Sleep more, weigh less

“There is a time for many words, and there is also a time for sleep.” Homer, Greek poet

Have you ever missed a couple hours of sleep? Finals, early travel, travel to another time zone, late conversations with long time friends visiting for the first time in years, anticipation of something nice or dreadful and many other reasons might interfere with our sleep. If you do not get enough sleep once in a while, you probably will not even notice the difference. If you chronically do not sleep enough, that is a different matter all together. Sleep is very important for our health. It affects our immune system, emotional state and even weight.

A study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that sleep deprivation lowers insulin sensitivity especially, in fat cells. (3) If insulin resistance becomes persistent, sugar metabolism will be affected increasing the risk of diabetes. Several studies (1,2) found that people who get too little sleep tend to weight more than people who get enough sleep. People who get enough sleep are sick less, are in a better mood and drive safer. Studies have shown that driving while being very tired (drowsy driving) is as dangerous as driving drunk. “Sleepiness carried almost as much risk as alcohol ingestion. “, one such study concluded. (4)

Our brain needs sleep to create new pathways. Adequate sleep supports healing, growth and development in children. Good night sleep improves learning, creativity, mood and making decisions. How do you know if you get enough sleep? If you wake up before your alarm goes off, you are getting adequate sleep if not, there are several things you can do.

Develop a sleep routine: go to bed at the same time, open your bedroom window for 30 minutes to get fresh air, take a hot shower and go right to bed.

Make sure that your bedroom is completely dark, no blinking lights from that old VCR you had never had time to setup, no light from a lamp post or moon outside your window.

Do not eat 3-4 hours before bed time; if you get hungry eat a small snack like a handful of almonds or banana. Do not drink before going to bed so not to wake up in the middle of the night for a bathroom trip.

Read a boring book, something that interests you but not a thriller you cannot put down. Watching TV or working on iPad right before bed time might not be the best activity but listening to relaxing music, breathing exercises or meditation will be helpful. If it all fails, try the following homeopathic remedies.

“As a child, I was bonkers for Christmas. The entire month of December, I couldn’t sleep at night from anticipation.” Rosecrans Baldwin, American novelist and essayist.
Coffea cruda Sleeplessness from nervous excitability, after pleasurable excitement. A person lies wide-awake in bed, unable to close the eyes. Sleeplessness from excessive use of coffee. Sleeplessness from nursing the sick. Sleepless so long as any noise or light continues at night.

“When Clark Gable died, I cried for 2 days straight. I couldn’t eat or sleep.” Marilyn Monroe, American actress, model, and singer.
Ignatia amara Insomnia from grief, worries. Sleepless from depressing emotions, overstraining mind, relationships or business cares. Very light sleep, hears everything around him. Child wakes up from sleep with cries and trembles all over.

“I don’t sleep much. I’m on the go. My mind is racing. My wife says my mind is like the rolling dials on a slot machine. So, yeah, I think about everything.” Bill Walton, American retired basketball player and television sportscaster.
Nux vomica Sleepless from rush of ideas. Sleeplessness from mental strain. Sleeplessness after abuse of coffee, wine, liquor, or tobacco.

Homeopathic remedies are natural substances, have no side effects and do not interact with other medicines or supplements. For recent sleep problems a good potency to use is 30C. Try 3-7 doses of a remedy and if you do not get relief for your symptoms, call your homeopathic practitioner for advice. Often, insomnia is a sign of some other chronic underlying condition. If your sleep problems persist, consult your homeopathic practitioner for a more specific remedy.

REFERENCES

1.PatelSR, Malhotra A, White DP, Gottlieb DJ, Hu FB. Association between reduced sleep and weight gain in women. Am J Epidemiol.2006; 164:947-54.
2.Kobayashi D1, Takahashi O, Deshpande GA, Shimbo T, Fukui T. Association between weight gain, obesity, and sleep duration: a large-scale 3-year cohort study. Sleep Breath. 2012 Sep;16(3):829-33. doi: 10.1007/s11325-011-0583-0. Epub 2011 Sep 3.
3.Josiane L. Broussard, PhD; David A. Ehrmann, MD; Eve Van Cauter, PhD; Esra Tasali, MD; and Matthew J. Brady, PhD Impaired Insulin Signaling in Human Adipocytes After Experimental Sleep Restriction : A Randomized, Crossover Study Ann Intern Med. 2012;157(8):549-557. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-157-8-201210160-00005.
4.Sylvie Blazejewski, PhD; Pierre-Olivier Girodet, MD, PhD; Ludivine Orriols, PhD; Aurore Capelli, PhD; Nicholas Moore, MD, PhD Factors Associated With Serious Traffic Crashes: A Prospective Study in Southwest France, JAMA Internal medicine.
5.Robin Murphy, ND ‘Nature’s Materia Medica”