By: Cat Ebeling, RN, MSN-PHN, co-author of the best-sellers:  The Fat Burning Kitchen, The Top 101 Foods that Fight Aging & The Diabetes Fix

While small amounts of stress can actually be motivating, ever-present stress in our lives can wear us down. And when we feel powerless to change the situation, stress can easily become anxiety.

Recession, job loss, financial difficulties, the media headlines, economic ups and downs, rising prices, pandemics, schedules and routines disrupted, kids/school, home, your work environment—I could go on and on. Our world has certainly become a more stressful place to be lately. Even if you are not necessarily a person who gets stressed easily, the changing events in our lives can become stressful and anxiety-producing. Even if you don’t think you are affected by any of these outside events.

Other things that can actually exacerbate stress include hormone imbalances such as those in women in peri-menopause or menopause, and even the blue light from computers and telephones. Sure, it’s a great stress reliever to tune into Instagram or Tiktok before bed, but all that blue light is just adding more stress, affects your sleep and can multiply anxiety issues.

A combination of overexposure to blue light and lack of sleep increase stress and anxiety. Blue light suppresses melatonin—the sleep hormone. And blue light can also suppress the production of cortisol, the hormone associated with the “fight or flight” response to stressful situations. Suppressing cortisol makes us less capable to cope with daily stressors and increases anxiety build up.

While some stress in our lives is actually healthy for ambition, drive, and improved performance, chronic and uncontrolled stress will cause our bodies to suffer the consequences in many different ways, including weight gain, reduced immunity, irritability, and more serious health problems. We may not even realize that any of these negative issues actually come from stress.

A few of the many symptoms of stress you can be experiencing—even if you don’t think you are stressed:

• Irritability
• Insomnia
• Anxiety
• Forgetfulness
• Weight gain especially around midsection
• Hormonal issues
• Digestive upset
• Sore jaw, clenching your teeth
• Lower or upper back pain
• Constipation
• Inability to focus
• Strange or scary dreams
• Jealousy or insecurity
• Acne
• Skin rashes
• Loss of confidence
• Minor accidents
• Frequent colds or infections
• Increased anger and frustration
• Overeating or loss of appetite
• Sadness or loneliness
• Fidgeting
• Constant fatigue
• Problems communicating
• Heart palpitations
• Shortness of breath
• Feelings of impending doom

When stress feels uncontrollable, we get anxious. And that brings on that drowning feeling of overwhelm—especially when you feel helpless to change the situation.

All of these feelings, stress, anxiety and overwhelm can actually be boiled down to a fear-based reaction. When you are experiencing anything that feels scary and stressful and out of your control, you feel fear. When this happens adrenaline and cortisol flood your system, shutting down your ability to think rationally, feel organized and calm, and in control.

Anxiety and stress can become so commonplace, that many people tune it out and it becomes background noise. The problem is, stress and anxiety can build up until you have a serious problem that may manifest itself in panic attacks, loss of sleep, problems with relationships and serious physical health issues.

People often ignore some of the physical manifestations of stress which can harm the immune system, the digestive system, the nervous system and even the cardiovascular system.

Counteracting the manifestations of stress and lowering anxiety—before you overwhelmed

The goal here isn’t to be fearless–it’s to not let it rule your life. What to do when stress and anxiety seem unavoidable? Take control and take action. Action beats anxiety—and stress—and overwhelm.

Actions you can take to avoid stress:

• Avoid the news, especially at night
• Avoid social media—yes really!
• Take care of yourself—make healthy changes to diet, drink less, exercise more

Get your gut and your diet on track. The bacteria in our gut are responsible for creating something like 90% of the serotonin in our bodies. Serotonin is that all-important brain chemical made in the gut and sent to the brain. Serotonin is responsible for making us feel calm and happy. We all need more of that. Symptoms of low serotonin include anxiety, depression and low energy.

Alcohol can make anxiety worse. People often drink alcohol to lower anxiety but in the long run this adds to stress and anxiety by ruining sleep, interfering with relationships and your job/career.

Other things that add to anxiety include sugar, poor sleep, no exercise, estrogen dominance, too much caffeine and medications. And a lack of certain vitamins and minerals, including B vitamins, C vitamins and magnesium will also cause anxiety.

