Fight Off Aloneliness And Find Your Alone Time
I read an article recently about aloneliness, which is the opposite of loneliness. As an introvert, I have always been that person who replenishes her energy from time alone but never quite thought about the craving as a likening to loneliness for the introvert.
The benefits of alone time are science-backed and include those things that many times go out the window when we are stressed and overwhelmedthings like creativity, mental strength, and productivity. The COVID-19 pandemic has left many people without the opportunity to have their alone time, which could be another reason that you are feeling more stressed and less able to deal with your daily challenges.
You might need to be strategic, but you could build some alone time into your life with a walk outside to get lunch for example, which will also be incorporating strategy #2 on this list.
Treating Sleep Apnea With Diet And Lifestyle
Sleep apnea is a medical condition affecting an increasing number of people in Western countries. Currently, the prevalence of moderate to severe sleep-disordered breathing conditions in U.S. adult men is 10%-17% and in U.S. adult women is 3%-9%. More specifically, obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea affects 2%-7% of the adult population. These figures have increased steadily along with the rising obesity epidemic.
Why is sleep apnea a problem? Because it increases the risk of several other chronic health conditions including daytime sleepiness, cognitive dysfunction, poor work performance, high blood pressure, abnormalities in glucose metabolism, anxiety, impotence, fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular events, and even ones overall risk of death. Cardiovascular disease risk is actually estimated to be 2.5 times higher in people suffering from moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea.
Needless to say, not sleeping well due to a sleep-related breathing disorder is serious business, and it needs to be addressed and treated properly to avoid further harm.
Your Ultimate Guide To Vitamin D Part 4 Why Vitamin D Is Your Key To Better Sleep
Disordered sleeping is a serious health problem impacting an estimated 40 million Americans.
Snoring is one of the most common symptoms of sleep apnea. Finding a cure for snoring can be difficult, because changes to the brain can occur as a sleep disorder worsen. One of the most common deficiency that relate to both teeth and sleep, is vitamin D deficiency.
Biological functions vital to our health and well-being occur during the precious hours of sleep. These include various sleep stages to heal, recover, and grow. Without proper sleep your body can experience a buildup of toxins and inflammation. In fact, you would die after 11 days of sleep deprivation.
Society prides itself in functioning on little to no sleep. But research is finding this attitude is detrimental to our health one study found those who slept between five and seven hours regularly had a 1.7 fold increased risk of mortality. Furthermore, poor sleep has been found to be a significant contributor to the development of Alzheimers disease.
The old adage, Ill sleep when Im dead is proving to be more like youre dead if you dont sleep.
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Cure : Herbs And Essential Oils For Sleep Apnea
Herbs are naturally occurring substances which originated from plants or plant derivatives. They show immense potential in curing a lot of diseases effectively including respiratory disorders, cardiac problems, and digestive problems. Herbal remedies for sleep apnea are easily accessible and dont bear side effects.
Does Vitamin D Help You Sleep
To understand how Vitamin D helps you sleep better, you need to first know what Vitamin D actually is. You might be surprised to discover, but Vitamin D is not really a vitamin! Rather, its a group of fat-soluble hormones produced within your skin when its exposed to natural sunlight. Apart from sunlight, it is also found in a few foods such as salmon and tuna, beef liver, cooked egg yolks and some mushrooms.
The main function of vitamin D is absorbing calcium in our bodies. And their deficiency can lead you to have weaker bones. But according to recent studies, vitamin D may also influence your sleep quality as well as quantity. And, among the people with sleeping disorders, most of them are found to be vitamin D deficient.
Lack of Vitamin D in your body may cause anxiety and increase heart rate and blood pressure, ultimately affecting your sleep schedule. Other studies that have analysed the relationship between sleep patterns and Vitamin D levels found that Vitamin D deficiency is associated with sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea, as well as disrupted sleep and less sleep overall.
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More About Vitamin Supplements
The consensus would seem to be that generally, it doesnt hurt to take a multivitamin every day. But there is limited evidence that they are actually helpful for the average person.
Supplements are never a substitute for a balanced, healthful diet, Dr. JoAnn Manson, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, was quoted as saying in an article from Harvard Medical School. Its best to get the vitamins you need from the food you consume first, and not rely on supplements as your main source.
But there may be a placebo effect to taking vitamin pills, Manson later added in the article, as people feel healthier if they do something they believe makes them healthy. Supplements can also be extremely helpful for certain high-risk groups, such as vitamin D and calcium for adults with osteoporosis.
You might be uncertain whether you should take your supplements first thing in the morning, or whether at night. A popular thought behind the idea of taking your supplements at night is that you will draw nutrients from them as you sleep, just like you take nutrition from your food during the day.
As a general rule, you should take your supplements with food. Many different kinds may upset your stomach if you dont take them with a meal or snack.
Drink plenty of water as well, for any water-soluble vitamins.
Sleep Apnea Treatments Faq’s: Answered
Can losing weight cure sleep apnea?
Weight loss has been shown to reduce the severity of symptoms associated with this condition and other health problems. A study by Harvard Health found that losing just 10 percent of body weight can significantly help those suffering from severe obstructive sleep apnea. In some cases, it may even be able to cure the problem completely.
Can A Fitbit tell you if you have sleep apnea?
Fitbit has recently developed a way to monitor your sleeping patterns based on motion and other technological advances. They can now provide information such as oxygen in the body, position, respiratory effort, airflow, or cardiovascular system information when you sleep with the wearables.
So yes, Fitbit can provide information to help doctors diagnose sleep apnea and monitor your rest. Doctors are now able to view the data from these devices that FitBit customers have been recording, which then helps them determine if you are a candidate for sleep testing or not.
Can honey help with sleep apnea?
