The Importance of Vitamin B6 – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 523
Not sure if you should be taking Vitamin B6 on its own? Find out why you might need this nutrient from Amanda Williams, MD, MPH.
Tag: insomnia
Nutrients for Stress and Sleep Support – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 507
The body needs sleep to recover, but issues such as stress may prevent you from getting good quality rest. Turn to Tranquil Tx, a liquid mixture of ingredients that have been clinically studied for their calming effects.
Specific Foods and Nutrients That Promote Healthy Sleep – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 265
sleep
Invite Health Podcast, Episode hosted by Amanda Williams, MPH.
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One of the most underestimated factors in our overall wellness is sleep. It is vital to the entire body. We need to get a restful night of sleep in order to function properly. But why is that and what can you do to help to enhance your circadian rhythms and really support a good night’s rest? Why does that matter so much? That’s what I want to talk about today: what foods and nutrients you can be incorporating into your evening routine for a restful night of sleep.†
Why is sleep so important for the body?
Sleep is incredibly vital to brain plasticity, which is the ability for the brain cells to repair and recover themselves. If we are not getting adequate sleep, then this certainly can lead to issues. People can feel sluggish or depressed. We also know that there are factors such as high blood pressure that have been linked with poor sleep quality. There are a lot of different ways in which our sleep can affect our metabolism, cardiovascular system and mental clarity. We have to make sure that we are doing everything in our power to get adequate sleep.†
When we look at the statistics, it’s really quite overwhelming. There’s roughly about 70 million Americans who have some form of a sleep disorder. There are reports that 50% of those people who have a disorder report snoring as being one of the main components to the sleep disruption. Sometimes people who snore don’t realize that they are actually waking themselves up because the snoring throws them out of their normal cycles.†
How Tart Cherry Supports A Good Night’s Sleep – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 224. Listen Now >>
When we look a little deeper into it, we can find that people who are not getting restful nights oftentimes will fall asleep during the day. That’s roughly 40% of people who have a sleep disorder. We know that drowsiness or falling asleep at the wheel is responsible for multiple fatalities annually in the United States. We know that insomnia and sleep apnea are major problems. I always encourage people who are experiencing disrupted sleep or problems in their sleep to have a medically evaluated sleep study done at a sleep center, where they can actually see what’s happening through those different stages of sleep.†
Learn more about the importance of good quality sleep, listen to the full podcast episode.
How to boost sleep using nutrients
What can we be doing to really make sure that our diet includes foods that have really healthy nutrients that can help to promote a healthy circadian rhythm and support those biological repairing processes that have to occur overnight?†
We want to look towards foods that have naturally-occurring melatonin, such as cherries. Cherries have a really good amount of naturally-occurring melatonin. The cherries that have a higher amount of melatonin happen to be the Montmorency tart cherries. We can also look at other things like kiwi, which is packed with vitamins and minerals. It contains these really lovely amounts that can help to promote sleep. In the evening, before bed, we can have some tart cherry juice or kiwifruit to help us sleep.†
We can also look towards fruits that have tryptophan in it. Tryptophan is this very important essential amino acid that is needed for a variety of different things that are occurring within the body. It’s very important when it comes to the neurotransmitter production of serotonin and from there, we get melatonin. By having foods that are higher in tryptophan, this may help to promote that natural process between those different neurotransmitters and then into melatonin hormone. We can look towards things like chicken, turkey, seeds, nuts and eggs.†
Feeling Burnt Out? Rhodiola Can Help! – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 186. Listen Now >>
If you have a lot of stress in your life, sometimes the brain has a hard time simmering down and allowing you to fall asleep. In those types of settings, it’s always advantageous to consider things like 5-HTP, which is 5-hydroxytryptophan. This is a supplement that you actually take that converts to serotonin. So if someone is having a hard time getting the brain to unwind at night, having 5-HTP on board before bed is very beneficial for many people.†
The other thing that many people overlook that plays a very critical role in the relaxation of everything in the body is magnesium. A good 50% of Americans are low in magnesium. If the vasculature and the skeletal muscles have a hard time with that proper relaxation and following that circadian rhythm, then this can also be a reason as to why one is not getting adequate sleep throughout the night. Having magnesium on board in the evening can be very beneficial.
Hear more of Amanda’s recommendations by tuning into the full podcast episode.
