Do you look like death by 8pm too?
If so, welcome to the 8pm Zombie Club.
As the President of the 8pm Zombie Club, I feel obliged to let you know a little more
about how things are like in our club, how you became one of us and
what you can do if you want to leave the club.
I have been trying some products from Clinicians – Stress & Energy Support and REM Sleep
and they have helped me a lot with managing my stress and energy levels during
the day and sleep during the night.

But before I get to that, I have to stress how hard it is for me to get to sleep every night.
I’m a huge insomniac. You will know, if you follow me on Instagram (SIGH).
Here at the 8pm Zombie Club, we hardly get enough sleep.
There are times (when we feel like we should sleep more), we cannot fall asleep at night.
It’s the norm for us to toss and turn around on the bed from 11pm until 3am,
and it usually takes us about 50 games of Candy Crush before the Zzz Monster catch up with us.
As the President of the 8pm Zombie Club, I lead a very busy lifestyle; a very stressful one too.
Do you know why stress and quality of sleep is correlated?
Since most of you are probably my club members, I shall let you in on how a typical day is like in my life.

We got up bright and early (for us, 1oam is VERY bright and early, trust me) to prepare our breakfast and lunch for the day.
It was a horrible start for me because I had an exceptionally late night the night before.
Dragging my heavy legs, I was coaxed by A to prepare lunch.
The menu for that day was dory fish boiled with plain tofu and fresh mushrooms!
Yum yum. (I mean it ok, really yum yum)

To make sure that we stay away from unhealthy snacks throughout the day,
we also packed some cherry tomatoes in a cooler bag so we have things to munch on whenever
we feel like we need some finger food.
Preparing food in A’s room (Yes A’s room has a little pantry completed with an electric stove, juicer,
microwave, and we have our own refrigerator in the room. Hiak hiak!) is quite a challenge
because the amount of cat fur is INSANE!
It’s really quite stressful having to do this whole “cooking our own food” thing every day. (T_T)

We have a medical appointment at China Square Central and we are scrambling because
we woke up a little too late and over-estimated ourselves again,
thinking that we will be able to do everything we set out to do and leave home on time.
Does this happen to you too?

A and I are doing a slimming program in a parlour at Chinatown area,
it involves some TCM and cupping techniques.
And I always go for my appointments feeling super stressed whether I’ve lost weight in the last week. Hahahaha!
The treatments left us pretty tired even though it is the first appointment of the day
because of the intensity of the treatment.
It is a busy day for us with lots of errands to run so we are constantly on the road, much like any other day.

ZZZ.
I obviously haven’t gotten enough to sleep.
Next appointment.
Meeting up with the consultant at Bugis are to have my skin analysed for another assignment that is coming up.

And.. It’s finally lunch time.
A and I were so freaking hungry because the appointment with the skincare consultant
took a little longer than expected that we ate our lunch in her car. *sad*

Hehe! 
On the bright side, lunch is looking really good!

We swung by Smith Street to pick up some chef uniforms for our staff before finally going to work at the café.
I had arranged to meet my friend Liying at the café at 4pm to discuss some work.
SORRY I AM LATE, LIYING!
After buzzing around the entire morning, I can finally go to the café.
But this time feeling very stressed! Hopefully my friend doesn’t kill me because I’m so late! 😡

Work at the café is never really work for me, because I truly enjoy what I’m doing.
That also explains
why I am a workaholic. Hahaha!
 I have fun waiting tables. (I’m serious)
And especially so when I think I have made my customers’ day and that they had enjoyed their meal with us.
I love making coffee, trying my best at every cup of coffee to make sure I gave my best shot
at giving every customer the best tasting cup of caffe latte with the best caffe art I can do for them.
But sometimes working in the café can be quite crazy and stressful.
Just that day, we ran into a mega supply problem.
Egg supplier told us that there are no eggs because they couldn’t get the stocks from the Malaysia factories.

