Learn How to Manage Your Sleep for Optimum Health and Increased Longevity

Written by Guest Contributor on The Prepper Journal.

As a prepper, you need to learn diametrically opposite things when it comes to sleep. Both are useful for different situations.

On one hand, you need to learn how to get a good night’s sleep–because this is useful for everyday performance. Without adequate levels of rest, humans deteriorate both physically and mentally to the point where our very lives are at risk. For example, extreme exhaustion can lead to impaired judgment, something nobody wants in a life or death situation. Furthermore, lack of sleep can do damage to the immune system, making us especially susceptible to illness and infections which may be difficult to treat in an environment where resources are limited.

On the other hand, you’ve got to learn about the benefits of sleep deprivation in training–because this will help you remain alert and able during an emergency when you’ve had little or no sleep. Despite the health risks posed by not getting enough sleep, the human body and mind can continue to function for a surprisingly long time without proper rest. You’ll be able to perform well despite sleep deprivation if you’ve undergone the necessary training beforehand.

Since both are topics that can be discussed at length, for the sake of focus, let’s talk about how to sleep well first and why it is essential that you understand how to get a good night’s sleep and why it’s important. We will address the benefits of learning to function better in spite of a lack of sleep in a follow-up article.

How to Get a Good Night’s Sleep

Here are three ways to make sure you sleep well:

Sleep on a good mattress: A good mattress is essential for getting a good night’s sleep. A good bedding/mattress store will offers mattresses from top manufacturers like Serta, Simmons, TempurPedic, and Taylor & Wells. So the first place to start when it comes to troubleshooting how to improve the quality of your night’s rest is with a good mattress. One that is right for you. This is one of the things that, well, getting a bargain is never a bad thing, but sacrificing comfort and function for a few buck is NOT a smart decision.

Keep your bedroom dark and quiet: Our Stone Age ancestors slept in dark, quiet and cool caves and caverns. Consequently, we may be biologically primed to respond to these conditions. When a room is dark and quiet, and when it isn’t hot and stuffy, we sleep deeply. Darkening your room is as simple as turning off bright electronics in your bedroom, like your digital clock,  computer, and television, adding window coverings and closing doors. If, for some reason, you can’t reduce the noise in the house, buy a white noise machine. And, finally, adjust the thermostat for the right temperature.

Enjoy a hot shower or bath before bed to calm your mind and relax your muscles: Although you’ll sleep better in a cooler room than a hotter one, your muscles relax more when you raise your body’s core temperature with a hot bath. Also, consider adding a few drops of a calming essential oil like lavender to the bath or as a mist on sheets to help trigger drowsiness.

Why You Need to Get a Good Night’s Sleep

Here is a quick list of the seven benefits you’ll get after a good night’s sleep:

You’ll get smarter: A good night’s sleep improves alertness and cognitive function. Additionally, sleep helps you remember important information. If you study before sleep, a process called Memory Consolidation helps your brain make connections, find contextual relationships, and build long-term memories.

You’ll be less stressed: When you’re sleep deprived, your blood pressure and stress hormones spike. Observable symptoms of stress from sleep deprivation include irritation, anger, and overwhelm. People who have not had a good night’s rest are more likely to lose patience with their spouse and children, yelling at them for trivial issues. They are also likely to be disinterested and unmotivated in things that they previously found engaging. 

You’ll live longer: Studies have shown that there’s a direct correlation between the overall quality of sleep you get every night and your longevity. Every major physiological system and organ appears to be compromised when a person does not get enough sleep. For instance, they find difficulty in thinking clearly, heart variance rates are higher, and their immune system is compromised. When you get enough sleep, it will improve your overall health.  Sleep helps your body heal from the pain of a recent injury, and it also boosts your immune system, reduces inflammation, controls blood sugar, and regulates heart rate. 

You’ll be in a better mood: If you get enough sleep every night, your serotonin levels will soar, promoting a sense of peace and a feeling of well-being. The amygdala and the prefrontal cortex play a critical role in mood regulation. Connectivity between these two brain centers is higher when you’re well-rested and much lower when you’re suffering from sleep deprivation. This enhanced connectivity results in more effective executive functioning, better reactivity, and reduced impulsiveness.

