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Most
people with poor sleep have likely been
told by their doctors that getting enough quality sleep each night will be
critical to good health, especially in maintaining healthy blood pressure.
But
an Italian study looking at men and women and their sleep patterns showed some
frustrating results recently, especially for women.
The
study that came out of the University of Pisa in Italy recently released data
proving that not only are people with poor sleep more than twice as
likely to suffer persistent and stubborn high blood pressure, but also that
women are far more likely than men to suffer from poor sleep.
The
230-person study looked at men and women with an average age of 58. What they
found was what many busy, working women would already likely tell you, which is
that the stress of raising a family, caring for aging parents, running a home
and other duties that typically fall on women are leading to chronic sleep problems
at a rate that out-paces men.
Not getting proper sleep
doesn’t just lead to high blood pressure, it makes hypertension much harder to
fight than hypertension caused by other types of stress.
A
critical predictor of future trouble with Alzheimer’s disease has been recently
linked with the effects of chronic sleep debt and insomnia, as a
study supported by the National Institute of Health revealed.
A
product the body produces that has been very closely linked with people who
develop Alzheimer’s disease has been blamed on lack of sleep recently.
Amyloid
plaque is the culprit, and chronic sleep debt and insomnia is the cause,
reports a study recently supported by NIH and the Ellison Foundation.
More
research is ongoing to find the specific relationship between the buildup of
this plaque and its association with insomnia. Yet one more reason to work at
getting a full night’s sleep consistently.
Stop Insomnia - 11
Food Dos and Don’ts to Fight Insomnia
We
have been hearing for years that if you struggle to sleep at night, you should
avoid eating or drinking right before bed.
However, there are a lot of people who have found that a bedtime snack or a warm drink right before retiring is just the thing to send them off to dreamland. Is it a contradiction? Not necessarily, and here’s why…
There
is a ton of research out there that extolls the virtues of making sure not to
eat or drink anything within 3 hours of going to bed. For the most part, the
results of improved sleep are not necessarily because of avoiding food and
drink. They are generally because of avoiding other problems that tag along
with food and drink.
It’s
not food’s fault you can’t sleep, it is generally portion or type that is to
blame. Below, we look at a handful of foods that are not only filled with
nutrients that promote better sleep, but are considered okay to have right
before bed…just don’t overdo it. More than 8 ounces- total- of anything before
bed is a recipe for sleep trouble.
Then,
we’ll look at the ones you want to avoid before bed (or even entirely) because
of the problems associated with sleep.
Do
Have:
Hot oatmeal– studies suggest
that a small, warm dose of a carbohydrate snack before bed helps aid not only
is falling asleep but also staying asleep. This can be oatmeal, warmed up Grape
Nuts or Shredded Wheat, or even a small scoop of granola heated up in a bit of
milk.
Bananas- while you’re at
it, toss a bit of sliced banana in the hot cereal mix. The potassium in bananas
right before bed soothes angry nerves in the muscles of the legs, reducing the
chances of being woken in the night due to leg cramps.
Chickpeas- The Vitamin B6
in this little veggie during the day helps in the production of serotonin. At
night, it promotes the body’s natural release of melatonin, which is the
compound that makes a person feel sleepy.
Jasmine tea with chamomile- not only do
these herbs have wonderful compounds in them that make the body feel sleepy,
but even just the smell of them helps to promote the body to relax and prepare
for rest. For people who can’t drink anything before bed due to bladder issues,
aromatherapy including these herbs in essential oil form are very helpful.
Cherry juice- while not
necessarily acting as a sleep aid per se, this fruit has been shown to promote
staying asleep. For frequent wakers, this is helpful-but only the tart cherry
variety. It is used by naturopaths to aid in sleep mostly because of its
restorative powers with respect to muscle tissue.
Water- dehydration is
frequently the culprit in frequent waking. Not getting enough water to drink
during the day makes the body much less likely to make use of the nutrients you
spent so much time consuming earlier in the day. For the many systems in the
body to even absorb those vitamins and nutrients, they have to have adequate
water to even take them in.
Don’t
Have:
Soda…EVER. You might be
thinking that because you have a caffeine-free version of a soda it solves the
nighttime problem. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The excess sodium
in pop interferes with cells’ ability to balance potassium in the bloodstream.
This imbalance, while potentially unnoticeable during the day, can spell can’t
stay asleep” disaster all night. It also has been shown to increase blood
pressure, which is a problem for insomniacs generally, anyway.
Spicy food- this just
causes stomach upset, ‘power surges’ or mini-hot flashes, and stink to emit
from your skin. Spicy food also contributes to dehydration as there is
generally a lot of salt in many spicy dishes, especially if the spice used is a
manufactured, packaged variety.
Dairy- other than a bit of yogurt with
the granola or a quarter cup of milk with the hot oatmeal, you want to
completely avoid large amounts (anything over 8 ounces) of dairy. Many people
like a large glass of warm milk before bed or even a dish of ice cream. This
just causes the stomach to be upset. Dairy should be limited in the hours
preceding sleep.
Deli meats- the tyramine in
deli meats and aged cheeses spell disaster for a weary brain that just wants to
rest. Tyramine is the product of a natural process of tyrosine breaking down in
food as it ages. Since deli meat is generally a preserved version of pork,
beef, and chicken, it is definitely aged. Tyramine acts as a bit of a stimulant
and has even been linked to migraine as a major trigger. It’s also going to
just make you thirsty at night, a cause of frequent waking.
Spaghetti or pizza sauce- it doesn’t even
have to be all that spicy to wind up with its own place on this list. Consuming
this food within 6 hours of bedtime without adequate water consumption will
cause the body to dehydrate. Even if you eat no meat on your pizza or just have
breadsticks and sauce…the seasoning and processing this food undergoes is
wrought with potential for reflux and dehydration.
So
there you have it…clearing up the myths about eating (or not) before bed time
and how to improve your chances of falling and staying asleep.
This post is from The
Insomnia and Stop Snoring Program offers a revolutionary new approach to help
people stop snoring. Snoring is not only disruptive to our partners, but it
poses health risks as well, especially for those folks who suffer from sleep
apnea.
Christian Goodman,
the creator of the program, has discovered that a selection of specific
exercises can actually correct the issues that lead to excessive snoring, and
help snorers and their bed mates get a better night’s sleep.
The program will
allow you to shake your pesky and unhealthy snoring habit using only easy to
perform natural exercises. No drugs, surgery, funky contraptions to sleep with,
hypnosis or any other invasive techniques. If you can spend 7 minutes per day
performing these exercises you can say goodbye to snoring for good.