A few things I’d suggest trying to help lower that anxiety:

• Recognize your anxiety. Don’t try to push it in the background, because it won’t go away, instead it will simmer and overflow at some point. Acknowledge it. Look for that root cause.

• Do a detox diet. Cut back or eliminate dairy, gluten, sugar, caffeine and alcohol for a week. See how you feel.

• Eat more veggies especially leafy green ones. Get healthy protein in the form of grass fed meats, wild caught fish, and pastured eggs. If you’re vegan, you may need to consider eating meat. Many vegans have anxiety issues due to lack of certain nutrients.

• Avoid processed vegetable oils such as soybean oil, corn oil, canola oil and sunflower oil. Eat healthy fats including butter, coconut oil and extra virgin olive oil. Your brain needs healthy fats to work well.

• Certain supplements fight anxiety like B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin D3, omega 3’s and magnesium. Magnesium is especially helpful but be sure to take the right form of magnesium.

• Other supplements that work for anxiety include GABA, a calming brain chemical, ashwaganda, which is an herbal supplement, valerian root and turmeric.

So even if the world seems like it’s falling apart, realize it is ok to sometimes feel a little stress, anxiety or even a sense of overwhelm on occasion. Just remember, don’t let it take over your life. It’s ok. We all get stressed sometimes. Acknowledge it, take care of yourself and take action!

References:
https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/anxiety/how-to-tell-if-you-have-anxiety-10-signs-and-symptoms/?network=g&placement=&target=&matchtype=b&ad_type=text&adposition=&utm_source=AdWords&utm_medium=Search_PPC_c&utm_term=_b&utm_content=77548444015&network=g&placement=&target=&matchtype=b&utm_campaign=6459244691&ad_type=text&adposition=&gclid=Cj0KCQjw8rT8BRCbARIsALWiOvRZ_Lw9cMjFBikxTgf3ddIkgZQad63MkIEG90W3MenneCjwEeRuQs8aAj_0EALw_wcB
https://happywithbaby.com/blog/i-didnt-realize-i-had-anxiety
https://www.everydayhealth.com/columns/voices-of-experience/hidden-signs-of-stress-and-anxiety/
https://www.marksdailyapple.com/10-natural-anxiety-remedies/
https://www.marksdailyapple.com/what-it-means-overwhelmed/

The post The Sneaky Stress & Anxiety Symptoms Negatively Affecting Your Life… appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

Back in the days when my kids were very young, one of them would occasionally come down with a cold or the flu. With three kids, it seemed like at least one of them would be sick fairly often. And when two or more kids were sick, there wasn’t a lot of sleeping for me.

I personally do not get sick very often—although after a few nights of being up with sick kids and missing out on valuable sleep–BOOM! I’d be sick too.

Now that my kiddos are all grown up, I travel frequently–and traveling to faraway places means a long flight, usually cramped up in a seat, trying to sleep while flying through several time zones. The sleep deprivation that results from a day’s worth (or more) of traveling and time zone changes almost always causes me to end up getting sick.

I’m convinced there has to be a big connection between sleep and immune function.

Turns out there is. People who generally sleep six hours or less have altered immune responses, in several different parts of the immune system. Sleep deprivation especially impacts the body’s white blood cells, which are part of the innate immune system, the body’s first line of defense against invading pathogens.

In one study of identical twins, conducted at University of Washington’s Sleep Center, it was found that the twin who got the least amount of sleep was more likely to get sick. Lead scientist in the study, Dr. Nathaniel Watson said, “What we show is that the immune system functions best when the body gets enough sleep. Seven or more hours of sleep is recommended for optimal health.”

Sleep deprivation can also actually increase inflammatory markers and over-activate immune cells. The study showed for the first time that chronic sleep deprivation (less than six hours a night) shuts down the immune response effectiveness of circulating white blood cells.

Sleep is so essential to immune system function that sleep deprived people don’t even develop a very strong antibody response to a vaccine.

How does sleep affect your immune system?

The Innate Immune System, the Body’s First Line of Defense

Our immune system–while complex--has two basic functions. One is the innate immune system, which is our body’s first line of defense against any invading pathogens. Its purpose is to disable or kill any invader before it has a chance to enter our cells and reproduce.

