Most probably, you have some trouble sleeping at night, or at least you are interested in how to sleep better and faster at night, isn't it?
Of course, otherwise you would not be curious to read this post 😊.
First off, please know that you are not alone. We are in an ongoing sleep loss epidemic and many people struggle with chronic insomnia.
Insomnia is often a symptom of other physical or mental problems (like depression), but it does also develop as a result of stress and poor sleeping habits.
Moreover, we live in a culture that encourages overworking and sleep deprivation to the point where sleeping well or enough is a sign of weakness and laziness.
Many famous people claim that getting little to no sleep is the key to their extreme success.
Meanwhile, sleep scientists are mocked and marginalized for their bizarre theories about the benefits of good sleep and their efforts to shift this insane macho culture.
As a person who dealt with a lot of sleep issues myself, I totally get it how difficult it is to not be able to enjoy great sleep every night.
For years, I’ve been sleep deprived, because sleep was not that important. You know how people say “Sleep is a waste of time. I’ll sleep when I’m dead”? That was me saying that.
I used to think that the less sleep you get, the more time you have to do all sorts of awesome things.
I used to believe that watching TV, binging on the newest series or interesting documentaries, reading random articles or posts on the Internet, having late conversations with friends, scrolling endlessly on social media, playing games, etc., was fun.
I loved doing all that, I did find it fun, and I’ve learned some new things along the way. But there was a downside that I just didn’t (want to) pay attention to. I was SO tired and felt extra-exhausted and moody every morning. Going to work or doing anything was not fun.
We all know that the quality and quantity of sleep are important, but somehow refuse to acknowledge that sleep plays a critical role in our physical and mental health and that it affects us in many ways.
During my health journey in the past 10 years, I gradually realised the importance of sleep. I’ve made a lot of research, reading a few books about sleep, and started listening more to what sleep scientists have to say. It took a while, but I finally understood the message.
Do you want to know what they say? Keep reading because it’s about to become very interesting!
In short, they say that sleep is the most important pillar of our health and wellness. There is no doubt that sleep is the most neglected puzzle piece of the health conversation.
Everybody is so focused on the other pillars – diet, nutrition, and exercise - but they forget that better sleep is the factor that sets the foundation for all others.
So, you still think that you will sleep when you will be dead? Well, as it turns out, science says that without proper restful sleep, you will get there quickly. Because the lack of adequate sleep over time has been associated with many diseases and a shortened lifespan.
The open secret is that the lack of a healthy sleep affects every cell and system of your body and forces you in a vicious circle that does NOT bring health and happiness.
Sleep is the single most effective - and also free - tool that you have at your disposal so you can improve and literally reset your body and mental health.
Why don’t you sleep well? There are many causes for your sleep problems, but in my opinion here are the two main ones.
I. Food And Sleep
Usually, if you don’t sleep well, you feel tired all the time and that increases the levels of a hormone called ghrelin that leads to constant hunger. It is also called the hunger hormone or “let’s eat” hormone.
It’s actually pretty simple. The more you sleep badly, the tired you get, the higher the levels of ghrelin and the hungrier you get.
Concomitantly, there is a decrease in the levels of another hormone called leptin, which is the appetite-control hormone. More than that, sleep deprivation also reduces the body's levels of the important growth hormone, which helps to regulate your body functions, muscle and bone growth, sugar and fat metabolism, and heart function.
So, you are tired, and your body consumes more energy to keep the system functioning properly. Lack of sleep makes you less mentally aware and more fatigued and because your body and brain need more fuel – of course – it causes you to eat more. And that’s why cravings appear, and you just can’t help but say to yourself for no reason “I think I need a snack”!
What happens is that eating releases a chemical in your brain called dopamine. This is a neurotransmitter that is also called “the molecule of more”, because it mediates pleasure in the brain, and it is released when you feel good. And it links this sensation to the desire to feel like this again (and sooner, rather than later!).
Obviously, you start snacking more and you start doing it in the evenings, too. Now, you enter the slippery slope of nighttime eating. And, you know, the thing about eating at night is that it disrupts sleep.
The later you eat, the more difficult it gets for you to go to bed and have a quality sleep, because the body focuses much of its already depleted energy on digestion.
Anyway, you don’t see a problem. You continue doing it, because you need more dopamine. But Guess what happens next!
Every morning, after yet another night of insufficient and bad sleep, you are cranky and moody. You don’t feel like doing anything at all. When you are tired, you are angry with the world and your productivity plummets, so you are not your best version at work or with your family and friends.
That’s because bad sleep leads to a loss of empathy. You become more self-centered and less compassionate toward others. This means bad relationships with your wife/husband/partner, with your kids, friends, and colleagues at work.
What about healthy eating? Forget about it, who cares about that now? You are too tired. Exercising? No way, you are way too tired for that! But what you are never not too tired for is to snack some more! Naturally, you indulge again in the evening.
Since you’ve been doing it for a long period of time, chances are you have already developed a condition called the Night Eating Syndrome that combines overeating at night with sleep problems and insomnia.
Now you are really in trouble. But this is the right time to add another dimension to the causes of your sleep issues.
II. Blue Light and Sleep
Surely, you’ve heard about melatonin. But, no, I am not talking about the over-the-counter drugs that you can get from health foods stores or pharmacies.
Melatonin is the sleep hormone that your brain produces in response to darkness. In the morning, when exposed to natural light, the brain stops the production of melatonin, and in the evening, darkness prompts its production and release.
Contrary to popular beliefs, melatonin is not a sedative and does not make you sleep. It only helps regulating the sleep-wake cycle by signaling that according to the normal day-night circadian rhythm, your body should naturally prepare to sleep.
I’ve heard a perfect analogy that melatonin is like the referee at the 100-metre dash at the Olympics. It doesn’t do the work for you, it only gives the signal that darkness has come and that everything is prepared for you to sleep. Ready, set, go!
Ok, melatonin is great, it does its job, but has one major flaw. It is very sensitive to light, but especially to blue light exposure. This exposure suppresses the secretion of melatonin and sleep researchers firmly say that seeing blue light at night is one of the main reasons why people don’t get enough quality sleep.
But enough theory. Now, let’s see what happens during the evening in your home. After a long and sometimes stressful day, you are tired (maybe because you didn’t sleep well last night, who knows?) and feel the need to relax.
Naturally, you turn on the TV to check the news, like everyone does. You need to stay informed! Maybe you even watch some new episodes from your favorite TV series that were just released. You don’t want to be that weird person who doesn’t know what happened lately in – insert the name of your favorite TV series -.
Or maybe you take your phone, tablet, or laptop “just to check your email or DMs” and find yourself scrolling, and scrolling, and scrolling endlessly, on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, or whatever your poison is.
Remember what you’ve read about dopamine earlier? When you are scrolling, your brain also releases dopamine and you can’t seem to stop. Because for whatever reason, your brain tells you that you need more of this.
Interestingly enough, as it happens you finally look at the watch and see that it’s past 10-11pm (or even midnight) and you are not sleepy at all. What to do?
Of course, you go to bed because you know that you should get some sleep. However, your body doesn’t know that you need to sleep. Because the melatonin production that was supposed to occur when darkness came was suppressed by the blue light from all the screens. Now your brain was tricked to think that it’s still daytime, so you are alert, instead of drowsy. Your mind is racing, and you think about what happened to you today and about what you need to do tomorrow, and so on.
You are tired, but still cannot sleep. What to do? You take your phone to check your messages and find yourself scrolling and scrolling and scrolling again. Or maybe you turn on the TV again?
Somehow, you manage to go back to bed and – finally - maybe 1-2-3 hours after you initially wanted to, you fall asleep.
