Sleep Well

by Jon David Miller, natural health wellness educator

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Good sleep is essential for good health and for performing at your best. This is the time the body does its healing repair work. As Shakespeare put it, sleep “knits up the raveled sleeve of care”.

Choose a safe, dark place to sleep nightly, which is separate from the areas where you spend your time when awake. Go to bed and get up at the same times daily. Think about plans or worries in the morning or on the way to work, or on errands, not at bedtime.

The body gets its best sleep during the dark hours, a problem for those who work at night. A healthy pineal gland has a natural timing function in relation to the sun. It would function to awaken each of us shortly after dawn if we were not still sleeping deeply from exhaustion.

For those with insomnia, supplementation with high quality magnesium an hour or two before bed is a great help for difficulty getting to sleep or staying asleep.

The herbs valerian root, passion flower and hops help with calming nervousness, anxiety and tension, assisting one to relax. Valerian root is the original source of the compounds used in the calmative medicine Valium. Chamomile has been long known as a relaxing herb.

Another option is melatonin, a natural hormone produced by the pineal gland (located in the center of the brain) in which you may be deficient. Melatonin can help restore the body’s natural sleep rhythm. Melatonin is vitally important to health when you consider three factors: aging, energy and sleep. As people age they produce less melatonin.

Melatonin may help you feel more alert and satisfied after a full night of rest. It may help fight jet lag as well. In addition, mounting evidence shows that melatonin acts as a powerful antioxidant, meaning it may benefit the body’s immune system.

Serotonin is an important neurotransmitter that helps regulate appetite, mood and sleep.  Hydroxytryptophan (5HTP) is a precursor that is converted into serotonin in the body, which may help elevate mood, promote restful sleep and assist in controlling hunger.

 

Sleep Time

Ideally, adults would sleep from 10 or 11 pm to 6 or 7 am.

We really should turn off the "tubes" earlier. The TV and computer are not really relaxing. It is best to shut them off an hour or two before sleep time.

Enjoyable reading, especially an inspiring work, quietly playing a musical instrument or a engaging in a pleasant conversation, are good ways to wind down before bed.

Anyone who does not get as much sleep as they need will have a deficiency. You cannot operate at your best with sleep deprivation; and it can be a danger to yourself and others if you are driving, operating equipment or working with tools while tired.

You do not successfully catch up on missed sleep by "sleeping in" on weekends. To restore your diminished "sleep account", lengthen the time of sleep at night. A 30 to 60 minute nap during the day can be refreshing as well.

 

Children's Sleep

Children need a lot of sleep. Many do not get enough and it effects them in various ways.

According to survey statistics, 40% of children in America do not go to bed at the time they should for good health. Also, they do not perform well or behave well when they are missing sleep. In many cases they lose sleep because, due to their work schedule, one or both of the parents keep a child up to spend some time together.

Children need good sleep for proper brain and nerve development. Not only the amount of sleep is important, but the timing of it as well. The body is naturally oriented to sleeping during the dark hours.

The pineal gland has a clock-like feature. It sets its schedule by the sun. One of its functions is to awaken one shortly after dawn. It can be unbalancing to try to have a child's sleep schedule conform to what is convenient. If children are overly tired, they may not wake up easily as they would when properly rested.

Most babies need a nap about 9 or 10 a.m., again around 1 p.m., and their bed time should be around 7 to 7:30 p.m. It is a myth that a young child can properly make up for a missed nap by going to bed early, or compensate for a late bedtime by sleeping later in the morning. It is best to follow the natural sleep rhythm.

A regular bedtime is nearly as important as the quantity of sleep, but the latter is crucial. From age 1 year up to about 6, a child should have 10 to 12 hours of sleep at night, with a nap during the day of 1 to 1 1/2 hours. From ages 6 to 10, 9 or 10 hours are appropriate. At least 9 or 9 1/2 hours are needed by children 11 through 14. However, by age 13, teens are only averaging 8 1/2 hours. For ages 15 to 17, 8 1/2 hours is a minimum, but by age 17 the average teen is only getting 7.3 hours.

Make sure that children get to bed at an appropriate time. If you are feeling guilty for not spending enough time with your child, do what you can to rearrange your schedule to be available during the child's proper waking hours. In any case, get over any guilt about the situation. Establish a bedtime routine for younger children: a bath, a short book, and bedtime at 8 or 8:30 pm with no variance.

Difficulties that need attention in regard to children's sleep are: resistance to going to bed or getting to sleep; early rising; awakenings during the night without returning to sleep easily; and snoring, which is often a sign of sleep apnea (temporary breath stoppage causing oxygen deficiency).

Some of the problems arising from sleep deprivation in children include: depression, moodiness, crankiness, hyperactivity, aggressiveness, attention and memory problems, and poor performance in school that can continue until adulthood.

37% of teenagers have sleep deprivation problems, as do many adults.