Sleep Stress & Longevity with Dr. Ladd Mcnamara

In light of our upcoming event on sleep that I will be co- presenting with colleagues Sheryl Rosenthal Karen Yanku and Maher Benham I present to the readers a recapitulation of a wonderful webinar by Dr. Ladd McNamara on Sleep Stress and Longevity that was broadcast as a webinar. It's clear that North Americans are not getting enough sleep and it is effecting everything from our weight to our vital organs, emotions and day to day performance. The webinar had close to 300 attendees! The need is clear. We need to slow down, turn off our gadgets at night and for our health's sake  get a good nights rest! I have long felt my sleep was sacred. Thanks to The Mulherns and Dr. McNamara for making this information available.

 Introduction to Dr. Ladd McNamara

• Graduated: Univ. of Texas Southwestern Medical School at Dallas with a Medical Degree in 1989.
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  Residency: Obstetrics and Gynecology at George Washington Univ. Hospital in Washington, D.C. in 1993.
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  Received "Resident of the Year Award," and "Teaching Resident of the Year Award." Board Certified in Ob/Gyn from 1995 through 2005.
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  1993: Practiced medicine in Atlanta, specializing in Ob/Gyn, Laser Laparoscopy, Menopausal Management, Anti-Aging and Nutraceutical Medicine.
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  Retired from Practice in December 2003 to become Full-Time Author, International Speaker, and Independent Sales with USANA Health Sciences.

  Sleep Stress and Longevity

  Humans can survive longer without food than sleep. The lack of sleep is calculated to cause 25,000 deaths annually resulting in 2.5 million disabling injuries with $56 Billion dollars spent on the aftermath. Today 70 million Americans suffer from a sleep disorder. With the average use of TV and the internet ranging to about 6 to 7 hours per day (or more in the case of our children)  our sleep is being interrupted by factors that were unheard of to our grand parents and for Boomers, our parents. The price of lack of sleep is premature aging, a weakend heart, a liver that has difficulty functioning properly and a  weakend endocrine system. The stress placed on the body due to lack of sleep leads to other symptoms such as irritability, anxiety, head aches, difficulty in thinking, memory loss as the frontal cortex is affected, depression, poor motor skills and personality changes and premature aging. 20 minutes of stress keeps cortisol levels up for 8 hours which can lead to weight gain.
  Cortisol
  The stress and strain that is created on the bodily organs is one layer of what happens when we are sleep deprived. Our bodies release adrenaline and cortisol which in turn raises blood pressure and blood sugar and increases the heart rate. This is like punching a hole in the wall of our arteries which we call a heart attack. Lack of sleep contributes to a  resistance to our own insulin, problems such as obesity heart disease, stroke, cancer and even mental illness start to appear. For those who work late or on night shifts the problem becomes more complicated and it has been shown to be just as bad as jet lag.  In other words instead of going for more food when you are tired go for more sleep in the form of a nap if you can't get to bed earlier. There is also a link to a higher incidence of breast cancer. The abnormal production of cortisol contributes to lymphoma a result of lack of sleep. Cortisol can suppress the immune system so if you are experiencing a restless nights sleep look to your caffeine intake, your stress levels and your hormones. These issues can be easily addressed with proper supplementation, a cutting back on caffeine if that adversely affects you and beginning simple exercise like walking 30 minutes per day. Another organ, our skin, that is affected by lack of sleep contributes to that one thing no one wants - looking old. If you want to look younger get more sleep. Collagen is the glue that holds skin cells together and the lack of it leads to wrinkling and the inability of the skin to retain moisture.  Your body needs adequate rest to produce collagen. The term "beauty rest"  is not an arbitrary term having it's roots in the reality of how the body works.  Like everything in life systems work  in a synergistic manner and the human body is a master piece in synergy. This underscores the fact that night time and sleep time is a restorative healing time for the entire body.
  
