Nine Things You Don't Know About Your Children's Bedroom
By Carole Fogarty
If your children have trouble sleeping, restless nights, wake up feeling tired, complain of aches and pains, foggy thinking, generally feel unwell or constantly ill then the solution to any of these ailments could quite well be found lurking somewhere in your son or daughters bedroom.
After teaching and consulting for more than a decade in Holistic Feng Shui it soon became obvious to me that many children were sleeping in an environment that over stimulated their minds and stressed their immune and nervous systems.
If your children's bodies are unable to rest, repair and rejuvenate themselves whilst sleeping then their overall health and well being is greatly compromised.
What is on the other side of your children's bed head wall?
Perhaps the most disturbing observation for me during my consultation and teaching years were children who were diagnosed with serious illnesses. In too many cases to be a coincidence many of these young children had been sleeping for years against the wall which on the other side located the power box for the entire home.
Twenty years of scientific research:
There are many case studies documenting over the past two decades strong links between children's illness, fatigue symptoms and foggy thinking due to over exposure of high levels of electromagnetic frequency (EMF); an unnatural field which is emitted from all things electrical.
Is there 100% proof no! Is there strong evidence to suggest the artificial man made electrical currents emitted from electrical things are dangerous to our health and well being particularly young children. Absolutely!
I'll now share with you my first hand experience of the nine most common reasons your child may not be sleeping, wakes feeling tired or complaining of aches and pains:
1. A bedroom is not a multi purposed room:
Your child's bedroom is a place where they can safely escape from the bombardment of information and external stimuli being constantly thrown at them. It is a place where they can withdraw from the outside world chill out, let go and relax. It is their private sanctuary and possibly the only place where they can rest, repair and rejuvenate their body, mind and soul. I believe it's very important to get clear with the exact purpose you have for children's bedrooms. The only purpose I have for my children's bedrooms are for sleep and quiet and peaceful activities. It is not an exercise room, storage room, computer room or even work or study room.
2. Never sleep against a wall which is charged with electrical currents:
It's important to notice what is on the other side of the wall in which your child's head is sleeping against. I would strongly advise moving the bed if their head is against a wall which on the other side has anything electrical e.g clothes dryer, air conditioning or heating unit, TV, power box etc.
3. Fluorescent or halogen lighting emit the highest radiation currents:
I have used for many years an instrument called a cell sensor which reads the amount of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) coming from anything electrical. From my personal experience fluorescent lighting emits a strong field of high radiation.
I personally would not have any long fluorescent lighting tubes near where my children sleep, play or study. I know of many people who get headaches if they sit anywhere near fluorescent lighting and others who often just feel a general tightness around the head area. Fluorescent lighting also contains mercury which is a harmful and highly toxic heavy metal. Broken fluorescent light bulbs are particularly hazardous to our environment. So even though fluorescent lighting may be energy efficient it definitely has some health issues with the mercury and high levels of electromagnetic radiation.
4. Overdose of electrical appliances within arms reach of head:
Close exposure for long periods of time can greatly interfere with our body's health. Remove everything electrical in and around your child's head from their bed side table and whatever cords you have going under their bed. This includes electric clocks, phone chargers, ipod speakers, CD player. My children have nothing at all electrical beside their bed. If they need a light then give them a torch. If they need a clock use a battery operated one. There is also the constant mental stimulation attached to many bed side electrical appliances which can greatly affect the mental activity of a sensitive child during the night.
5. Electrical overload in the bedroom:
The more electrical appliances within four walls the greater the build up of static electricity and positive ions (its negative ions you want like the natural ones created at the ocean or after a storm). Many children these days are sleeping in a room full of electrical pollution. All electrical things which are left turned on at the wall 24 hours a day send a continuous stream of radiation into the room even when not in use not to mention the cost in wasted electricity. Keeping the door locked assists in the toxic build up. Good air flow, windows and doors kept open help flush out that static and positive ion build up. Reminding your children to ground themselves often is very beneficial to balancing out the effects of electrical pollution. If you are uncertain of how to get grounded you are welcome to read my article called Get grounded or get pushed around by life.
If your children must have anything electrical in their room then teach them to turn it off at the wall at night and keep it well away from the bed head.
6. Sharp pointed corner aimed at their body:
This is an interesting observation from Feng Shui masters and their 3,000 of observations. If unseen energy rushes directly at you it can create imbalances in your personal energy fields, a type of restlessness or unsettling feeling occurs.
Sharp pointed corners from wardrobes, wall corners, cupboards, bedside tables etc cause energy to rush in line with the direction they are aimed at. The rushing energy literally pierces your auric field and eventually enters your physical body resulting in aches, pains or stiffness. The further away from the sharp pointed corner the less impact it has.
