Natural Alternatives for Natural Zzzzzzs
By: Janet Little C.N.
It is 2:00 a.m. and while the rest of the world sleeps peacefully, you’re wide awake. You toss and turn, while thoughts of work, family and finances keep spinning through your mind, making a restful night’s sleep a distant dream. It’s true; all of these stressors can thwart your attempts to get a good night’s rest. In fact, if you find yourself spending too much time trying to fall asleep, or if you wake up feeling tired and cranky, then you might be experiencing insomnia. Insomnia is a growing condition in the United States with about one in every three people experiencing sleeping problems. While insomnia is the most common sleep complaint for people of any age; it affects almost half of adults age 60 and older.
Why we need sleep
A number of vital tasks are carried out during sleep to help maintain good physical health and optimal mental function. Most adults need seven to eight hours of sleep each night. Some adults need less sleep as they age, but there is no evidence to show that older people can get by with less sleep than younger people. Interestingly enough, some reports show the average total sleep time for most people actually increases slightly after age 65.
Both quantity and quality are important to achieve the optimum benefits of sleep. People whose sleep is interrupted or cut short may not spend enough time in all the beneficial sleep stages. Different things happen during different stages of sleep. Some stages of sleep are needed to refuel and regenerate our bodies while other stages help us learn and retain memories.
In fact, the pathways in the brain connected to learning and memory are very active when we sleep. Studies show that people who are taught mentally challenging tasks perform better if they are well rested when compared to participants who didn’t get a good night’s sleep. How well-rested you are and how well you function depends on your total sleep time and how successfully you complete each stage of sleep.
Sleep is important for good health. Studies show that extended periods of lack of sleep or poor quality of sleep increase the risk for developing high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and other medical conditions. In fact, studies suggest that the less people sleep, the more likely they are to be overweight. During a deep sleep your body produces and releases hormones that fight infection, repairs cells, builds muscle tissues and determines how the body uses energy.
Insomnia
Many factors can contribute to insomnia, including physical disorders that cause pain or discomfort during the night, such as heartburn, arthritis, menopause and cancer. Neurologic conditions, such as Parkinson's disease and dementia are also a source of sleep problems, as are many psychiatric conditions, including depression
Four signs that you may be experiencing a sleeping problem:
1. Taking a long time — more than 30 to 45 minutes — to fall asleep.
2. Waking up many times during the night.
3. Waking up early without being able to get back to sleep.
4. Waking up feeling tired and the inability to focus or function well during the day.
Poor sleep affects our health. Many people who have poor nighttime sleep are more likely to use over-the-counter sleep aids. They are also more likely to suffer from attention and memory deficiencies, a depressed mood, lack of energy, excessive daytime sleepiness and more nighttime falls. Poor sleep is also associated with a lower quality of life.
Older adults may have more sleeping problems because they typically nap more frequently during the day. Older adults also tend to take a variety of different medications that may negatively affect their sleep. Some of these medications might have side effects that cause daytime sleepiness, making it harder to sleep at night.
As we age, we often get less sleep or spend less time in the deep restful stages of REM (rapid eye moment) sleep. Sleep also becomes more shallow, fragmented and variable in duration with age. And our sleeping and waking patterns tend to change. We tire earlier in the evenings and wake up earlier in the mornings. And if that’s not bad enough, as we age, we are more easily awakened during the night.
However, the most common reason older adults wake up at night is to go to the bathroom. Prostate enlargement for men and incontinence for women are most often the cause of sleep disruption.
Insomnia & Sleeping Disorders
Sleep apnea
Heavy snoring can be a sign of sleep apnea, a disordered breathing condition that makes it more difficult to breathe during sleep. This condition affects at least 10 percent of all adults. Obstructive sleep apnea is more common among older adults and among people who are significantly overweight. Obstructive sleep apnea can cause fatigue, daytime drowsiness, headaches, and it also increases a person's risk for high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease, and cognitive problems. If you think you have sleep apnea, please talk to your doctor.
Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS)
RLS is a common condition in older adults and affects more than 15 percent of adults who are over the age of 80. Scientists do not fully understand what causes RLS, but people with RLS often have low levels of iron in their blood.
Insomnia and Depression
Insomnia is often a symptom of depression and depressed people often experience insomnia. The relationship between the two is unclear and currently it’s unknown if one precedes or causes the other. As reported in the Journal of Sleep, researchers found that people who experienced insomnia had a greater chance of experiencing insomnia coexisting with depression, indicating that insomnia may increase the propensity of depression. In fact, sleep disturbance is one of the core symptoms of clinical depression.