When A and I heard that, our jaws dropped to the floor.
Without eggs, there are so many things that we cannot serve.
No mini sliders, no breakfast sets, we cannot add eggs onto our curry baked rice.
OMG!
So A and I went scrambling around for eggs and quickly call up other egg suppliers we know,
hoping we can get the last minute stocks at a slightly better price. *sweat*

I sound like I’m obsessed with working. 😡
9pm. Late dinner at the café.

Looks healthy no? Heh.

11.45pm.
After closing up the café, A and I headed over to Mustafa to do some last minute shopping for our upcoming trips.

I’m already slightly losing my mind over here.
The trip is happening in like 2 days’ time and I have done absolutely nothing to make sure that
everything functions properly when A and I are not around at the café.
And with the work load from my blog piling up, it can really get pretty darn stressful. 😦

I am already starting to look like death.
After shopping for groceries, we chanced upon this two suitcases and decided to get them!
The grey one for A and the mint green one for me.

Bad news.
A drives a Mazda MX5 and it can only take one of the following three items:
grey suitcase, mint green suitcase, me.

A left for home with the mint green suitcase and our grocery load and
I will have to take a cab back with the grey one. *mega sadness*
This is the only horrible thing about A and her little car.

1.25am.
I am standing along Syed Alwi Road, waiting for a taxi.
A has kindly donated her shoes to lessen my misery of standing in the middle of Little India in the wee hours, waiting for a cab.

Another bad news. No taxi. FML.

For some bizarre reason, all the taxis are always taken whenever I needed one.
As I was freaking out, feeling like the end of the world is coming anytime,
A came back for me (and the grey suitcase) in a bigger car.
THANK YOU!

1.50am. Finally on my way home.

I AM OFFICIALLY EXHAUSTED.

After packing (part of) my luggage for the Seoul trip,
I finally get to lie flat on bed.

And so, now you know how it is being in my shoes.

Now.
Let me share more on Stress & Energy Support and REM Sleep,
complementary products from Clinicians which is a brand of health supplements from New Zealand.
A big savior which is already (slowly but surely) helping me cope with a lifestyle
that is always making me “stress out” and my serious lack of sleep.

A little on Clinicians –
Clinicians was founded in 1997 by 2 pharmacists in New Zealand who recognized that their patients
who did better on medication when they consumed vitamins and minerals at the same time.
They then developed a range of nutritional supplements under the brand Clinicians.
Clinicians has a strong focus on the right formulations, where they target therapeutic dosing,
having more of the right ingredients that make a difference to people’s health.

Now a leading player in New Zealand’s health industry,
Clinicians is the most trusted brand by New Zealand pharmacists and is backed by the
leading pharmaceutical manufacturing company – Douglas Pharmaceuticals.
If you google REM Sleep, it is basically sleep movements/patterns.
Like the product name suggests, Clinicians REM Sleep it is a supplement that
helps one sleep better and promotes good quality sleep naturally.
REM Sleep’s uniqueness lies in the 5-HTP (5-Hydroxytryptophan, extracted from the Griffonia simplicifolia plant),
it has which provides the building blocks for natural sleep hormones, serotonin and melatonin.

Of course, the last thing I want is to become reliant on any products to get proper sleep.
So I feel assured when I know that REM Sleep does more than just melatonin.
Instead, its main aim is to help the body produce serotonin and melatonin to help improve
the quality of sleep naturally over time.
Clinicians REM Sleep also contains Magnesium and Vitamin B3 to help your muscles relax,
while Passion Flower and Skull Cap helps to calm your mind. With your mind and body in a relaxed state,
you will be able to have a better quality, restful sleep.
Overall, it is a more holistic approach to promote natural good quality sleep as compared to Melatonin.
Excess dosing of Melatonin can cause intense dreaming or excessive sleep with difficulty waking up.
What I like about REM Sleep is that its formula is plant-based and does not have any side effects
and is also non habit forming!
Gives me assurance that I won’t get “addicted” to any sleeping supplement!
Clinicians’ REM Sleep is also the No. 1 Sleep Support in New Zealand!

