sleep Archives - Center for Holistic Medicine

We have officially entered that hated time of year — cold and flu season. If you’ve been trapped inside with a coughing co-workers or wiping your kids’ nose every five minutes, you’re probably wondering what you can do to avoid getting sick.

You’ve probably heard that washing your hands frequently, upping your dose of Vitamin C and taking supplements can help you avoid getting sick, but did you know that there are lots of other ways to boost your immune system as well? Here are a few surprising things that you can try:

Get a lot of sleep — One of the best ways to keep your immune system strong and stay healthy is to get lots of rest. According to the Mayo Clinic, when you don’t get enough sleep, your body produces less infection-fighting antibodies and cells as well as fewer cytokines, a type of protein that helps fight off infections and reduce inflammation. So make sure to rest up!
Sing in the shower — Do you ever feel better after belting out a song in your car or singing in the shower? Turns out that singing can, in fact, help your immune system. Researchers at the University of Frankfurt tested members of a professional choir, and they found that those who sang for one hour during rehearsal had more antibodies in their blood, which help fight off infections. And another study in England found that people who sang for an hour had a reduction in their stress hormones and an increase in their cytokines, which help fight infections.
Spend time in the sun — If you are looking for a reason to book a vacation to somewhere warm this winter, consider this: Spending time in the sun can help boost your immune system. Sunshine is the key way that humans get their daily dose of Vitamin D, which is crucial in maintaining a healthy immune system. Ideally, you should spend 15 to 20 minutes in the sun a day, but if you can’t, opt instead to take a Vitamin D supplement.
Laugh it up — Ever heard the phrase that laughter is the best medicine? Turns out that may be true. A series of studies at Loma Linda University in California showed that laughter can help the immune system in many ways. Not only does laughter help reduce stress hormones, which can negatively affect your immune system, but having a good laugh increases the production of the antibody immunoglobulin A, which fights respiratory tract infections, increases the production of gamma interferon, a hormone that fights viruses and more. A good excuse to start watching more Seinfeld reruns!
Go for a walk in the woods — Another way to stay healthy? Go for a hike. Scientists in Japan have done numerous studies on the benefits of “forest bathing,” or the process of taking a quiet, mindful walk surrounded by nature, and found that walking in the woods not only reduces stress levels but also boosts your body’s immune system function, increasing its production of Natural Killer cells. And amazingly, those who spent three days in the forest saw the positive effects on their immune system last for more than a month afterwards.

Looking for supplements that can also help boost your immune system? Check out this blog.

Do you toss and turn at night, feeling so tired but just not able to fall asleep? If you struggle with insomnia, you know that it can be not only immensely frustrating, but if it lasts for a long time can leave you feeling irritable, depressed and mentally foggy.

Dr. Nora Aisenberg, a psychologist at the Center for Holistic Medicine, says insomnia can not only cause mood disorders, but it can also affect your long-term health as well. “We certainly know that having insomnia paves the way for mood disorders, as well as worsening cardiac health, risk of hypertension, diabetes and early death,” she says.

Luckily, Dr. Cheryl Schwartz, D.O., at the Center for Holistic Medicine, says almost anyone can learn to fall asleep quickly and easily by developing good sleep habits and sticking to them.

However, Schwartz warns that it may take several weeks for the new changes to take effect. “The hardest parts about this are being tired for a couple of weeks, and not getting mad at yourself. But, if you persist, it will work,” she says. “Think of it this way – you did not develop insomnia overnight, and so it will not be cured overnight. You need to have patience while you are teaching your brain to learn new, healthy habits in relation to sleep.”

Here are some tips for establishing good habits to help you cure insomnia.

