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Sleeping Problems

Restful sleep is normal physiology or action in motion. The reasons for sleep have not been totally established, but it is obvious that the body needs sleep to rejuvenate. Without sleep, wellbeing and the feeling of wellbeing eludes us.  Sleep is under the control of certain brain centers which switch us between wakefulness and sleep. Brain centers are made up of brain cells. All physiology happens at the cellular level. So if there are sleep problems, the problem lies in the cells. For brain cells to be able to receive and send the correct messages required by normal physiology they must have all the essential nutrients in the needed amounts in the correct ratios. Essential nutrients are what create normal physiology or action in and by the cells.

All cells including brain cells have a two layer cell wall surrounding it. This cell wall is 50-60% fat and 40-50% protein. The fats and proteins are intertwined into a matrix that controls(along with minerals and vitamins) all the functions necessary to normal life.

Any deficiency, imbalance or the presence of bad fats or proteins will alter the physiology and cause altered signaling. The signaling will be too slow, too fast, too much or too little.

Good fats are those that have the right functional abilities by virtue of having the correct shape and length. Bad fats have the wrong shape and or length. To ingest bad fats is to cause the body to try to fit square pegs into round holes. This alone contributes to poor physiology and poor signaling.

Some proteins in grains can cause altered physiology.

Minerals, trace elements and vitamins work with fats and proteins to promote normal physiology and signaling.   

So providing all the essential building blocks of life are necessary to insure that nerve cells maintain proper rhythm and signaling to allow normal sleep.

Poor eating habits with respect to timing of food and types of food interferes with blood sugar levels which affect nerve cell function. Eating sugar or sugar producing foods in abundance raises the blood sugar. This leads to hormonal imbalance, stress and higher states of physiological excitement, thereby interfering with sleep. Eating only carbohydrates for breakfast disturbs blood sugar levels for the rest of the day and snacking on sweets or high carbohydrate foods further disturbs blood sugar.

If pollutants in the form of heavy metals, chemicals, solvents, artificial coloring or sweeteners or drugs of any kind gain access to the body they end up in the fat because they are fat soluble; they dissolve only in fat. Foreign substances in the fat change the way the fat-protein matrix functions and alters the physiology. Nerve signaling is altered and normal sleep patterns affected.

Of course, psychological-emotional stress causes hightened states of nerve excitement which will interfere with sleep.

So by avoiding stress and  by keeping your cell membranes happy by eating healthy food, avoiding high sugar producing items, alcohol and pollutants is what insures proper cell function which allows normal sleep.

1) Eat whole foods-preferably organic

2) Eat three meals per day.

3) Eat some protein and fat at each meal especially breakfast and lunch.

4) Eat nothing between meals leaving 4-5 hours between meals.

5) Eat nothing for 4 hours before going to bed. 

6) Avoid bad fats

7) Avoid sugar producing foods

8) Minimize or avoid grain-based foods

9) Avoid alcohol

10) Avoid all forms of psychological or emotional stress

11) Avoid or minimize exposure to electromagnetic fields-TV’s, computers, cell phones, watches and all electronic wiring.

12) Avoid all toxic or poisonous items-chemicals, items containing heavy metals such as mercury, aluminum or lead, solvents such as turpentine and nail polish remover, mold-damp unventilated areas, grain based foods and some fruits and food additives

13) Walk a minimum of 2 and a half hours per weak.

In uncomplicated cases, if you do the above, you will sleep.

