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Those
on the look-out for a natural treatment for insomnia
may want to focus on their dinner plate, according to research published in the
American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. In this study of nearly 6,000 adults,
the researchers found that consuming a Mediterranean diet –an eating pattern
rich in whole grains, fish, vegetables, olive oil and fresh fruits–reduced insomnia symptoms in women.
The
researchers add that the Mediterranean diet was particularly effective against
“difficulty maintaining sleep” –a common symptom of insomnia. However, they
found no connection between the Mediterranean diet patterns and sleep quality
or maintaining sleep.
Get Sleep Fast -
Restless Leg Syndrome and a Trio of Great Minerals
I
just love the feedback I get with the food articles. A lot of times it’s from
folks who have tried the recipes and liked them or have offered their own to
make a featured food more interesting.
Today,
I thought I’d combine some of the info on three of my favourite minerals with a
great bedtime snack recipe to help alleviate a common problem for a growing
number of people: Restless Leg Syndrome.
We’ve
talked in the past about RLS, but I’ll summarize the problem again briefly.
This irritating and sleep-stealing problem occurs when the brain is ready to go
to bed but the muscles in the leg are misfiring and still trying to do the
day’s work.
It’s
like leaving the gate open at the farm after you leave for the day…the critters
want to run loose and mayhem ensues.
What
causes the gate to be left hanging open? A variety of things are to blame, but
the most common (and easily remedied) is a vitamin deficiency.
Doctors
have found that people who suffer from RLS almost always are deficient in 3
minerals: calcium, potassium, and magnesium.
This
little trio of minerals, when lacking, cause the large muscles of the leg to
misfire. There are problems all over the body, and with a lot of systems
because of this deficiency, but RLS is sometimes the most noticeable.
Some
doctors even consider it an announcement of sorts to other looming problems. Most
of which can be corrected simultaneously with the right treatment.
Sometimes
doctors will prescribe a powerful magnesium supplement, and that may help…but
research actually shows that increasing all three minerals is more effective.
Some
‘natural’ remedies focus on herbs and supplements that can be almost as
dangerous as the pharmaceuticals they are meant to replace. This is
particularly true if you are not sure what, or how much to take. They can
interfere with other medications as well.
So
honestly, the best way to try and naturally calm those itchy, twitchy legs is
to focus on the trifecta of mineral power, which is to increase all three
little wonders at once. And the best way to do that is by focusing on diet
adjustments to increase more of the hardest working fruits and other foods.
The
recipe below offers a way to use bananas that loads up a healthy dose of
potassium, magnesium and calcium.
Try
this bedtime snack:
Banana
Pancakes
1
cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole grain flour
1 ½ Table spoon stevia plant sweetener
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 egg, beaten
1 cup skim milk
¼ cup fat free yogurt
2 Table spoon olive oil
¼ tsp almond extract
1 cup whole grain flour
1 ½ Table spoon stevia plant sweetener
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 egg, beaten
1 cup skim milk
¼ cup fat free yogurt
2 Table spoon olive oil
¼ tsp almond extract
Combine
ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix just until moistened all the way
through. Let a few lumps stay in the batter. If you want thinner pancakes, add
a little water (1/4 cup at a time) until your batter is your favourite pancake
consistency.
On
a heated griddle (about 300 degrees), spray the surface with non-stick pan
spray, such as olive oil spray. Then pour the batter ¼ cup at a time in round,
flat dollops. Once the bubbles pop and disappear and the edges get a little
dry, flip them over for just a couple more minutes.
Pull
them off when they are a nice light golden colour on both sides.
I
like mine with more sliced banana, but if you crush about a ¼ cup of
blueberries with a tablespoon of water and a sprinkle of the sweetener, it
makes a nice substitute for sugary syrup.
You
could also throw on a little yogurt and sprinkle with wheat germ to increase
the fiber and acidophilus content as well.
For
each serving, which is 2 pancakes (plain), you will get less than 225 calories,
about 40 grams of carbs, 300 mg of sodium, and 5 grams of fat. There is very
little (if any) saturated fat and since the recipe calls for stevia sweetener
instead of sugar, you are not overloading on sugar.
