Episode Six: Show Notes

In 2013 (the last year measured by Gallup), the average American slept 6.8 hours a night—with the 40 percent getting less than that labelled as “short sleepers.”  

According to Fitbit sleep data, Americans in their 40s and early 50s get the least amount of sleep.

• Sleep experts say until we start sleeping more, we’re sitting ducks for depression, ADHD, obesity, Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and Alzheimer’s.  
• The CDC declared in 2014 sleep deprivation qualified as a public health epidemic—over 70 million adults estimated to have some form of sleep disorder.
• Consumers are spending billions on sleep aids $41 billion at last count  in 2015, a figure they predict could rise to over $50 billion this year!
• Sleep disruptors:
• Hormone imbalances: (low progesterone, high cortisol stress hormones)
• Drop in melatonin >40
• Shift work
• Blue light from computer screens, cell phone 
• Obesity/sleep apnea

Sleep Prep Options:

• Dim the lights
• Nighttime snacks: protein, turkey, nuts, spinach (avoid sweets and spicy foods)
• The 4-7-8 breathing technique 
• Meditate
• Epsom salt warm bath
• Candlelight yoga
• Empty your mind/worry notebook
• Cool dark bedroom, no TV/cellphones
• Sleep mask
• White noise machine (DOHM)
• Turn off electronic screens 1-2 hours before bed (or buy blue light blockers)

Favorite Sleep quotes:

“A well spent day brings happy sleep” 
– Leonardo da Vinci

“It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it.”  
– John Steinbeck

“A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s book.”
-Irish proverb

“Man should forget his anger before he lies down to sleep.”
-Mahatma Ghandi

“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”
-Benjamin Franklin

“Sleep is the golden chain that ties health and our bodies together.”
-Thomas Dekker

“Your future depends on your dreams so go to sleep.” 
– Mesut Barazany

“No day is so bad it can’t be fixed with a nap.” 
-Carrie Snow

Famous nappers: 

• Winston Churchill
• John F. Kennedy
• Dalai Lama
• Napoleon
• Thomas Edison
• Lyndon B. Johnson
• Stonewall Jackson
• Margaret Thatcher 

Safe natural nocturnal sleep aids:

• Melatonin 0.5 to 1mg an hour before bed 
  Note: re: Covid-19: higher amounts may protect against the corona virus
• Progesterone cream promotes sleep (if testing show low levels)
• CALM magnesium drink at bed time
• Tryptophan/5HTP as precursors to Melatonin 
  (Reference protocol: The Mood Cure, by Julia Ross)
• Vitamin D3 for increased sleep duration
• Calcium/Magnesium: calming minerals
• Omega 3’s – Central nervous system protection
• Herbs: Valerian root: Formula 303
• “Adrena Soothe” tincture (I-Herb)
• Homeopathic: Calms Forte
• Bach Flower Remedies: Rescue Remedy and Rescue Night

 Relevant articles/research: 

https://www.medicaldaily.com/menopause-understanding-how-different-stages-affect-sleep-442029

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3132857/#!po=0.364964

Good sleep reads: 

The Mood Cure, Julia Ross, M.A.

The Adrenal Thyroid Revolution, Aviva Romm, M.D.

The Hormone Cure, Sara Gottfried, M.D.

Why We Sleep, Matthew Walker, Ph.D.

The Sleep Revolution, Ariana Huffington