Healthy Living for Real People
Ann Malkmus
Secrets To A Healthy Sleep
Jan 26th
In our last post, Ann shared how stress became a major factor affecting her health.
What we saved until today is that insomnia plays an important part, too!
Watch the video to see how it all works together (and how we’re finding answers the problems) — then scroll down to see Ann’s list of tips for a good night’s sleep… including the one thing almost nobody does!
Ann’s Tips For Good Night’s Sleep
- Create your own pre-sleep ritual that goes beyond your normal teeth brushing and other practical activities.
- Design your bedroom primarily to support good sleep. Keep it clean and uncluttered.
- Have complete control of the lighting in your bedroom. Be able to make the room totally dark.
- Avoid turning on the light if you have to go to the bathroom. Any bright light will shut off melatonin production.
- Listen to relaxation CDs with nature sounds such as the ocean or forest.
- Dim the lights in your house around 8:00 pm. Light stimulates the release of cortisol and shuts down the release of melatonin.
- Stop watching TV or using your computer by 8:00 pm.
- Avoid snacking just before bedtime, particularly grains and sugars.
- Keep the temperature in your bedroom no higher than 70 degrees F.
- Wear socks to bed.
- Eat a snack high in plant-based protein several hours before bed (like Hallelujah Acres’ Raw Non-dairy Blueberry Cheesecake).
- Keep electrical devices as far away from the bed as possible; their electromagnetic fields (EMF) can disrupt your nervous system’s electrical currents.
- Avoid foods that you are sensitive to.
- Don’t drink any fluids within two hours of going to bed so you won’t have to get up to go the bathroom.
- Take a hot bath, shower or sauna before bed if you have trouble falling asleep.
- Writing in a journal may be helpful if you often lay in bed with your mind racing.
- Remove your clock from view.
- Have your adrenals checked by a good natural medicine clinician.
- If you are menopausal or peri-menopausal, consult a recommended natural medicine physician. Hormonal changes at this time may cause problems if not properly addressed.
- Make sure you are exercising regularly.
- … and the tip that almost no one does: Don’t change your bedtime (ideally around 10 pm)!
Your turn…
What’s your best tip for a good night’s sleep?
Click to comment!
My #1 Health Enemy
Jan 24th
Ladies, it’s Ann here. We’re going to do another post just for you!
As you will see in a video interview this Thursday, I’ve been struggling through a few health issues in the last year or so.
I mentioned the thyroid issue in our last post and there are some other nagging little matters on top of that; but I’ve discovered an interesting similarity between all of them.
As I sat down to figure out where I was going wrong (I knew it couldn’t be my diet), I wrote down each ailment and listed the contributing factors of each one.
Guess what?
The common denominator was stress!
Sure, there were lots of other reasons why I was not feeling 100%, but stress was a major, contributing factor to every one of my health issues!
And don’t let anyone tell you that stress won’t affect you — I mean you as a woman, specifically.
One recent survey from the UK found that women are twice as likely to consider their stress levels out of control compared to men. Boy, I can sure vouch for that one!
In fact, if left unchecked, stress can lead to a variety of serious problems:
- Mental health disorders, like depression and anxiety
- Obesity
- Heart disease
- High blood pressure
- Abnormal heart beats
I’m now analyzing my life to eliminate as much stress as possible (I’ll share more in the video on Thursday).
Until then, I invite you to sit down and critique your own health and see if you found stress to be a major factor like I did. You may be surprised!
Your turn…
What’s your #1 health enemy?
Click to comment!
Maca Is A Girl’s Best Friend
Sep 1st
Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend… but they’re useless for hot flashes!
Hi ladies, Ann here.
With the 2011 Women’s Retreat just around the corner (Oct 20-22), I thought we should dedicate one of our blog posts to just us girls.
Girls with menopause, specifically.
(Guys, if memory serves, I believe football season is about to start, so Google that for a bit while we ladies talk.)
I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a rough time with this little “life change” shenanigan nature plays on us. I’ve had all the symptoms, and I’ve tried everything to stop them.
Then a little birdie told me about maca.
If you know about maca, you know it’s the greatest thing since sliced Ezekiel 4:9 bread.
If you’ve never heard of it, here’s the short version: maca is a root from the Andes mountains (Peru/Bolivia) that nourishes and strengthens your endocrine system, which in turn helps balance your hormones.
It’s a menopause God-send!
In addition to superior nutrition through The Hallelujah Diet, I take maca every day now and it has two significant impacts:
- I had been experiencing two cycles per month (peri-menopause); since I’ve been taking maca, I’m back down to one cycle per month.
- Maca balances my agitation. It improves my mood and increases my patience.
Paul says maca is best thing to happen to our marriage! (Very funny, babe.)
There are lots of maca products on the market now. So, if you decide to take it like I do, make sure you choose one that includes only pure maca root (some companies also include other parts of the plant, but only the root is medicinal).
If you want to know more, contact me and I’ll help in any way I can. 
Make Life Simpler With A Salad Box
Nov 3rd
When you come home from work the last thing you want to do is chop up a bunch of veggies for a salad. We feel the same way, which is why we invented “The Salad Box.”
The salad box is a simple concept we created so that we could have pre-cleaned, pre-cut veggies ready to go whenever we wanted – and it’s all in one handy box that fits in our refrigerator. It brings the convenience of a salad bar into your own home! You know everything is fresh and cleaned… because you did it!
All you have to do is get a large, clear, plastic under-the-bed style storage box and several smaller boxes to fit inside. All your veggies will fit into the smaller boxes, one type of veggie per box. Put them all in the larger box and you have a mini salad bar ready to go in your own refrigerator.
We searched high and low for boxes that would fit inside an average refrigerator. The best, large box can be found at Target stores, and the little boxes that go inside are available at Walmart. Watch our salad box video for details.
Here’s how it works. Simply buy 4-5 days’ worth of veggies, seeds, nuts, water chestnuts or anything you’d normally put in salads, stir frys, or pita wraps. Designate an hour on one evening to wash and prepare all the ingredients and put them in the smaller boxes within the large salad box and you’ll have everything ready to go whenever you wish for several days and even up to an entire week!
The salad box saves a lot of time and makes dinner prep a lot less stressful. Watch part 1 and part 2 of our salad box videos for all the details! We also demonstrate this concept during our 60 Days to Reclaim Your Health program.
PS – Join the Malkmus family this weekend! Join us this Friday and Saturday at Hallelujah Acres! Includes An Evening of Food Prep with Rhonda Malkmus, Rev. Malkmus’ world-famous, FREE God’s Way to Ultimate Health Seminar, plus Paul and Ann’s “Where Do I Go From Here?” class!
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