  Melatonin The Master Hormone
  Melatonin is the hormone that helps us sleep at night. It's purpose it to drive the brain into deeper stages of sleep. As we age we produce less and less of it. (You may have noticed the aged don't sleep that much) It is the master in a cascade effect of all the hormones such as cortisol, dopamine, seratonin, glokogon, cytokoes and HGH or the growth hormone. HGH function is to keep you healthy by reducing the livers uptake of glucose. HGH  promotes and builds muscle strength, builds bones, strengthens the immune system and helps regulate sexual drive and function.  Most commercial melatonin products is made from animal glands. However Pure Rest is not. It is a bioavailable synthetic mimic of our own melatonin. Not a drug,  it helps replace the melatonin we lose over time. Lepatin is part of this  important hormone group. It's job is to tell the brain "Stop eating. I've had enough. "  Lepatin reduces hunger by increasing satiety. Chewing your food thoroughly in a peaceful environment is a simple step you can take to aid your body in the digestive process. Wolfing down food in a stressful environment does more harm than good. It also explains why people feel hungry again a short time after eating as if they had not eaten at all. Again these processes in the body are interrelated and how you treat or mistreat one aspect of your health has a direct impact on the rest of it.
  

  Simple Steps for Better Sleep

  * Restorative Sleep can be aided  with optimal in take of Omega 3 fatty acids
  * Magnesium plays an important role in getting adequate sleep
  * Massage helps relax and can mimic restorative sleep
  * Emotional release is important; laughing, crying and the healthy management of stress and anger through exercise
  * Phoshatidylserine (available in a soy version) can help reduce the production of excess cortisol
  *Sleep in a darkened room
  * Unplug and remove all gadgets including night lights, cellphones and computers
  * Get to bed at a decent hour at the same time every night
  * Find a relaxing routine to prepare for bed

Dimensions in Well Being - Q Bedding Offers Buckwheat Pillows for Better Sleep

Buckwheat Hulls for Insomnia
I knew buckwheat was good to eat but never would of  thought of using the hulls as filler for bedding.  The plant is actually related to sorrel, rhubarb and knotweeds and was cultivated to a great extent in the United States in the 18th and 19th Century until the advent of nitrogen fertilizers. Today the biggest producer of the crop is China. A delicious addition to hot breakfast cereal (or good on it's own) it lends a slight natural sweetness to oatmeal.  It is commonly used in Vaisnava tradition as a substitute for grains on Ekadasi and is quite popular in Polish cooking. There is actually no wheat in it at all.

Cooling the Brain Insomnia and Chinese Medicine

As much a mini education as press conference, I found myself on the 25th floor of 1 Rockefeller Plaza and half expected Alec Baldwin to appear. We heard from the lovely Wen Chi Chen, L.Ac who explained the Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective on insomnia. Beginning with a look at ones habits, disturbances are created in the body due to an overheating of the liver which in turns makes the neck and head too hot to sleep properly. After 6pm the sugar and nicotine content from alcohol consumption and cigarettes  metabolize and ferment inside the liver and heat up. (Fascinating really.)   The heat looking for an escape route literally goes to your head.  (No it's not just a song by Marlene Deitrech!) This internal heating of the head disturbs the "shen"  in the body and there you are wondering why you can't get back to sleep. The buckwheat pillow provides cooling specifically to the neck and head thus aiding in better sleep. While you are working on cutting back on the nicotine and nightcaps I'd recommend giving this pillow a try. 

I Slept Well
After an amazingly deep sleep using my new Q Bedding ergonomic pillow I am a believer.  A stiff neck and back have been bothering me lately due in part to the pillow I have been using, the very stiff bed I sleep on, and a few dramatic  wipe outs on my bike in  the last two weeks. Although the pillow I was given seemed firm or even stiff,  I was impressed with how comfortable my head and neck felt banishing the notion that a pillow needs to be soft and squishy. In fact I found myself thinking of Egyptian neck rests that cradled and supported and at last this conundrum came together for me Wednesday night. I woke up feeling so much better and some of the stiffness was gone.
Holistic Bedding and Good Sleep
There has been a trend going back to traditional ways of creating bedding such as horse hair mattresses and goose down but I think that this cooling alternative will be a big hit with the public at large and will score major points with vegans and all those embracing a holistic lifestyle. Ever since I have read The Healthy Home I have been wondering what to do about this:
"If you buy a traditional mattress, you are sleeping on polyurethane foam that manufacturers must drench in toxic chemicals to keep your bed from igniting at the slightest spark. Polyurethane foam is already toxic—it releases toluene diisocyanate, which can cause severe lung problems¹—but the heavy doses of flame-retardants only exacerbate the problem. In order to pass US safety standards for flammability, an ignited mattress must not become hotter than 200kW over the course of 30 minutes, which is theoretically enough time for the sleeper to notice that his bed is on fire and remove himself from the situation.² The mattress must also withstand an open-flame test for 70 seconds. In order for this to be possible, manufacturers must use large quantities of chemicals, and they are not even required to inform consumers what products they are sleeping on every night. Antimony is commonly used, but extended exposure to antimony can adversely affect the heart, digestive system, eyes, skin, and lungs.³ Brominated fire retardants are also widely used, but polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) specifically were banned in 2005 because of their potential to disrupt thyroid hormone activity and impair neurodevelopment.⁴ The other popular option, boric acid, is just roach killer. Do you want to breath in the fumes from these toxic chemicals for eight hours every night?"
Tips: Visit Q Bedding http://www.Qbedding.com
Visit The Healthy Home to learn about making better bedding choices Web