Research shows that sleep deprivation has a strong negative effect on the innate immune system, which acts immediately to prevent the spread and movement of foreign pathogens.

One study of looked at exposure to the common cold virus among two groups–one that had more than 7 hours of sleep and the other with less than 6 hours of sleep. The group that got less than 6 hours of sleep were four times more likely to be infected than the group that got more than 7 hours of nightly rest.

The white blood cells and immune proteins that work as barriers to kill off infecting pathogens in the innate immune system are weakened by sleep deprivation.

T Cell Function

Numerous studies have looked at the benefits of a good night’s sleep, and researchers from Germany have found that sound sleep improves a vital part of the immune system in cells known as T cells. T cells are an essential part of the body’s immune system, critical to the immune response.

T cells are a type of immune cell that fight against pathogens that make their way into a cell, such as virus-infected cells including Covid19, all types of influenza, HIV, herpes, and cancer cells.

When T cells recognize a pathogen or an infected target cell, such as a cell infected with a virus, they activate proteins that attach to their target and, in the case of a virally infected cell, kill it.

The researchers compared T cells from healthy volunteers who either slept or stayed awake all night. The T cells in the well-rested participants showed higher levels of activation than in the T cells of those who had not slept.

For people who get poor sleep, stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline also tend to rise, and these stress hormones also tend to dampen the ability of T cells to fight off pathogens effectively, as well as raising inflammation levels.

These findings show that sleep has the potential to enhance the efficiency of T cell responses, which is especially important considering that sleep disorders are also tied to mental health conditions such as depression, chronic stress, and aging.

Cytokines and Inflammation

During sleep, your immune system also releases proteins called cytokines, some of which help promote sleep. Certain cytokines also play a role when you have an infection or inflammation, or when you’re under stress.

Cytokines are actually a set of proteins that serve as chemical messengers. These proteins, tell immune cells what to do and also tell the body to produce more of them to help deliver a knockout blow, if necessary, to the infection.

Sleep deprivation has been shown to decrease the production of these protective cytokines. In addition, infection-fighting antibodies and cells are reduced during periods when you don’t get enough sleep.

Sleep also helps reduce stress hormones while raising helpful sleep hormones such as melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone made naturally by your body and produced in the pineal gland in the brain.

Melatonin is considered the sleep hormone as its rising levels at night help you fall asleep and sleep more soundly. Melatonin is also a powerful antioxidant, which may provide a variety of other health benefits, including strengthening the immune system.

Cytokines can be pro-inflammatory, increasing an inflammatory response from the immune system. Other inflammatory cytokines also increase with shorter sleep periods, and one in particular, IL-17 can remain elevated up to two days after recovery sleep.

In severe cases of the flu or Covid19, cytokine production can grow out of control. Immune cells release cytokines that tell the body to produce more immune cells, and in turn these new cells release even more pro-inflammatory cytokines.

These excessive amounts of cytokines can lead to something called a cytokine storm, which creates an overwhelming inflammatory immune response that can damage lungs and kidneys and bring about death. Cytokine storms are one of the reason that many people die from Covid19.

Sleep can help to modulate–or slow down–the effects of an over-reaction of cytokines while protecting and balancing the immune system. Sleep also helps to lower inflammation, including CRP levels (an inflammatory marker), while strengthening the overall immune response.

Adults should have a minimum of seven hours of sleep on a regular basis for improved health, lower stress levels and lower inflammation. A good night’s sleep also goes a long ways towards protecting your health and effectively fighting off dangerous pathogens such as Covid19, flu and even colds.

Unfortunately, more one third of American adults are getting less than seven hours of sleep, according to a study in 2016 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Less than five hours of sleep a night on a regular basis is actually associated with higher ‘all-cause’ mortality, increased risk of depression, stress, infections, weight gain, and blood sugar issues.

Key to remember:

• Try to go to sleep at around the same time every night and get up at the same time.
• Avoid too much alcohol or heavy meals right before bed.
• Avoid hard workouts right before bedtime.
• Get plenty of exercise during the day.
• Get out in the sunshine daily.
• Avoid stimulants such as caffeine, within 6 hours of bedtime.
• Try to ease stress and if necessary, try a pre-bedtime meditation.
• Avoid looking at your phone or computer right before bedtime.