Now, the problem you have is that you don’t experience the most resting sleep that you can have. You don’t enter and stay in the normal sleep cycles (read more below) and this negatively impacts your energy for the next day.
The next day looks pretty much the same as the one that passed. And the one that will come after it.
You are tired. And what happens to you when you are tired? You are not your best self, and the day turns out to be horrible. Again.
So, in the evening you are once more drained and need another dopamine release from your brain and turn to those things that are not that good for you, but offer comfort – late snacking and electronic devices that keep you away from quality and restorative sleep.
Many days, weeks, months and years pass and before you know it, you feel that something is not quite ok with your body and in your life but can’t really put your finger on it. You become depressed. So, what do you do?
You unknowingly decide to hop right back on the hamster wheel and neglect your sleep further for another Groundhog Day. If you’ve seen that movie, you surely understand the reference.
Or, hopefully, maybe you are lucky and realize that you need to reset your priorities in life until it’s not too late.
I know that sometimes it's so difficult to apply changes to your lifestyle even when you do have a hunch about what causes your problem. You experience cognitive dissonance. That is a psychological term used to describe the mental discomfort that results from inner conflict caused when your beliefs, wants or needs don’t line up with your actions.
Simply put, there is a part of you which knows that sleep is important and wants to try to sleep better, because it’s the right thing to do for your mental and physical well being.
Then there is another part of you that simply does everything to stop you from doing the right thing. Why is that? Because of fear. Any change represents the unknown and everybody fears the unknown because it is so uncomfortable.
As a result, you go deeper into cognitive dissonance and feel even more sadness and depression because you cannot step out of this vicious cycle. You don’t sleep better, you feel tired, eat junk food, watch TV, scroll on your phone, eat some more, sleep badly, and repeat.
If this is you - at least in part, please know this was me, too.
But there is hope out there and the good news is that you can change your life for the better with only one step. That’s understanding the importance of sleep and improving your sleep duration and quality. This is the real game changer in your life!
How do I know this? It’s because I’ve been there and done almost everything I’ve written above. I’ve suffered from sleep deprivation for many years and felt miserable every morning and throughout the day. That’s until I managed to gain awareness of the problem and made the efforts to solve it.
If you want to improve your life and health, first you need to take the time to understand in detail the side-effects that lack of good sleep can cause to you and how it negatively impacts your overall life quality. Then you really need to see why sleep is so good and necessary for you.However, most of these effects can be reversed and prevented with a single and most efficient change.
Now is the time to treat getting enough sleep as if it is as important as taking the medicine that could save your life!
Until now, nobody could explain why we sleep, or for that matter, why Mother Nature programmed us to sleep for one third of our lives. But although we cannot explain it, the number one rule is always trust Mother Nature, because it has a valid reason, even if we cannot grasp it.
At this point, science can only explain what happens during sleep and why sleeping is so important for you.
Basically, sleep is essential because it helps your body repair itself by recovering and healing after your day.
Sleep scientists have found through extensive research that as a normal healthy adult, you need to sleep between 7 to 9 hours every night. Anything below this impairs your brain and bodily functions and puts you at risk for developing a series of long-term health issues. The shorter your sleep, the shorter your life!
Restorative sleep helps you deal with the physical and mental stress that your body and mind were exposed to during the day.
It will also help you to:
A good thing to remember and understand is that a good night’s sleep is not only about the number of hours you’ve slept, but also about the quality of that sleep. That means only one thing. No good sleep, no proper recovery.
Simply put, sleep is the cheapest health insurance that you can get with minimal effort.
Generally, when you sleep, you go through four stages of sleep. There are three non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM) stages and one rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.
Stage 1 - NREM Sleep
This is the lightest and least refreshing sleep stage. It marks the transition between wakefulness and sleep.
You feel that your muscles relax and your heart rate, breathing, and eye movements begin to slow down.
The brain is still active and produces theta waves, which are slow brain waves occurring mostly in the frontal lobe of the brain.
If you spend most of the time in stage 1 sleep, you will surely feel that you did not sleep well.
Stage 1 typically lasts several minutes (generally less than 10 minutes), and we spend 5 to 10 percent of the night in this sleep stage.
Stage 2 - NREM Sleep
This is a more solid NREM sleep stage and is taking about 50% of the night.
Your heart rate and breathing continue to slow down and your muscles are more and more relaxed.
Your body temperature drops, and the eye movements will cease.
An EEG phenomenon called a K-complex also happens. It is an electrical discharge that appears in the brain that helps resist being woken up by external stimuli and that aids with the sleep-based memory consolidation.
Stage 2 lasts from about 30 to 60 minutes and during this time your brain waves (delta) remain slow.
Stage 3 - NREM Sleep
This stage represents the deep sleep stage that occurs early in the night.
It composes 5 to 10 percent of the total sleep time and it plays an important role in making you feel refreshed and alert the next day.
During this sleep stage, the crucial growth hormone is released, and the body recovers and heals itself. It also boosts your immune system and other key bodily processes.
Heartbeat and breathing, and brain (delta) waves activity all reach their lowest levels. The muscles are the most relaxed as they will be.
This stage lasts about 20 to 40 minutes, it will be longer at first and will decrease in duration throughout the night.
Stage 4 - REM Sleep
About 90 minutes after you fall asleep, the first REM sleep occurs.
During REM sleep, your eye movements become rapid under your eyelids, and the brain activity is as active and sometimes more active than when you are awake
It is during REM that dreams appear and develop. You are almost paralyzed during this stage of sleep. The body purposely turns our muscles off so that we can have these vivid hallucinations (dreams) without physically acting on them (sleepwalking is an REM sleep disorder).
Breathing rate, heart rate, and blood pressure will begin to increase, as bizarre dreams start to unfold.
The duration of each REM sleep cycle increases as the night progresses.
REM sleep is linked to memory consolidation and converting recent experiences into long-term memories.
REM composes 20 to 25 percent of sleep time.
Even though there are some benefits of napping, they are a double edge sword.
They are amazing in terms of refreshing your mind and body and giving you a boost, but care should be exercised regarding their timeline and duration, because they can disrupt and affect the quality of your night’s sleep.
Sleep scientists advise to never nap later than 2pm and try to limit your naps to maximum 25 minutes. Otherwise, if you sleep longer than that, you go into the deeper phases of sleep and when you wake up you experience the opposite effect, feeling dizzy and hangover.
Plus, frequent long day napping cause problems with insomnia at night. That’s why it’s more about finding a good balance between quantity and quality of rest.
A key step is to focus on improving your sleep hygiene, by upgrading your sleep-related habits and your sleep environment.
From my experience, there are some things that worked for me and Ana and helped us sleep better.
So, here are some tips for you in no particular order.
I promise that if you only start implementing a few of them, it will still bring considerable positive changes to your sleep.
It takes time to break the bad habits, but it’s definitely worth it. But when you see these changes, you will slowly start to implement others and then your life will really change for the better.
Avoid caffeine (found in coffee, green tea, black tea, cola drinks) at least 6 to 8 hours before bedtime.
Make sure to have your last food intake at least 2-3 hours before bedtime. Give your digestive system a chance to rest until the morning, because a longer fasting period allows your body to burn some of your sugar and fat stores.
Don’t drink alcohol 3-4 hours before sleep, because even if you think it helps you sleep, it does the contrary. It acts as a stimulant and fragments and disrupts your sleep (especially REM sleep), decreasing its quality and restorative properties.
Similarly, don’t use cannabis as a sleep aid. Although cannabis has relaxing and sedative effects and it does shorten the time it takes to fall asleep, using it before bedtime results in major sleep disturbances, because, like alcohol, THC blocks REM sleep.