If it’s no. 1, you must surely try it if you are part of the Zombie Club like me! :p
And if you have insomnia like me, you’ll know that this is a very common sight. Lol.

I know I am not alone.
Because of stress and various factors (like irregular working hours and crushing candies before bedtime.)
Ahem. I have trouble falling asleep at night.
More often than not, I roll around in bed until it’s dawn.
Other than giving me the opportunity to do things like that.

I don’t see any other benefits about sleeping in the wee hours.
See. Even my good friend Jason knows it’s “typical of me”. Haha!

Here is how Stress & Energy Support and REM Sleep looks like, if you’re going to go shopping for it:

It works for me and I managed to capture the difference using an app called Sleep Cycle.
How it works is I’d place the phone (faced down) on the pillow I sleep on,
and it will track my sleep cycle according to the movements I make.
People normally would turn or move in the sleep when they are in light sleep.
And a normal person’s sleep cycle would alternate between light and deep sleep.
To make it easier for you to understand,
you can look at the percentage that shows the “Quality of Sleep” for each night.

If there was a sleep school, my grades would be a C6.
Hahaha.
Sleep and stress levels are highly inter-related and so I consume
Clinicians’ Stress & Energy Support in the day (1-2 capsules during breakfast/lunch)
to help me cope and manage my stress levels better while also giving me more energy and stamina during the day.
It contains 2 types of Ginseng (Siberian and Indian ginseng) that helps the body to adapt to stress better
while herbs such as Liquorice (gan cao) and Rehmannia (shu di huang) nourishes my adrenal glands
which are key to stress management.
With my busy and hectic work schedules, Clinicians Stress & Energy does give me more energy and stamina for my 12 hour work days!

With Stress & Energy Support and REM Sleep, the most immediate effects I felt was how even though I slept late,
I still feel kind of “perked up” the following day.
In fact, I wake up feeling more refreshed than I normally would!
Somehow, I don’t even get much of that “oh- my-god-it-is-midday-i-just-had-lunch-i-need-a-nap” feeling.
If you know what I mean. :p

I am someone who gets sleepy very easily.
Now that I’ve been taking the supplements for more than a week,
I have to say that I generally have better stamina and feel more energized in the day.
As for the nights, I guess you can see it in the improvement of my Sleep Cycle results.
I find that the improvement is most evident when I wake up in the middle of the night for a Bio Break
or to get some water, once I open my eyes in a bright room,
it always takes me like 3 more Candy Crush games to get back to sleep.
But of late, I find myself sleeping through the night better
(of course going to toilet before sleeping helps too! :p) and even if I do get up in the middle of the night,
I get back to sleep much faster and easier.

It’s really helpful when I’m overseas and it does help with me trying to sleep at night. 🙂

Here is my sleeping results after trying out the supplements.

And now that I am gradually sleeping more like how a human is supposed to sleep,
I will soon be abdicating my position as President of the 8pm Zombie Club. Heh.
I think generally, our quality of sleep is actually very much related to how our lifestyle is like in the day.

Are we constantly feeling stressed?
Are you always thinking about work, even when you’re getting ready for bed?
Are you a serial game player before bed? :p

These are all factors that will give you trouble falling asleep and staying asleep throughout the night.
If you are also having trouble sleeping at night and having trouble staying awake in the day (the irony, haha) perhaps you can take part in this contest and bring some of the supplements home to try them out yourself!

Clinicians will be preparing 5 x $80 “Sleeping” Hamper for you.
So if you are one of my members in the 8pm Zombie Club and would like to like to break free
*cue Queen’s I Want To Break Free song* drop me a comment to let me know.

Share either why you want to win or what you will do more of if you have more quality rest! 😀
Do remember to fill up the comment form with the right email address so I can get in touch with you.
I’ll pick 5 persons to receive the hamper by 26 February 2015.

For more information on Clinicians, you can refer to their website http://www.clinicians.com.sg.
Clinicians REM Sleep ($36.90) and Stress & Energy Support ($28.90) can be found in Guardian,
Unity and Watsons pharmacy stores and Metro departmental stores.