Three Things You Can Do to Get a Good Night’s Sleep

Who doesn’t love to wake up from a good night’s sleep refreshed and raring to go? However, many of us wake up feeling tired and foggy. We can barely make it into the kitchen for that first cup of java. Why is that?

It could be just a matter of getting to bed earlier. But, sometimes our sleep environment has a negative affect on us rather than a nurturing one.

Here are three steps you can take to create a more nurturing sleep environment.

1. Eliminate Dust

Dust accumulation can wreak havoc with allergies and asthma. I don’t just mean dust on your furniture but also in carpets and bedding. Dust mites, which are microscopic bugs, live in the dust and thrive on mattresses, upholstered furniture, carpets and rugs. They feed on organic matter like shed human skin and their waste can induce allergic reactions. So,   launder bedding and vacuum or sweep regularly. Speaking of bedding…

2. Get Rid of Synthetic fiber linens

Polyester is a versatile, wrinkle free fabric.  But, it has its minuses including outgassing volatile organic compounds that negatively affect our health and how well we sleep.

Imagine breathing in combinations of petrochemical derivatives and formaldehyde – a known human carcinogen – at least 6 hours every night.

3. Turn off electronics

I know. I know. Who wants to turn off all of their clock radios, computers, etc. But, various studies have shown that the electromagnetic fields do affect our sleep as well as our overall well being. So, when your body is in the healing stage which is when we sleep why not give it an extra boost. Try unplugging your modem and not sleeping near a wall with outlets.

Just these three steps can make a difference in your quality of sleep.

Sweet dreams!

3 Mistakes We Make When Buying a Home

As we all know, there is more to buying a home than just curb appeal. We want it to have the perfect floor plan and be aesthetically pleasing.Yet, there are some features that we tend to want but perhaps should think twice about that can lead to some major mistakes. Three of them follow:

1.    Too close to major highways, thoroughfares.

Many people are pleased to find a home close to the major streets and freeways. They believe that the convenience of quickly getting in to the flow of traffic and being able to pull up in their driveway soon after getting off the freeway is great.

But is it really?

With the number of vehicles in our major cities being in the millions and rising steadily, air pollution from car exhaust is sky rocketing. Although our government has set car emissions standards over the years and a number of those emissions have decreased, that’s just a start. We still have to deal with an incredible amount of pollution from car exhaust and gas stations which negatively impacts our health.

So, although close proximity to area freeways and highways may seem great, its affect on our health is anything but.

2.    Too close to commercial areas

Just like our first mistake, this too can be a whopper. With many wonderful shops and businesses to choose from, people flock to the area commercial center. With them comes the exhaust from their cars as well as delivery trucks that haul the precious sought after goods, and the stations that are strategically placed to make it easy for refueling. Some of the businesses may even be sources of problematic goods. Again, pollution rears its ugly head.

Then, there’s the inside of the home.

3.    Newly remodeled

Ahhh! To find a beautifully decorated home with fresh paint, carpeting, and woodwork that fits our tastes is a dream come true. We don’t have to do it ourselves. We just move in. 

But, this dream can quickly become a nightmare. Many of the paints that are used fill the home with volatile organic compounds which are detrimental to our health.

The same is for carpeting especially those with synthetic fibers and/or backing. Carpeting is a veritable sink hole. It harbors what ever is in the atmosphere of the home – dust, dirt tracked in from outside, grime, and indoor fumes and odors – only to be re-released into the air.

Cabinets and shelves are also potentially harmful if made of particleboard or stained with toxic substances. Many times these items contain and outgas chemicals such as formaldehyde – a known human carcinogen according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services –  for many months, sometimes years.

These are just three of many other factors to consider that I plan to touch on at a later date.

You are welcome to share any experiences you’ve had when purchasing a home that seem to be contrary to popular ideas when it comes to health.

Simplicity or Complexity

Which Do You Think Is the Shortest and Easiest Path to Elegant Living?Many times we believe that happiness, joy and elegance come from the more complex things in life like riches, fame, and lots of material things. The simple seems just plain boring.Yet, some of the most beautiful things in life are just plain simple.

We can start with a few of our basic senses to explore this concept.

Sights

For instance, let’s look at furniture. Man with his ingenuity has come up with wonderful ways to make furniture that conforms to our needs and our budget. He has learned how to take particle board, pieces of wood, and some other interesting ingredients thrown in to make a functional and many times a visually appealing piece.

But, is it truly better than the simple chair made solely from a tree? If you take a look at the functionality, beauty, and quality of the piece most times the simple, natural, solid wood chair outlasts and outperforms the more processed chair. All these without the outgassing of chemicals that were used to make the more complex chair.

Smells

Let’s take another example: fragrance. We all seem to love that which smells good. We enjoy scented laundry detergent, scented fabric softener, decorative fragrance dispensers, etc. But, which do you prefer, the fragrance of the decorative plug-in or the alluring aroma of a rose?

Tastes

Or how about a store-bought, frozen peach cobbler? They usually come with quite a list of ingredients added to maintain flavor and freshness. Contrast that with the taste of a home-made cobbler made with fresh peaches, pure cane sugar, pure vanilla extract, cinnamon, and a flaky handmade crust. Or better yet, just a sweet, juicy peach. Which of these taste better?

The next time you have a choice between the complex and the simple, try the simple.

I’d love to hear about some of your simple preferences.