Dr. Robert Jackson


Ask Dr. Jackson To Learn How To Fight Sleeping Problems
Dr. Robert Jackson
Latest Press Releases
Sat, 04 Feb 2012 In Preadolescence, Sleep Deprivation Tied To Increased Nighttime Urination Nighttime visits to the bathroom are generally associated with being pregnant or having an enlarged prostate, but the problem can affect youngsters, too. A new study sheds light on why some children may need to urinate more often during the rest cycle...
Fri, 03 Feb 2012 Link Between Sleep Apnea And Silent Strokes, Small Lesions In Brain People with severe sleep apnea may have an increased risk of silent strokes and small lesions in the brain, according to a small study presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2012. "We found a surprisingly high frequency of sleep apnea in patients with stroke that underlines its clinical relevance as a stroke risk factor," said Jessica Kepplinger, M.D...
Mon, 30 Jan 2012 New Genetic Study Links Body Clock Receptor To Diabetes A study published in Nature Genetics has found new evidence for a link between the body clock hormone melatonin and type 2 diabetes. The study found that people who carry rare genetic mutations in the receptor for melatonin have a much higher risk of type 2 diabetes...
Mon, 23 Jan 2012 Insomnia - Early Diagnosis Plus Treatment Helps Prevent Complications Even though insomnia is the most common sleep disorder, it is often left unrecognized and untreated, despite advances in diagnosis and management. The risk of developing other illnesses, such as diabetes, depression, hypertension, and possibly even death in older adults increases if insomnia is left untreated...
Fri, 20 Jan 2012 Appetite Sensation In The Brain Affected By Lack Of Sleep New research from Uppsala University, Sweden, shows that a specific brain region that contributes to a person's appetite sensation is more activated in response to food images after one night of sleep loss than after one night of normal sleep. Poor sleep habits can therefore affect people's risk of becoming overweight in the long run...
Thu, 19 Jan 2012 Unpleasant Emotional Memories Preserved And Enhanced By Sleep A recent study by sleep researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is the first to suggest that a person's emotional response after witnessing an unsettling picture or traumatic event is greatly reduced if the person stays awake afterward, and that sleep strongly "protects" the negative emotional response...
Tue, 17 Jan 2012 News From The Annals Of Internal Medicine: Jan. 17, 2012 1. High Doses of Vitamin D Provide No Benefit to Patients with Severe COPD Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the top 10 leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Vitamin D deficiency is present in 60 percent to 75 percent of patients with severe COPD...
Fri, 13 Jan 2012 Alzheimer's Patients Benefit From Light Therapy Exposure to light appears to have therapeutic effects on Alzheimer's disease patients, a Wayne State University researcher has found. In a study published recently in the Western Journal of Nursing Research, LuAnn Nowak Etcher, Ph.D., assistant professor of nursing, reported that patients treated with blue-green light were perceived by their caregivers as having improved global functioning...
Thu, 12 Jan 2012 Circadian Rhythm Disruption Causes Neurodegeneration, Early Death New research at Oregon State University provides evidence for the first time that disruption of circadian rhythms - the biological "clocks" found in many animals - can clearly cause accelerated neurodegeneration, loss of motor function and premature death. The study was published in Neurobiology of Disease and done by researchers at OSU and Oregon Health and Science University...
Thu, 05 Jan 2012 Chronic Missed Naps Could Put Toddlers At Risk For Mood-Related Problems Later In Life A new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder could be a wake-up call for parents of toddlers: Daytime naps for your kids may be more important than you think...
Tue, 03 Jan 2012 Young Diabetics Struggle To Get Good Night's Sleep, Health, Behavior Problems Ensue New research finds that many young people with type 1 diabetes struggle to get a good night's sleep and this leads to increased health and behavior problems, such as poorer control of blood sugar and worsening of academic performance...
Fri, 23 Dec 2011 Study Highlights Impact Of Sleep Deprivation On Patients And Health Care Providers A new UCLA study shows that physicians who work shorter shifts are less likely to make mistakes during medical procedures. Dr. Christian De Virgilio, lead investigator at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor- UCL A Medical Center (LA BioMed), led a team that studied the medical records of 2,470 patients who had undergone laparoscopic gallbladder surgery...
Thu, 22 Dec 2011 40% Of Police Officers Have A Sleep Disorder, US, Canada A survey of police officers in the US and Canada finds that about 40% have a sleep disorder, and this is significantly linked to a raised risk of adverse health, performance, and safety issues. The researchers report their findings online this week in JAMA, Journal of the American Medical Association...