Nicotine and tobacco products are also stimulants, so don’t smoke too close to bedtime, because they also increase breathing disorders that impact sleep, such as asthma and sleep apnea.
Your bedroom needs to be uncluttered, quiet, dark, and cool. Yes, like a bat-cave 😊. Open the windows 30 minutes before going to sleep to refresh and cool the air.
Buy heavy, dark curtains or blinds that block any light during the night and early morning.
Mattresses and pillows wear out over time, so it is probably time to change them to give yourself more chances to sleep better. The Return on Investment is priceless.
Begin to turn off or dim all the lights in your house at least 2-3 hours before going to sleep.
This helps maintain your body’s natural circadian rhythm and promote the production and release of melatonin.
Buy bulbs thar produce warm soft light (amber, red or orange) with the color temperature of 2000K to 2500K, brightness of 200 to 500 lumens and power of 3-6 Watts.
The lower, the better, and this will help you fall asleep faster and wake up more refreshed.
Beginning at least two hours before bed, stop watching TV, turn off your computer, and put away your phone and other light-emitting electronic devices.
Easier said than done, I know, but you’ve read earlier about the negative effects of blue light on sleep, affecting your overall health and circadian clock.
It depends on just how bad you want a good and restorative sleep.
Having a TV in your bedroom is a strong NO-NO.
Watching TV in the evening is not very good for you anyway but doing it in your bedroom is even more dangerous for your health.
It is one of the most powerful stimulants for your brain, that will disturb your sleep and keep you forever in the fatigue vicious circle.
If you struggle to sleep and keep tossing and turning, it’s never a good idea to look at the clock. This increases stress and doesn’t help you fall asleep, but on the contrary.
Also, if you happen to wake up at night to go to the bathroom or for any other reason, if you look at the clock your brain automatically activates and calculates how much time you have left for sleeping.
This also induces stress, and it prevents you to go back to sleep or it disrupts the quality of your remaining sleep.
Turn off your phone and other electronics or put them in airplane mode. This will help you sleep undisturbed.
If you are not able to do this, at least don’t leave them in the room where you sleep.
As we saw earlier, alcohol is a no-go but drinking the right kind of beverage will do wonders to help you sleep.
That’s why you should opt for a cup of warm milk or a non-caffeinated tea, like herbal tea.
Chamomile, lavender or lemon balm teas are well-known as natural sleep remedies, and any of them will do just fine.
Or if you want the perfect calming tisane, you need to try our fabulous Organic Transylvanian Sunset Tea, containing all three plants and their combined power will help you relax for sleep in no time.
The rule with evening drinks, though, is to have them at least 1-2 hours before going to bed, to avoid having to get up for the bathroom in the middle of the night.
Reading is proven to help you fall asleep faster.
But, please, don’t use your phone, tablet, or e-reader! A good old book will do the trick.
Also, make sure to read something light that requires no deep concentration and that will not overload your brain.
It’s not the time and place to read that document from work or some economic or scientific literature.
Essential oils have calming benefits and they are a great addition to your unwinding and pre-sleep routine.
Use a few drops of oil in your diffuser in the evening and watch the magic happen.
Here are some oils that have wonderful sedative effects: lavender, sage, chamomile, rose, jasmine, marjoram, valerian, vanilla, bergamot, ylang ylang, sandalwood, citrus.
Stress and anxiety can always lead to sleep issue, that’s why meditation is a great tool for calming yourself.
Meditation can clear your mind and move your focus from the vortex of thoughts to a more relaxed state. If you are new to meditation, I encourage you to try a guided meditation.
Tara Brach is a famous psychologist, author, and one of the leading Western teachers of Buddhist meditation. You cannot not love her and her work.
Here is one of her guided meditations, a great start into the wonderful world of peace and calm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3TrGysWETw
Another great meditation sleep tool is Yoga Nidra, the ultimate body scan relaxation technique for releasing tension and helping you get a better sleep. You can try this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7H0FKzeuVVs
Being active and doing moderate physical activity is amazing for your mental health and another positive effect is that it also helps with sleep duration and quality.
Regularly moving your body by having a daily short 30 minutes walk immensely improves your brain health, it helps reduce anxiety and depression and it improves your sleep, mood, and overall quality of life.
What you want to avoid is intense exercise in the evening. This is bad for your sleep, and it will impact its quality.
A warm bath or shower to help you sleep?
It actually works! But the reason why it works is a bit counterintuitive.
You would think that you will fall asleep faster and better after an evening hot bath because you are warm.
Instead, what happens is that your blood comes to the surface of your body and the heat leaves your body through your hands and feet.
In fact, your body temperature drops, and this is what helps you feel more relaxed and sleepier.
Stretching is an incredible way to relax your body before going to bed and being more relaxed causes a better sleep.
Doing light stretches for as little as 10 minutes in the evening is known to release tight muscles and calm your nervous system and will help you sleep like a baby.
As part of your nighttime ritual, make the habit of putting on some calming tunes at the same hour every night to signal to your brain that you are slowly retiring for the night.
Breathing techniques are known to help with the proper relaxation of your body.
There are many breathing exercises that you can do to relax, but here is the most simple and effective one for sleep.
4-7-8 is the perfect method for calming your busy mind and promoting sleep https://www.drweil.com/videos-features/videos/breathing-exercises-4-7-8-breath/
Try to do 4 rounds of the 4-7-8 breathing every night as you lie down in bed after you turn off the lights.
For an optimal sleeping experience, consider using a sleep mask.
Even better, combine this with ear plugs and it will be easier for you to get a good sleep.
That’s because light and noise are two of your enemies when trying to sleep better, so the mask and ear plugs will help a lot.
And if you want to get to the next level in the fight against insomnia, try a sleeping eye mask with integrated Bluetooth headphones. Yes, hard to believe, but there is such a thing.
Whenever you cannot drift to sleep, put on the mask, play some low frequency binaural beats.
Exposure to this kind of sounds has been found to aid relaxation and to contribute to an improved quality of sleep.
Upon waking up, pull the curtains/blinds or - if it’s still dark outside - turn on some bright light.
Viewing light as soon as you wake up releases a healthy dose of cortisol and starts the timer for the onset of melatonin in the evening.
Also, make sure to go outside daily and to expose yourself to daylight and sunlight in order to better regulate the circadian rhythm.
Melatonin
When thinking of sleep supplements, everybody thinks about melatonin, because it’s available everywhere. As explained earlier, melatonin is not a wonder sleep sedative, but it does work if taken for shorter periods of time (for example to recover from jet lag). But for chronic sleep deprivation, it’s not your best option.
Magnesium
If you want something that could help you on long term - and not only with your sleep - consider taking magnesium, because it is the perfect option. Magnesium regulates many essential functions in your body and as it helps calm your body considerably, it can improve sleep quality. There are many forms of magnesium out there, but Bisglycinate or Threonate seem to work best for sleep. Take 100-200mg 30 minutes prior to sleep.
Theanine
L-theanine can help people sleep more easily, by promoting relaxation. However, it can lead to some intense vivid dreams and it is not good for people suffering with sleepwalking problems.
Apigenin
Apigenin is the active ingredient found in chamomile tea. As you know, chamomile is widely known for its health benefits, as well as for the calming and sleep-inducing properties. You can enjoy this compound in herbal tea or you can choose to get it as an extract in capsule form. Take 50-200mg daily before sleep.
CBD Oil
Cannabis is not that great for sleep quality, due to the THC being a psychoactive element that is detrimental to sleep. However, promising research on CBD – the second active ingredient in cannabis - shows that this doesn’t have any psychoactive effect and that it is proven to minimize stress and anxiety, while helping with sleep disorders like insomnia.
