Happy Beltane 4 days away

Trees go to sleep at night, study shows

The next time you camping in the forest sleeping in your tent, remember, the trees are sleeping as well.

That's the conclusion of a team of scientists from Austria, Finland and Hungary who wanted to know if trees followed day/night cycles similar to those observed in small plants. 

Using laser scanners pointed at two birch trees, the scientists recorded physical changes indicating a nighttime sleep, with the ends of the birch branches drooping by as much as 4 inches towards the end of the night.

"Our results show that the whole tree droops during night which can be seen as position change in leaves and branches," Eetu Puttonen from the Finnish Geospatial Research Institute said in a statement. "The changes are not too large, only up to 10 cm for trees with a height of about 5 meters, but they were systematic and well within the accuracy of our instruments."

A birch tree at night (left) experiences more branch dropping than during the day (right).

 (Photo: Eetu Puttonen/Vienna University of Technology, TU Vienna)

The scientists explained how they scanned two trees, one in Finland and another in Austria. 

Both trees were scanned independently, on calm nights, and around the solar equinox to ensure a similar length of night. 

While the tree's branches were shown to droop lowest just before dawn, they returned to their original position in only a few hours.

"It was a very clear effect, and applied to the whole tree," András Zlinszky of the Centre for Ecological Research in Tihany, Hungary, told New Scientist. "No one has observed this effect before at the scale of whole trees, and I was surprised by the extent of the changes."

The Magic of Candles

Candles are scientifically proven to soothe us. 

The gentle, mesmerising quality of their light makes them a perfect aid for any relaxation experience.

It’s a candle’s flame that helps to soothe our soul – reducing stress and increasing self-awareness. 

The soft illumination helps us to calm down and even achieve a meditative state.

But how does a candle flame help to calm us down and relax our minds?

The low light that comes from a candle is captured by your sight and sent straight to your brain for processing. 

Because of our associations with candlelight, the body begins to relax – helping how we feel emotionally and physically.

Some of the perks of feeling more relaxed include more energy, better sleep, enhanced immunity, less pain and a more pleasant personality.

It's interesting that most people have candles in their homes, we really don't have to use them, we do have electricity. 

We light candles even though we don't have to, yet, candles are more popular than ever, you wouldn’t find many homes without them.

Could it be that a simple candle flame can soothe and center you?

Is it possible that fire, one of the Pagan elements, have calming effects during times of quiet and solitude, when you detached from the world?

Candle flames reach deep within us, the effect of candlelight is sacred tool to reduce stress and increase self-awareness. 

Candle magic is something very basic because anyone can light a candle.

The flame is very special, we believe it represents your inner light.

For us, the flame expresses power and magical qualities but the energies come from your consciousness, from your inner self.

Candle magic may have begun in the earliest days, with the making of fire. 

Fire changed everything.

Fire brought light to darkness and warmth to cold, there's not much more magical than that.

For us, the burning of a candle represents the great spiritual qualities of its discovery.

Lighting a candle and gazing at the flame takes us within ourselves, taking us into a meditative state.

Anyone can use candle magic and you don't have to have to have any specific beliefs to practice, using your energy answers will open up for you.

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