Trouble Sleeping? Environmental Tips (Premium)
SHERRY ROGERS, MD
A poor night’s sleep is a death sentence to not only job performance and personal relationships, but it is detrimental to our overall health. No wonder so many sleep clinics have sprung up around the U.S.
Frankly, I have never seen a work-up from even one of them that looks at the myriad of correctable causes for dealing with when you call asleep and then awaken in the night.
[am4show have=’g1;’ guest_error=’Premium Article Guest Message’ user_error=’Premium Article Basic Message’ ]
Predictably, they usually prescribe some medication as though poor sleep was a drug deficiency. On top of this, I find it incredible that they tell the poor sleepless patient to wear a sleep apnea mask all night while tied to a machine. As if that would ever lull me into dreamland!
First of all, remember that the awakening after a few hours of sleep and not being able to get back to sleep is often rebound from what you ate or drank hours before. High sugar, alcohol, highly spiced foods and of course, caffeinated drinks are often the culprits.
If you are unknowingly deficient in chromium, vanadium, manganese, and other nutrients, you can experience hypoglycemic rebound within a few hours; you awaken bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and unable to drift back to slumber land.
Also remember there are opioid receptors in the brain of some folks for even common foods like dairy and wheat (see Depression Cured At Last!). They can not only make folks unknowingly addicted to common foods, but also give them a rebound craving hours later when the pleasing satiety effect has worn off.
How to diagnose if food might be a culprit
A simple way to diagnose it is to have a semi-macro dinner with organic brown rice, steamed collard greens, and carrots with umeboshi vinegar between 5 to 6 p.m. Have no liquids after that, chew the food well, and hit the sack a few hours later. What you watch on your tablet, phone or TV in those 2 hours before bedtime also has a bearing on sleep. If it is action-filled, no wonder you can’t sleep. Blue-light screens should also be avoided.
And when you hit the bed, if you have smelly fabric softeners, polyester sheets, foam pillows, bright street lights, plus dust- and mold-holding carpeting, noisy traffic and other items that can easily interfere, rectify those. An air purifier not only can give a refreshing night air for sleep, but mask extraneous noises. And make sure the air is cool in the bedroom if you can.
These may sound simple, but environmental controls can make or break your sleep.
Now, if you are totally desperate and on the verge of succumbing to the local licensed drug dealer for the many sleep prescriptions, consider old-fashioned Benadryl. It comes as a dye-free version, is over-the-counter, non-prescription, and generally safe. In fact, it has been used in nursing homes for old folks for decades. The generic diphenhydramine is cheaper, and the dose can be anywhere from 25 mg to 200 mg before bed. The dose can be repeated in 4 to 6 hours during the night if needed, but some folks have such a sluggish detox system that it takes 18 hours to completely wear off. [Editor: Be aware that Benadryl can make some people feel depressed if taken for an extended period, or if the person is hypersensitive to it.]
Proper sleep can make a huge difference. It is as if someone raised the shade on a sunny morning and you will feel like saying “I’m back!”
Dr. Sherry A. Rogers is board certified by the American Board of Environmental Medicine, is a Fellow of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, a Fellow of the American College of Nutrition, and has over 25 years board certified by the American Board of Family Practice. Her books are available through Prestige Publishing
[/am4show]