1. Jujube Seeds, “Sleepy Seeds”
Suan Zao Ren are the seeds of the jujube fruit that we use in Chinese Medicine to calm down the mind and nourish the heart. These cute seeds have the same benefits as the fruit, but they can also be used to help stop sweating, as well as relieve insomnia and anxiety, so these sleepy seeds are great for relieving insomnia and especially menopausal insomnia which also produces the night sweats and the anxiety.
In Chinese Medicine, these sleepy seeds are so good for helping with insomnia that they are the main ingredient in a popular formula that we prescribe for insomnia, which is called Suan Zao Ren Tang. This formula has an awesome sedative effect on the body, so you can stay asleep during the whole night. It also helps to balance your hormones and because it nourishes your heart it also alleviates anxiety. This formula works by bringing your body back to balance, so if you are up all night sweating and pacing the floor with your mind going a mile a minute these sexy seeds can help you stop this vicious cycle. The nice thing about taking Suan Zao Ren Tang is that it brings your body back to balance and after a while you won’t have to keep taking it. One of the things that I like about taking Chinese herbs is that you take them until your body is back in balance and then you can stop. You don’t take them forever because they are addressing the core issue and solving it instead of just treating the symptoms.
You can purchase Suan Zao Ren Tang online or at your local acupuncture office. Purchase it and follow the directions on the back. It usually takes about 3 to 6 months to get your circadian clock back in balance, especially if you have been taking sleeping pills for a while.
2. Passion Flower, “Stops the Monkey Brain”
Have you ever had a problem going to sleep because your brain is running around in your head like a monkey bouncing all around with no rhyme or reason? You try to get it to stop, but it is difficult? This sexy flower has the ability to stop the overactive brain, so you can go to sleep and not stay up all night worrying or overthinking about your problems.
This beautiful flower can help you with nervousness and anxiety even during the day. If you suddenly get a sense of dread, or you are having palpitations because you are feeling anxious, you can get the monkey off your shoulder by having a nice cup of passion flower during the day. This tea does not cause any sleepiness. It just calms down the mind and gets the monkey to leave so you can relax and enjoy the present moment.
Passion Flower has also been helpful for women who suffer from high blood pressure during their pregnancy and for those who are just stressed and worried about things when they are pregnant. It will calm down the future mother and it will even help her to sleep when the baby is doing zumba or kickboxing in her uterus all night.
If your baby has colic they make a great homeopathic remedy for babies out of passion flower and valerian that will help you and the baby to sleep and will stop the colic.
If you are an overstressed person, I would recommend just indulging in a nice cup of this sexy tea when you get home so you can turn off the mind and enjoy your loved ones or for you just to have a Zen moment of serenity. Now don’t you think you will feel sexier when you don’t have the monkey running around in your head and you are just in a state of tranquility?
3. Lavender, "The Purple Wonder"
This beautiful flower is known for its intoxicating scent that has many medicinal qualities. We like to think that we need a pill to solve our problems but sometimes you might just need a nice cup of tea or a few drops of an essential oil to bring you back to balance. This purple wonder has so many applications; from adding it to your bath, for relaxation, to adding it to your baking for a scrumptious aromatic flavor.
Lavender essential oil is used for stress, anxiety, and insomnia. You can put a lavender sachet under your pillow so that when you smell the scent it helps you to calm down and go to sleep, or you can spray your sheets with the essential oil to give them a nice scent and a sense of relaxation to you when you climb inside for a slumber. If you really want to calm down after a stressful day, take a hot, Epsom salt bath with lavender essential oil followed by a cup of chamomile and lavender tea and then slide into those scented lavender sheets. You will feel like a queen because you have stimulated all your senses and have just gotten a sumptuous night's sleep. You got a good night’s sleep without a Tylenol PM that could potentially hurt your liver.
This purple power essential oil can also be used to help relax the muscles and alleviate pain. Lavender has a mild sedating effect on the muscles, so it will alleviate some of the tension of the day. Massage away the aches and pains before you take your Epsom salt bath because after the bath you will be too relaxed to do anything other than curling up and enjoying a snooze.
Lavender oil can also help with respiratory ailments and will clear the pathways and relax the bronchial lining, so you can add a few drops to your vaporizer before going to bed so that you are not disturbed by your own breathing. It is safe enough to be used in your children's room vaporizer, too. Imagine having a good night's sleep even though you suffer from Sleep Apnea. Try putting a few drops on your mask before bed and see if that helps you feel more refreshed. Imagine using a few lavender essential oil drops to alleviate your stress, pain, and respiratory issues and the only side effect is some sensuous pleasure.