Lavender
Lavender is great in herbal tea-link and helps you sleep. But also, it is very effective if you use it your essential oil diffuser in your bedroom or add a few drops to your pillowcase.
Glycine
Glycine is an amino acid that is great for the gut, but that also naturally aids you in achieving a healthy sleep. It can improve symptoms of insomnia and can regulate your sleep cycles. Try taking a couple of grams around 1 hour before sleeping.
A gratitude practice (maybe using affirmations and visualisations) could also help you finish your business with this day that comes to an end.
You can express your gratitude for the lessons today taught you, so that you are stronger tomorrow.
You can let go of whatever does not serve you in this moment at night.
You deserve rest and you are allowed to take a break. Your to-do list can definitely wait until tomorrow.
You can visualize how you release the day and with it all tension from your body.
You can imagine how your body becomes more relaxed and how you are ready to embrace the peace and quiet of the night.
You can feel that with every breath you take, calmness washes over you and that you are ready to sleep and have positive dreams.
If you are really serious about improving your sleep, you should consider buying a sleep tracker to have a complete picture of the duration of your sleep, as well as how long you spend in different sleep stages.
It's quite easy! The tracker will monitor your sleep data, such as heart rate, resting pulse, wake time and movements, and will silently sync with the app on your phone, showing you the score, efficiency and quality of your sleep.
It will give you the motivation to constantly improve your sleep hygiene in order to always have the best night rest and live better.
I know it worked for me. Frankly, for me buying a sleep tracker was a turning point in my life. That's because I started to see how I slept and to compare with how I felt. Then, I saw in real time the minor changes happening to my physical and mental state as I improved my sleep.
There is a wide variety of sleep trackers on the market and you can choose your brand (Fitbit, Apple, Samsung, Oura, Withings, Garmin, etc.) based on your budget, so there is no excuse to not have one in 2021.
You might even already have a smartwatch that is able to track your sleep, in this case make it a habit to analyze the data and see how you can improve it.
So, how to make bedtime easier?
All experts say to adopt a schedule that you will love and look forward to and stick with it, even if it will be hard at first.
Write down your new schedule step-by-step and put it somewhere you could see it often and easily. You could also set up alarms to remind you of each step.
Set your desired wake up time and go backwards from there.
If you wake up at 6am, you need to be in bed and sleep at 10pm. Now go backwards from there to build your bedtime ritual.
Remember, consistence is key here.
Going to sleep and waking regularly at the same time will automatically prepare your body to the transition to a resting state and will improve your sleep quality.
Considering the tips above, below is an idea of a night routine or how your schedule could look like.
Obviously, you can adapt it for your own situation and fine tune it to find what’s best for you.
It's not a bad idea to set alarms to remind you of every step, but in time, as you feel more relaxed and well-rested, they will become second nature to you.
22:00 – Do 4 rounds of the 4-7-8 breathing exercise to relax and drift into dreamland
21:55 – Bedtime: get into bed and turn off the lights immediately
21:15 – Reading time
21:00 – Listen to relaxing music
20:30 – Bath/shower, facewash, and tooth-brushing time
20:15 – Do some light stretches
20:10 – Bedroom preparation – open the windows to get some fresh and cool air into the room.
20:05 – Turn off/dim all the bright lights and turn on the lower intensity warm lights
20:00 – Turn off the TV and put away your phone, laptop, tablet or other electronic devices
19:30 – Prepare and drink a calming tisane
18:30 – Finish dinner
It really doesn't matter how you choose to build your bedtime routine, as long as you implement one for a better sleep hygiene.
But please don't forget one thing:
We are so proud and thrilled to be partners of the Montreal Tea Festival 2021!
This year, the festival will be held online, so it's easier than ever to attend.
Also, we are participating with one of our delicious organic herbal teas in the Discovery box, where you can dive into the wonderful and diverse world of tea, tisane, and fabulous flavors.
Below is a short video describing the box and the teas you can find in it:
Join us and you will get to know many wonderful tea companies and stock up on amazing teas, as well!
Check out the website of the festival to find more information: https://festivalduthequebec.com
We are thrilled to present you with another surprise.
With a lot of hard work, our online presence update project was finally delivered.
The new website is live. 📡
Welcome to the new healthfromeurope!
We needed a fresh new look more in-line with our brand and wanted to help you have a better experience while visiting us.
You will enjoy a smoother and more user-friendly navigation, optimized for mobile if you prefer browsing on your smartphone over desktop.
The website is focused more on health and wellness tips, has quality graphics and features some of the best pictures from our Instagram feed.
It is designed to point you to the place where you can easily find what you are looking for.
We know that everybody wants to spend as little time as possible shopping. And we are no different.
That's why we wanted to provide an easy-to-access interface for a more pleasant experience for you, so that you could get your favorite Organic Herbal Tea Blends and Artisan Fruit Jams you love quickly and without the fuss.
Also, the access to information in our Healthy Glossary was made more simple.
This is your learning center for more insightful knowledge on the health benefits of traditional medicinal plants, but also fruits and spices.
Don't forget that we are here to help, so you can ask us anything and we'll do our best to recommend you the right product!
If you would be most kind, we would appreciate it if you would share your feedback should you experience any glitches or bugs during your visit.
We are extremely interested in what you think so please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or advices.
Thank you!
Much love,
Ana and Mircea
So many people love them already, so head over to our online store and get some herbal infusion magic in your cup to see for yourself how easy it is to relax and feel good!
]]>How come, are they Science Fiction geeks or anything? It's OK if that's your first thought, but that not the case here 😀.
They just discovered that our artisanal fruit jams have the magical power to retrieve cherished and almost forgotten childhood memories that instantly transport them back in time.
If you have been lucky enough to have a skilled mother or grandmother (or hopefully both!) that made homemade jam the old-fashioned way, you know what we are talking about.
You surely remember how the fruits were slow cooked and boiled for hours,
the canning,
and, of course, the thermal processing to seal the jars and preserve the content the right way:
You remember the excitement that you've felt if you've helped during this laborious process and that glorious jam taste that you will never forget.
We, too, have had these experiences when we were children. Whenever our grandmothers were making fruit jam in the summer and autumn, it was party time!
So, as you can imagine, as jam connoisseurs, we know a thing or two about how to spot an amazing and delicious one when we see it.
A few years ago, when we were still living in Romania, we discovered some of the best jams that we've ever tried since our childhood. When we first tasted them, it was like an avalanche of emotions filling our body and we were quickly hooked!
We enjoyed them so much that just before moving to Canada, we looked for the producer and went to visit her, and so our collaboration was born.
But obviously, the question on everybody's lips is who is this person?
It's a pleasure for us to present to you Erszike, the mastermind behind these incredible fruit jams!
She started preparing and selling fruit jams and syrups in 2002, after she lost her job. Initially, she processed fruits from her own garden and made the jams in the kitchen.
Slowly, her small operation evolved into a fully registered family business with proper facilities and now she is preparing several types of jam and other products made with fresh fruits and vegetables.
Her secret? It's all in the method. For almost 20 years, Erszike has been making jams with the same traditional method that our grandmothers used. Meaning that everything is done by hand.
The other important secret is the ingredients. Most of her products are made with wild fruits, handpicked in the Carpathian Mountains, which are then sorted manually to ensure only the best ones end up in your jam.
Sugar is added in the right proportion, and that's it. No need for any pectin, glucose, additives, preservatives or chemicals whatsoever.
Next step is to boil them for many, many hours. The goal is to achieve the right acidity levels and density. Meanwhile, the jam needs to be stirred constantly to mix the flavors well and to prevent sticking.
Afterwards, the jam is hand poured into jars and sealed. The filled jars need to be boiled - remember grandma? - for preservation purposes.