If necessary, take a healthy natural supplement containing natural melatonin to help you get sleepy and sleep more soundly, as well as giving a try to this delicious HOT golden latte. Drink right before bed, if you struggle with “winding down” and relaxing at the end of the day, or falling asleep at night.

Not only will it help you relax and fall asleep, but it’ll help you STAY asleep, providing for a more restful night, and let you wake up feeling refreshed, rejuvenated, and full of energy

> Drink this HOT Golden Latte 1hr before bed to sleep better, fight inflammation, & wake up feeling refreshed

Take 1 sip an hour before bed to boost your Growth Hormone and flatten your belly while you sleep:

Recent studies are now showing how a simple tweak to your bedtime ritual can have dramatic effects in shrinking fat tissue while reversing the signs of premature biological aging every time you fall asleep.

This pre-bedtime daily ritual also helps you sleep deeper while increasing specific hormones that FORCE your body to release stored abdominal fat while you sleep… AND it works equally well for BOTH men and women, as you’ll see below…

>> Take 1 sip an hour before bed to boost fat-burning hormones while you sleep (boosts GH while also helping you to sleep deeper)

References
https://todayspractitioner.com/sleep/sleep-cytokines-and-inflammation/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7102583/
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/how-sleep-bolsters-your-immune-system#The-importance-of-T-cells
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324432#Sleep-could-enhance-T-cell-responses
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190212094839.htm
https://rupress.org/jem/article/216/3/517/120367/G-s-coupled-receptor-signaling-and-sleep-regulate
https://www.ucihealth.org/blog/2020/04/sleep-immunity-covid

The post Sleep Deprivation: How it Affects Your Immune System to Fight Off Viruses appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

By: Cat Ebeling RN, MSN-PHN, co-author of the best-seller: The Diabetes Fix

Insomnia. I bet most of us have struggled with this at least a few times in our lives.

As we age, insomnia can get worse. There is nothing worse than struggling through the day on a poor night’s sleep, especially if it happens over and over.

Poor sleep can increase stress, cause weight gain, contribute to irritation, anxiety and depression, and even put a strain on relationships.

Let’s talk about some of the causes of insomnia and how you can fix these.

1. Activity levels

Ever noticed after a day of hard exercise or physical work, that you can just fall into bed and sleep like a rock? Exercise definitely helps you sleep more deeply and more soundly, but keep in mind, exercise late at night can rev up your body and make it hard to relax into sleep. However, soaking in an Epsom salts bath or just taking a long, hot shower can actually help relax your body and help you get ready to sleep. Here is an amazing article on 17 unique uses for epsom salts.

Definitely try to get some form of exercise everyday—whether it’s walking, running, gardening, housework, weight lifting, moving furniture, or anything that gets you moving and working your muscles.

2. Caffeine

You may be aware that you cannot drink a cup of coffee in the evening, but did you know that that caffeine has a 6 hour half-life. That means in 6 hours you still have half as much in your system, and that can still be pretty substantial.

For example, a cup of coffee contains, on average, 100mg of caffeine. Six hours later that means you still 50mg in your body, and six hours after that, 30mg. So beware if you drink that espresso at noon—it may be keeping you up at night.

Also, decaf coffee still contains a decent amount of caffeine as well. In fact, one cup of decaf from Dunkin Donuts has shown that it contains about 32 milligrams of caffeine while another cup of decaf from Seattle’s Best packed 29 milligrams. And, some of us are actually genetically slower at processing caffeine, or very sensitive to caffeine, so it could take even longer for your body to process the caffeine out.

While coffee does contain caffeine, it also has some amazing health benefits. Coffee can be good for your body!

Other drinks may contain sneaky amounts of caffeine as well. These include sports drinks, energy drinks, many flavored waters and even energy bars and snacks.

Don’t overlook chocolate, especially dark chocolate. Caffeine occurs naturally in cocoa beans, as does the compound theobromine, which also acts as a stimulant. Even a cup of hot chocolate can contain a fair amount of caffeine and theobromine.

