Smoke Detectors & Sickness Detectors

You know the feeling...after a busy day...looking forward to falling into bed for a great night's sleep...the end to a great day, right?

Now imagine a most annoying sound...the chirping/beeping noise of a smoke detector in need of a new battery! The chirp/beep noise broke the quietness of the evening around 10:15PM---just as I was getting ready for bed. My husband was out of town last night (how does that work?), so I figured out which smoke alarm it was (not hard--just follow the annoying chirp/beep to where it is the loudest) & hauled the ladder in from the garage (10 foot ceilings--step stools don't work!). I even had extra 9 volt batteries (from the last time this happened in the middle of the night), so I put one in my pocket & climbed up. OK, now...let's balance on the ladder...try to unscrew the smoke detector unit from the ceiling overhead & pull the battery out...all while balancing...Hmmm. Easier said than done! I finally wiggled the battery out & finally wiggled the new one into place & climbed down the ladder---only to hear the annoying chirp---AGAIN!

Long story short---after about 10 more trips up & down the ladder, reinserting the battery a few times, putting yet another battery in, waiting to see if the chirping stopped---Mission Accomplished--around 11PM! The chirping was intermittent--- everything seemed fine after inserting the battery, so I would climb down the ladder, wait a few minutes, only to hear it chirp/beep again! I admit I resorted to Googling in my frustration...using the key words of 'smoke detector chirping'---only to find that millions of others had dealt with similar challenges---all seeming to take place during the night! One gal had posted a question on one of the websites, wondering why 'they' couldn't make the alarms (chirp/beep noise) go off during the day instead of night-time. That would be convenient, wouldn't it? (I'm thinking she was blonde--but then so am I!) :o)

All I really wanted to do was drop into bed (my wonderful sleep system) & go to sleep, but the chirp/beep was something not to be ignored---and no, the chirping/beeping doesn't stop just by taking the battery out---the problem has to be taken care of!

Now imagine once more...an annoying chirp/beep noise that went off whenever our bodies started developing a sickness or disease...with the annoying noise continuing until we corrected the problem. A 'Sickness Detector' of sorts...what a concept!

Most diseases take several years to show up with symptoms--and then it's often a huge challenge to get back to total health. A person doesn't just 'catch' heart disease one day...or high blood pressure...or diabetes...or cancer, to name a few of the 'biggies' out there. An alarm that wouldn't stop until we addressed the problem by making simple lifestyle changes---things would look a bit different around here, I would say---we'd be looking at a lot more healthier people!

That's what building prevention into our lives is all about---except for the annoying chirping/beeping part! We've learned that good health doesn't just happen. And being proactive can make a huge difference in keeping those alarms from sounding. It's called Taking Ownership of our Health, instead of waiting for 'something bad' to happen...or letting your health care practitioner 'call the shots.'

I know I can avoid the annoying late night/middle of the night chirping/beeping of the smoke detectors with preventive maintenance of changing the batteries regularly---which we're going to start doing!

Isn't it time for each of us to make sure our 'Preventive Maintenance Plan' is in place for ourselves and our families? Watch for upcoming blogs on this---and email or post your questions!

Sleep Well with no chirp/beeps, knowing you're on the track to Total Wellness....
Sana