Then, the jars are left to cool and the labels and cloth covers are - again - manually applied.
And after a hard work, here is the end result, the magnificent fruit spread is ready to be enjoyed:
The simple, clean ingredients and the fact that everything is done by hand make these gourmet jams really unique and exquisite.
During the years, Erszike enlarged her product offering with new flavors and she now even makes super-healthy jam without sugar.
Even though she has a limited capacity and most of her jams are made in small batches, some of them can be found in a few stores in Romania and other countries throughout Europe. People love them because they are healthy and simply fabulous.
It's the reason why we are so proud to be able to bring her jams here in Canada and North America, making it easier for you to enjoy them.
So, what are you waiting for? Head over to our online store and order your jar of childhood memories while supplies last!
You can find the best jam flavors and you can choose to your liking among our 14 options (9 low-sugar and 5 no sugar added jams).
Did you know that our Organic Herbal Loose Leaf Tea Blends from Europe are made with medicinal herbs, flowers, fruits, and spices?
🌿 If you are looking for your favorite herbal tea plant or ingredient, we probably have it in one of our 10 blends.
Here is a complete list of them:
⦿ blackberry leaves
⦿ raspberry leaves
⦿ bilberry leaves
⦿ black elderberry leaves
⦿ linden blossom
⦿ peppermint
⦿ spearmint
⦿ wild mint
⦿ catnip
⦿ lemon catnip
⦿ echinacea
⦿ marigold
⦿ sage
⦿ plantago
⦿ apple
⦿ rosehip
⦿ sea buckthorn
⦿ quince
⦿ pear
⦿ lingonberry
⦿ bilberry
⦿ elderberry
⦿ blackcurrant
⦿ redcurrant
⦿ cinnamon
⦿ cloves
⦿ lemon balm
⦿ anise-hyssop
⦿ Damask rose
⦿ French rose
⦿ Japanese rose
⦿ wild marjoram
⦿ basil
⦿ coriander
⦿ rosemary
⦿ fennel
⦿ nettle
⦿ rosemary
⦿ thyme
⦿ lavender
⦿ marigold
⦿ primrose
⦿ yarrow
⦿ wild chamomile
⦿ St John's-wort
I know, to many this sounds extreme and you probably ask: why would you do that, are you crazy?
Well, let me tell you my story first and you will be the judge of that. 😀
It all began about 2.5 years ago. I've read an article in a Romanian online newspaper about a weird guy in Bucharest, the city I lived in for the last 20 years before moving to Montreal. He was biking on snowy streets in February at -15 degrees Celsius dressed only in shorts and a t-shirt. Wait, what??
Obviously, people were as shocked as I was. The reactions were unanimous. Everybody agreed that this guy was crazy.
I've said to myself: they are right, he is crazy. But the thing is, I love crazy guys, as there is always more there than meets the eye.
So, very intrigued as to why he was doing this, I started reading more about him.
Valentin struggled with weight loss and health issues before, just like me. He studied a lot on how to improve his health and completely changed his life through nutrition and cold exposure. Not only was he biking in shorts during winter, but he was also taking ice baths.
How and why? I needed to find out more!
As it turns out, he was inspired to this by a Dutch guy called Wim Hof, whose nickname is The Iceman.
This guy holds more than 20 Guinness World Records related to cold exposure, like climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in shorts, running a half marathon above the Arctic Circle barefoot, and standing in a container while covered with ice cubes for almost two hours.
He was even studied by scientists who concluded that he must have some superhuman powers, but he claims that anyone can do it if they use his method.
Now, that was really mind-blowing for me. And I've said to myself: this dude right here is beyond crazy. But I love him!
I was always impressed by uncommon people who step out of the worn paths and challenge beliefs and cultural and social norms. They are the ones who are considered insane, freaks or misfits, but who also inspired growth and evolution in society throughout human history. We owe it to them to at least hear what they have to say.
So, with my curiosity at peak levels already, I've continued my research about Wim Hof.
For the next weeks, I've read almost everything about him, heard and saw him in podcasts with really cool people I followed and looked up to, like Joe Rogan, Tom Bilyeu, Rhonda Patrick, Lewis Howes, Tim Ferris, Russell Brand or Rich Roll.
I was mesmerized and was so interested about these alleged benefits of cold exposure that I felt the need to study even more to see if what The Iceman preached was truth or ridiculous nonsense.
Finally, after double checking his claims with science for a while, I concluded that he is for real and that he is definitely onto something.
In fact, Wim Hof is one of the most fascinating personalities that you can find nowadays. He may be doing extreme things, but in my book this is a sign of mental mastery and toughness. He is truly a great, charismatic teacher and what he says did speak to me in a number of ways and made a lot of sense.
That's why I was convinced and just had to try his method, which is a combination of three pillars:
Well, the good news is that there is an app for that. 😀
I downloaded it, watched the instructional videos in which Wim explains how to approach each pillar.
Then, for the first weeks, I started practicing the breathing exercises.
Basically, you have to take about 30 deep breaths to allow oxygen to spread throughout your body and brain, then stop and hold your breath for as long as you are able to. At first, you cannot do it for more than 20-30 seconds, but with time and practice you will go up to 3 minutes.
It felt surprisingly good. Even though I wasn't able to master the technique from the get-go, I enjoyed a surreal state of peace, calm and relaxation after each try. My mind was clear and focused and my resting pulse was extremely low.
I had just discovered another kind of meditation and I was loving it.
Next step was to try to slowly introduce cold showers. Let me tell, you, it was easier said than done.
Wim advises you to take your usual warm/hot showers and end them with 10-30 seconds of cold water to let your body adapt to cold over time.
It took me weeks to break into my mind and to allow myself to cut off the warm water and to remain under a cold stream. Even for a few seconds.
Finally, I managed to do it. At first 10 seconds, then 15, then 20, then 30. This was a milestone for me and for months I was not able to go further than that.
Also, at that point I was doing the cold showers on and off, whenever I could summon the will and mental power to do them again. That's because it was already the end of 2018 and the cold water here in Canada is - let's say - unfriendly during winter time.
A battle was going on inside my mind before and during each cold water exposure. There was the part overwhelmed with fear and worries that was screaming: stop it, this is dangerous, you are freezing and are going to die!
Yes, that was the main narrative going on in my brain at that time and that's why I was doing them once per week or less.
Then, there was the other minority part, that had full faith in Wim and the science that clearly showed the truth to the cold shower health benefits. So, although it was excruciating to carry this fight inside my brain, I vowed to continue.
During that time, I was also reading about the sauna health benefits and heat shock proteins.
The next thing I did was to go the a gym and during each visit I took sauna sessions followed by warm showers ended with that extremely cold water. It was tough, but somehow I broke that 30 second mental limit.
Shortly, I was able to give up the warm showers and do the hot sauna cold plunge thing. 3 to 5 sauna sessions followed by straight cold showers.
The worrisome mental chatter was still there, but it gotten weaker, because I was feeling absolutely fantastic. Wow! The mental and physical relaxation I've felt after the repeated hot-cold sessions was stunning.
This helped me immensely to understand that my body - and mind - can withstand the cold therapy without any problem and that it's highly beneficial for my physical and mental health.
It was already February 2019 and I was very much capable to taking 1 minute cold showers and even to sit outside at -7 or -9 degrees Celsius wearing a t-shirt.
But still wasn't ready to master the third pillar of the Wim Hof method - commitment.
Summer came and I was doing cold showers more often than before - because the water was significantly warmer than during winter - but was still far from the point where I could commit to do this daily.
The reluctance lasted until the start of October 2019. It was then when I was able to find the commitment switch i was looking for in my mind. I found it, but it took about three more weeks to be able to pull and activate it.
