So, you're feeling very sleepy… but that's okay.

Published Dec 26, 2007 in the North Island Weekender 

Nellie, age 24, came to my office with a terrible case of hives that she had had for a few months. At her young age she was under tremendous stress and during our visits we were able to figure out some stresses that she could start changing. The first one was her sleep pattern! She would go to bed around 3am because that was when she was able to fall asleep. I explained to her that one of the key organs in her body for handling stress were the adrenal glands, the same organs that were responsible for handling allergies and her hives. Her hives were not going to get better until she got a handle on her stress level and lowered the cortisol (stress hormone) that was aggravating her hives. To help her sleep I made it very clear how important seven to eight hours of sleep was to her well being and I prescribed a good calcium magnesium supplement to be taken at bedtime to help her fall asleep better. This worked very well and within a few weeks she was off the merry-go-round of going to bed late, sleeping late and feeling groggy all day!

One in seven Canadian women get less than 6.5 hours of sleep per night and as a result suffer from chronic health disorders. I explained to Nellie that we need sleep to improve our moods, our weight as well as the health of our skin! Sleep debt ages the skin more rapidly. During the deeper stages of “delta sleep” that cycle throughout the night, growth hormone levels are at their peak, directing cells to repair damage to tissues. Loss of sleep not only contributes to a lack of this regenerative period but affects cortisol levels.

The sleep system works like a bank. We can keep going for a time on borrowed energy from our adrenal glands but every hour of sleep lost needs to be paid back. But instead of getting more rest, most reach for more caffeine, sugar, alcohol or over the counter or prescription drugs to get through the day. Nellie was playing computer games late into the night and watching TV which do nothing to help the body wind down to a good nights rest.

I taught Nellie a few more tricks of proper sleep hygiene.
1. read before turning out the lights. This is a much better to wind down than watching the evening news.
2. have a hot bath before retiring. If the body is not warm upon going to bed it will take longer to fall asleep.
3. use aromatherapy to facilitate a sense of calm. For example lavender reduces stress hormones.
4. observing nature also has a calming effect. Two of my favorite nature productions are Winged Migration and Planet Earth. Viewing nature can help patients heal faster while in the hospital.
5. music that recharges you or sounds of nature such as birdsong or ocean surf shortens the time it takes a person to recover from a stressful stimulus. Be aware of how different types of music make you feel and create a database of meditative music that can help in times of stress.
6. exercise makes people sleep better although vigorous exercise in the evening may wake a person up too much so keep it to yoga in the evening. Yoga decreases stress hormones and the body’s metabolic rate.
7. laughing releases feel good neurochemicals including melatonin which is well known to help with regulating sleep cycles. Levels of melatonin are raised in the breast milk of nursing mothers.
8. counseling can really help people be more conscious of their stress and how they react to it so they can then change their reaction.

Nellie had complained about gaining some weight recently and I reminded her that sleep deprivation stimulates appetite because it decreases the “feel full” hormone leptin and increases the “feel hungry” hormone gherlin. Those who sleep less than five hours a night are four times more likely to be overweight. This is also due to being more fatigued and therefore less active.

Sleep is good for the immune system too! Those with the greatest life expectancy get seven to eight hours of sleep. Sleep deprivation raises cytokines in the body that promote inflammation and delay the process of healing. Even a relatively brief loss of sleep changes the body’s ability to cope with an infection.

Nellie’s program also included diet changes and digestive support. She struggled with these changes but as she began to realize the cause and effect of her behavior she was able to make more changes and her hives gradually became better. She really wanted to avoid anti-depressants and sleeping medications as she had had some side effects from previous prescriptions. I assured her that the realm of naturopathic medicine offered many alternatives to drugs. Within the next few months Nellie’s hives disappeared, her energy returned to normal and she was back in school studying full time.