Sleep is vital

Sleep is vital to your health and well-being, but for some people, it’s elusive. There are an estimated 50 to 70 million U.S. adults who experience some type of sleep disorder. Sleep disorders can interfere with the quality of your life, your physical health, and negatively affect your emotional balance, cognitive ability, and motor skills. It can affect every area of your life.

While sleep issues may be common, there are steps you can take to improve on the quality of your sleep.

The Consequences of Sleep Loss and Sleep Disorders

While the amount of sleep a person needs can vary depending on age and other health factors, it seems that for optimal health, you should strive to get 7-9 hours per night. This amount of sleep should be good quality, so your body can restore and rejuvenate. When you don’t get enough quality sleep, you don’t wake up feeling rested and refreshed. Outside of the normal fatigue, negative attitude, and fogginess that you may experience with lack of enough quality sleep, it has also been linked to a host of long-term health problems, including:

Obesity
Diabetes
Heart disease
High blood pressure
Mood disorders
Poor immune function
Reduced life expectancy

Treatment Options for Sleep Issues

Exercise of any type, however yoga seems to be at the top of the list.
Diet-Avoid eating heavy meals, don’t eat after 7, stay away from caffeine, drink herbal tea(chamomile)
Meditation & breathing exercises
Balancing your adrenal and thyroid

Turn off anything that may be distracting at least one hour before heading to bed to allow your mind time to disconnect and slow down, including:

TV
Computer
Phone (leave it in the kitchen or living room overnight)
Lights

Herbal Support for Healthy Sleep

Although herbs are not the magic bullet to cure sleep issues, they can significantly improve the quality of your sleep. Here are a few you can try:

Ashwaganda-helps lower anxiety, improves sleep quality and decreases depression.

Valerian-has long been known as a natural sleep aid. It is also effective in treating stress, anxiety, cramps and muscle spasms.

Passionflower-helps reduce insomnia, anxiety, menopausal symptoms, ADHD and even more serious conditions such as seizures, high blood pressure and asthma just to name a few.

Melatonin-resets the internal clock and is great for jet lag and altered sleep disorder due to shift work.

There are many other herbs but these happen to be at the top of my list.

If you have questions or would like to have a consultation with me, call our office (305)271-7447 to schedule an appointment. Sleep disorders should not be taken lightly.