You’ll be more attractive: When you sleep, your body begins to repair your skin, adding collagen protein and regenerating cells. Collagen prevents skin from sagging, and when you have plenty of collagen your skin is plumper. Conversely, insufficient collagen causes wrinkling. 

You’ll control your weight: Weight control is managed by the hormones leptin and ghrelin. When you don’t get enough sleep, your levels of leptin go up, which, in turn, stimulates your appetite, making you overeat. Insufficient sleep also spikes up ghrelin, which stimulates appetite, reduces how many calories you burn, and increases how much fat you store. So, when leptin and ghrelin levels go up because of insufficient sleep, it becomes almost impossible to lose weight. 

You’ll be less accident-prone:  Although clumsiness caused by drowsiness might just result in bumps and bruises or dropping and breaking things, some accidents are far more dangerous. For instance, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that drowsy driving causes fatalities. In 2014, they reported 846 deaths were due to drowsy driving. Although much attention has been paid to fatalities and injuries due to alcohol, sleepiness has also played a significant role in poor decisions and slow reaction times behind the wheel.   

The one lesson we probably all wish we’d learned years ago would be how to get a good night’s sleep. When you get good at figuring out how to get enough sleep, you’ll feel alert and ready to deal with anything that comes your way during the day. Good sleep allows you to feel happier and be healthier. You’ll be at your best the next day, ready and able to perform mental and physical tasks well.

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Grid-Down Intel: Finding Resources

Written by R. Ann Parris on The Prepper Journal.

Editors Note: Another guest contribution from R.Ann Parris to The Prepper Journal. As always, if you have information for Preppers that you would like to share and be entered into the Prepper Writing Contest with a chance to win one of three Amazon Gift Cards  with the top prize being a $300 card to purchase your own prepping supplies, then enter today!

Information is hugely important to success in any endeavor. We have to know what’s going on to best respond. There are all kinds of clues we can take from our surroundings and the skies to fill in some of the gaps the loss of the internet leaves, but a biggie is going to be just finding things. Many of us know our immediate towns well, although we might not be intimately familiar with all the back alleys of every community and crossroad in our county. If the grid is down for any amount of time, locating resources in less-known or new places is going to get a whole lot harder.

There are any number of reasons we might go looking for something – or anything. We might develop a community that ends up needing a resupply, be part of a nomadic community that forms, or be hoofing it home from afar.

Information about where we are and what’s around us can dictate which roads we parallel or which direction we head. Never having been in an area before, we can still find places to seek refuge and supplies, as well as areas to give wide berths.

For example, I might think it’s a great idea to hit a park with old Indian caverns since there’s water, fishing, foraging, shelter, and maybe still canoes. However, I might not if I know they have their own zoo or are right beside a big cat sanctuary, given the number of caretakers who might release their charges to give them a chance.

I for sure do not want to tromp through the vicinity of a drive-through safari park that uses hot lines, chain link, and moats if there have been storms dropping trees. I walked in on that episode of The 100. I do not want to annoy a gorilla.

(The 100, by the way, is gorier than I’d have expected a CW show for/about young adults to be, and did not in some hit-and-miss scrolling appear to actually have any useful survival tips, if it was on your watchlist.)

Depending on the type of disaster – its speed, duration, and effects – schools and various correctional facilities might be excellent locations to aim for. If they were evacuated and have not yet been re-occupied, they can be great sources for food, bottled drinks, hygiene and medical supplies, clothing, weapons in many cases (guards, but also confiscated items), and tools.

The flip side is that some inmates are really bad guys, and some schools are shelters. Depending on the time of year and even the day of the week and their delivery schedule, there may or may not be anything left in them as far as foods go, either in cafeterias or in the staff room or snack carts and vending. Still, if I’m in month/year six and have assimilated a group of refugees or a growing compound, it might be worth checking for cleaning supplies, trash bags with their many uses, trash cans for water catchment or container planting, and windows to extend the season.

So how do we find these, and check for risks or other useful locations that might be near them, without our handy smart phone and computer? We pass the answers on pretty much every shopping trip, and can keep an eye out for them when we’re “shopping” after a disaster as well.

