Irritable from INSOMNIA?
You're not alone...
here's what you can do...
here's what you can do...
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Volume
II Number 20
Special Edition
Copyright 2012, All Rights Reserved |
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Everybody's likely to experience insomnia sometime - so learn the three options below so you can be prepared and not 'lose sleep over it.'
Not being able to sleep is a lonely experience. There you are in the
dark, and even if someone else is sleeping next to you, they can't help you. So the
longer you can't sleep, the more likely you are to feel, not just frustrated, but
isolated as well.
But you're
not really alone in your misery:
(Source: 2008 [US]. Princeton, NJ; Consumer Health Sciences; June
2008.)
Still, that's
not very comforting. What is wanted is not companionship in misery, but
the sweet relief of
sleep!
That's why many
people turn to prescription
drugs. Currently the most popular
one is Ambien -its active ingredient is Zolpidem tartrate in a tablet with other
chemicals: hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, lactose (milk sugar), magnesium
stearate, micro-crystalline cellulose, polyethylene glycol, sodium starch glycolate and
titanium dioxide. The 5 mg tablet also contains a chemical food die and colorant,
FD&C Red No. 40, iron oxide colorant and polysorbate
80.
Its possible side effects are
listed as: allergy, daytime drowsiness, dizziness, drugged feeling, headache,
indigestion, nausea, unusual changes in thinking and/or behavior
and memory loss, including 'traveler's amnesia' when taken for an overnight flight
of less than 7-8 hours. Older adults are cautioned that they may be more apt
to fall, and people with breathing problems may notice worsening of
symptoms.Discontinuing too rapidly may provoke withdrawal symptoms including
vomiting and cramps.
Is ingesting
this chemical soup and being exposed to these side effects the only way to get a decent
night's sleep? Absolutely not. People have been using non-chemical, yet
effective sleep aids probably since the world began.
Here are some
approaches to deal with insomnia that are free of side effects and/ or chemicals.
As you consider them, we suggest you identify what kind of sleep disturbance you've
needed help with in the past, and select/ have on hand some of these way to deal with
it before it happens again. Loosing sleep is no laughing matter -
that's when your body heals, renews, refreshes and rebuilds. Miss too much sleep
and your body will literally fall apart.
1.
Reverse Sympathetic Dominance
Just like every
human, you have two parts to your nervous system. One is the
voluntary part
- it responds to your commands, such as to pick up a pencil or a glass of water,
for example. The other is the involuntary part - it runs your body without your having to think
about it. It makes you breathe automatically, makes your heart beat,
processes food through your metabolic cycle, handles elimination. This
second, involuntary part has two modes of operation, and this is the part that
can make for trouble falling asleep or even a whole sleepless night or series of
them.
The two parts of
your automatic, or involuntary nervous system are called sympathetic and
parasympathetic. In the first, the sympathetic, your body's geared for an
emergency. It's putting out the signal to man the lifeboats, or to run from the
lion. It puts all your available energy into your survival systems - increasing
your heart rate, pumping lots of blood through your system to get the resources into
your muscles.
But sweet sleep
doesn't come from that system, it comes from the parasympathetic system, which is the
automatic rest, recover, repair and heal mode. And it doesn't matter what your
conscious brain is saying... you can give thousands of orders to your body to go to
sleep... if the sympathetic system is activated for whatever reason, you can lie in the
dark all night and your automatic system is still acting as if it should run from the
lion.
What this means
is that if you want to sleep, you need to find and eliminate the causes of sympathetic
dominance. One of the most effective and immediate ways to do this is to consume
minerals that leave an alkaline ash when metabolized, because those are the minerals
the nervous system uses in the recovery phase after
firing.
Say you've had a
particularly stressful day and you can feel your nerves are on edge. It may be
many hours since your last cup of coffee or caffeine tea, but you feel like you've just
had some. That's the time to replenish those particular minerals - otherwise you
might just be looking at a sleepless night.
These minerals
are readily available in kelp and alfalfa, and can be taken as a tea. We also use
MinTran (a Standard Process product) because it contains exactly those minerals. Get
them into your circulation and you can actually feel your body calming down, your
breathing deepen, your heart rate slow as you enjoy a big sigh of
relief.
2.
Reduce/ Eliminate Circulating Cortisol
When you're
stressed, even if it's a wonderful stress, your body circulates an adrenal hormone
called cortisol. If sympathetic dominance is the involuntary priority list of
your body, then cortisol is the messenger that circulates the orders to keep manning
the lifeboats and running from the lion. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to
figure out that sleep is likely to remain elusive with lots of cortisol
circulating. The solution, of course, is to break down the cortisol right away,
and get the levels down so your body quits getting those hormonal orders. This
job falls to your liver.
Supplements that aid this
process so it can be carried out quickly include Magnesium, Omega 3 fatty acids
and certain food enzyme products that help the liver break it
down.
3. Keep
Sleep-Promoting Supplements on Hand
Certain
supplements carry a reputation for promoting relaxation and sleep. Some of these
are available as drops, as pills or as teas. Before you purchase a supply, be sure to
check and make sure they are suitable for your unique situation, including whether or
not you are pregnant or lactating or whether they might interact with any other
medications/ supplements you are taking.
RNA
- If your insomnia might be due to
jet lag or an otherwise disturbed diurnal cycle, consider giving your brain the exact
nutrition it needs to reset your diurnal cycle quickly and easily. The handy part
of using this supplement is that if it's daytime and you're feeling tired, you can take
4 or 5 to help you wake up and get with the daytime program. And if you can't
sleep, you're wide awake and it's night time, 4 or 5 will help your brain realize it's
time to sleep. It's not a sedative or hypnotic - instead, it's feeding your brain
what it needs to reset itself to be in synch with the rhythms of day and night as
they're actually occurring.
Here are a few
of the time-tested herbal favorites:
Chamomile - excellent
for promoting sleep, very soothing to the nerves, helps transform restlessness and
irritability into calm and
relaxation.
Valarian
- is the herbal model for
later anti-anxiety medications such as Librium and Valium. It works on the
nervous system especially at the juncture where the nerves fire into the muscles.
Thus it promotes muscle relaxation, and therefore is especially helpful when
inability to sleep is related to restlessness.
Hops - has a long
history of being used to promote sleep - even put in pillows. Especially good for
insomnia due to nerve weakness and worry.
California Poppy -
is considered to be the 'go to' herb practitioners use for nerve pain. Therefore
it is the perfect herb when sleeplessness is the result of nervous overstimulation,
anxiety and pain.
Lavender - is
considered to be a strengthening tonic for the nervous system, and a stronger nervous
system is able to adjust more easily from 'run from the lion mode' to 'rest, recover
and heal' mode.
Passion
flower - especially helpful when
sleeplessness is the result of overwork and nervous
exhaustion.
Kava
kava - Used especially
throughout the South Seas, including Fiji, as a sedative to promote sleep and
dreaming.
Skullcap - There
are two kinds of Skullcap. American Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora) has been used
since the founding of the United States to promote relaxation and sleep. Chinese
Skullcap (Scutellaria baicalensis) is also used to reduce nervousness, distress and
irritation.
St. John's Wort
-has been helpful to people with chronic insomnia when related to depression and
possible low serotonin levels.
As you get your sleep
difficulties in order, you will be contributing to a better world for everyone,
and you will also be contributing to lower health care costs. It's estimated
that sleep problems cost hundreds of billions of dollars every year in doctor
visits alone, and that's not counting all the costs from lower productivity, motor
vehicle accidents and failed relationships.
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