It was October 24, 2019 and I felt ready. I promised to myself that I will take a cold shower each day for a full year.
And I started it.
For the first two months, I struggled. Winter came back, the water was once again cold as ice and it was hard to get myself under the freezing cold shower daily.
I was stubborn though and did it anyway, despite the voice in my head that shifted the narrative from "you are crazy, you are going to die" to "ok, but do you have to do it like every day? It's not really that important. Maybe you can skip today?".
But it really was that important to me, so I continued. And it became easier and easier.
In weeks, I started to challenge myself to stay even more under the cold shower. 2 minutes, 3, 4 and finally 5 minutes every day.
After 3-4 months, I began to really enjoy them and I became so committed and even obsessed. There were 2 or 3 cases when, after extremely busy days with a lot on my mind, I totally forgot about it. But I remembered and got out of bed extremely tired at 11pm and jumped in the shower to not miss a day.
After 5 months, I was able to also put my head under the cold water, because I wasn't able to do it until then.
After 6 months, I promised to myself that when one year passes, I will take an ice bath like Wim. I knew that I was ready.
The next months were relatively easy. Because of the practice, the body is well adjusted and during summer, the cold water feels kind of warm. Yes, that's true.
So, today it's October 24, 2020. One year passed, the challenge is complete and as promised six months ago, I finished it off with a 3 minutes ice bath in 10kg of ice.
The most funny thing happened after two months. After initially thinking that I was completely crazy (obviously!), Ana joined the fun and started the cold showers challenge.
Even though at first she wasn't doing them on a daily basis, she shortly pushed herself and ended up getting under the cold shower each and every day without fail.
Overall, she was tougher than I was. It took me 1.5 years to commit to daily cold showers, but she achieved this after only a few months.
Not only this, but she joined me in the ice bath today!
Who says that women are weak?? That's stupid. Women are Badass!
1. The main thing we've learned during this period is that what started as a promise or challenge transformed into a new long-term lifestyle. We will not stop after this year and will be taking cold showers daily for the rest of our lives.
Why? Because cold showers are good for your health and because they make us feel incredible! Wim Hof has been doing this for the last 40 years and look at him still going strong at 61 years old. This alone is very inspiring.
2. Cold showers are mental, not physical. By literally dragging ourselves out of our comfort zones, we unleashed our inner David Goggins (another "crazy" guy who inspires us. Please Google him if you don't know his story).
Taking cold showers daily sure sucks. But we understood that you need to embrace the suck, because doing difficult things daily builds mental resilience and will power over time. Practicing control of your mind helps in all areas of life and makes you happier overall. You already have what it takes within you. Just need to do a proper search for it.
3. Best time to take the cold shower is in the morning, before going on with your day. It revitalizes, increases your energy and gives your body and mind a fresh restart. Not to mention that it significantly reduces stress and anxiety for the day.
4. However, even if it's counterintuitive, an occasional cold shower before bedtime will help you sleep like a baby, because it melts the tension in your muscles.
5. You don't need the breathing exercises before going under the cold shower, but they do help. For us they were an useful tool that got us started. After a while, you will not need them anymore.
6. Definitely don't jump under the cold shower directly. Use the technique Wim suggests. End your warm shower with a few seconds of cold water and see how it feels.
Don't rush it. It's true that it's mainly a mental battle with yourself, but it's not a race. Steady and slow does it. Take your time to feel comfortable, because even if it's hard to believe it, I promise that it will become comfortable. You got this and you can do it!
7. We discovered a trick that helps. Take one or two deep breaths and turn on the cold water (or turn of the warm water) while you are on the exhale. If you do this while you inhale, you may choke and start shivering and it will make the experience more uncomfortable than it should be.
8. Unlike what we've been told as children, frequent exposure to cold doesn't make you sick. On the contrary, it has a great number of health benefits and helps boost your immune system considerably.
Ever since I've started playing around with cold therapy, I didn't get even a slight cold, despite taking freezing cold showers, staying bear foot in the snow or hanging outside in a t-shirt at negative temperatures during winter.
9. We could vow for the anti-inflammatory benefits of cold exposure. The showers brought immediate relief of back-pains, for example.
--
I'll update this article with any new findings we will have in the future.
Did you enjoy the story?
If you've read until the end, it must be because you are doing research just like I did, because you are interested in a healthy lifestyle and in the cold therapy health benefits.
Hope our experience helps to make it easier for you to start taking cold showers.
I highly encourage you to keep reading on the subject and to try them when you are ready, to discover this free magnificent tool to feel better, be happy and to improve your health.
Please reach out if you have any questions and will be more than glad to share or discuss more.
M.
Life is not a competition with others, it's an internal battle with yourself.
Limiting beliefs can hold you prisoner of your own comfort zone to protect you from failure.
But failure is the most important driver of excellent that ever existed. That's why you need to fail, fail again and fail some more.
If you look back in distant or recent history, you can observe that the most important human development occurred when courageous people decided to let go of fear of failure and to allow themselves to fail in order to become better and - later - remarkable.
Beliefs that you are either gifted or not, you either have it or you don't, are just wrong.
It's up to you to gather the knowledge to see that and to generate the mental energy to fight against your beliefs and to grow.
Everything in life is learnable. Every skill you can think of is achievable if you put your mind and enough effort to it.
John Wooden, the legendary basketball coach, said that you have to apply yourself each day to becoming a little better. By becoming a little better each and every day, over a period of time, you will become a lot better.
Change is tough. It's hard work and more hard work. But it's worth it.
Making the shift from a fixed to a growth mindset frame helps tremendously.
For more insight about the difference between them, we can't recommend enough the exceptional book Mindset - the New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck.
]]>Therefore, we are so thrilled to announce that starting today Health from Transylvania becomes Health from Europe!
However, don't worry, we are still Ana and Mircea - the Memorable Taste Experiences team - and what we stand for doesn't change 😊.
What did not change
Health from Europe is the same concept that we envisioned from the start.
We created Health from Transylvania as a platform to support small producers from our favorite province in our home country, Romania.
But since all things evolve, we thought to expand this idea to the entire Old Continent, to take advantage of Europe's diversity.
Actually, you were the ones that sparked up this idea to expand our brand. Your interest in other European products made us consider the what if and encouraged us to explore other ideas and opportunities.
Our commitment is to offer you comfort and peace of mind with our high-quality, natural and organic products from Old Europe, made with care and sustainable methods by small-scale artisans and producers.
Our mission is to proudly promote them across the ocean, making it possible for you to discover and enjoy new experiences with their healthy and savory goodies.
We intend to offer them a voice and help open the door to the market in Canada and the United States and, by doing this, help smaller communities around them to develop and thrive.
What did change
Our logo, our brand and our website made the step to the next level.
The Dot was upgraded and polished and the brand colors were changed to match the new vision and - most important - the original concept of the logo.
The initial Dot was designed after an embroidery made by hand by Ana's grandmother 60 years ago, and this rebranding is a return to what started the logo idea in the first place.
Who did it
We had the opportunity and pleasure to collaborate with Denisa, an extremely talented brand designer from Romania.
Coincidence or not, she is based in Cluj-Napoca in the province of Transylvania, some 50km from where Ana's grandmother lives. That's coming full circle, indeed 😊.
She took care of all the rebranding concept, she did a tremendous job and we are grateful for her hard work and patience with us.
If you have any branding or designing jobs to do in the future, we highly recommend Denisa.
You can follow her and enjoy her work on Instagram @denisa.neamtiu or see her growing portfolio at: www.behance.net/denisaneamtiu.
What's next
We have a bag full of surprises, but we will not share them yet. Stay tuned and come along us in this delicious (pun intended) journey and you will not regret it!