Keep in mind too, the average cup of iced tea contains 70 mg or so of caffeine (almost as much as coffee) and most sodas contain around 50 mg of caffeine. Pay attention to those sneaky caffeine drinks and avoid them after noon or before. Better yet, drink water!

Speaking of water…

3. Dehydration

You don’t have to be dying of thirst for this to keep you awake. Dehydration occurs more frequently in the summer than we probably realize, and can definitely keep you awake.

Going for that cold beer or sipping a margarita after activity outside sounds tempting, but unless you have replaced fluids lost from sweat, and then replaced the fluids lost from the alcohol, you have created a double whammy that will dehydrate your body quickly!

And, pay attention to allergy medicine. Many allergy medications are designed to dry you out, so an antihistamine or decongestant or any one of a huge variety of over-the-counter or prescription medicines will definitely dry out not only your nose, but the rest of your body as well.

How does dehydration affect sleep, you ask? When the body is dehydrated, our blood volume drops. Our hearts are made to optimally pump a specific amount of blood volume, and slight variations in this volume can have a big effect. Your blood actually becomes thicker when you are dehydrated.

When the optimal amount of blood volume drops, then the heart must pump even harder to distribute the blood, oxygen and nutrients throughout the body. Combine a hot sweaty day, not enough to fluids drink, and too many diuretic substances (caffeine, alcohol, antihistamines, etc), and the heart has to work a lot harder. Result–when you try to relax at night, your heart may be pounding and this will make it harder to sleep.

Be sure to drink plenty of water during the day to stay hydrated. Drinking lots of water before bed will have you up all night, going to the bathroom.

4. Medications

That includes things like cold and allergy medicines, thyroid medications, blood pressure medicine, cortisone, and ADD medication. Ask your doctor if any of your prescription meds can be affecting your sleep.

Alcohol, which is also a drug, can make you sleepy, but too much of it disrupts your normal sleep cycle as well. You may sleep for a few hours, but then wake up in the middle of the night and not be able to go back to sleep. Limit yourself to 1-2 drinks if you want to ensure that you get a good night’s sleep—and to protect your health.

5. Junk food, preservatives and additives

Eating junky processed foods before bed can not only elevate blood sugar, but keep your digestive system working late into the night as well. Of course, starchy, sugary foods right before bed can wreak havoc, by elevating the blood sugar too much, and then a resulting crash in the middle of the night.

Not only does that lead to excess fat storage (you won’t burn those calories off while sleeping!) but you also will probably feel groggy, tired and irritable in the morning, as you will wake with lower than normal blood sugar, and the buzz you may get from the sugar high may also keep you awake instead of sending you off to dreamland.

In addition, artificial preservatives, sweeteners and other chemical additives can actually cause your brain and nervous system to go haywire, totally disrupting your normal sleep rhythm and ability to relax.

6. Stress

Of course, we all encounter stress to some degree or another and yes, it can definitely keep you up at night. What can we do about stress? Well of course, exercise helps. And so does meditation.

Meditation is not that fancy. It’s simply a matter of being still, relaxing and allowing your thoughts to flow past, while you try to quiet your mind. Meditation is extremely helpful at helping you clear your mind, become present, feel gratitude and to relax. If you find you cannot shut your mind off at night, try clearing your head with meditation. It doesn’t have to be a complicated process and a mere 10 minutes a day can actually do wonders.

There are many helpful apps you can get on your phone that will guide you through this process.

7. Hormone Fluctuations

As we get older, declining levels of estrogen, progesterone and testosterone in women, and lowered levels of testosterone in men can take away from a good night’s sleep.

The body’s natural progesterone levels begin to drop and fluctuating levels of estrogen can cause hot flashes at night, as well as restlessness. For women, progesterone declines first and even if you are years away from menopause, declining levels of progesterone can cause anxiety, tension and restlessness.

And for men over the age of 40, declining levels of testosterone can also cause insomnia, so be sure to have your hormone levels checked and see if you need supplemental testosterone.
In addition, thyroid hormone problems can cause jitteriness and nervousness or, excessive fatigue and sleepiness during the day. A couple of suggestions on this:

• Have a Doctor check all hormone levels and if they are low, your best bet is bioidentical hormones as in estradiol and micronized progesterone to balance your missing hormones.