Wed, 21 Dec 2011 Sleep Disorders Common Among Police Officers A survey of police officers indicated that about 40 percent have a sleep disorder, which was associated with an increased risk of adverse health, safety and performance outcomes, according to a study in the December 21 issue of JAMA. Sleep disorders, such as obstructive sleep apnea, insomnia, and shift work disorder, affect 50 to 70 million U.S. residents...
Wed, 21 Dec 2011 Effect Of Adenotonsillectomy In Children With Sleep-Disordered Breathing Children may have a better quality of life (QOL) and diminished cardiovascular disease risk from the decreased endothelin 1 (ET-1) levels after adenotonsillectomy, according to new research published in the December 2011 issue of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery. SDB is an increasingly common indication for tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy due to obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS)...
Tue, 20 Dec 2011 During Pregnancy, Majority Of B.C. Women Take Prescription Drugs Almost two-thirds of women in British Columbia filled at least one prescription at some point in their pregnancy, including drugs with potential risks, according to a new study by University of British Columbia researchers. The study, published online in the journal Clinical Therapeutics, is the first of its kind in Canada...
Fri, 16 Dec 2011 Undiagnosed Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS/ME) Responsible For Time Off School For 1% Of Children According to research published in BMJ Open, undiagnosed chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS/ME) may be responsible for almost 1% of non-truant children who miss extended time off school...
Fri, 16 Dec 2011 The Mental Health Of Widowers Improves With New Relationship Men who have lost their partner to cancer and who are still single four to five years after their loss run a far greater risk of developing mental illness than those who have managed to find a new partner, reveals a unique study of 691 Swedish widowers carried out at the Sahlgrenska Academy. More than 22,000 people die of cancer in Sweden each year...
Thu, 15 Dec 2011 Sleep Apnea - CPAP Face Mask Improves Overall Cardiovascular Health Patients with obstructive sleep apnea who use a face mask during their slumber hours were found to have significantly improved blood pressure, levels of stomach fat (visceral fat), and cholesterol and blood sugar levels - all factors closely related to metabolic syndrome and heart health, researchers reported in NEJM (New England Journal of Medicine)...
Thu, 15 Dec 2011 'Sleep Hormone' Discovery Leads To Novel Melatonin Drug With Potential To Treat Insomnia A team from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) and McGill University has made a major breakthrough by unraveling the inner workings of melatonin, also known as the "sleep hormone." The research, conducted in collaboration with scientists in Italy, reveals the key role played by the melatonin receptor in the brain that promotes deep, restorative sleep...
Sat, 10 Dec 2011 Tart Cherry Juice Drinkers Gain Sleep Advantage Americans seeking a better night's sleep may need to look no further than tart cherry juice, according to a new study in the European Journal of Nutrition...
Wed, 07 Dec 2011 Changes In Sleep-Wake Cycles And Level Of Daily Activity Can Increase Chances Of Dementia Older women with weaker circadian rhythms, who are less physically active or are more active later in the day are more likely to develop dementia or mild cognitive impairment than women who have a more robust circadian rhythm or are more physically active earlier in the day. That's the finding of a new study in the latest issue of the Annals of Neurology...
Sun, 04 Dec 2011 Innovative Approaches Help Sleep Apnea Sufferers Benefit From CPAP People with obstructive sleep apnea are more likely to stick to prescribed treatment when a partner or parent is involved with their treatment, according to a team of sleep researchers. Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the upper airway collapses during sleep. It is the most common type of sleep-disordered breathing, and chances of it occurring become more elevated in obese people...
Sun, 04 Dec 2011 When Babies Awake: New Study Shows Surprise Regarding Important Hormone Level Cortisol may be the Swiss Army knife of hormones in the human body-just when scientists think they understand what it does, another function pops up. While many of these functions are understood for adults, much less is known about how cortisol operates in babies and toddlers, especially when it comes to an important phenomenon called the cortisol awakening response, or CAR...
Fri, 02 Dec 2011 Sleeping problems? Taking A Pill Or Drinking Alcohol Might Not Be Best Option According to a new study by Ryerson University experts published in the December issue of Behavior Therapy, taking a sleeping pill or drinking alcohol may not be the most effective way to get a better night sleep in the long run for people suffering from insomnia...
Ask Dr. Jackson To Learn How To Fight Sleeping Problems
Dr. Robert Jackson
More about sleep disorders
Be Prepared for When Daylight Saving Time Changes

