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denatured_alcohol There is no way of anyone knowing which crops were originally used. "Ethanol is a clear, colourless alcohol made from a variety of biomass materials called feedstocks (the raw materials used to make a product). Fuel ethanol feedstocks include grains and crops with high starch and sugar content such as corn, sorghum, barley, sugar cane, and sugar beets."

SUN SENSITIZING ESSENTIAL OILS IN BODY CARE PRODUCTS

Q: You write in your emailed workshops that essential oils can cause sensitization. How often should the choice of oil be switched to prevent this? For example, in a shampoo or moisturizer, should it be switched up each month/week, or should I prepare 2"options" and switch off every few days? Please guide me!

A: For shampoo or soaps, it is irrelevant because you wash it out. For a product that will go onto your skin or hair or scalp during daylight hours, you must avoid citrus, and citrusy smelling oils, unless these are labelled "sun-safe" or 5-fold.

INSTANT HAND SANITIZER

Q: is there a way to prepare an instant hand sanitizer using essential oils but no alcohol?

A: It depends on what you mean by "instant" and "hand sanitizer". Perhaps "just add 60% alcohol and 40% aloe vera gel" is instant-ish. We do sell a Bat Flu essential oil blend that is helpful. http://www.anarreshealth.ca/product/blend-bird-flu-aka-bat-blend-evidenc... Without a composition of 60% alcohol by volume, it is not a hand sanitizer. Soap and water - any soap that foams - is more effective than hand sanitizer, so you should wash your hands with soap and water whenever possible.