Phone Books

A local-area phone book can be a goldmine of information. Sometimes they contain only bare-bones, general maps, but there are sometimes more detailed sections. Some of the ads will actually have maps on them, too. They’re small and bare-bones, too, but usually there’s a reference from a major roadway nearby.

Those ads are particularly useful, but we can also check the white and yellow page listings for things like animal control (live traps, sometimes to regularly buckets and catch poles, radio equipment), hardware stores, hotels, schools, distribution centers (the places where semi trucks pick up and deliver all the things that make it to our store shelves), assisted living and nursing homes, seed and feed distributors, restaurants (we’ll detail that a little more in a minute), lockups, and various factories.

The books themselves have a ton of uses (now as well as later), but the information they offer is an enormous resource, too.

Brochures for Area Attractions

At the front of hotels and welcome centers, there’s usually a rack of glossy pamphlets. Those can give us a big boost for things to hit – or, as mentioned previously, to avoid. With them, we can find parks with fishing, camping and RV locations, some of the restaurants in the area, and oddballs like a wine trail or microbrewery, “Tigers for Tomorrow”, and an unclaimed luggage store.

Museums might get marked “skip it” as a resource center, but they have concessions and sometimes cafeterias and are unlikely to be on the top of the list for others to scavenge. Casinos, too.

Ball parks are among the many that now get a lot delivered fresh and may very well be an evacuation shelter, but they also have shelf-stable cheese and chili for the dispensers (freakish, I know) and other canned goods, powder mixes and bottled drinks, team shower facilities, tons of coolers and cleaning supplies, team-logo clothing and blankets, and umpteen paper products.

One of the charming aspects of those brochures is that most of them still include a map or turn-by-turn directions from a major roadway or the compass points. That can be super useful in a world where our phones and cars no longer give us directions on command.

There’s also usually a stack of phone books somewhere behind hotel reception desks. That desk area can also be a source for a pretty nicely detailed map of the area – even at the Motel 6 and Knight’s Inn level of lodging.

Freebie Publications

In front of all kinds of storefronts but especially supermarkets, there are stands with freebie papers and magazines. Some of them aren’t overly useful, but there are a few that can be huge helps whether we’re working in our local area or just passing through.

There are usually some vehicle-sales and real estate oriented books in there with them. A rental or a bank-owned/foreclosed home that was uninhabited at the start of a disaster stands a better chance of not encroaching on anyone’s territory, making for a safer temporary abode for foraging, resting, getting out of weather, curing game or fish, or recovering from an injury. Most private sales aren’t going to give you more than a phone number these days, but the dealerships can also be places to scout for a replacement part for our vehicle that can be salvaged or traded for, or net a vehicle that can actually be driven without a key (in dire emergencies with few survivors anywhere).

We commonly need a good map to take advantage, but if we can find one or make a list of cross streets to remember, we can find some useful locations in those freebie paper listings and advertisement pages. That can include locations of restaurants that may have less-obvious food sources the average looter overlooks, oil for biofuel, mechanics, and stores where the foods and drinks at most counters will have been overlooked, like a Marshal’s, Hobby Lobby, or Petco.

What, Where and When

By type of disaster and the type of scrounging being done – a person or a handful on foot or in a single vehicle, or a convoy going out for a surviving community – the risks and needs change. So will the locations with the most possibilities for us. If we’re avoiding attraction and well into a disaster, we’re more likely to skip over some of the “obvious” locations and those in dense areas. We might work outskirts instead, and focus on locations that were probably hit for one thing, but maybe not another or everything.

An example of that would be heading for a fuel processing plant or distributor instead of a gas station, or hitting that gas station with a sledge hammer to go through the CMU brick (as opposed to using weed eater cord to defeat the metal plate or trying to pick a high-value lock – not my best skillset) to check for food, drinks, tools, and bags in supply rooms instead of trying to siphon fuel from empty tanks with my handy garden hose and bike pump.

I might opt to skip a zoo in most situations. On the other hand, if I have buddies to watch my sides and back with a .3-something caliber repeater and I’m pretty sure I’ll survive the mental trauma that’s waiting when animals get locked up and abandoned, that zoo might be a handy source for animal feed, concession or vending locations, and hunting opportunities. Almost all of them will have buckets, tools, and cleaning supplies. If it’s empty, there’s fencing and barbed wire. There may still be veterinarian supplies.

