Biorhythms as a Key to Wellness
To be in bed by 10 p.m. is one more way I have found to combat the effects of my particular autoimmune disease, Graves disease. For the past year I have been adhering to this strict bed time, and combined with all of the other things I have used to self treat my disease I have remained stable and off medication for close to six months now. If you have been following my blog and you know how curious I am for information, how this bed time came to be part of my daily schedule may not surprise you. However, what I discovered that convinced me to stick to it may surprise you quite a bit.
Let’s flash back to the summer of 2013. There I was, an autoimmune hyperthyroid mess - emaciated, shaking, exhausted, stressed, and just stepping onto the rollercoaster of emotions that would very soon strap me in and take me on a not-so-thrilling ride that was extremely difficult to get off. I had endless questions that needed answers. These questions not only made it difficult to fall asleep, but also difficult to stay asleep.
Rest is an extremely “rest-orative” process for the human body. Without it, well…we all have different adjectives for how lack of it can make us feel, and about a year ago I was feeling crappy, to say the least. The physical, mental, and emotional torment that would not allow me to fall asleep until I was so exhausted that my body had no other choice, was also regularly waking me up every night around 3 a.m. Why? Why? Why? I would mentally scream into my pillow. The sudden rush of anger at my own body would induce such a waking state that my night of “rest” was then considered over. I was the most ill I had ever been in my life, and I was trying to function on just a few precious hours of sleep. It wasn’t nearly enough. And so a vicious cycle of more exhaustion, more stress on my body, and less healing ensued. I needed to break the cycle - and quickly.
I knew that the issues keeping me from falling asleep were things I would need to address over time. There were no quick and easy answers. They would later become aspects of my healing that I would deal with one by one. Some things I had been thinking about for years, and so was used to being plagued by them at night. Frankly, it was not my inability to fall asleep that alarmed me. It was waking up every night at 3 a.m. that seemed unusual and a sign of something that needed further attention. And so…my curiosity kicked in.
My search for answers led me to Traditional Chinese Medicine as well as studies of the relationship of psychoneuroendocrinology (our endocrine system’s response to stress) - you may want to refer back to my previous post Chapter 11: Stress is a Choice - and biorhythms. Combined, they painted a clear picture of what I was experiencing both physically and emotionally, and enabled me to take this picture to plan better ways to care for myself.
In my case, I discovered that the hours between 9 and 11 p.m. correspond to the thyroid and adrenal glands, and the emotions of hopelessness and confusion. Therefore, I began the ritual of making sure I was in bed by 10 p.m. to allow my thyroid and adrenals to do the necessary repair work, and renewed my dedication to the studies of spirituality and metaphysics. I also discovered that the hours between 1 and 3 a.m. correspond to the liver and the emotions of anger and frustration. My liver was struggling and so I needed to find a way to support it. Thus, a nudge in the direction to detox my liver, which I eventually did. All of this became just another piece in the puzzle of putting my health back together.
It is my hope that this information will help you discover things about yourself that you can use to chart your own path to wellness.
Sleep well - be well.