It always seems to sneak up on you, but this year you can be prepared for when Daylight Saving Time changes.

First, it will be important to know the precise date when Daylight Saving Time begins and ends. (You might also note that it is Daylight Saving Time and not Daylight Savings Time, with an "s".) In the United States, the prearranged dates to "spring forward" and "fall back" land in March and November. In the European Union, where the arrangement is called Summer Time, the time changes fall on different dates in March and October.

Second, you might ease yourself into the transition. It always feels great in the Fall to get that extra hour of sleep when you set your clocks back at 2 a.m., but shorting yourself an hour of sleep in the Spring makes it hard to get up. You can make this more tolerable by slowly adjusting your bedtime over the few days prior to the change each Spring. When the time change occurs, your circadian rhythm will be a little more forgiving.

Finally, take these time changes as an opportunity to really consider whether you are meeting your sleep needs. You might ask, "How much sleep do I need?" It varies on an individual basis, but the average works out to be about 8 hours. Are you getting enough? If not, take the opportunity of the twice yearly clock changes to focus on making sleep the priority that it should be year round.

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Be Prepared for When Daylight Saving Time Changes originally appeared on About.com Sleep Disorders on Monday, January 30th, 2012 at 18:41:51.

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Do I Have Insomnia?

There are three basic scenarios that might suggest you have insomnia: trouble falling asleep, trouble staying asleep, or sufficient sleep that is not refreshing. However, how do you know if you really have insomnia?

In most situations, it is possible to diagnose insomnia by simply telling your symptoms to your doctor. However, there are times when further testing might be necessary.

As an example of when you might need further work-up, if your insomnia is not responding to standard treatments such as sleeping pills, you might question the diagnosis. Other sleep disorders can also lead to unrefreshing sleep, and these might need to be excluded as a cause of your complaints. There are tests for insomnia that can identify these other conditions.

The most common arrangement is for an overnight sleep study called a polysomnogram that is typically done at a sleep lab. It might sound foolish to pay money to prove that you cannot sleep, but these studies are very helpful in identifying the quantity and quality of the sleep that you do get. Most importantly, other causes of your difficulties can be ruled out.

In some cases, it may not be insomnia. If you have a reduced sleep need or if you don't meet your actual sleep needs by restricting the amount of time you spend in bed, your troubles may represent different conditions.

To determine whether or not you have insomnia, you might start by reading about the condition. Afterwards, you might want to discuss the matter with your physician and consider whether further testing might be necessary to rule out other sleep disorders.

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Do I Have Insomnia? originally appeared on About.com Sleep Disorders on Monday, January 30th, 2012 at 18:15:40.

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What Causes Sleep Apnea?

If you have been told that you have sleep apnea, you still may not understand exactly what this means for you. What causes the actual events called sleep apnea?

Sleep apnea is a common condition in which the upper airway collapses during sleep. The explanation for why this occurs has to do with how the muscles around the throat and trachea are unable to keep the airway open. When it collapses, this interrupts breathing. If the airway does not collapse completely, however, it may also result in something called hypopnea. In the mildest form, the collapse of your airway may just cause snoring. Ultimately, sleep apnea may have many different causes from alcohol to sleep position to obesity, all of which affect your ability to breathe.

Fortunately, there are treatment options available to keep your airway from collapsing, including continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and a similar treatment called bilevel (or BiPAP). These supportive treatments can effectively eliminate sleep apnea and prevent the risks associated with the condition, including sudden death.

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What Causes Sleep Apnea? originally appeared on About.com Sleep Disorders on Monday, January 30th, 2012 at 17:49:07.

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How to Treat Sleep Paralysis

If you have suffered from the scary phenomenon that is sleep paralysis, you might be left wondering about possible treatment options. How can you treat sleep paralysis?

The treatment of sleep paralysis is not always necessary. In many people, reassurance about what is happening is all that is needed. Some people find it useful to read about other people's sleep paralysis experiences.

In some cases, it may be part of a condition called narcolepsy, and this would require its own treatment. If the sleep paralysis occurs more frequently or becomes disruptive to your life, you may be interested in entertaining your treatment options. It may be a matter of reducing your stress and addressing other risk factors for sleep paralysis. In addition, there are medications available that might be helpful.

If you are interested in learning more about getting your sleep paralysis treated, you may want to speak with your doctor about your options.

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How to Treat Sleep Paralysis originally appeared on About.com Sleep Disorders on Monday, January 30th, 2012 at 17:26:20.

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New Sleeping Pill: Intermezzo May Help You Get Back to Sleep

If you have trouble waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to get back to sleep, you may have a new treatment available for your insomnia: Intermezzo.

Intermezzo is a lower dose of the popular sleeping pill called Ambien. It is safe to take in the middle of the night and it won't leave you feeling "hungover" in the morning.

For those with insomnia characterized by middle of the night awakenings, this medication might be just the thing to get you back to sleep.

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New Sleeping Pill: Intermezzo May Help You Get Back to Sleep originally appeared on About.com Sleep Disorders on Monday, January 30th, 2012 at 17:14:16.

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Review: Popular iPhone App, 'Sleep Cycle', Tracks Movement to Time Awakenings

One of the most popular of the sleep-related apps (or applications) for iPhone, 'Sleep Cycle' works by tracking your movements during the night in order to perfectly time your morning awakening. What are the pros and cons of this app?

