Sleep Suggestions

[RobinN]

Sleep suggestions from Dogtor John
www.dogtorj.com

1) Examine what you are eating 4-6 hours before bed time and avoid the food rich in "excitotoxins". The foods rich in glutamate and aspartate are listed here on my site. Avoid those that are the richest and you may see an immediate improvement in your sleep. Run from MSG and Nutrisweet.

2) Listen to your body when it comes to your bed time. Our brain's serotonin levels are maximized during the daylight hours and start to drop rapidly following the onset of darkness as serotonin is converted to melatonin. It is normal for us to get sleepy within hours of dusk, with 9-10 PM standard time being a typical time for sleep to be initiated.

3) Avoid prolonged exposure to bright, moving light prior to sleep. Yes, this includes televisions and computers. Ohhhh, this is so easy to say and hard to do. But, that doesn't make it any less true. As discussed, light is very stimulating and postpones serotonin to melatonin conversion. How many of you have pressed through the sleepiness to watch a TV program or finish a project on the computer only to find yourself capable of staying up 'til the wee hours, struggling to sleep when you finally hit the sack? Been there, done that!

4) Avoid excessive caffeine consumption. Most of you know that this is a big factor but many don't know the whole story behind caffeine. I read a while back that caffeine consumed after 7 AM but before 3 PM delays serotonin to melatonin conversion thereby postponing bedtime. Caffeine consumption after 4 PM speeds up melatonin to serotonin conversion on the waking end, thereby causing us to wake up earlier in the morning. (So, the best time to consume caffeine was shown to be between 3 and 4 PM.) This certainly fit my personal experience.

5) Avoid the foods rich in depressants that cause us to become caffeine addicted. This is where those pesky casomorphins and gliadomorphins come into play. I discuss these in a number of places on the site (e.g. under Food Addiction in the Appetizers section). These proven addictive depressants are greatly responsible for the fact that 75% of the calories in the Standard American Diet (SAD) are from dairy and wheat alone, the main sources of these LSD-like compounds. They are also one of the main reasons we are caffeine addicted. This country would be sound asleep mid-day if caffeine wasn't so readily available. They are also responsible for the down cycle of ADHD and other mood swing disorders. These same foods (gluten grains and dairy) contain the "antidotes" to these depressants- the "excitotoxins", glutamate and aspartate, that show up 4-6 hours later, waking us up or sending our kids into the hyper mode of ADHD.

6) Take a good, proven omega-3 fatty acid supplement. It was an Email from a new Internet acquaintance that prompted me to do this section today. She explained that her prolonged insomnia (7 years, a good number) was cured by using an omega three preparation called Coromega. She saw an improvement in one week, a better change in one month and after 1.5 years was sleeping normally. I can easily believe this as omega threes are crucial to our health in many regards and most in the US are woefully deficient in these essential fatty acids. The brain certainly requires these for optimal function and longevity, but so do our cardiovascular systems, joints and more.

7) Sleep in a darkened room but not necessarily one that is blacked-out. I hear of people sleeping with the TV on. This cannot be good for the reasons above. Our eyes are actually very sensitive and it takes very little to keep our serotonin-melatonin cycle from being optimal. Again, the light coming through the window in the AM...through our closed eyelids...is one of the signal for us to awaken (along with the neighbor's barking dog. LOL). So, I do not recommend black-out shades unless that is critical to reducing the light in the room to an acceptible level. We need the light to come into the room on the other end of our sleep. But if you have a neighbor who is especially proud of their security lights, you may need to make an adjustment.

8 ) Consider some vitamin, mineral, and other supplements. There are some specific sleep syndromes seen with B complex and other nutrient deficiencies. Here is a Website that addresses these issues. ( http://www.holisticonline.com/Remedi..._nutrition.htm ) Just make sure that you don't violate The GARD when using certain food sources of these nutrients. Uh, warm milk is out! LOL

9) Get plenty of exercise.

10) Avoid emotional conflicts before going bed. We all know what an argument with a spouse or family member can do to our night's sleep. This is one of the reasons we should reconcile our differences before the sun goes down.

The main point that I am trying to make is that we are, once again, doing this to ourselves. Many simply don't understand the critical nature of sleep. That is a very important this to see. It is essential for our well-being, not only for our quality of life but our longevity.

Once again, we have our health destiny in our own hands.

As always, I hope this helps,

John

[epileric]

This is so much what I needed to see

[Meetz1064]

I needed that info, too. It definitely is a good reminder......

[joan]

I agree, I think there is alot you can do to help. All great suggestions.
joan*

[RobinN]

If you have not taken time over at www.DogtorJ.com I highly recommend it. He has a wealth of research. It certainly can't be consumed in one visit though. You need to return often to digest it.

I am glad that it has helped.
He is a member here and if you have found something that improves your quality of life, I am sure he will be pleased.
I might send him an e-note. I know he will be pleased if he has helped even one person with their medical struggles.

[TeeTees]

Yaay, thanks Robin.

That seems to be my biggest hindrance at the moment - not getting OFF to sleep very well. For some reason my brain wants to carry on functioning, and just won't let me get some decent shut-eye

[epileric]

A new study aims to put a price tag on the burden of insomnia in society, and estimates the total cost in the province of Quebec at $6.5 billion a year.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...101?hub=Health

[RobinN]

I was thinking about this problem recently as I have been using a self created sleep aid. I am curious if the cyclical thinking (or thought sequencing) that we discussed before has any connection with this problem as well.

I have been climbing into bed, usually late, and tired, but with each breath I concentrate on relaxing my muscles, and visualize sinking into the bed sheets. I usually have no recollection past that. However, last night I was thinking about it, and it took much longer to fall asleep. Once I let the thought "go", I don't have any memory of laying there after that. It amazes me though how much tension can be carried without really noticing.

You might try it.

[TeeTees]

My problem seems to be my brain still wants to play !! It might not be worry or anything like that....it can be simply 'ooh, I can't wait to do that Tomorrow', or 'yeah, that was a good day'....so not even negative thoughts. BUT, just the fact that I'm thinking disrupts my sleep pattern.

I wish I could take out my 'thinking batteries' before hopping into bed - it would make my life alot easier

[RobinN]

Have you ever looked into meditation? It is a way to turn the thought patterns off. Takes some time to learn it, but could be helpful.

[TeeTees]

Have you ever looked into meditation? It is a way to turn the thought patterns off. Takes some time to learn it, but could be helpful.

Yeah, I used to practice that quite often. I've gone back to reading the book I had all those years ago - giving myself a recall on what I used to do to 'escape' my thoughts

Thanks Robin