Life is a balance between activity and rest, movement and stillness, work and leisure. In this modern era, it is often difficult to find balance in our lives. We tend to push our bodies too hard and over time we become depleted. When our energy reserves become depleted the seeds for ill health start to sprout.

So how can we find balance in our life and embrace life with energy and enthusiasm in all that we do?

One of the most important aspects of our life is the quality of our sleep. When we sleep our body restores itself. Energy which has been used during the day is replenished and the body goes through a healing cycle, preparing itself for the activity which is to come.

But quality sleep means a state of mental relaxation which allows the body to enter into a state of recovery and rest. This depends on the quality of our nerve system. If our nerves are too tight then our body will continue to be stimulated and our mind will not be able to settle. So a pattern of insomnia or poor quality sleep can result. So it is the balance between the sympathetic nerve system which “rules” our day time activity or active phase and the parasympathetic nerve system which “rules” our night time activity or rest phase.

So in order to facilitate better sleep patterns it is often necessary to go through a process of “shutting down” our activity, especially our mental activity before we go to bed. It is just like closing down systems in a computer before switching it off. If we can find a system that works for us, then that process will assist us in creating the appropriate conditions for better quality sleep.