I might even luck out and some of the petting zoo or tamable critters have survived the loose lioness or hippos, and I can convince them to come live with me since I’m there anyway (with my armed guards in case the gorillas survived, too).

Some of the locations to consider scouting for supplies are:

– Veterinarian offices, to include racetracks and sanctuaries

– Distribution centers – both manufacturer goods and end-point retailers (Mars and Buffalo Rock, as opposed to Target), or something like a Wakefield that services distribution and warehousing for other companies

– Construction and renovations sites and companies

– Towing and vehicle maintenance services

– Vehicle fleet services, especially with heavy diesel ratios or rental trucks/cars but including the power company, pest control companies, internet providers, and others that maintain a fleet

– Hotels, casinos, museums, civic centers

– Rental storage units (vehicles and sale supplies; contents vary wildly)

– Clinics, hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities

– Zoos, sanctuaries, petting zoos, animal control, humane societies

– Animal, automobile, and antiques auction houses

– Building and earth-moving equipment rental companies

– Restaurants, cafeterias, caterers, and vending supply companies

– Nurseries, you-pick orchards and berry farms, nursery suppliers

– Universities, junior colleges and high schools; elementary grade schools

– Rental homes, foreclosure/bank-owned real estate

Remember, what we’re looking for isn’t always the obvious. Hospitals might be devoid of drugs and have run through generator fuel, but that generator may still be there and I might be after buckets, cleaning supplies, and linens. I might have my fingers crossed for a ride, but a vehicle fleet is also “just” a source of fuel, tires, oil, coolant, and batteries as well as other supplies whether it’s Enterprise, Verizon, or Bubba-Bob’s Construction.

What’s useful changes by our specific situation. How worth it a trip is varies, too, on our situation and the most-likely yields waiting for us. Worth an overnighter or if it’s in a direction that’s as good as any other? Maybe. But I’m not kidding about having buddies and the right firearms if it’s near a zoo.

On the other hand, if bad guys get me and I paid attention to the information around me and thus know there’s a zoo within a reasonable distance, I’m totally leading/sending them there and rooting for the gorillas, gators, and bears. Intel has all kinds of uses. We just have to collect and apply it.

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Roscoe Bartlett – The Congressman Who Went Off-Grid

If you want to find the roots of the modern prepping movement, you need look no further than former Congressman and scientist Roscoe Bartlett. H was one of the earlier modern voices calling for preparedness.

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5 Must-Dos If You’re Confronted With A Knife

Learning how to defend yourself during a knife attack should be top priority.  It is also time to demand changing laws that give an unfair advantage to criminals who will attack because they know you are at a legal disadvantage.

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Often Overlooked Things

Written by Guest Contributor on The Prepper Journal.

Editors Note: A guest contribution from The Redneck Prepper to The Prepper Journal.  As always, if you have information for Preppers that you would like to share and be entered into the Prepper Writing Contest with a chance to win one of three Amazon Gift Cards  with the top prize being a $300 card to purchase your own prepping supplies, then enter today!

We as preppers tend to always be prepared for the worst scenarios possible, but what if we are caught in a bad, but not worst case, scenario? As a man who has lived through a few disasters of different descriptions, I would like to share some thoughts with you all.

Imagine the following scenario if you will:

You have just survived a disaster without any casualties or major damage. Your generator is gassed up, plenty of oil and gas to keep it running, non-perishable food, medical supplies, etc. You have your own water well, and with your generator, you are not worried about water supply. You have power, but nothing happens when you turn the faucet on. Why? Because the wind/water/etc. Has damaged your plumbing. Now what?

This is the exact scenario my family faced after hurricane Rita in 2005. The force of the wind shifted the pump house, moving the water tank and breaking the plumbing. Thankfully pvc pipe can be patched relatively quickly. However, as a recent freeze taught us, you must be prepared to potentially replace ALL of the plumbing in your home. Always have extra pipe and fittings on hand in the appropriate sizes and materials for your home plumbing system. Do not forget primer and cement if you are working with pvc.

