What does January 1st have to do with sleep?

January 10, 2017

Happy New Year!!

Have you ever wondered why January 1 is the first day of the new year is January?

Smack dab in the middle of the Winter!

Here’s what I discovered:
The Romans had a god named Janus. He was the god of doors and gates and had two faces — one looking forward and one looking back. Julius Caesar thought it would be appropriate for January, Janus' namesake month, to be the doorway to a new year. So he created the Julian calendar and made January 1 the first day of the year.

For Caesar, the Julian calendar was a political tool and weapon. As the Roman armies conquered new lands, the Empire often gave its new subjects some freedom in retaining certain religious and social customs. After the calendar was created, it was used in every corner of the Empire, not just for consistency, but to remind all citizens of Roman authority and Caesar's power.
Who knew?

There’s always hype at New Year about making resolutions.
I for one am considering this cultural habit in a new light. For those of us who live in a 3-4 season climate, January falls in the dead of Winter. The energy of Winter according to honored traditions, based upon nature, is a time of introspection, quietude, contemplation, reflection, even hibernation. It’s the perfect time to slow down, take stock, and rest up!

But what do we modern people do instead? We turn the New Year into another reason to party! As if we were starved for celebration after Thanksgiving, Solstice, Hanukah, Christmas, and Ramadan. We stay up later than usual, drink more than normal and carry on…fun for sure, but with certain costs.

If we want to live and age well and have a great experience doing so - one thing is for certain - being in harmony with nature, her seasons and cycles will help us leverage our health, wellbeing and longevity into the future.

So this new year, as I crossed the threshold of 2016 to 2017 I an trying a new strategy. Yes, I stayed up to midnight to watch the most amazing display of fireworks on the beach in Maui, but I did so without getting plastered. And I slept in the next day. Ah.

This month, I am not rushing to make big decisions, big plans or big resolutions. I am taking my time to feel the energy of this New Year, and to honor my needs, in the dead of Winter, to rest, reflect and rejuvenate!

I hope you give yourself permission to do the same!!

Rest is the foundation of health; without adequate rest our hormones go out of balance, our physical, mental and emotional energy reserves get depleted and we lose enthusiasm for daily life. But more on that another time…

I’d love to hear how you crossed the threshold of 2017, and what you are currently contemplating in your life!

If getting adequate sleep is a challenge for you during any season,
go ahead and grab my free ebook:
7 Steps to Supremely Satisfying Sleep now.

Or if you want some real support and lasting results:
request a Get More Sleep Breakthrough Session today.

If you’re Facebook savvy: post a comment here.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on New Year, Winter, Sleep, etc.


In Health,
Lynne Ann Paterson
Holistic Health Coach
www.youngerasyouage.comYoga Instructor & Yoga Therapistwww.prakasayoga.com