Zzzzzzz...........getting enough sleep?!

Still taking the supplements, eating the fruits and veggies - feeling better everyday.  Mostly just a cough left and can breath A LOT easier.  Another step to focus on is sleep!

While I was going through school - studying all night, going to class and seeing patients all day, then taking extra curricular seminars on the weekend...I missed several things in life, but one big one was SLEEP.  You want to see some funny people - go to a college and watch students on the last day of finals, we were so sleep deprived that almost anything instilled an emotion.  We had the laughers, the criers, the stressed out all trying to study the same final.  It was our own little Breakfast Club.  No that I am out of school, and need to be alert for my patients I need to change my sleep pattern.

Sleep patterns can be hard to break - even if it is an insomnia sleep pattern.  For patients needing to change a sleep pattern first try to make a schedule for yourself.  Do activities that usually tire you, such as reading certain books, soaking in a bath or listening to soothing music.  Other helpful hints is to remove caffeine (including chocolate) at least one hour before your desired bedtime.  If you are a person who tosses and turns before finally falling to sleep - then plan on being in bed a good 30 minutes before you need to be asleep.

If patterns continue of an inability to fall asleep or stay asleep come and see me for an initial nutritional appointment. There are many foods, supplements and oils that can help trigger the body to naturally induce tiredness and aid in falling asleep and even staying asleep.  In order to determine the proper care, I like to get a good history and other methods tried.

Harvard Women's study summed up six reasons for sleep below:

1. Learning and memory: Sleep helps the brain commit new information to memory through a process called memory consolidation. In studies, people who’d slept after learning a task did better on tests later.
2. Metabolism and weight: Chronic sleep deprivation may cause weight gain by affecting the way our bodies process and store carbohydrates, and by altering levels of hormones that affect our appetite.
3. Safety: Sleep debt contributes to a greater tendency to fall asleep during the daytime. These lapses may cause falls and mistakes such as medical errors, air traffic mishaps, and road accidents.
4. Mood: Sleep loss may result in irritability, impatience, inability to concentrate, and moodiness. Too little sleep can also leave you too tired to do the things you like to do.
5. Cardiovascular health: Serious sleep disorders have been linked to hypertension, increased stress hormone levels, and irregular heartbeat.
6. Disease: Sleep deprivation alters immune function, including the activity of the body’s killer cells. Keeping up with sleep may also help fight cancer.

Good night everyone.