Sleep Right Rules

Sleep Right Rules

Sleep Right Rules

1 Comment on Sleep Right Rules

Marlyn.ca

Implement Sleep-Right Rules

Once you’ve turned your bedroom into a healthy, sleep-inducing oasis, the next critical step is to start sleeping correctly. You may not have known that there is actually a proper way and time to sleep. It’s true!

When, how and how much we sleep is important. Failing to follow these recommendations can impede the fat-burning and hormone-balancing benefits you should gain from sleep each and every night.

Here are The Clear Medicine System guidelines for hormone-enhancing sleep:

Sleep in complete darkness. Again, even a small amount of light can hamper your sleep.

Sleep nude (or at least with loose-fitting nightclothes – but nude is better). Do not sleep in tight undergarments (bras, girdles, briefs, etc). Tight clothing will increase your body temperature and interfere with melatonin release while you sleep.

Establish regular sleeping hours. Try to get up each morning and go to bed every night at roughly the same time. Oversleeping can be as detrimental as sleep deprivation. How you feel each day is an important indication of how much sleep is right for you.

Get to bed by 11 p.m. Since the invention of electricity (not to mention television and computers), we have begun staying up later and later. This change has resulted in a largely sleep-deprived society. Our stress glands, the adrenals, recharge or recover most between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. Going to bed before 11 p.m. (in fact, 10 p.m. is even better) is optimal for rebuilding your adrenal reserves. I know this can be difficult to change so I recommend to my patients they start going to bed 15 minutes earlier each week until they reach their new target time.

Sleep 7 ½ to 9 hours a night. The American Cancer Association has found higher incidences of cancer in individuals who consistently sleep less than six hours or more than nine hours nightly. Oversleeping is just as harmful as sleep deprivation. Consistently needing more than nine hours of sleep every night warrants a visit to your doctor for further investigation, as this may indicate an underlying medical condition such as hypothyroidism or depression or a deficiency of iron, folic acid or vitamin B12. Some of us simply require more or less sleep than others. If you awaken without an alarm and feel rested, you’re likely getting the right amount of sleep for you.

See the light first thing in the morning. Daylight and morning sounds are key signals that help awaken your brain. Turning on the lights or opening the blinds is the proper way to reset your body clock and ensure that your melatonin levels drops back to “awake” mode until the evening. Exposure to morning light has also been proven to be one of the simplest ways to increase your energy for the entire day. It’s also been shown to boost testosterone in men and fertility in women by stimulating luteinizing hormone release from the pituitary gland. Enhance this action further by exposing yourself to sunlight and by getting outside during the day. I can’t say enough about the benefits of getting outside, even for 10-20 minutes in the morning light.

Keep household lighting dim from dinnertime until you go to sleep. Believe it or not, this simple step not only prepares your body and hormones for sleep, but it also helps your digestion.

The most important step in selecting a natural sleep aid is to first determine the cause of your sleep disruption because different supplements can be more effective than others for specific sleep-robbing conditions. Difficulty falling or staying asleep may result from stress, vitamin or mineral deficiency, excess caffeine intake, certain medications, menopause, anxiety, depression, low melatonin, muscle tension, pain and a whole host of other reasons too numerous to list. Fortunately, many herbal remedies, vitamins, minerals, amino acids and hormones are available to assist you in your quest for a good night’s rest.

Magnesium or calcium/magnesium is recommended for all causes of sleep disruption – in addition to one or more of the following for the specific sleep imbalances:

Cant fall asleep – Suggested Supplement / Remedy – usually due to high cortisol/stress:

Seditol – 3 at bedtime with magnesium 200 to 800 mg
Relora – 1 on rising and 2 before bed
Ashwaganda – 500 to 1,000 mg twice daily

Can’t stay asleep – Suggested Supplement / Remedy – usually due to high cortisol/stress or low melatonin

Relora – 1 on rising and 2 before bed
Ashwaganda – 500 to 1,000 mg twice daily
Melatonin – sublingual form is best 3 mg – best for those over 45 to 50 years

Waking too early- Suggested Supplement / Remedy – usually due to low serotonin/anxiety or depression

RX to increase serotonin – fish oils – 6 grams per day
Vitamin D3 2000 to 5000IU per day
5 HTP 200 to 400 mg per day and add Cenitol (metagenics), which is inositol, to protein shakes daily to enhance serotonin in the brain

Racing mind in bed at night- Suggested Supplement / Remedy – usually due to high cortisol

Phosphatidylserine – 300mg at bedtime
Vitamin B6 -100mg at bedtime

Can’t sleep because of anxiety or body tension/pain- Suggested Supplement / Remedy – usually due to low GABA, a naturally calming brain chemical

Gaba – 500 to 1000mg at bedtime

Can’t sleep due to PMS – Suggested Supplement / Remedy – usually due to low progesterone which helps to prevent headaches, anxiety and insomnia before your period

Evening primrose oil – 2000mg daily for 2 weeks prior to menses
Natural progesterone cream – prescription through MD or ND

Can’t sleep due to Menopausal or Perimenopausal symptoms- Suggested Supplement / Remedy – usually due to low progesterone/low estrogen and/or high cortisol, which can cause hot flashes, night sweats, anxiety, palpitations, broken sleep

Suggestions for progesterone above
Herbs to increase estrogen – clear estrogen 2 to 3 at bedtime
Natural Bi-est cream – prescription through your MD or ND
Relora – 1 on rising and 2 before bed to reduce stress at menopause

Normally a lot of these shows are filled with drivel — but this one is worth reposting — and worth watching if you can deal with the product placements. It’s remarkable in that it is so through and so free of the usual bandaid solutions.

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