by Associate Clinician Megan Kitchie
Did you ever stop to think about what happens in your body when you go to sleep at night?
After a day filled with activity or rest, food choices (both good and bad), encouraging conversations and stressful moments, you lie down at night and your body takes inventory of everything it encountered throughout the day. It uses this time to heal, restore and detoxify. While you sleep, your body works very hard, and for that reason these hours are critical.
During this time, the body is quite vulnerable to external stresses including electromagnetic frequencies from electronics and appliances, including cell phones, tablets, laptops, FitBits, TVs, DVD players, lamps, fans and even Sleep Number beds – anything that either plugs into an electrical outlet or gives off a wireless signal. Because God created us to be electromagnetic beings, these electromagnetic frequencies, or EMFs, are disruptive to the body’s ability to heal. In some individuals, we see evidence of that stress in symptoms such as restless sleep, insomnia, anxiety, or feeling lethargic, groggy and unrested in the morning. While some individuals are more symptomatic than others, all of us are affected by these EMFs.
So what do we do to ensure that our bodies maximize this critical healing time?
First, move as many electronics & other appliances out of the bedroom as possible. At the very least, be sure that they are a minimum of 8 feet away from you while you sleep. If you need your cell phone as an alarm, put it across the room and leave it unplugged. Charge it while you get ready in the morning instead of during the night. If you have a TV or computer in your bedroom, give careful consideration to relocating it to another room in your home.
Second, unplug any electrical appliances that can’t be moved out of the room: lamps, air conditioning units, fans, radios, computers, TVs, etc. And NEVER sleep with an electric blanket, as this surrounds the body with EMFs all night long!
Third, limit time spent on the phone or computer in the evening hours, and unwind by reading a book rather than a tablet. This allows the autonomic nervous system to more effectively transition into its parasympathetic “resting mode.,” Electronics give off blue light, which stimulates the brain and prevents it from winding down. You may find that you fall asleep out of exhaustion; however, this won’t be a restful, restorative sleep that facilitates healing. Healing is our goal.
Finally, consider investing in a Gia guard for your cell phone and other electronics. A Gia guard helps to neutralize the effects of EMFs so that they are less stressful to the body. These can be purchased at the Well of Life and are a great investment, especially in this digital age in which we live.
I once had a client come in with the symptom of insomnia. At only 34 years of age, she was on three different sleep medications – none of which were helping! She was desperate for a good night’s sleep. I talked to her about EMFs and asked her where her cell phone was while she slept. She said it was on her bedside table next to her. I told her how distracting that was to her body, and asked her if she’d be willing to move it out of the room. While she told me that she thought I was crazy, she was willing to do anything at that point! That evening, she slept through the night for the first time in years. She wasn’t convinced until this happened 3-4 consecutive nights. She was able to stop all of her sleep medications and now has no trouble sleeping! Amazing!
Your body won’t heal properly without restorative sleep, and you can’t get restorative sleep surrounded by EMFs. Give your bedroom and your nighttime routine a makeover! Make this investment in your health today!