Insomnia triggers you can control
Skip the nightcap. Initially alcohol may relax you, but in reality alcohol produces unsettled sleep by reducing REM sleep and increasing middle-of-the-night wake-ups. Limit alcohol consumption to no more than one to two drinks a day and don’t drink within three hours of bedtime.
Avoid large meals and beverages before bedtime. A large meal can cause indigestion, which can disturb sleep. Also, the amount of energy needed to digest food can also disturb sleep patterns.. And, as we all know, drinking too much fluid at night can cause you to awaken more often to urinate.
Stick to a sleeping schedule. Set your internal clock by going to bed and waking up at the same time each day – even on weekends. Sticking to a sleeping schedule will get you back into a proper sleeping rhythm.
Don’t take naps after 3 p.m. Napping can boost your brain and energy power, but late afternoon naps can make it harder to fall asleep at night.
Relax before bed. Take time to unwind. Turn off the television and try reading, listening to music or meditating – anything that qualifies as quiet relaxation. Create a ritual that will condition your body to become drowsy.
Create a sleeping sanctuary. Get rid of anything that might distract you from sleep. Turn the face of your clock away from you, put up darker shades to keep out light, replace lumpy, worn-out mattresses, turn down the thermostat to 65F or lower, splurge on some cozy organic cotton sheets and keep your bedroom clean. A clutter free room is a soothing and relaxing environment, one that’s conducive to a good night’s sleep.
Avoid caffeine and nicotine. The stimulating effects of caffeine and nicotine disrupt the signals of adenosine, the brain chemical that helps induce sleep. The caffeine in coffee, colas, teas, chocolates and pain relievers can take as long as eight hours to work through your system.
Energize during the day to sleep well at night
Exercise early and often. Regular exercise can help keep you in shape, as well as help you sleep. Daytime exercise can promote deep sleep later in the evening. But don’t exercise strenuously in the evening, since it may have the opposite effect and keep you awake.
Get some sun. The right amount of sunlight exposure is key to regulating daily sleeping patterns. Try to get outside in natural sunlight for at least 30 minutes each day
Eat well-balanced meals. Eating the right amounts of carbohydrates, proteins and fats will fuel your body with the energy it needs for the day and the nutrients it needs for a good night’s sleep.
Natural alternatives for a natural sleep
Melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland in the brain. It is the main hormone that regulates the circadian rhythm, the body’s natural sleep-wake cycle. Melatonin also functions as a regulator of antioxidant and prooxidant enzymes, a radical scavenger and an antagonist of mitochondrial radical formation.
As we age, the production of melatonin declines and research indicates that taking a melatonin supplement is a safe and effective way to re-establish healthy sleep patterns. A study published in the Journal of Sleep showed substantially higher sleep efficiency during the first three hours of sleep for participants who took melatonin treatments when compared to participants who took a placebo. In another study, researchers gave eight healthy male volunteers, all without sleep complaints, either 1.5 mg melatonin or a placebo. The results showed that in the first half of the sleep study, sleep stages one and two were significantly longer for the subjects who took the melatonin when compared to subjects who took the placebo.
Valerian and Hops. These plants have a long history in folk medicine as natural sedatives. In a random, placebo-controlled clinical trial, a total of 184 adults took either two tablets comprised of standardized extracts of valerian (187 mg) and hops (41 mg) or a placebo every night for 28 days. The study showed that the adults who took the valerian-hops tablets experienced improved sleep and improved quality of life.
The quality of life or physical component was significantly improved in the valerian-hops group relative to the placebo group at the end of 28 days. The valerian-hops combination offers a safe and effective alternative to prescription or over-the-counter sleep aids and did not produce rebound insomnia upon discontinuation during the study. Please contact your physician before taking any natural supplements.
Calcium and Magnesium. Calcium has a natural calming effect and magnesium helps relax tense muscles. Magnesium is also needed when taking calcium as it aids the body’s absorption of calcium. In response, calcium inhibits the absorption of too much magnesium. They help balance one another out. Taking 1,500 mg to 2,000 mg of calcium and 1,000 mg of magnesium, in divided doses throughout the day—including right before bedtime—is an effective combination for improved sleep.
Conclusion
When thinking about your overall health, don’t forget about how important sleep factors in the whole equation. A poll conducted by the National Sleep Foundation found that older adults in good health also had good sleep patterns. If your sleep problems persist over several weeks, talk to your doctor. Short-term insomnia, lasting less than one month, may result from a medical or psychiatric condition. If insomnia lasts longer than a month, it is considered chronic, even if the original cause has been resolved.