]]>Stay healthy and happy, friends!
P.S. You may also want to read another proof that this is actually an important thing for your health:
Alberta researchers part of rush to learn vitamin D's role in COVID-19 prevention
In order to take advantage of this one-time offer, use the code GETFREEJAM at checkout on our website at https://healthfromeurope.ca
All you need to do is to click on the link https://healthfromeurope.ca/discount/GETFREEJAM and the code GETFREEJAM is automatically added, usable at checkout.
IMPORTANT: The free jams need to be added to the cart for the offer and the discount code to work.
Offered for orders within Canada and the United States only.
Hurry up and don't miss on this limited offer. Ends at midnight (EDT) on Monday, May 18.
]]>Spring is here and we had to celebrate it by launching our brand new Spring Gift Set to make you or someone you love happy.
Not to mention that it's the perfect gift idea for Mother's Day!
Check below what's included in this set and let us know which product you would want to try the most!
Organic Rose Love Tea
Ingredients: Damask rose, French rose, Japanese rose
Wild Rosehip Jam
Ingredients: wild rosehips, sugar
Organic Wild Flowers Tea
Ingredients: marigold, primrose, yarrow, wild chamomile, St John's-wort, wild marjoram
To show our appreciation to the wonderful people who who support small local businesses in these difficult times, we are now offering FREE 24h Express 🚚 Local Delivery for a limited time for all orders in Montreal Metropolitan Area.
In this way, you will get our amazingly delicious products quickly delivered straight to your door in no time and with no fuss.
You will be able to join hundreds of our happy customers in the Memorable Taste Experiences community and you will surely understand the buzz around our spectacular products.
If you are living in the following municipalities of the Greater Montreal Area, you qualify for next day local delivery.
If your area is not listed and you want to verify if the offer applies to you, please send us a message to ask if your postal code is included in the free delivery zone.
⦿ Baie-D'Urfé
⦿ Beaconsfield
⦿ Beauharnois
⦿ Belœil
⦿ Blainville
⦿ Bois-des-Filion
⦿ Boisbriand
⦿ Boucherville
⦿ Brossard
⦿ Candiac
⦿ Calixa-Lavallée
⦿ Carignan
⦿ Chambly
⦿ Charlemagne
⦿ Châteauguay
⦿ Contrecoeur
⦿ Côte-Saint-Luc
⦿ Coteau-du-Lac
⦿ Delson
⦿ Deux-Montagnes
⦿ Dollard-Des Ormeaux
⦿ Dorval
⦿ Gore
⦿ Hampstead
⦿ Hudson
⦿ Kahnawake
⦿ Kanesatake
⦿ Kirkland
⦿ L'Assomption
⦿ L'Épiphanie (ville)
⦿ L'Épiphanie (paroisse)
⦿ L'Île-Cadieux
⦿ L'Île-Dorval
⦿ L'Île-Perrot
⦿ La Prairie
⦿ Laval
⦿ Lavaltrie
⦿ Léry
⦿ Les Cèdres
⦿ Les Coteaux
⦿ Longueuil
⦿ Lorraine
⦿ Mascouche
⦿ McMasterville
⦿ Mercier
⦿ Mirabel
⦿ Mont-Royal
⦿ Mont-Saint-Hilaire
⦿ Montréal
⦿ Montréal-Est
⦿ Montréal-Ouest
⦿ Notre-Dame-de-l'Île-Perrot
⦿ Oka
⦿ Otterburn
⦿ Park
⦿ Pincourt
⦿ Pointe-Calumet
⦿ Pointe-Claire
⦿ Pointe-des-Cascades
⦿ Repentigny
⦿ Richelieu
⦿ Rosemère
⦿ Saint-Amable
⦿ Saint-Basile-le-Grand
⦿ Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville
⦿ Saint-Colomban
⦿ Saint-Constant
⦿ Saint-Eustache
⦿ Saint-Isidore
⦿ Saint-Jean-Baptiste
⦿ Saint-Jérôme
⦿ Saint-Joseph-du-Lac
⦿ Saint-Lambert
⦿ Saint-LazareSaint-Mathias-sur-Richelieu
⦿ Saint-Mathieu
⦿ Saint-Mathieu-de-Belœil
⦿ Saint-Philippe
⦿ Saint-Placide
⦿ Saint-Sulpice
⦿ Saint-Zotique
⦿ Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue
⦿ Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines
⦿ Sainte-Catherine
⦿ Sainte-Julie
⦿ Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac
⦿ Sainte-Thérèse
⦿ Senneville
⦿ Terrasse-Vaudreuil
⦿ Terrebonne
⦿ Varennes
⦿ Vaudreuil-Dorion
⦿ Vaudreuil-sur-le-Lac
⦿ Verchères
⦿ Westmount
]]>We found some superb videos of the amazing Transylvania and we wanted to share them with you.
Enjoy!
]]>
✔ Homemade in small batches by a family business in Transylvania, Romania
✔ 100% hand picked wild fruit (wild fruits are smaller and more flavorful than conventionally grown fruits, which are engineered to be huge, but lack on taste)
✔ Simple traditional "Grandma style" European recipe
✔ Comfort food
✔ Rich in antioxidants
✔ Low sugar
✔ Raw preparation
✔ Gluten-free and non-GMO
✔ No pesticides, chemical additives or preservatives are ever used
]]>Therefore, just do it! Play some music, drink a cup of tea and enjoy the moment!
Stay healthy and happy, friend!
]]>Visit the The World Digital Library 📡.
UNESCO is offering free access to manuscripts, rare books, maps, photographs, and other important cultural documents from all countries and cultures.
Play games with your kids:
11 great games to educate and entertain your kids at home
And last, but not least, don't forget to have trust, faith, hope and love!
Tell us what you think about those and please feel free to share some other ideas that you may have to fight the boredom.
Sending love, good vibes and wishing you a wonderful, quiet weekend!
Stay safe, healthy, happy and strong, friend!
We are in this together, we will get through it together! ❤️💪
]]>How to prepare it:
In a large bowl mash the bananas and then add the eggs.
Then, mix in the baking soda and baking powder and in the end stir in the flour.
Lastly, add the cinnamon, blueberries, walnuts and chocolate chips.
Whisk until they are properly combined in a nice smelling batter.
Now transfer it to a loaf pan, put it in the oven at 300°-350°F (150°-175°C) and after 25-30 minutes, voila:
Yes, it's that simple!
Of course, you could add/replace any ingredient to customize the recipe to your liking.
You can add other fresh fruits or yogurt, but be aware that this will make the cake moist.
You can add raisins, dates or other nuts like almonds or caju for extra crunchiness.
You can even add some maple syrup in the composition or maybe drench it over after you get it out of the oven.
Sky's the limit, depending on what you have in your cupboard and on your imagination.
We wanted to be bold and added some ketchup on it, as you can see below:
Just kidding 😀, it's not ketchup, it's our smooth low sugar Wild Rosehip Jam (and the other one is the Wild Blackberry Jam).
Because there is no extra sugar added in this recipe, we wanted to make it even more spectacular and it turned out to be the best dessert ever.
If you try this, please let us know in the comments how it was and what you chose to add or replace.
Otherwise, share with us what else you are cooking to break the boredom of self isolation. We are always looking for new amazing and fun quarantine food or desserts ideas.
Stay safe, healthy, happy and strong, friends!
We will get through it together!
Since we all are living weird and unpredictable times amid the coronavirus outbreak, we wanted to take this opportunity to update you on the measures we are taking to continue serving you.
The COVID-19 is having a serious impact on our entire world, with closures and cancellations affecting millions.
