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Mary Bove for Better Nutrition If you toss and turn at night, you can't rejuvenate your body. Read on to get the restful night you need
If
you're unable to sleep, then you might be one of the 35 million
Americans who suffer from some degree of insomnia. Over a third of us
do, but 5 percent have symptoms that are chronic or severe enough to
seek medical help.
Insomnia
can be either the inability to fall asleep or a broken and restless
sleep with early waking. There are many possible causes but the
effect is the same: a self-perpetuating cycle of sleep disruption.
Getting enough sleep is essential to having a healthy body, mind and
spirit. Sleep restores our bodies--it's when many important body
functions occur, including tissue regeneration, muscle building, fat
metabolism and blood sugar and insulin regulation. It also provides
time for conscious and unconscious mind communication. By contrast,
chronic sleep deprivation accelerates brain aging, as well as tissue
degeneration and an inability to cope.
The
sleep cycle
Normal
sleep patterns repeat themselves on a 24-hour cycle, but sleep needs
vary according to age and gender. For instance, a baby needs 14-15
hours while an adult may need only 7-9 hours; women tend to require
more shut-eye than men do.
When
we sleep, we alternate between two types of sleep: REM (a period of
rapid eye movement and dreaming) and non-REM. Non-REM sleep is
divided into four levels of brain-wave activity. As sleep progresses,
the sleep deepens and the brain waves slow until the cycle ends with
the most restive period before entering REM sleep. We may experience
between four and six of these cycles a night.
Interrupting
insomnia
Clarifying
the factors that may contribute to sleep deprivation can help you
find your way to restful nights. Tossing and turning can be caused by
a host of different things, including stress, anxiety, depression,
sleep apnea, nocturnal hypoglycemia, emotional arousal (i.e., anger,
depression, excitement), caffeine, alcohol, restless leg syndrome and
a disruptive environment (i.e., your sleeping area is noisy, too
light, too hot, too cold or the bed isn't comfortable). Here are some
helpful tips for beating insomnia:
Rethink
your evenings
Consider
the night as your time to unwind. Do soothing activities: Listen to
relaxation tapes, focus on progressively relaxing your muscles, take
leisurely walks, meditate, read or write in a journal. Regular
exercise can help you sleep better, but do it in the morning or early
afternoon to avoid stimulating activity late in your day. An evening
exercise session isn't the only thing that can stimulate your body;
watching television, talking on the telephone, working on the
computer, playing video games or being in crowded social situations
are all stimulating activities that can affect your sleep.
Avoid
stimulating substances
In
the late afternoon and evening, steer away from ingredients that are
known arousers, such as caffeine-containing beverages, chocolate,
alcohol, vitamin B complex and herbs such as ginseng, bee pollen and
guarana.
Keep
your blood sugar level on an even keel
The
body considers low blood sugar a stressor and, as a result, releases
the hormone cortisol, which stimulates the nervous system. Consider
eating a balanced bedtime snack, which includes carbohydrates,
protein and fat, and follow good daytime eating habits. (See "Eat
for Energy" in this issue for examples.) Or keep a little fresh
fruit juice next to your bed, and sip it upon waking to prevent blood
sugar dips. I often recommend supplementing with phosphatidylserine:
100 mg at dinner, bedtime and first wake of the night. (If you do not
wake up during the night, then you don't need to take this
supplement.) Phosphatidylserine helps to stabilize blood sugar
function during the night to prevent sugar drops, which will trigger
a stress response in the adrenal gland and disrupt sleep.
Take
magnesium
To
get a better night's rest, the mineral magnesium is often helpful
since it is needed for serotonin production. I often prescribe
125-250 mg of magnesium taurate, which is magnesium bound with the
amino acid taurine, to be taken at dinner or bedtime with a good
multimineral/vitamin that is made from foods.
Supplement
with herbs
Several
herbal remedies stand out as sleep improvers and help you fall
asleep:
*
Valerian--reduces anxiety and relaxes the muscles
*
Passionflower--brings on sleep and diminishes any pain
*
Linden flower and lemon balm--help calm over-excitability
*
California poppy--encourages deep relaxing sleep
*
Lavender flowers (used in hops, as a tea, bath or in a pillow)--helps
calm
*
Sleep teas combining chamomile, linden flowers, lavender, lemon balm
and rose petals--all can help restore sleep
Try
sleep aids
Several
other natural sleep aids that you might try (individually) to help
you sleep better include melatonin, the amino acid L-tryptophan or
its precursors, 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) or L-theanine.
Try
some of these suggestions and your sleepless nights might just be
past nightmares.
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