And what of electrical? A disaster can seriously damage your electrical system. Perhaps it will be as simple as capping off an unnecessary leg of a circuit. Perhaps you will need to rebuild a vital part of the system. Either way, having extra wire on hand is a great idea. Not to mention the correct tools for the job, as well as wire nuts and electrical tape.

I am ashamed to admit this, but there was a time when certain among us were caught without a manually operated can opener. Not everyone was born a prepper. Make sure to have extras.

A bathroom can be damaged too. It never hurts to have trash bags and toilet paper stored away. I speak from experience when I say that toilet paper is a wonderful luxury after a disaster.

Something I have not yet obtained, but fully believe everyone should have is a small boat. I lived through the flood of 1994, and did not think the water could every be higher. Harvey taught us all a lesson. Myself and my family were blessed enough to not have to be rescued, but it was 1” away. Literally, 1” from the threshold. I will be adding a boat to my supplies.

Now lets think about that generator. You probably have many gallons of fuel stored away, of course with the correct amount of stabilizer mixed in. There are probably cases of oil stored in a safe location as well. But what if this turns into an extended outage? Do you have spark plugs? Spare air filters? Oil filters (if your model uses one)? What about carburetors? From years of being the local guy everyone brings small engines to, I can tell you that carburetors often fail with today’s fuel. Even those that are cared for in the best manner possible. Ignition coils can fail without warning as well. It is worth it to know your machinery and have spare parts on hand. You only want to use your backup generator for the few minutes it will take to repair your main unit.

Having your chainsaw in good working order is also very important. There have been occasions where it is imperative that you be able to clear fallen trees or large wooden debris quickly. I have seen outbuildings mostly toppled after storms, and sometimes it is better to just cut them apart in a controlled manner and eliminate the danger of them falling the rest of the way. Assuming you can’t yank them down with your truck in the redneck style, that makes it go faster. The point is, you should always have fresh fuel for your saw, a spare chain, spare spark plug, and plenty of chain oil on hand.

There are some smaller jobs where the hassle and fuel consumption of power tools is just not warranted. For those moments, I always like to have a few sharp axes, machetes, hatchets and the like on hand. Most people have them stored away somewhere, but when was the last time you checked the edge on it? It is easier to sharpen them now with power tools than it will be to take the time and file sharpen them in the immediate aftermath of a disaster.

Perhaps these things I have mentioned do not apply in every circumstance. Or perhaps some of you have already taken the steps I have mentioned. My hope is that my experiences may be able to keep even one other person from having to learn these things the hard way. In the end, that’s what it’s all about. If the prepper community does not endeavor to support and educate each other, we will all suffer in the long run.

This brings me to my final point: people. We all attempt to educate and inform friends and family regarding the world of preparedness. And that in itself is a good thing. But do we talk too much? What if a young child mentions it to his/her friends? Or a good friend talks to outsiders? Even a spouse with a random comment? This poses two distinct issues. First, people know where to steal from. But have you ever considered political correctness? What if the powers that be consider your guns/knives/attitude to be a threat? I hope this inspires you to be very careful before discussing your plans. As sad as it is, you must consider all possibilities in today’s society. Which may in the long run be the biggest threat we face. Nature will do as nature does, but people are the most unpredictable thing there is!

Also worth note, I am not a writer by trade, so all mistakes in grammar are my own (Editor’s Note: None were found.) Until next time, keep your knives sharp, your guns clean, and your ammo dry.

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The Illuminati Are About To Make Their Final Move (2018-2019)

The Illuminati Are About To Make Their Final Move (2018-2019)

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The Best Furniture Options for Your Bunker

Written by Guest Contributor on The Prepper Journal.

Editors Note: A guest contribution from Laura Marie Johnson to The Prepper Journal.  As always, if you have information for Preppers that you would like to share and be entered into the Prepper Writing Contest with a chance to win one of three Amazon Gift Cards  with the top prize being a $300 card to purchase your own prepping supplies, then enter today!

Every serious prepper knows that their bunker has to be functional and long-lasting. Not only do you need enough supplies to last a decade or longer, you need quality furniture options that can function in a multitude of ways to make the most of your space. Today we are looking at some furniture ideas that you can either build or buy so that you can make the most of your space.