You can purchase the dry lavender flowers to use in your bath, sachet, or tea or you can purchase the essential oil.
4. Gaba Powder - Gamma-Amino Butyric Acid,- “The Sleep Neurotransmitter”
It’s one of the sexy neurotransmitters of the brain. This transmitter acts to reduce communication between nerve cells and the brain to produce a sexy and calming effect. If you are suffering with anxiety and insomnia this neurotransmitter might be deficient and the symptoms will go away once you give your body enough Gaba to bring it back to its normal levels.
There are three other neurotransmitters of the brain and you can tell when they are deficient if you are suffering with the following symptoms:
1. Serotonin - Depression, anger, irritability, and always hungry. Tryptophan or 5Htp build up the serotonin in the body. 100-200 mg daily.
2. Dopamine - Feel like you have, “a cloud over your head” and you never feel a sense of joy. If your diet is high in sugar, you are killing your dopamine. Dopa-mucuna can help to bring it up. Take about 120- 240 mg daily.
3. Acetyl-Choline - It acts like a neuromodulator for the brain or like a battery to get the other transmitters to work. Lecithin helps to make choline which is one of the compounds to make acetyl choline. Take 1200 mg a day to keep the battery charged.
Gaba can help you to fall asleep easier by lowering the activity of the neurons in your brain and by stopping the constant chatter that makes you anxious instead of your sexy self.
The exciting news is that Gaba can also increase the amount of the human growth hormone in your body, which will help improve your sleep cycles and decrease the disruptions in your sleep so you can get a good, "full" night’s sleep and wake up refreshed and ready to enjoy your day.
Gaba also inhibits the transmission of pain impulses throughout the body and can help lessen chronic pain and the stress that is associated with it. Gaba is also used to improve your mood and especially with anxiety. If you are feeling depressed and not anxious I would use 5HTP for depression and Gaba for anxiety and insomnia. Imagine feeling sexier because you have turned off the chatter at night, got a good night sleep, and are not riddled with anxiety.
Gaba comes in powder, capsules, and liquid. It can be purchased online or at your health food stores. The daily dosage to help with sleep is 500-1000 mg an hour before bed and if you are interested in taking it for anxiety it is 250-500 mg 3 times a day.
Take it for anxiety and sleep in the supplements but all of us might want to add some of these foods that are high in Gaba to our diet so that you can keep this neurotransmitter nice and healthy. It is also important to eat foods that nourish the other 3 neurotransmitters of the brain.
The Top 15 Foods For Gaba
This list is organized from the most potent GABA foods to the least:
1. Almonds
2. Whole Wheat
3. Mackerel
4. Halibut
5. Whole grain oats
6. Beef liver
7. Walnuts
8. Rice Bran
9. Lentils
10. Brown Rice
11. Potato
12. Broccoli
13. Spinach
14. Banana
15. Orange
5. American Ginseng, “The Cool Ginseng”
This herb is truly red, white, and blue all the way through. It grows in almost all the states that are east of the Mississippi except for Florida. This homegrown herb is a general tonic for the body, but it is completely different than Korean Ginseng which is very warming and energizing to the body and will make you feel like you got a kick of energy. American Ginseng on the other hand cools the temperature of the body and at the same time it stimulates the brain. It helps you to focus and concentrate. It can also lower your blood sugar levels and it alleviates PMS and menopausal symptoms because it increases estrogen levels in your body.
Imagine an herb that can cool you down so you stop having hot flashes, insomnia, and helps keep your mind alert and active. This sexy herb is also able to help with circulation so if you have any numbness or limbs falling asleep, you might want to have a cup of American Ginseng tea before you go to bed, so you and your legs can have a restful night's sleep.
6. Kava Kava, "A Sleep aid "
This plant’s root grows in Hawaii and Polynesia and is used in many ceremonial dances. They chop up the root, and they make a drink out of it. This root has a wonderful sedative effect on the body, so it great for calming the body down when you are full of anxiety and stress. The Hawaiians value this herb so much that they say, "it is a gift from the Gods."
Kava Kava can cause your whole body to relax and reduce any kind of anxiety due to social settings and can be a safe way to be more social without using alcohol. It is also very beneficial for insomnia because of its mild sedative properties and because it also relaxes the muscles, so your mind and body will be sedated so you can go to sleep faster and have a better quality of sleep. You will wake up refreshed and you will not have a feeling of drowsiness or fogginess in the morning. You will wake up feeling bright eyed and bushy tailed.
This sexy herb is also a nice alternative to anti-anxiety medications because it helps to calm you down without impairing your judgment or ability to drive. In the bedroom, it can relax you and turn off all the voices running around in your head that are causing you to feel anxious.
