Getting enough good, deep, refreshing sleep is important for your health for a variety of reasons.
People with less sleep often make poorer food choices, which can lead to blood sugar problems and weight gain. This only compounds the hormonal issues that make losing weight almost impossible when you don’t sleep well.
Lack of sleep also inhibits the immune system, which can lead to frequent colds and other illnesses. The immune system is also responsible for finding and destroying cancer cells, and sleep is therefore an important factor needed to support your body so it may both prevent and fight cancer effectively. Studies have recently shown that if you take sleeping aids of any kind more than 17 times a year, or once every 3 weeks, you have a significantly increased chance of getting cancer. When you take a sleep aid, you are not getting healthy sleep. We help people stop depending on sleeping aids, and achieve deep regenerative sleep to optimize their health.
Sleeping enough can decrease risky behaviors, improve job and school performance and will decrese anxiety levels.
Many factors can make healthy sleep seem unattainable. Chronic stress can raise cortisol levels and make falling asleep difficult. Weight training at night can help decrease cortisol, and hot epsom salt baths before bed are also good for sleep.
Other simple changes in the bedroom can help, namely removing a TV or computer, and not doing other things in bed, like work, reading, studying etc.
Menopause, night sweats and hot flashes can lead to interrupted and unrefreshing sleep. BioIdentical hormone therapies are a safe and effective therapy to decrease these sleep disruptions and help you feel normal again.
If you have interrupted sleep and wake frequently at night, it may be a blood sugar problem. Try having whey protein before you go to bed. The protein will help stabilize your blood sugar over the course of the evening, will increase growth hormone production as well as glutathione production, the number one anti-oxidant your body makes.
Sleep is very important for your overall health and wellbeing. If these simple interventions do not help you, please come in and see us. For an appointment call 916.241.9325