Thank you for tuning in to the Invite Health Podcast. You can find all of our episodes for free wherever you listen to podcasts or by visiting www.invitehealth.com/podcast. Make sure you subscribe and leave us a review! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at Invite Health today. We’ll see you next time on another episode of the Invite Health Podcast.
How Insomnia Impacts Your Overall Health – Invite Health Podcast, Episode 56
Anyone can have a bad nights sleep, but when it is persistent and beyond your control it is called insomnia, which can damage your health and sometimes shorten your life. Chief Scientific Director and Pharmacist, Jerry Hickey, Ph., brings you information on natural remedies for insomnia.
Three Ways to Get The Sleep You Need
Photo by Awar Jahfar on Unsplash Do you have trouble falling or staying asleep? Or do you find yourself not waking up feeling rested? You’re not alone! A third of US adults report that they usually get less than the seven hours that is recommended. …
Your Quality of Sleep Declines As You Get Older
A recent review of scientific literature published in the journal Neuron found that aging adults may be losing their ability to produce deep, restorative sleep.
Medical News Today states that as the brain ages, neurons and circuits in the areas that regulate sleep slowly degrade, resulting in a decreased amount of non-REM sleep. Since non-REM deep sleep plays a key role in maintaining memory and cognition, that’s is a major issue. Matthew Walker, who leads the Sleep and Neuroimaging Laboratory at the University of California, reports, “Every one of the major diseases that are killing us in first-world nations – from diabetes to obesity to Alzeheimer’s disease to cancer – all of those things now have strong causal links to a lack of sleep. And all of those diseases significantly increase in likelihood the older that we get, and especially in dementia.”
Bryce Mander of University of California Berkeley says the loss of deep sleep starts as early as the mid-thirties. The major change that individuals feel is the “early-to-bed, early-to-rise” schedule or waking up in the middle of the night more often.
Insomnia
Millie Lytle, ND, MPH former Director of Nutrition for InVite® Health, states that if you have a hard time falling asleep or staying asleep, you may have insomnia. Nearly 50% of older adults have insomnia, with difficulty in getting to sleep, early awakening, or feeling unrefreshed on waking. With aging, several changes occur that higher ones risk for insomnia, including age-related changes in various circadian rhythms (your body’s internal clock), environmental and lifestyle changes, and decreases in nutrient intake, absorption, retention, and utilization of these nutrients. In addition to fatigue, insomnia in older adults is of particular concern because it could increase risk of injury, with impaired quality of life, cognitive impairment, depression and a heightened risk of metabolic syndrome. Insomnia is also associated with a moderately increased risk for cardiovascular diseases.
Natural Remedies
There are some natural alternatives that may be just what you need to begin getting the sleep you deserve, according to Mille Lytle, ND, MPH –
Magnesium is an essential mineral that has been shown to relax the nervous system, improving measures of insomnia such as sleep efficiency, sleep time, and early morning awakening. Melatonin is a hormone produced in the pineal gland in your brain that regulates the body’s circadian rhythm. When Melatonin levels are high, coritsol levels are low, making this supplement an excellent factor in healthy sleep patterns. Valerian Root has been used as a sedative and anti-anxiety treatment for more than 2,000 years. Extracts of the roots of valerian are widely used for inducing sleep and improving sleep quality. L-Theanine, an extract from green tea, is an excellent support for anxiety, panic, to calm down worrisome thoughts and sleep. One. Japanese study on rats found that chamomile extract helped them to fall asleep just as quickly as rats that got a dose of benzodiazepine (a tranquilizing medication). There are further solutions and other forms of medication that can help anyone get through this as well.
One of the best practices that help to fall asleep is exercising. Another good tip is to finish dinner at least 2 hours prior to “hitting the hay” and develop a routine. Follow this checklist to help turn your nights into dreams:
- Turn off cell phones, computers and the television at least an hour before bed
- Go to bed at a regular time each night. The best time is at least 1-2 hours prior to midnight.
- Engage in gentle activities such as: calm conversation, listening to soothing music or meditation tracks, light stretching, having a bath, drinking herbal teas, reading a novel, cuddling or other intimate contact, or petting an animal.
Once into bed, only do sleep-time activities. At this time, using essential oils such as lavender applied to the bottoms of feet and dropping on pillow is enjoyable and soothing. If counting sheep are not enough to blank your mind, then try an exercise-based relaxation technique called progressive-relaxation, which involves clenching each muscle group of the body as hard as possible, then enjoy the relaxation. Progressive relaxation clears the mind and relaxes the body.