Anything With Drawers

Buffets, dressers, nightstands, and telephone tables are perfect for providing storage, use a little space, and provide something beautiful look at during confinement. A buffet in your kitchen area can store the dishes and give you extra space for more food. Telephone tables and nightstands can be used in the common area for a place to put your cup of water and store reading materials or other forms of entertainment to keep you busy. Dressers could keep clothes but also can be a storage spot for survival gear that makes it easy to get to. We highly recommend visiting a furniture store that offers Stanley furniture, an antique shop, or thrift stores for strong wood structures. They last a long time and can double as firewood should you ever need it!

The Bed That Doubles

Depending on how much space you have and how many people are in your bunker, the bed can double as storage or other furniture. If it’s just one or two people in the bunker, a futon can be fantastic for sleeping on and a couch during the day. It is especially enticing if you have a small bunker that doesn’t have much in the way of separate rooms. Murphy beds are always an option so that you can have your living room and pop the bed out of the wall when it’s time for sleep. The storage bed is a big draw for when you have separate rooms. While some beds have drawers on either side of the frame, a storage bed has drawers on one side that reside the width of the bed and pull all the way out. If you are handy, you can build it yourself to customize it to your needs and space. Aside from Murphy beds, collapsible bunk beds are also a great addition. You can easily locate these in any camping department or specialty shop. You can use easily fold them away after a night of sleep or, should you need to escape your bunker, you can use them in the woods. A very versatile option no matter the situation.

Tables For Protection

If you are concerned about your physical safety (and who among us isn’t?), tables that are modified to hide your protective gear becomes a must-have for the bunker. A coffee table that has a hidden drawer or the side table with a secret opening on the side is perfect for stashing guns and bullets (or whatever your choice of weapon is). You can try buying these in your prepper circles or you can learn how to make them on your own. Better yet, take a furniture making class so you can get the hang of the basics and figure out how to make your own designs!

Your Walls Are Your Best Friend

No matter the size of your bunker, your walls are the perfect spot for storage. You can choose to buy storage shelves or bookshelves to use as storage along the walls. Our favorite space-saving trick is to build shelving into the wall itself. Shelving is perfect for your food, supplies, extra clothing, weaponry, and entertainment. The possibilities become endless when you include strong and sturdy shelving!

 Use Your Floors Wisely

Flooring can become a great space saver without imposing on the space in your living quarters. By adding hidden storage spaces under the bunker, you can add an intense amount of extra anything to space. Extra water, weaponry, survival gear, food, medical supplies, and extra entertainment to switch are just a few things you can put beneath your floor. This can be especially important if you have added a couple of extra people to the space at last minute. They don’t have to know where the backup supplies are and you can ensure that if your time in the bunker is extended, then you and your people are covered. If you worry about anyone noticing that you have created extra storage in the floor, area rugs can help hide that fact and keep prying eyes out.

Recycle Big Toolboxes

If you can find large free-standing toolboxes that people want to ditch, grab them! They are perfect for storing the tools you will need for maintenance, extra supplies of nails and electric tape, light bulbs, and anything else you can imagine that you will need for a long time. If you have one just for maintenance, another can hold all your medical supplies or any other thing you don’t have a place for. The different shapes of drawers are perfect for just about anything and the material is very long lasting.

Think Outside The Box

When stashing your weaponry, you can sometimes think outside the box and find new places to stash a few pieces should you need to grab something fast. You have all seen the famous picture of the weapon taped behind the old chain-pull toilet in “The Godfather” or taped to John McClane’s back in “Die Hard”. NOT recommended unless you are proficient at removing tape from the weapon while drawing it to save your life (a skill John McClane didn’t need because his was done with Hollywood magic disappearing tape.) Perhaps behind a flat screen television or desktop computer, tucking a weapon down in the cushion of the love seat, or taping weapons underneath every chair in the space ensures that you can have a weapon quickly to protect yourself and your crew. The downside of course is children and their curiosity so use common sense please.

If you are in the planning phase of your bunker, this is an excellent time to plan your design and think about the furniture and supplies you will need. The layout will let guide you to how to ensure you have the freedom to move around and have space for everything. If you have already built your bunker and are now working on furnishing it, this is an excellent time to look at space-saving options. You need space to keep yourself and your crew safe and minimize health risks. Once you get rolling, it will get easier!

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