• Have your thyroid levels (T3 and T4) checked and take the thyroid medication that best suits your needs. A natural, bioidentical thyroid supplement usually works best for most.

Nine Natural Solutions to a Good Night’s Sleep

Certainly, prescription sleeping pills are not the best answer. Sleeping pills can cause a variety of unpleasant side effects from headaches and hangovers to nausea, irritability, and dizziness. Ambien has also been shown to decrease cognitive performance and increase sleepiness the next morning. Sleeping pills can also cause you to do crazy things like raid the fridge at night while in a medicated, sleep-induced state, drive in your sleep, grind your teeth or have sleep apnea, rearrange furniture and more.

1. Magnesium

Ever been around a fidgety person? Usually, one of the issues is that they need magnesium. People who are low on magnesium have a hard time being calm and their nervous system can’t stop firing. Not only does magnesium help with over 300 different body reactions, but it also helps your body convert protein to muscle, improves nerve function, blood glucose, and blood pressure. Magnesium is also required for energy production, developing and strengthening bones, and helping to synthesize DNA and RNA. Magnesium also helps with nerve impulse conduction, muscle contraction and a steady heartbeat.

Magnesium helps everyone relax better, sleep more soundly and feel more calm. But as we age, even if we are healthy, we tend to sleep less deeply. Magnesium helps with that age-related decline in sleep quality. If interested in learning more on how important Magnesium is to your body, check out Top 7 Benefits of Magnesium.

2. Theanine

Theanine is a natural chemical that helps calm down the activity in the brain. Theanine helps to increase serotonin (a relaxing, feel good brain chemical), GABA (a calming neurotransmitter) and glycine in the brain. These neurotransmitters all help you sleep better. Theanine helps you relax and let go of stress, without feeling groggy or drowsy. Theanine is found mainly in green tea, so be careful–green tea (unless it is decaffeinated) contains caffeine which will keep you wide awake.

I recently discovered the benefits of theanine and find that it helps me work better and be more focused during the day, as well as sleep more soundly at night.

3. Melatonin

Melatonin is a natural brain chemical that is affected by natural light. When the brain sees that it is getting dark outside, it starts to pump out a hormone called melatonin. This helps to initiate sleep and regulate your natural sleep/waking cycle.

Melatonin is available in supplements and which can help initiate sleep. The difficulty however, is that the body naturally makes a continuous supply of melatonin during sleep. Supplemental melatonin will wear off and while it can help you fall asleep easily, you may wake up in the middle of the night once the melatonin is gone.

Melatonin works best if you take it only on occasion, and in a time release form, so it releases slowly. Take melatonin with you when traveling and changing time zones to adjust more quickly. Take melatonin if you happen to drink a little too much, since alcohol tends to suppress melatonin, and it’s also effective if you’ve been staring at your computer screen a little too long late at night.

4. Collagen

Have you ever had a nice steaming mug of collagen/bone broth before bed? The main amino acid in collagen/bone broth is glycine, which can be very effective for inducing sleep. Glycine actually also helps to lower body temperature, which is key to help induce sleep. (This is also why a hot bath is good before bedtime, as your body temperature comes down, you fall asleep.) Glycine is also very effective to restore a natural REM pattern to your sleep as well.

While everyone raves about the health benefits of bone broth and collagen for joints, hair and skin, glycine remains a healthy alternative for aiding sleep as well.

Check out some of the additional Healing Benefits of Bone Broth, especially for your gut and joint health.

5. CBD Oil

CBD or cannabidiol is the non-psychoactive ingredient in either hemp or marijuana. In other words, CBD will not get you ‘high’, and is legal. According to a 2013 study published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, CBD benefits include anti-inflammatory, anticonvulsant, antioxidant, anti-nausea, anti-anxiety, and even antipsychotic. It has been used very effectively to treat cancer, nerve inflammation and pain (peripheral neuropathy), epilepsy, nausea and vomiting, anxiety, schizophrenia and more.