The
small amount of carbohydrates will help to naturally get your brain ready for
sleep and the whole grain in the flour, plus the fiber in the yogurt, will help
get you “moving” in the morning.
Watch
this Video - Oddly Satisfying Video that Helps You Fall Asleep - Try Not To Get Satisfied Challenge Videos 2018
Get Sleep Fast - Does
Snoring
Cause Divorce?
I
have often been guilty of letting this thought run through my mind when I read
some of the commentary related to people asking for help with their snoring
issues.
The
latest comes from a reader in Alabama who asked me to share her story as not
only a caution to others, but also as a reassurance of hope.
Our
reader, whom we will call Thea, wrote in to describe the effect that snoring
had on her family. She and her husband started out happy enough, with a great
marriage, common interests, desire for family, etc.
They
had a little house in a suburb outside of Mobile and he had a great job that
offered her the chance to live her dream, which was to be a mom in the home for
their two children.
After
the usual sleep issues that happen to all parents when the kids are small
resolved themselves, they sort of got into a good, healthy groove with their
sleeping as Thea and her husband were great about keeping a schedule, eating
right, getting enough water and all that.
But
as time wore on, and as Thea and her husband started to approach 40, they
started to gain a little bit of weight, started to show some signs of anxiety
(especially as the economy worsened), and started to wander away from their
healthy lifestyle.
She
blamed the trend on going back to work part time, coupled with the myriad of
activities the kids were in along with the travel and time consumption of other
daily activities and they started relying heavily on convenience foods and
takeout.
She
explains that it was about this time that she started snoring and he started
the tossing, kicking, and twitching of restless leg syndrome.
Every
time she would start sawing logs, he’d wake and nudge her. Every time he would
roll over in bed, she’d wake because he’d elbowed her or scratched her on the
leg with a toenail.
They
were both beginning to suffer the ravages of sleep deprivation, dosing off
during the day and getting really snippy with each other and the kids.
So
they decided that in order to at least try and get them both some better sleep
that they would take turns sleeping in the spare bedroom. Up to this point they
hadn’t spent a night apart in 16 years of marriage.
Sleep
seemed to be easier to come by with this arrangement, but it was kind of sad
for them, she explains. They still loved one another, and still had a good time
on vacations, going on dates together or on outings with the kids and still
went to church every Saturday evening like clockwork.
She
was kind of vague explaining what happened next. “Christian,” she said, “I just
don’t know what happened next. It was like someone had been coming in at night
and had been stealing parts of our marriage a little bit at a time.”
Before
I could even wonder what that meant, she went on to explain it. “We used to be
so close, but even after we started
sleeping better it seemed like we were a thousand miles away from each other.”
She
described that even though on the outside it looked like everything was okay,
they both had been harbouring some grouchy sentiment toward one another because
they could no longer share a bed.
This
took the predictable toll on their sex life, which added even more anxiety. She
said, “Two kids, 4 sports, school, church, volunteer activities, work…we never
had any opportunities to be alone in a bed together.”
And
so the distance progressed, worsened, and stole away more and more of what they
had spent 16 years building.
So
after about 3 years of this, she discovered he had been having an email
relationship with a colleague at work…that wasn’t of a working nature.
To
this other woman, he had apparently been lamenting the demise of his physical
relationship and seeking solace in this woman’s online companionship.
Once
discovered, Thea immediately threatened to file for divorce, but instead got
them both into counselling. This turned out to be the changing point of the
whole toxic dynamic that had been playing itself out over the past couple of
years.
It
took a therapist to tell them what they already knew…that they still loved each
other and had a lot of wonderful years left in their marriage. They just needed
to regularly spend time alone in an intimate setting, which, for most people
means a bed.
Even
if there wasn’t to be any sex, they knew they had to find a way to sleep
together again and start giving each other the critical marital elements of
affection, closeness, touch and trust.
But
to do this, two very critical issues needed to be corrected- her snoring and
his RLS.
They
have just started the work required to overcome these sleep problems, but are
apparently at least sleeping in the same room again.
So
the answer to the question at the beginning is no…snoring doesn’t cause
divorce. People cause it. But it can be a catalyst to the unravelling of a
relationship if left untreated.
If
you or someone you know has a problem with snoring or insomnia related
issues, see my guides to treating these conditions the natural way.
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.
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