Sleep: Why Is it So Important?

by | affirmations, detoxification, dust mites, electromagnetic radiation, EMF, health, high frequencies, indoor air quality, indoor environmental health, mould, radiofrequencies, sleep, stress

Do you struggle to get a good night’s sleep?

Many people do these days, and this can have a bigger impact that just feeling sleepy all day, or perhaps being on the caffeine-cycle. Ironically, according to apps on our devices, there is an “insomnia epidemic.”

When you are tired, you don’t function so well – your mood is off, your tolerance levels are down, you are easily agitated or stressed. As well, over time, this can deplete you and your immunity is also affected.

Why is Sleep so Important?

Sleep is incredibly important as it is the time that we heal and recover from our day – in preparation for the next day. Sleep is when we detoxify, when we create melatonin (a hormone which has an antioxidant effect) and when we rest.

It is one of the most important physiological functions we do, in my opinion.

What Affects Sleep?

There are many factors that can impact sleep. Some of these are:

  • Stress
  • Eating too late
  • Caffeine
  • Conversation
  • Poor sleep hygiene
  • Environmental stressors

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Did You Know…?

Did you know that if you use your device for two hours in the evening that it affects the quality of your sleep; melatonin production; your mood, attention and accuracy the following day?

Research links this to the short-wave light emitted from the LED lights inside our devices (Green, et al, 2017). I wonder if there is more to it, and the use of these devices on wi-fi or 3G/4G/5G is also playing a role.

What Can I Do to Improve My Sleep?

I am going to focus purely on environmental stressors here…

1) Promote melatonin production – ensure your bedroom is dark. If this isn’t possible, it would be worth using an eye shade. 

2) Reduce the radio frequency electromagnetic energy (RF EME) – turn off your mobile phone and wi-fi router

3) Reduce indoor air contaminants – remove scented reeds and candles from your bedroom

4) Minimise exposure to allergens – use a silk pillowcase to reduce issues with house dust mites (HDM)

5) Reduce your exposure to biotoxins – address any mould in your home

Still Concerned?

Then contact me and we can arrange a
Virtual Indoor Environmental Health Assessment
to assess and address stressors in your environment.

 

References

Green, A, Cohen-Zion, M, Haim, A & Dagan, Y (2017) Evening Light Exposure to Computer Screens Disrupts Human Sleep, Biological Rhythms and Attention Abilities Chronobiology International (Online) Available at https://doi.org/10.1080/07420528.2017.1324878 (May 2017) 

#sleep #indoorenvironmentalhealth #environmentalstressors

 

Building Biology? What is it?

by | building biology, buildings and health, environmental sensitivities

Building Biology??

In a nutshell, Building Biology is the science of the way that a building impacts upon your health.

Building Biology, for me, is another set of skills that I can use to improve the health and wellbeing of you – my client.

Sleeping Well – Or Are You?

In my work as a Chinese medicine practitioner, I've had many people tell me that they sleep well. However, a large percentage of them wake up feeling tired.

This can be caused by electromagnetic fields (EMF). EMF can prevent a person from fully resting at night-time, resulting in waking up tired.

The “big picture” view of this is that your body does not get the opportunity to heal properly and regenerate for the next day.

Of course, there are many other aspects to the way that EMF can impact upon your health. Some other examples are:

  • Grinding or clenching your teeth
  • Ringing in your ears
  • A sense of being agitated or restless

Headaches? Frequent Colds? Finding It Hard To Focus Your Thoughts?

Again, your home or workplace could be impacting upon your health.

These can all be caused by the quality of your indoor air.

Did you know that on average, we spend 80-90% of our time indoors.

What is more, indoor air can be 10 times more polluted than outdoor air.

Astounding, I think.

You’ve seen the advertisement where her animal friends compliment Mrs Hippo about the lovely smell of her home? By using the product that she advocates, you are actually ADDING to the indoor air pollution.

Air fresheners act in two ways:

  1. They coat an air pollutant – they don’t get rid of them; and
  2. They inhibit your ability to smell – which means that they are changing your body’s normal functioning.

Mould also contributes to the pollution of indoor air. Mould does not have to be visible to be a problem.

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are released into the air from building materials, furnishings, plastics, personal care products and cleaning products. They often have a large impact upon the indoor air quality, and because of their constant presence can contribute to a general feeling of being unwell.

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What About A New Building?

All too often people laugh off the idea of mould, “My building is brand new!,” they scoff.

However, there have been enough brand new buildings that I have assessed, some that haven't even been lived in yet, that have mould issues.

With an understanding of building science, embodied energy, life cycle analyses and the ways that building materials and furnishings behave with regards to indoor air quality and EMF’s, I am able to advise you on choosing products that are beneficial to your health – whether it be at home, at school or at work.

How Do I Know If I Need A Building Biologist?

You may relate to many of the symptoms discussed above.

Another really clear sign that something within a building that is affecting you is when you feel better once you are out of it.

This of course is different to feeling good because you are not at work (sadly not everyone loves their work as much as I do!). But if your symptoms ease off or disappear when you are out of the building and return when you are there again, we can certainly suspect the building.

Some examples:

“Bob” had a raging headache that became a severe migraine through the day when he was at work. However, by Sunday evening it had eased off. As soon as he got back to work it returned and increased in severity. This happened for three weeks. Then he found out that a “smart” meter had been installed three weeks earlier.

“Samantha” felt “off” every day, she felt that she always had a cold that never quite eventuated. Like Bob, on weekends, she felt fine. It turned out that there was a problem with the quality of the air at her workplace.

“Peter” moved into a new home. After living there for a short period of time, his friends noticed that he was emotional and angry, seemingly without cause. His new home was full of mould.

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What to do…

“Sick Building Syndrome” is a term that describes the negative health effects of a building upon the health of the occupants.

If you suspect there is something going on, then we can help you!

We have a cost- and time-effective solution – that we can only offer due to Lucinda's extensive experience and training:

A Virtual Indoor Environmental Health Assessment

Book Yours Now >>