CBD can help to stimulate melatonin production by boosting tryptophan in the bloodstream. Trytophan, you may remember, is one of those amino acids (like in turkey) that helps promote sleepiness. CBD also helps to improve serotonin production as well, a key brain ingredient to a happy, calm state.

CBD is also great at battling inflammation and pain, so if you happen to have health issues that cause these things that interfere with sleep, CBD will come to the rescue for both! This study of insomnia patients, showed that 160 mg/day of CBD increased sleep time and reduced the number of arousals during the night.

If you do decide to take CBD oil for its amazing health benefits, check out this amazing offer from our friends at HealthyLivingNutritionals.

6. Lutein and Zeaxanthin

Did you realize that the blue light emitted from your computer, pad device or cell phone at night can suppress melatonin in your body? This turns off your body’s natural ability to recognize bedtime and become sleepy. Blocking this blue light in the evening with a pair of orange goggles will prevent this from happening. OR—did you know that the nutrients lutein and zeaxanthin which are carotenoids found in colorful veggies can also help this?

Human studies show that taking lutein and zeaxanthin on a regular basis will improve sleep quality, reduce sleep disturbances, and lower your dependence on supplemental or pharmaceutical sleep aids. There are plenty of supplements available (generally labeled as being good for your vision) that contain lutein and zeaxanthin—also great for sleep.

7. Progesterone (for women)

Menopause and peri-menopause are brought about by the decline in production of hormones, especially estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. These hormones work together to regulate a woman’s reproductive function and menstrual cycle. They also affect mood, energy, sexual drive, cognitive and emotional abilities—and sleep.

While estrogen falls most sharply after menopause, progesterone can begin to decline years before menopause comes about. Progesterone works to offset and balance out estrogen, and promotes the growth of bone tissue to offset osteoporosis, among other things.

I think of progesterone as largely a sleep-promoting, “feel good” hormone for women. Higher levels of progesterone tend to promote a sense of calm, boosting relaxation and facilitating sleep. Progesterone increases production of GABA, the neurotransmitter that helps promote sleep. Low progesterone can cause anxiety and insomnia, including a tendency wake frequently at night. Progesterone is safe and easy to use. You can purchase it in an over-the-counter natural cream and apply before bed.

8. Choline

Choline is another important nutrient in food that plays a role in sleep. It’s the primary building block for acetylcholine … the neurotransmitter that affects thought, memory, sleep … even muscle control and balance.

Lots of acetylcholine helps make your mind sharp, your memory clear, and gives you energy. As you age, though choline drops, and one of the most noticeable symptoms of low choline is problems with falling asleep and staying asleep. Other symptoms include lack of energy, brain fog and confusion, irritability, and memory loss. Choline can be found in whole pastured eggs, organic/free-range chicken and turkey livers, and naturally raised pork and beef.

If these things don’t help, it may be worth a visit to the doctor to have some blood work done to check hormone and thyroid levels, and to rule out any other health conditions. Some hormones are best prescribed by a doctor, especially when it comes to estrogen, testosterone and thyroid hormones.

9. Sex

One last thing that is very effective for a sound night’s sleep—sex. It doesn’t have to be wild, hanging on the chandelier sex, just a normal, healthy sex life. Sex stimulates endorphins, oxytocin and vasopressin in men and women, which serve to create feelings of attachment, security, and relaxation. Sex gets rid of anxiety and stress, and also goes to help promote a healthier relationship with your significant other. So when all else fails, tap your partner on the shoulder and see if they are interested in contributing to a good night’s sleep.

If none of these things help, it may be worth a visit to the doctor to have some blood work done to check hormone and thyroid levels, and to rule out any other health conditions. Some hormones are best prescribed by a doctor, especially when it comes to estrogen, testosterone and thyroid hormones.

References:
https://www.marksdailyapple.com/10-natural-sleep-aids-what-works-and-why/
https://www.marksdailyapple.com/sleep-hacking/
http://www.reevolution.com/html/nutrition_energy_mood.htm
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/582688
https://ministryofhemp.com/blog/cbd-sleep/
https://thesleepdoctor.com/2018/01/05/menopause-affects-sleep/

The post Seven Things That Can Keep You Up at Night and Natural Remedies to Sleep Better appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.