Health and Happiness Summit - Sweet Dreams and Weight Loss with Dr. Breus

Sweet Dreams
Dr. Michael Breus the "sleep doctor" had a lot of interesting things to say about the impact of sleep deprivation on the American population at the Health and Happiness Summit with Dr. Oz.  Dr. Breus is a clinical psychologist, Diplomat of the American Board of Sleep Medicine and a fellow of the same.   Our caffeine nation would experience lowered blood pressure, better memory, increased energy and slimmer waist lines by valuing their sleep at night. Dr. Breus explained that there are 5 sleep cycles essential to human health regardless of age. Each one of them has a different function. They are divided into Light Sleep which has 2 cycles; Deep Sleep which has two 2 cycles and REM which has 1 cycle.  Light sleep lowers blood pressure and it's that stage where you feel your body relaxing and yourself drifting off. Deep sleep is restorative to the body while REM, perhaps the most interesting of the three, plays an important role in supporting long term memory storage and (BIG surprise) burns calories! REM sleep burns more calories than any other stage of sleep. When I reflect on this it makes me remember two friends who have been confirmed night owls, late night snackers who have struggled with weight gain for the better part of 20 years. Dr. Libby Weaver has added to this discourse by explaining that cortisol production or the "fat hormone"  increases when the body is sleep deprived or put another way stressed out due to lack of sleep with the same demands put on it to perform. It's a survival mechanism used by the body to get through a tough time but by no means should this time be artificially imposed due to poor sleeping habits. It all makes sense now.

GLAMOUR Magazine did a ten week study using Dr. Breus as a consultant to see what kind of impact improved sleep would have on the weight of the subjects. The only thing they had the women change was the amount of sleep they got each night. By increasing the amount of sleep each woman shed weight ranging from as little as 3.5 pounds to the biggest loser at 15 pounds! This is amazing and shows how a stressed out lifestyle does more to put on weight than we might have thought. Poor sleep means poor circulation. If you are suffering from a lack of 'sexiness" in the form of puffy eyes, dark circles and lifeless skin color, try sticking to a regular bed time for that much needed beauty sleep.  A regular sleep cycle with adequate rest is one of the most important things you can do. Other tips were not drinking caffeine after 2PM, limiting alcohol 3 hours before bed time and ceasing rigorous exercise (including hot yoga ) 2 hours before bed time.   

Turn off the gadgets. Checking your facebook updates and fooling with your iPad is not the most relaxing thing to do before you hit the hay. Give yourself at least an hour to unwind both mentally and physically. Constant mental stimulation makes it hard to sleep. Instead take time for yourself by prepping for the next day by laying out your clothes, making the family lunches, self grooming like brushing your teeth and relaxing by reading a book for that last 20 minutes before you go to bed. Chances are you will be less frantic about getting out of the house the next day and sleep easier just knowing you are prepared.
Get your B's So You Can Get Your Z's 
The B vitamins B3, B6 and B12 contribute to good sleep by contributing to healthy sleep patterns. B6 helps the body convert tryptophan to serotonin, a hormone that affects sleep. Check out this very interesting article by Dr. Breus on the connection between weight gain and getting to bed late. http://www.theinsomniablog.com
Many thanks to Usana Health Sciences and Dr. Oz's partnership in bringing together all this knowledge for us in a truly action packed seminar at Radio City Music Hall February 26.