Maintain a regular sleep schedule
The most important thing you can do to cure insomnia is to set a regular wake up time. “This helps to entrain the circadian system which helps to stabilize our wakefulness and sleep cycles,” Dr. Schwartz explains. Once you have a regular wake-up time, work on setting a regular bedtime as well and stick to it.
No cell phones or computers in bed
You may think it’s harmless to check your email or watch a few videos on your phone in bed before you turn the lights off, but in fact, these devices cause confusion in our brains about what we’re supposed to be doing.“The bed and bedroom need to be reserved for only one activity: sleep and sleep-related activities,” Dr. Schwartz says. She recommends removing all TVs, desks, laptops, phones, and exercise equipment from the bedroom.
Give up after 30 minutes
If you find yourself tossing and turning after 20 to 30 minutes, don’t stay in the bed and try to fall asleep; you’ll just get more and more frustrated. Instead, Dr. Aisenberg says its best to get out of bed and read or do something else relaxing until you’re drowsy and try again. And Dr. Schwartz says if it still doesn’t work after another 20 minutes, get out of bed and try it again until you do feel tired.
Develop a bedtime routine
“Remember when you were a child and your parents told you to go wash up, put on your pajamas, and pick out a story to read? You still need something to signal your brain that you are getting ready to go to sleep,” Dr. Schwartz says.If you like, you can take a warm bath or drink some “sleepytime”-type tea to get yourself in the mood for sleep, or just end your day reading a good book. Whatever your ritual is, stick to it every night to create a routine.
Take a small amount of melatonin
If you’re looking for a natural, non-habit forming supplement to take to help you fall asleep, you can always try a little melatonin. However, be careful not to take too much, and don’t take it too late.Schwartz suggest that you start out with ½ to 1 mg of melatonin 30 minutes before getting into bed, and she recommends not taking more than 2 to 3 mg a night.
“Normally, melatonin is secreted shortly before bed and leads to a cascade of physiologic processes involved in sleep,” Dr. Schwartz says. “If you take it any other time, as in the middle of the night, it will try to reset your circadian rhythms and upset all the good work you have done.”
Try therapy or meditation
One of the main things that can cause sleeplessness is a high amount of anxiety. If you’re up at night worried about something that might happen or reliving moments from your life in your head, Dr. Aisenberg suggests you may be able to get some relief by trying meditation to quiet your mind or seeing a therapist to talk through some of your issues and live a more fulfilled life.“Living life well, having a full day of activity filled with purpose, fun and satisfaction is one sure way to correct a sleepless night of replaying regrets, disappointments and angst in your mind,” she says. “You can find peace, tranquility and self-acceptance through psychotherapy, meditation or your own spiritual journey.

Want some more ideas about ways to improve your sleep? Read this blog.

Sleep. It’s the one thing everyone wishes they had more of. According to a 2013 Gallup poll, more than 40 percent of Americans get less than seven hours of sleep a night. In fact, Americans only get an average of 6.8 hours a night, a full hour less than they got in 1942.

Lack of sleep has been shown to contribute to many chronic health conditions, including obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and a weakened immune system.

If you’re someone who struggles with falling asleep, or with waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to go back to bed, it can be tempting to turn to sleep medications for help. But not only are they expensive, these drugs can also often become dangerously habit forming.

Luckily, Katie Bogaard, a naturopathic practitioner at the Center for Holistic Medicine, says there are several healthy things you can do to get better sleep without medication. Here are a few of her favorite non-medical things you can do to have a more restful night’s sleep.

Turn Off Your Screens
Do you watch TV or check your email right before bed? If so, the blue light from your screen could be keeping you awake. Bogaard says the blue light emitted by screens on cell phones, TVs and computers decrease our body’s production of melatonin, which controls our circadian rhythm.Bogaard recommends turning off all electronics (including the TV) at least an hour before bedtime. However, if you must use your devices at night, Bogaard suggests installing a blue light filter app such as Night Shift onto your phone or tablet, which automatically adjusts the intensity of the light for the day or night. You can even purchase special orange goggles that will help filter out the blue light and help you sleep better.
Reduce Your Anxiety
If you have trouble falling asleep, or you spend a lot of the night tossing and turning, because you have thoughts racing through your mind, anxiety and depression could be to blame. One of the best ways to treat this is through one-on-one counseling. Other things that can help are journaling before you go to bed to get the thoughts out of your head, as well as meditation.
Check Your Cortisol Levels
One of the first things Bogaard does when patients complain of sleep issues is suggest they have their cortisol levels tested. Cortisol plays a major role in regulating your body’s sleep and wake cycles, and high levels of cortisol – usually caused by stress, anxiety, or adrenal fatigue – can lead to waking in the middle of the night or waking up not feeling rested.“If you’re stressing your body in some way, it affects your adrenals,” Bogaard explains. For people whose cortisol levels are too high, she often recommends taking magnesium and vitamin C, both of which can strengthen your adrenal system, as well as a cortisol manager supplement.
Take Nervine Herbs
Nervines are a special category of herbs that support the nervous system and help reduce muscle tension, relieve obsessive thoughts and make you feel calm and relaxed. Some of the herbs that fall in this category include chamomile, lavender, lemon balm, hops, passionflower, California poppy, valerian and more. You can take these in either an herbal supplement form, such as Myocalm PM, or drink a cup of hot tea made with these herbs to put you in the mood for a calm, restful night. Celestial Seasoning’s Sleepytime Tea has a great combination of many of these nervine herbs that will often do the trick.
Cut Down on Caffeine
You probably know that having a cup of regular coffee right before bed isn’t a good idea, but did you know that your overall caffeine intake can affect your sleep, no matter what time of day you drink it? While one or two cups a day are fine, more than that may be problematic.“Too much caffeine is really draining on the adrenals, which just causes your sleep to be worse and worse over time,” she says. And, Bogaard warns, don’t forget that even decaffeinated coffee or tea does have a small amount of caffeine in it.

Want to learn about other ways to support healthy sleep habits? Don’t miss Katie Bogaard’s upcoming workshop, “Make America Sleep Again” on April 20 at 6:30 p.m. at the Center for Holistic Medicine. Register today!

Tag: sleep

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