Random House: Introducing Well Enough!
Introducing Well Enough
Wellness can mean many things: health, nutrition, mindfulness, cooking, spiritual, business, financial, emotional, parenting, relationships. We have experts in every area, sharing curated content for what matters to you. While the Well Enough name is new, it’s the same great content to help you start or deepen your wellness journey.This month’s newsletter highlights the ultimate in self-care: Sleep. A good night’s sleep can transform your life, so read on for how to build the perfect before-bed routine.
REST TO REMEMBER
Sleep is when your brain gets to work—filing away the day’s memories, clearing out unnecessary information, and resetting your system for a fresh start in the morning. Without this essential time, the brain gets backlogged and can suffer. In this excerpt from her new book, Lisa Genova—a neurologist and bestselling author of Still Alice— discusses the importance of sleep to memory.EXCERPTIf big pharma came out with a pill tomorrow that could improve your memory and significantly lower your risk of Alzheimer’s, would you take it? How much would you pay for that medication? Well, we already have it. It’s called sleep.Assuming a nightly slumber of eight hours (fully realizing that many of us don’t regularly get this much), we humans spend a third of our lives asleep. If you’re lucky enough to live to the age of eighty-five years old, then you’ll have spent 245,280 hours asleep. That’s the equivalent of 28 full years sleeping! If you’re 50, that means you’ve already spent 16 years of your life asleep.
That’s sixteen years of not reading, not working, not thinking, not socializing, not playing, and not loving. Similarly, animals aren’t hunting, eating, mating, or grooming while sleeping. Why would humans and animals have evolved to devote so much time to doing nothing?The answer lies within the question. Sleep is not an optional state of doing nothing. It’s not a passive, blank slate state of unconsciousness, a pathetic period of rest for the unmotivated, an unfortunate waste of time, or even simply the absence of wakefulness. Sleep is a biologically busy state, and it’s vital to your health, your survival, and for you to function optimally. Sleep is clearly doing something super powerful.With respect to memory, if you don’t get seven to nine hours of sleep tonight,
- Your frontal cortex neurons will be sluggish tomorrow, hampering your ability to pay attention and therefore to encode important new memories
- You won’t as clearly and completely remember what you learned and experienced yesterday
- You’ll see no improvement in your golf swing, despite yesterday’s lesson and eighteen holes
- You might prematurely max out on what you can learn today
- You might be increasing your risk of developing Alzheimer’s
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Penguin Random House ▸
A CUP OF CALM
Mom always said a warm cup of milk before bed would help you get to sleep. Take mom’s bedtime advice to the next level with this delicious recipe from Vibrant Botanicals that includes relaxing lavender and the sleep- and brain-enhancing benefits of ashwagandha.
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 teaspoon ashwagandha powder
- 1 tablespoon dried lavender buds
- ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- Honey for sweetening
In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, whisk together the milk, ashwagandha, lavender, and nutmeg. Stirring constantly, heat the milk until warm and pleasant to drink, about 135°F.Strain the milk through a fine-mesh sieve into two mugs, discarding the spent herbs. Stir in honey to your liking, and enjoy warm.
Vibrant Botanicals provides recipes for helping you feel your best when using herbal infusions. You’ll discover how cacao and licorice naturally awaken the body and can be incorporated into granolas, beverages, and breakfasts to jump-start your day. Whether you are looking to fortify digestion, lift your spirits, or just enjoy a good night’s rest, Vibrant Botanicals provides the natural solution, through nourishing and herbal-rich recipes. READ MORE »
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GOOD SCENTS
The relaxing aromas of peppermint, lavender, and chamomile come together in this serene sleep spray recipe from Dr. Mariza Snyder’s The Essential Oils Menopause Solution. Mix together, spray on your pillow, breathe in, and enjoy sweet dreams.
Serene Sleep Spray
8 drops Lavender essential oil8 drops Cedarwood essential oil4 drops Vetiver essential oilDistilled water or witch hazelSpray your pillow and bedclothes as well as the air in your bedroom.
Your body is always changing. During menopause, however, declining ovarian function and fluctuating hormones often clash with environmental toxins, stress, and digestive distress, leading to the symptoms we have been told we should expect. But as women’s hormonal health expert and bestselling author Dr. Mariza Snyder explains, you can and deserve to experience a good night’s sleep, clear thinking, an energized metabolism, and more. The Essential Oils Menopause Solution will help you reclaim vibrant, optimal, and long-lasting health. READ MORE »
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TUCK YOURSELF IN
Falling asleep is hard when you have a lot on your mind. Here’s an exercise to help quiet the noise within at the end of the day—or even in the middle of the night—from The Mindfulness Journal by Corinne Sweet.
EXCERPT
Go to Sleep
This guided meditation is a good way to get to sleep, even in the middle of a restless night.Lying in bed, put your hands on your abdomen, palms down. Close your eyes and breathe in and out. Focus on your breath. Let the bed take your weight. Sink into it.Flatten your lower back into the bed. Let your jaw loosen and open your mouth wide as if you are about to yawn. If this brings on a real yawn, let it surface.Bring your attention to your toes, one by one, then the soles of your feet, your ankles, and up to your calves. Move your attention up your body: your knees, thighs, hands. Feel them all heavy on the bed.Continue upwards, bringing your attention to your solar plexus, under your diaphragm. Let your breath in here several times.
Move your attention up your body to the chest area, and think of it widening and opening as air comes in. Move on to your arms: feel that they are heavy and relaxed.Finally, bring your attention to your neck, face, and head. Allow your mouth to slacken. Feel your head as a heavy weight on the pillow, and your shoulders sinking into the bed.Drift off to sleep.
A fluttering in the chest, constant worrying, sleepless nights with your breath squeezed from you. One in four people suffer from anxiety, and the symptoms can feel overwhelming. But you can take control. Let psychologist Corinne Sweet help you on your way to eliminating anxiety with this journal full of inspiring quotes, grounding facts, soothing exercises, and writing prompts. Practical and uplifting, the perfect size to carry around with you, this journal is an indispensable companion on your journey to a peaceful mind. READ MORE »
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BONUS OFFER
Purchase your copy of Essential Oils to Boost the Brain and Heal the Body and upload your receipt information to receive a bonus chapter, recipe, sleep checklist, application strategies, and a live Q&A!LEARN MOREUpload your receipt information for Essential Oils to Boost the Brain and Heal the Body (one (1) copy of the book–hardcover or e-book from any retailer made on or before April 1) and enter your email address, to receive a free downloadable bonus pack of recipes. Must be 18 years of age or older at the time of entry.
Purchase your copy of Vibrant Botanicals and upload your receipt information to download a bonus chapter of recipes!