'Sleep Cycle' relies on your iPhone's accelerometer to monitor movement. The idea is that you place your iPhone near you in bed and that it will register movements. When you are in deeper sleep, especially REM sleep, it will document this stillness. When you are restless towards morning, drifting into lighter stages of sleep, it will seize on this wakefulness to alert you to get up for the day.

The interface of the app is slick. There are five tabs of controls and information. The first tab offers instructions on how best to place your phone and use the app. Under settings, you can choose an alarm sound (including a favorite song) and set your snooze options. You select a 30-minute period that you wish to awaken during. Then, each night after using it, it creates a summary page that includes a hypnogram (showing sleep stages) as well as your bedtime, wake time, and total and average sleep time. There are also options to share this information by email and Facebook.

'Sleep Cycle' is accurate at tracking the consistency of your sleep schedule. This is similar to documenting your sleep patterns with a sleep diary, and akin to monitoring that is better accomplished with an actigraph. But at a cost of just 99 cents, it is much less expensive than actigraphy.

There are unfortunately a lot of drawbacks to the 'Sleep Cycle' app:

  • In order to function, the program must run overnight and this will slowly drain your battery. Although it will no doubt vary with your battery's age, it drained mine by 20% over 8 hours. The instructions recommend that you keep your phone plugged in, which could present a choking hazard should you become wrapped in the cord.
  • The accelerometer will pick up any movements, including those of bed partners or pets.
  • It brings your phone into the bedroom, and unless you put the phone in flight mode, you will be bothered with calls, texts, and alerts throughout the night.
  • The sleep cycle hypnogram (for which the app is named) does not appear to be accurate. If you have a soft mattress pad or other bedding, the accuracy will suffer even more because movements will be missed.
  • Setting a 30-minute window in which to have my alarm go off often left me getting less sleep than I desired. I would pick the later time to be the time when I absolutely had to wake up. More often than not it would awaken me earlier, which left me with less sleep than I had desired. I never really felt that I awakened more refreshed because of the perfectly timed alarm clock.
  • In general, having the phone in bed also made me more conscious of being awake or asleep, and this seemed to fragment my sleep.

Therefore, though 'Sleep Cycle' is an exciting development in inexpensive technology that may help us to monitor our sleep, it seems that it is really only accurate to track your bedtime and wake time. It should not be used as an alternative to more sophisticated sleep studies. There are a lot of problems with its use, and I would not recommend it for these reasons.

What do you think? Share your favorite sleep apps.

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Review: Popular iPhone App, 'Sleep Cycle', Tracks Movement to Time Awakenings originally appeared on About.com Sleep Disorders on Friday, December 30th, 2011 at 12:36:53.

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Getting Up at Night Frequently to Urinate May Represent Nocturia

In a condition that is more common as we get older, especially in men, getting up to pee during the night may plague your sleep. It is characterized by frequent awakenings due to a need urinate, but what is nocturia? What are some of the common causes?

In our youth, our bodies are able to concentrate our urine and allow us to sleep uninterrupted. However, this mechanism begins to become less effective as we get older for various reasons. For example, our kidneys may not be able to concentrate our urine as much as they could previously. In addition, older men often have benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), which can lead to an inability to fully empty the bladder and more frequent trips to the bathroom, even at night. Aging may not be the only issue, however.

In fact, simply drinking too much water too close to bed may lead to nocturia. Alcohol and caffeine use may also contribute. Various medications may also have a role. There are also other causes of nocturia, including a possible contribution of obstructive sleep apnea.

If frequently getting up to go to pee is disturbing your sleep, take a careful look at some of the possible reversible causes and speak with your doctor if you desire further evaluation.

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Getting Up at Night Frequently to Urinate May Represent Nocturia originally appeared on About.com Sleep Disorders on Friday, December 30th, 2011 at 10:44:41.

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What Are the Symptoms and Causes of Insomnia?

Sometimes sleep won't come. Whether at the start of the night, or after awakening, you may have trouble falling or staying asleep. This may represent a sleep disorder called insomnia. What are other symptoms of insomnia? What are some of the potential causes of short- and long-term insomnia?

