RobinN
Super Mom
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Sleep suggestions from Dogtor John
www.dogtorj.com
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/Remedies/Sleep/sleep_ins_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
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