This herb is really a gift from the gods because it will help you get your beauty rest and then it will help relax your anxiety whenever you have to be the, "Belle of the Party," or the "Networking Goddess." We all feel anxiety in certain social situations and many turn to alcohol to help alleviate the stress, but the problem is the next morning your head hurts, your eyes are all puffy, and sometimes you don't remember what you did the previous evening. Kava Kava will relax you, so you can shine without all the other yucky side effects of alcohol.
Kava Kava comes in a tincture, pill, or capsule and can be taken as needed. Please do not take it if you have any liver problems or if you are pregnant. Kava Kava is not addictive, so it is very useful for insomnia caused by menopause. When you finally start getting a really good night's sleep without narcotics you might want to have your own ceremonial dance to thank the gods for this blessed root.
7. Valerian Root, "Nature’s Valium"
This amazing root has been used for centuries to assist with sleep, stress, and nervousness. It was given to the soldiers to take during World War I, and German women used to use it as a coffee substitute to make them feel less stressed during World War II, and the British women used it as a soup base for themselves and their families to keep everybody feeling calm cool and collected. Thank God we are not in a World War but some of us are having our own World Wars to deal with. This root is not as strong as Kava Kava in knocking you out so you can get a good night's sleep, but it does help with calming you down so you can go to sleep.
Valerian Root alleviates stress, insomnia, palpitations, and pain. It also has a grounding and calming effect on the body. If you use it during the day just make note that you might feel drowsy and sleepy. There are many Homeopathic remedies that use valerian root to help with stress and insomnia. They usually mix the valerian root with passion flower, so you have the passion flower stopping the "Monkey Brain," and the valerian root to calm and sedate the central nervous system. Valerian root is very gentle to the body, so it is safe for children. There is a homeopathic remedy that most health food stores sell that is a mixture of valerian and passion flower and is made specifically for children. Now when the baby is up crying because they have colic or are teething and you are stressed out because you can’t get them to calm down, you both can take your valerian and go back to bed. Forget about taking two aspirin and calling the doctor in the morning. Instead, take some valerian and get a good night's sleep. You will feel better in morning and will be ready to jump out of bed feeling refreshed and grounded.
If you have been taking some strong sleep medications for a while, it will take your body several weeks to get over its dependency on the medication. In that case, I would recommend taking the Kava Kava with the valerian and passion flower until the dependency has stopped and then just taking the valerian regularly to assure that you get some sleep.
Valerian root has the mild sedative quality but it also produces Gaba for the brain, so you are getting a reduction to your nervousness but you are also building up the Gaba so you won't feel so anxious all the time. I think that is a win-win situation.
8. Bai Zi Ren, "A Spirit Tonic"
Bai Zi Ren is a seed that comes from the Biota tree that grows in China. This herb has many benefits but the one I like the most is that it can help calm nervous disorders. It does have a sedative effect like most of the other herbs in this section but this one also nourishes the heart, and in Chinese Medicine the heart is where the internal spirit resides.
When you nourish the heart you are also nourishing the spirit. The heart is affected and depleted by stress and anxiety. The heart replenishes when one gets a good night’s sleep. The heart will let you know it is in distress by giving you certain symptoms like palpitations, nervousness, or an anxiety attack. This is the heart’s way to tell you that it needs attention and loving tender care. The biota seed will make the heart sing because the heart likes a "Calm Spirit." This seed goes directly to the heart and gives it a big hug and lets it know that it is here and everything is going to be OK. Your anxiety medicine is just stopping the symptoms, but it is not resolving the core issue which is that your heart needs to be nourished and replenished. The funny thing is if you take herbs to help nourish the heart and the spirit, your symptoms will go away after a while and you will not have to keep on taking it for the rest of your life. I would also recommend eating foods that nourish the heart like tomatoes, adzuki beans, pomegranate juice, cranberry juice (Unsweetened and not from concentrate), beets, and if you really want to be daring, cow or pig’s hearts that they sell at Asian markets.
Bai Zi Ren also helps a weak memory or if you are having some short or long term memory loss. It helps to get circulation of blood and oxygen up to the brain and because these seeds are also made up of good fats, they help to nourish the brain and help it to function better. Our brain is basically made up of fat so it likes good fats like coconut oil, flax seed, fish oils, and biota seeds to keep it in optimal health.
These sexy seeds also help with hair loss because it is a general body tonic and the high oil content can help with constipation. Now don't you think that this is a sexy seed? It is a spirit tonic, memory booster, hair growth stimulator, and a bowel mover. You can never have too much of those in your diet except maybe the bowel mover.