The symptoms of insomnia extend beyond difficulty falling or staying asleep. In fact, if your sleep is simply not restorative or refreshing, you may also have insomnia. This extends to mental effects such as difficulty thinking, poor concentration, and mood problems. You may be more prone to making mistakes or having accidents. There may be other important consequences as well, many related to the associated sleep deprivation that occurs with insomnia.

If insomnia lasts for less than 3 months, it is classified as acute or short-term insomnia. The causes of short-term insomnia often relate to stress. For example, following the death of a loved one, after you lose a job or get a divorce, or any number of other stressors may incite difficulty sleeping. Importantly, other situational changes may lead to insomnia. Changes in your sleep environment may be disruptive. Travel across time zones may cause jet lag. An atypical work schedule may lead to shift work sleep disorder.

Finally, if your insomnia lasts more than 3 months, you may be interested in learning the causes of long-term insomnia. Certainly psychiatric problems such as depression, anxiety, panic attacks, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may contribute. Medical problems, especially those that cause pain or difficulty breathing, may induce insomnia. In addition, other sleep disorders may lead to symptoms of insomnia.

Fortunately, there are many treatments to consider and if you have bothersome symptoms characteristic of insomnia, you should speak with your doctor about therapy options.

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What Are the Symptoms and Causes of Insomnia? originally appeared on About.com Sleep Disorders on Friday, December 30th, 2011 at 10:18:36.

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The Effects of Sleep Deprivation

It may seem harmless: staying up a little too late, not getting enough rest, or simply not sleeping well. However, the side effects of acute and chronic sleep deprivation can be diverse and profound.

Sleep deprivation occurs when we do not get the sleep that we need. Since everyone's basic sleep needs may vary, the threshold for becoming sleep deprived is also different. For example, if your body needs 9 hours of sleep each night, you will become sleep deprived when you only get 8 hours of sleep. Therefore, the effects of sleep deprivation can sneak up on you.

There are numerous symptoms of sleep deprivation aside from simply feeling sleepy. When we don't sleep enough, it affects our ability to think and process information. We may have trouble with our concentration, make mistakes, and have accidents. Our job performance may suffer and we are more likely to be involved in car accidents. Extreme sleep deprivation may lead to visual hallucinations and, in rare circumstances, even death. The side effects of sleep deprivation are not to be belittled.

Fortunately, the treatment of sleep deprivation can be effective. If we are afflicted with a sleep disorder such as insomnia or sleep apnea, addressing this underlying condition may be the key to us getting the sleep that we need. For many of us, it is simply a matter of allowing ourselves enough time in bed to adequately rest.

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The Effects of Sleep Deprivation originally appeared on About.com Sleep Disorders on Monday, December 26th, 2011 at 11:28:21.

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The How and Why of Melatonin Use

For those who have trouble falling or staying asleep, you may be interested in a natural remedy called melatonin. This hormone is produced by our bodies and is widely available as an over-the-counter sleep aid, but how you use it should reflect why are are taking it.

Melatonin is released in our body from a part of the brain called the pineal gland. It is referred to as a "nighttime hormone" because of its release and peak concentration corresponding to the night. It is often used to treat insomnia and circadian rhythm disorders.

Once you decide to try it, you will wonder how to take melatonin. The dose as well as the timing of its administration is key. Typically, you should take the lowest effective dose. For people who have trouble falling asleep, it should be taken 3 hours before bedtime. There may be other scenarios (such as advanced sleep phase syndrome) when you may want to take it another time.

As melatonin has a key role in the timing of our circadian rhythms, it is vital that it is taken at the appropriate time. It is also important that you have adequate light exposure as this is the primary influence on our body's biological clock.

The use of melatonin supplements is safe and if used appropriately it can effectively treat your insomnia, especially if the underlying problem relates to the circadian timing of your sleep.

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The How and Why of Melatonin Use originally appeared on About.com Sleep Disorders on Monday, December 26th, 2011 at 10:57:51.

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Ask Dr. Jackson To Learn How To Fight Sleeping Problems
Dr. Robert Jackson
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  • inducing
  • restless leg syndrome
  • sleeping sickness
  • beautyrest
  • slee
  • awaken
  • inducement
  • sleepwear
  • snooze
  • somnoplasty
  • fatigue
  • during
  • modafinil
  • paradoxical
  • diphenhydramine
  • inability to
  • slep
  • difficulty
  • leep
  • insomniac
  • posturepedic
  • sleepwalk
  • nighttime
  • tryptophan
  • disruption
  • drooling
  • provigil
  • diurnal
  • restless legs