Vilma Brunhuber, Holistic Integrative Nutrition and Health Coach
In health news. How much sleep do you think you need? Do you notice a difference after a night of 4-5 hours compared to 8 hours of sleep? Is sleep just for the rest or does it serve other health purposes?
The Daily Telegraph reports: “The most at-risk group was adults under 60 years of age who slept five hours or fewer a night. They increased their risk of developing cardiovascular disease more than threefold … Women who skimped on sleep … were more than two-and-a-half times as likely to develop cardiovascular disease.”
Too little sleep impacts your levels of thyroid and stress hormones, which in turn can affect your memory, immune system, heart and metabolism, and much more. Over time, lack of sleep can lead to:
- High blood sugar levels and an increased risk of diabetes — Sleep-deprived subjects tend to eat more sweet and starchy foods rather than vegetables and dairy products. Researchers suspect these cravings stem from the fact that your brain is fueled by glucose (blood sugar); therefore, when lack of sleep occurs, your brain searches for carbohydrates. In short, sleep deprivation puts your body into a pre-diabetic state, and makes you feel hungry, even if you’ve already eaten.
- Weight gain — When you are sleep deprived, your body decreases production of leptin, the hormone that tells your brain there is no need for more food. At the same time it increases levels of ghrelin, a hormone that triggers hunger.
- Accelerated aging
- Hypertension (high blood pressure)
- Depression
- Increased risk of cancer by altering the balance of hormones in your body. (Tumors grow two to three times faster in laboratory animals with severe sleep dysfunctions)
According to Dr. Dinges, “I also recommend getting to bed as early as possible. Your bodily systems, particularly your adrenals, do a majority of their recharging or recovering during the hours of 11 p.m. and 1 a.m., so you should definitely try to be asleep during those hours.” Here are some ways to help you get the sleep you need.
Photo courtesy www.mentalhealthy.co.uk
Preparing for Bed
- Get to bed as early as possible.
- Don’t change your bedtime. You should go to bed and wake up at the same time each day, even on the weekends. This will help your body to get into a sleep rhythm and make it easier to fall asleep and get up in the morning.
- Establish a bedtime routine. This could include meditation, journaling, deep breathing, using aromatherapy or essential oils.
- Don’t drink any fluids within 2 hours of going to bed.
- Eat at least 3 hours prior going to bed.
- Avoid before-bed snacks, particularly sugars. This will raise your blood sugar and delay sleep. Later, when blood sugar drops too low (hypoglycemia), you may wake up and be unable to fall back asleep.
- Wear an eye mask to block out light.
- Put your work away at least one hour before bed (preferably two hours or more). This will give your mind a chance to unwind so you can go to sleep feeling calm, not hyped up or anxious about tomorrow’s deadlines.
- Avoid alcohol. Although alcohol will make you drowsy, the effect is short lived and you will often wake up several hours later, unable to fall back asleep. Alcohol will also keep you from entering the deeper stages of sleep, where your body does most of its healing.
- Avoid caffeine. An afternoon cup of coffee or tea will keep some people from falling asleep at night. In the evening sipping herbal teas could calm your mind and body. Try Chamomile or Goldmännchen Bach Flower Tea Good Sleep.
- Try Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). EFT can help balance your body’s bioenergy system and resolve some of the emotional stresses that are contributing to your insomnia at a very deep level. The results are typically long lasting and improvement is remarkably rapid.
- People have great results with Bach Rescue Night Remedy.
- Ashwagandha is an Ayurvedic adaptogen which is great to take in the morning as a tonic and in the evening as a relaxant. Another product that works similarly is Ho Shou Wu, which is available in powder or tincture.
I would love to hear your thoughts. Please contact me at www.vilmaswellness.com or [email protected]. You can find more health tips at http://facebook.com/vilmaswellness
Want to make a healthy start for New Year? Let’s have a talk; first consultation is FREE of charge.
Kindly, ~ Vilma
Sources:
The Daily Telegraph, Dr. Dinges, Dr Mercola, Dr. J. Douilard
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