It is contraindicated for people who have loose stools or diarrhea and for women that are pregnant, but for the rest of us we can feel calm from the inside of our hearts and not just sedated.
These seeds can be purchased at any Asian store or at your local acupuncturist. It is very nice to mix this one with Suan Zao Ren or with some Chinese dates to make it into a stronger tonic while also giving it a nice taste.
9. He Huan Pi, "Happiness Tree"
He Huan Pi is the bark off the Mimosa Tree that in China is called the "Collective Happiness Tree" because it helps to promote a sense of joy for you and your community when you drink it.
This sexy tree bark helps you if you are feeling sad, depressed, or full of grief and anger because it creates a sense of calm inside and helps you to find your inner joy so that you can feel peace even when you are under some of the emotional strain and stress.
He Huan Pi is also very good if you cannot fall asleep because you are feeling full of anger, frustration, or you just feel completely irritable all the time. You might want to partake of the tree of happiness during these times so you can get your joy back. He Huan Pi has a marvelous quality of allowing the mind to calm down while eliminating the extremes of the 5 emotions like worry, grief, anger, sadness, and fear. It primarily harmonizes the heart and when the heart is harmonized then the consciousness naturally opens to happiness without care. You will feel a sense of calm from your core, so things won't bother you so quickly and you will be able to get a good night's sleep.
This bark brings joy back to your mind, but it can also help the body to heal after trauma. If you have a broken arm or were in an accident, this herb helps your mind and body to heal at the same time so while you are convalescing you might want to receive the blessings of joy and repair.
The Mimosa flower is also called the Happiness Flower, so imagine planting this tree in your backyard and experiencing happiness just outside your back door and when you are not feeling the "the love or joy," all you have to do is go out to the tree and remove some of its bark and become your joyful self again. I think every family in the USA should have one of these Joyful trees in their yard and then we’ll see if we become a joyful nation again.
The "Joy" bark can be found at any Asian grocery store and look for one that is firm and does not have any holes in it. You can also go see your local acupuncturist, and she can prescribe it as a single herb, or she might mix it with some other herbs to create the perfect decoction for you.
10. Motherwort, “Gladdens the Heart”
This herb is native to Europe and Asia but was brought here by the colonists and has been used for women’s issues for a long time. I put it in this category because it alleviates insomnia due to menopause and the anxiety and tension surrounding it. This sexy herb calms the excess energy that is running around your body when you are in a state of anxiety. It calms the nervous system right down and even causes your heart rate to come down. This herb is a “nervine tonic,” and a “cardiac tonic” all in one, so afflictions of the heart and nervous system can all find rest in the leaves of motherwort. They will embrace you and gladden your heart. There is an alkaloid called “leonurine” which is a mild vasodilator, mild diuretic, and an antispasmodic, so it stops the palpitations, sweating, and the raised blood pressure, and brings you back to a state of peace.
This herb should be taken as a tincture to induce sleep and then by taking half that dose during the day to help with energy and anxiety free during the day.
If you suffer with Hyperthyroidism and cannot find relief for your insomnia, or if you have high blood pressure and you are always feeling like you are on hyper-drive, you might want to take a few drops of the tincture during the day. A few drops will help you to feel centered and grounded in a few minutes.
Sometimes anxiety is our heart’s way of saying that we have not been listening to what we truly desire out of life. This wonderfully sexy herb can bring us some stillness and sleep so that we can hear our inner voice more clearly.
Imagine not feeling so anxious, getting a good night’s sleep and feeling grounded enough to listen to your own inner wisdom. You will feel like a sexy Zen Master because you will have a sense of peace all the way from the tip of your head to your sexy tippy toes. Now don’t you think inner peace and motherwort are sexy?
11. “Dragon Bone”
These bones are very high in calcium, potassium, and all your essential minerals. We use this pulverized powder to calm the spirit, especially if someone is in a manic state or manic/depression. We usually mix the bones with other herbs to help bring down the mania and calm the spirit.
Dragon bone can also help if your manic episode causes you insomnia, night sweats, stress, or excessive perspiration. Some people don't do very well on bi-polar medications so if you are having problems you might want to consider seeing an acupuncture physician to help you because the herbs can stop the manic episodes without causing the zombie effect that happens when you go on the medications. The Chinese Herbs will help to stop the manic episodes by giving your body what it is missing and giving you a sense of serenity from the inside out. Now that is something that should put a smile on your face. Calmness without zombieness: now don’t you think that is sexy?
The Chinese herbs are very helpful for stress, hysteria, and mania because they help bring the body back to balance. They will take a little longer to work, but their job is not to just sedate the symptoms but to get to the core of the issue so that you can feel calm, balanced, and sexy from the core of your being.