FOR THE LOVE OF GOD LET ME SLEEP!

Well hello all my lovely blog followers.. so.. Matt.
Today I am feeling particularly stressed. Why? it all goes back to how annoying end of term school is.. but I already whined about that. Something else has developed to cause me to stress out like a crazy person.. (I would put a picture here but just refer to the one in the burnout post and it's pretty much the same idea). I CAN'T FALL ASLEEP! well.. ok that's not entirely true.. I can fall asleep, but it takes hours.  My brain, however burnt out it is, for some reason.. refuses to shut up! It just keeps going and going.. like the energizer bunny, only more annoying because instead of a drum beat it has thoughts.. and it isn't all fluffy and pink like the bunny.. and I'm pretty sure my brain doesn't wear sunglasses.. but it would be sweet if it did. Actually, that random babbly thought process that just happened is a lot like what goes on in my head while I'm trying to relax..

On a side note: I'm pretty sure whoever drew this cartoon was somehow listening to my thoughts when I was trying to sleep.. also..they got my hair colour wrong..but the cut is pretty much accurate.. I digress (again). 


 So back to the other story.. Last night I started volunteering at the local counseling center, being a "table coach" for a program that is designed to teach youth life skills. I loved it! but I was exhausted after, because you really have to be on your toes and pay attention to a whole bunch of different things all at once. Like..who has their cell phone out? what are the lead coaches teaching right now? why is that kid in the corner laughing like they're higher than a kite?, whats that funny smell?.. all kinds of other things were going through my head as well.. but I won't get into those. I also felt super dehydrated, probably because I drank a giant froster before.. and then some other stuff happened..but I digress. oh and froster=slushie.. if you're American that could have been confusing for you. I've had problems with falling asleep my whole life. When I was little my mom used to bring me warm milk to try and get me to fall asleep. I feel like it worked but I can't remember if it took awhile to kick in or if it was like an instant kind of effect. At some point the warm milk stopped working..mostly because I'm lactose intolerant so it resulted in excruciating stomach cramps and some other side effects that don't really need to be discussed. Then my mom introduced me to chamomile tea.. which I remember helping a lot.. but I wasn't a huge fan of the taste. Though if I put enough honey into it.. it was a delicious syrupy mess.

So. Chamomile is a flower that is related to the daisy family. It's used in for both children and adults and sleep isn't the only thing that it helps with. It's also being studied as a treatment for anxiety, and has been known to help with upset stomach, gas, an diarrhea. Yes.. its the pepto-bismol of the flower family, but it's not disgustingly pink, thick and goopy, and doesn't taste like chalk. Chamomile contains a flavanoid called Chrysin, which is apparently what helps reduce anxiety and makes us relaxed and sleepy. As you can probably guess, it's used as a tea. Yes, GOOD NEWS! you don't have to go buy a flower and mow down on it, you can actually just go to any good tea store and get a bag of chamomile to steep for your own enjoyment! 

PLEASE NOTE: when I say bag of chamomile.. I don't mean those little sorry excuse for herbal blends that are found in TEA BAGS. I mean a bag of the dried chamomile flower that you steep as you would a loose leaf tea. BUT the differences between bagged teas and loose leaf is an entirely different entry all together.. oh it'll happen.. don't you worry.

ANYWAY. As I got older, I grew to like the taste of chamomile (light, refreshing and slightly flowery), without all of the honey, and still find that it works to this day. BUT I found something that works (FOR ME) much better.. 

ROOIBOS (Roy-boss) or African Red Bush tea.. 
why is rooibos awesome? because it comes in a variety of flavours (or unflavoured) and because it tastes like heaven in my mouth. 
Rooibos tea comes from Africa, from a bush (woahhh no shit right) called Afrikaans..which translates to Red Bush..see how its allll making sense now?. It's an herb so its naturally caffeine free. It's really super pretty and has little yellow flowers.. 

Rooibos is also awesome because its very hard to over steep and also pretty strong..so as long as your not throwing it into a fire pit.. probably won't get burnt (yay no killing your tea!!) After Rooibos is processed (yes I WILL get to a blog about what that means at some point) and roasted it looks likeee this:

Rooibos has a bazillion health benefits:


• Sodium necessary for fluid and acid-base balance
• Potassium facilitates metabolic processes• Calcium builds strong teeth and healthy bones• Magnesium Allows for the maintenance of a healthy nervous system and for other metabolic processes• Copper necessary for different metabolic processes• Zinc encourages growth, development and healthy skin• Manganese essential for metabolic processes and for bone growth and development• Iron transports oxygen in the blood

Low in tanin and as I mentioned CAFFEINE FREEEEE! 

Rooibos teas are also high in antioxidants (that help to fight free radicals)

Rooibos helps your body relax.. helps fight stress.. has anti-viral and anti-fungal properties and most of all makes me SOO sleepy that I can usually barely finish a cup! Also.. Just a side note..Rooibos is related to Honeybush, which is another tea that is relaxing and delicious. Rooibos has a sweet and subtle earthy taste, Honeybush has a sweet smooth taste with no earthiness. Honeybush also has the SAME health properties.. woo hoo! After trying a few different sleeping pills.. I switched to rooibos and it works soo much better than anything that a chemist can brew up.. also no side effects (except for a delicious taste sensation in your mouth). I felt like a zombie trying to wake up when I used to take sleeping pills.. but rooibos doesn't give you that nasty effect..

 I suppose adding milk to Rooibos could be acceptable.. but that is it's one weakness and YOU WILL KILL IT!! 

Some of my favourite rooibos flavours include:

-Mudslide (chocolate banana mmm)

-Earl Grey

-Strawberry Cream

-Vanilla Cream

-Mint Chocolate

So.. the moral of the story is.. "traditional" herbal remedies like chamomile for example.. work really well and are great to help relax.. Howeverrrr.. if you get sick of the same old flavour and want to experience a few more health benefits then maybe pick up a rooibos (or honeybush) tea NOT IN A BAG.. and see if it helps you out..After all.. varietea is the spice of life :) see what I did there? yah that would normally say variety but I changed it so it says tea.. 

Cheers!


P.s. This just in.. the rooibos bush is considered a legume.. also I am enjoying a red velvet latte right now: Vanilla Cream Rooibos with a bit of chocolate and raspberry syrup.. but I skipped the milk.. ;)