While the situation hit us quite hard - just like the other small businesses worldwide – we still have the advantage of being tiny and flexible.
We wanted to reassure you that Health from Europe is still up and running and we are dedicated to supporting you - our customers, as best as we can in this period.
As long as the Canada Post offices remain open, we are continuing to facilitate orders to both our online customers in Canada and the United States and our partner stores in Montreal and Toronto.
For our customers in Greater Montreal, we are offering FREE local delivery in 24h. More details here.
Although there are no waiting times on our end for shipping orders, some delays should be expected due to Canada Post limitations. But the good news is that your package WILL be delivered.
As far as safety is concerned, please be assured that we are taking the matter very seriously.
We have a secure process in place and we are committed to ensure your safety and ours.
Therefore, all surfaces, products to be shipped, as well as boxes and packaging materials are thoroughly sanitized and (more than) frequent hand washing is our reality these days.
On your end, after receiving the package, you only need to clean the outside of the box to make perfectly sure that it was not contaminated during delivery.
And after this step is completed, all that remains to be done for you is to enjoy our amazingly delicious Wild Fruit Jams and our healthy Organic Herbal Teas!
Thanks for your patience and support during this tumultuous time! And just as you support us, please make sure to support your other local businesses!
Stay safe out there, keep your calm and have trust, faith, hope and love!
Our only job right now is to #stayhome for EVERYONE's sake and to make every effort to remain calm and positive.
And to do that, the most important thing in this crazy period is to pay attention exclusively to official sources and not to dubious persons or outlets propagating fake news, half-truths, bogus remedies or sensational conspiracy theories.
Stay safe and take care, friends!
We'll get through this together (but from a safe distance, though 😃)!
Whether you are in a relationship or it temporarily happens that you're single, spread the love and love will find you! ❤️🌈
Love is the most beautiful thing in the world that drives wonderful things in your life, so embrace it and you will be amazed to see how it works!
As you know, almost two weeks ago we attended the Toronto Tea Festival 2020 - Canada's largest event for tea lovers.
The 8th edition was the first one in which we participated as exhibitors and let me tell you, we.had.a.blast! (many pictures below at the end of the post)
And what better day to write this recap post about an event we absolutely loved? ❤️ Well, yeah, today is just perfect!
Actually, it was just our second public event for us, after the Ottawa Tea and Chocolate Festival, which was also an incredible experience.
But, wow, let us tell you this: Toronto was just something else! And we are so grateful for being there!
First, it took place in the Toronto Reference Library, one of the most impressive libraries we've ever seen. Really an excellent choice!
It was fantastic to see the great job the organizers have done to put together such a prestigious and large event in this place (and also without disturbing the peace of the people present in the library to read and study! Bravo!)
Then, we got to meet some of our tea friends that we knew from Instagram and from whom we got to learn so much last year. Remember, we are a very young company with only one year of activity, so we are always in learning mode on.
But the most important thing in this experience was the energy and feedback we got from our visitors, which were simply amazing.
We are so very thankful to everyone (literally many hundreds!) who visited our booth and tried our amazingly delicious products.
We are known to be offering Memorable Taste Experiences and according to the large majority of our visitors, we sure delivered 😊
It was so touching to see people in awe of how unexpectedly awesome (looking at you, elderberry, lingonberry and rose hip jam lovers) and clean our products taste.
Especially those with European roots - who got the chance to taste old school real jams made by their mothers and grandmothers - they told us how our homemade jams bring back childhood memories.
We were so happy to hear this, because we feel exactly the same!
But not only them, the other folks were also surprised to find out that the amazing jam taste comes only from wild fruits and some sugar, without chemicals, artificial flavoring, pectin or preservatives added.
Not judging choices, but we are so glad that we won over some (now former) jelly lovers.
Welcome to the world of real jam, guys! 😀
Likewise, herbal teas/tisane lovers or people looking for caffeine-free alternatives adored our organic herbal teas made with love.
They really didn't know that you could blend healthy medicinal plants, herbs and spices into delicious teas. But now they know! 😀
Don't want to end this post without thanking the organizers and volunteers, the ones that made this event possible and a successful and memorable experience.
Also, many thanks to the other exhibitors, speakers, sommeliers and tea friends who were very friendly and helpful, and to all you tea (and jam) lovers out there!
You all made our first participation at the Toronto Tea Festival a thing to remember for many years to come.
Did you attend the festival this year?
How did you like it?
Please share your thoughts in the comments and let us know about the nice experiences you had there in the tea community!
See you all next year!
Much love,
Ana and Mircea
P.S. You can see a lot of pictures on our Facebook page here.
]]>That's anxiety and it is not fun. And if you don't learn how to cope with it, it can lead to more stress that could eventually develop into a severe disorder.
That's why returning in the present moment - being mindful and feeling your body sensations - is the best way to cut the overthinking loop and stop fueling bad emotions.
Of all the ways to deal with anxiety and the constant noise created by our monkey minds, meditation is the tool that taught us how to be more mindful and peaceful.
We feel it's the best tool to learn how to fight anxiety, because it shows you that you are enough and that you just don't need to be anxious.
Instead, you should (and are perfectly able to!) let crazy thoughts arrive and pass and just start being yourself.
Yes, it takes time to feel comfortable with meditation, but after you practice it, you begin to notice the signs and symptoms of anxiety as it tries to develop in your mind.
And you know what's great about it? After you notice these signs and acknowledge them, the noise lowers down and you to start learning that you can indeed stop worrying all the time!
Feels too good to be true? Why don't you try it and tell us what you think 😀
But learning never stops, and you may have a different take on it, so we would love to hear about your approach to this.
Please share your thoughts with us!
P.S. Lately, we have been trying to incorporate turmeric in our diet, both in natural form and as supplements. And while it has a lot of health benefits, it is known to also help with anxiety and depression.
Studies show that curcumin has an antidepressant like effect and can improve mental health.
So, keep it in mind and try it if you are looking for something to help you.
]]>Everything is almost ready and we are so excited to see everyone there this weekend!
We will be bringing from Montreal our healthy organic herbal teas/tisanes and amazingly delicious wild fruit jams and we promise that you will have memorable taste experiences!
Speaking of our teas, many of you have already enjoyed them and you know they come from Transylvania, Romania, in the European Union.
You also were pleasantly surprised by their high quality and clean healthy ingredients.
But what you don't know is how they are made and - especially - who crafts these spectacular caffeine-free herbal blends.
We were asked if we make the tisanes ourselves, here in Montreal. Well, we would have loved to take credit for them, but we can't 😃
So, let us satisfy your curiosity!
These luxury products are handcrafted by a small family business that feels respect and love for nature and life.
The Csiki family (Emese and her sons) from Avramesti is our tea partner and grows herbs and spices in their organically certified garden, around a 300 years old mansion.
All their European style tea blends are handmade with love from medicinal herbs, fruits and spices, based on old family or regional recipes and combined based on their health benefits.
And their taste, color and smell are very special, because the dried flowers and leaves are packed in one piece without their stems in order to maintain the best possible quality.
The only ingredients used are medicinal plants and spices, without any artificial additives, be it flavorings, preservatives, pesticides or colors.
The products are unique, because the herbs from the organic garden are grown in a soil mixed with local salt from Transylvania and organic spelt husks.
Beside their amazing taste, they have a range of benefits for your health and well-being. Because herbal tea is known to help you relax and manage your stress and anxiety and is the best relief and aid for digestion and bloating.
We want you to meet Emese, an amazing person whose love and passion for nature created the Transylvanian Herb Garden in Szentábrahám and all her beautiful products that we are fortunate enough to be able to bring to you here in Canada.
Enjoy the short movie below and let us know in the comments if you would like to enjoy her teas!