If you are sensitive to energy often by just holding the palm of your hand near the sharp pointed corner will allow you to feel a hot sensation in the palm of your hand. Headaches are often caused by a sharp pointed corners aimed directly at your head at close range for long periods of time.
Bedside tables with sharp pointed corners should either be below the mattress height thereby missing the body, covered or turned away from the body. Smooth rounded edges for bed side tables are the preferred option.
7. Remove yang stimulating images and items:
Yang is the day time, sun, bright, action, movement, busy and stimulating. A little energizing and stimulation at night is OK but too much will keep the mind in an active, forever thinking over analyzing yang state during the entire evening when it really needs to be in a calm yin mode.
When the mind is in a yin state you can totally withdraw from the world around you, let go, relax and unwind from the events of the day.
If your child or children are sensitive and prone to getting overly excited or having an over active mind then the visual images around them while they sleep my be adding to that stimulation. Peaceful calm soothing images that promote harmony are best for a bedroom. Trial and error may be needed to finding out exactly what object or item is causing the problem.
Possible yang stimulating items:
It is well known that colours have a direct influence over the emotional state of the human body. Red is stimulating along with most bright colours so you may wish to get a sense of how the colours in the bedroom are effecting your child.
The pattern or image on the Doona or bed covers can be extremely stimulating as they are very "up close and personal" with your child during the entire night. There's certainly no action hero's on any bedding covers in our household. I don't need 3 boys dreaming about fighting all night.
Computers and game consoles can definitely keep your children's mind in yang mode and prevent them from chilling out. If they must be kept in the bedroom then at least cover them or pack them out of sight.
Pay close attention to the pictures, posters and images on the walls. Is there anything on the wall which would cause your son or daughters to over think or get excited which is preventing them from unwinding and relaxing?
A room full of trophies can sometimes put a constant stress on a child's nervous system as their mind is never taking a break from their sports. Even a pile of homework in eyes view can stress a child. Make sure any homework is packed away at night so there is no constant visual reminder.
Mirrors reflect light and energy and therefore have a yang stimulating effect in a bedroom. The main culprit I've seen over the years are built in robes which are covered in mirrors . This means that virtually one whole of a the bedroom is mirrors. I've seen many people cover the mirrors with posters or simply hanging a sarong over it at night to calm the energy down more in the bedroom.
8. Sleeping on a metal bed:
Metal is a conduit for electricity and can pick up currents. I have seen too many times over the years metal beds which I have been unable to take a stable compass reading as the current is so strong it just spins the compass needle.
If the metal bed happens to pick up an electrical current due to the overload of electrical appliances in the room or simply one electrical item close to the bed then this situation can greatly compromise a healthy immune and nervous system.
It's important to note that there is nothing wrong with metal beds only when they come into close contact with lots of electrical items.
Metal springs in mattress can also be a conduit for electrical currents. You can now however buy mattresses which still have coils that neutralize the electromagnetic fields. Latex mattresses are the preferred health option. I'm looking forward to the day I can afford to buy the whole family latex mattresses.
9. Over cramped, over filled and over cluttered:
You can't breathe properly your thinking is foggy, confused and disorganized. You feel constantly tired, lethargic and drained all the time and it's all because you are being zapped by the overload of stuff around you.
Now let's be clear here I am not saying daily mess is clutter. I love my home to look like it's being lived in but I am talking here about stuff there never gets put away, is unused, unwanted, broken, outgrown and unloved.
The simpler looking the room, the lighter and less stressful it feels, the healthier its energy and greater rest and stillness it offers your child.
Do you have any electrical free zones in your home:
It's important to observe where your children are spending long periods of time and how many electrical items are around them when they do. You may be surprised to find there are not too many spaces in your home when they are not exposed to the frequencies being emitted from your electrical stuff.
Imagine if we could create a room in your home where your children could play, read, study and eat in an electrical free zone.
For further resources and how to remove radiation from your body you are welcome to visit my blog.
Carole's blog The Healthy Living Lounge offers regular weekly articles on:
detox and de-stress
natural wisdoms
comfort on the go. http://www.thehealthylivinglounge.com
i found this info very interesting.my youngest son has been waking up complaining of a sore head and his right eye is hurting him. and this has been over the last 2 yrs. ive taking him to eye doctor and to the doctors a couple of times, and just been told it could be senus.i was out on my front pourch a couple a day ago walked past the electric box and just had a thought (could it have something to do with the box)he sleeps with his head against that wall.
Posted by: julie | June 03, 2008 at 10:41 PM