Rejuvenating Sleep

Extracted from “The Sun – 30th Sept, 2013”

People who live long enjoy between six and eight hours of sleep daily, with those sleeping for seven hours having the lowest mortality rate.

Sleep has many physiological functions that are routinely performed at the cost of a third of our lifespan. These include:

Restorative – Our body carries out its anabolic (growing, repairing and renewal) processes during various stages of sleep;

Regulation of immune function – This is rejuvenated after a good night sleep;

Detoxification – Toxins are neutralised and removed by the liver via the bile acid; and

Consolidation of memory – Knowledge or experience acquired is filed for future use.

But globally, with the advent of the internet and television, the number of hours slept per night is declining. Up to 40% of our population may suffer from sleep disorders such as difficulty in falling asleep or staying asleep through the night.

Insomnia is becoming more common in adults and its frequency increases with advancing age.

Chronic insomnia is where the inability to initiate/maintain sleep persists for more than three nights per week extending for three months or longer.

CAUSES FOR INSOMNIA

Buysse (2013) found causes of insomnia to involve one’s genetic, environmental, behavioural, and physiological factors  leading to hyperarousal (higher body metabolic rate and elevated stress hormone levels).

Stressful life situations are too numerous to be listed and they all affect our sleep quality and duration. Working shifts, going to bed hungry, having alcoholic and/or caffeinated beverages such as coffee, tea, and soft drinks can adversely affect sleep quality.

Jet lag, unfamiliar surroundings, noise pollution, anxiety over upcoming events or examinations, irregular sleep-wake hours, and extreme weather conditions can shorten sleep duration.

Medical conditions contributing to insomnia include fever, sleep apnea (snoring or blocked breathing), chronic pain, asthma, coughing, anaemia, urinary incontinence/frequency, sinusitis, depression, anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress, restless leg syndrome, internet-addiction, dementia, and Parkinson’s disease.

Blood levels of insulin and/or stress hormone may be elevated by self-imposed sleep restriction.

PROBLEMS WITH INSOMIA

In the workplace, there may be a tendency for making mistakes, memory impairment, low motivation, initiative reduction, poor attention, inability to focus, daytime fatigue/sleepiness, headache, poor social skills, irritability, mood disturbance, daytime napping, and even gastro-intestinal problems.

The risk of obesity is some 700% higher in adults with chronic insomnia. According to the World Health Organisation, Malaysia is the most obese country in the Far East and Southeast Asia.

Diabetes or insulin resistance is worsened with sleep deprivation, which impairs sugar tolerance.

Gottlieb et al (2005) found that sleep duration shorter than six hours or longer than nine hours per night was linked to higher risk of diabetes.

Lancet (1999) reported that having four hours of sleep per night for just six nights could result in impaired carbohydrate/sugar metabolism and endocrine dysfunction leading to various hormonal imbalances.

Apparently, these adverse effects of sleep restriction are similar to accelerated ageing and they raise severity of existing age-related chronic health disorders.

SLEEP PROMOTING FOOD

Besides avoiding hunger before bedtime, sleep-promoting food include those rich in the nutrient L-trytophan which is converted initially to the brain neurotransmitter serotonin and then to the sleep hormone melatonin in the presence of vitamin B6 and in the absence of light.

Soy isolate, wheat germ, wheat bran, peanut, almond, pumpkin seed, sunflower seed, pecan nut, cashew nut, seaweeds, Swiss cheese, and Brewer’s yeast are rich source of L-trytophan.

Besides lowering our low density (“bad”) cholesterol and and raising our good HDL cholesterol, niacin helps induce deep sleep by raising levels of our growth hormone secretion.

Potassium intake can shorten time taken to fall asleep. Food rich in this mineral include tapioca leaf, turnip (sengkuang), tomato, and banana.

Magnesium relaxes muscle tissues and calms muscular spasms helpful to those suffering from asthma.

Food sources of magnesium include cocoa, beans, seeds, nuts, lentils, dark green vegetables, millet, wild rice, quinoa, figs, banana, avocado, and prune.

Omega-3 fats from flax seeds, blue green sea algae and cold water fish or taking quality fish oil supplement can also induce deeper night sleep.

Nutritional therapists may also use L-theanine (protein from tea leaf), to reduce the stimulating effects of caffeine from coffee and strong tea and to create a sense of relaxation besides nutraceuticals such as valerian, lemon balm, passion flower, kava kava, and magnolia officialis.

COMPLEMENTARY MEDICAL THERAPIES

Cognitive-behavioural therapy, relaxation therapies, regular exercises, morning sun exposure, music therapy, audio-colour therapy, light therapy, hypnotherapy, meditation, acupuncture, and psychotherapy are some of the natural therapies recommended to treat chronic insomnia.

GOOD NIGHT !!