Honey is an effective natural remedy for cases of snoring related to inflammation. While it won’t cure sleep apnea, a teaspoon can help reduce symptoms such as irritation and soreness in the throat caused by inflamed tissues when one experiences these sorts of issues.
Can Benadryl help sleep apnea?
Does melatonin help sleep apnea?
Does sitting up help sleep apnea?
Can I Create My Own Sleep Apnea Mouthpiece?
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Treatments For Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea treatment is typically determined by the severity of the condition. This is done by measuring the number of apnea and hypopnea episodes per hour. More than 20 events per hour warrants treatment, as this amount of episodes is associated with higher mortality rates long term. However, some patients with as little as 5 episodes per hour may benefit from treatment if they complain of daytime sleepiness or have a comorbid condition like heart failure.
Currently, no medications have been proven safe and effective for sleep apnea. Instead, available treatment options include diet and lifestyle modifications, oral appliances , continuous positive airway pressure therapy, and surgery.
What Is The New Treatment For Sleep Apnea
The FDA approved a prescription tongue muscle stimulation device that claims to reduce mild sleep apnea and snoring in patients with obstructive sleep apnea. The FDA recently announced the approval of a prescription tongue muscle stimulation device that claims to reduce mild obstructive sleep apnea and snoring.
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I Recommend That Everyone Monitor Their Vitamin D Levels Closely
If your vitamin d levels are low, you will need to get more sunlight and consider supplementing with vitamin D3 . For a list of vitamin D rich food sources. You can read this article here.
If you are diagnosed with sleep apnea and vitamin d deficiency, you may need a dose of between 5000-10000 IU of vitamin D3 and 200 mcg vitamin K2 before retesting your levels.
*Always consult your physical before supplementing vitamin D.*
If youre struggling with sleep, bring it up to your dentist. Have them check your airways and your vitamin D status and gut health.
Do you have a partner who snores? Leave your comments in the section below.
For more information on Dr. Lins clinical protocol that highlights the steps parents can take to prevent dental problems in their children:
Dr Steven Lins book, The Dental Diet, is available to order today. An exploration of ancestral medicine, the human microbiome and epigenetics its a complete guide to the mouth-body connection. Take the journey and the 40-day delicious food program for life-changing oral and whole health.
Convenient Alternatives Do Exist
Even though increasing your vitamin D intake or other vitamins isnt likely to help your sleep apnea, there is a treatment option thats more comfortable and convenient than CPAP: oral appliance therapy. Theres no complex machine, hoses, or other attachments to deal with. Theres just a compact mouth guard you put in before bed.
Although certain vitamins can play a role in your sleep quality, you need an effective sleep apnea treatment to see consistent results that can change your life.
To learn whether youre a candidate for this more comfortable approach to sleep apnea treatment, please call for an appointment with a Detroit sleep dentist at the Michigan Center for TMJ & Sleep Wellness.
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Serum Nutritional Biomarkers And Their Associations With Sleep Among Us Adults In Recent National Surveys
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Affiliation National Institute on Aging, NIA/NIH/IRP, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
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Affiliation National Institute on Aging, NIA/NIH/IRP, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
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Affiliation Pediatric Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism Nemours Children’s Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida, United States of America
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Affiliation Graduate program in Public Health, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, Virginia, United States of America
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Affiliations National Institute on Aging, NIA/NIH/IRP, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America, Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
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Affiliations National Institute on Aging, NIA/NIH/IRP, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America, Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
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Affiliation National Institute on Aging, NIA/NIH/IRP, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
Maintain Good Sleep Hygiene
Its no secret that sleep can be your best friend or public enemy number one. As the saying goes, what a difference a day can make is in large part due to a restful nights sleep. However, when we are stressed, sleep is one of the first things to get out of whack.
If you are going through a period of high stress, you are likely feeling an increase in outside or family demands. Finding the time to fit it all in may naturally creep into your sleeping hours or, on the other hand, the stress might keep you from being able to get a restful nights sleep. Either of these two scenarios is a case where it might be good to take a look at your sleep routine and force you to be a little more protective of it.
Some of my go-to tips and strategies around maintaining healthy sleep hygiene are:
So, before you get to thinking that you can sleep later, remember that healthy people and well-balanced lives have a healthy amount of sleep in their lives.
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The Relationship Between Sleep And Vitamin C
Many individuals are acquainted with how vitamin C benefits their immunity. What many do not know is that vitamin C plays a significant role in boosting sleep health. Studies have shown that individuals with greater concentrations of vitamin C have better sleep than those with reduced concentrations. Those who met their demands were also more resilient to the impacts of occasional sleepless evenings.
Summary And Quick Facts For Sleep Apnea
- Sleep apnea is a disorder characterized by disruptions in normal breathing during sleep. These breathing interruptions often cause sleep disturbances throughout the night, including frequent waking and snoring. Sleep apnea is associated with increased risk for hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, poor cognitive function, and many other health concerns.
- In this protocol, you will learn about the different causes of sleep apnea and why it is important to have the condition properly diagnosed and treated. You will also learn about lifestyle and dietary habits that can supplement traditional treatment of sleep apnea. Dietary supplements that target some of the factors that contribute to sleep apnea will be reviewed as well.
- Effective sleep apnea treatments are available, and they can greatly improve quality of life. But many people either do not seek treatment or give up quickly due to inconvenience or discomfort. It is important to work with a qualified sleep specialist to find the right solution for you, which may take trial and error.
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Do You Need A Vacation Or Weekend Away
Vacation opportunities may not be as readily available as we would like. However, it doesnt have to be a week in the tropics to feel the benefits of a short break from your everyday routine.
If we are optimizing our time with some of the above strategies, perhaps we might be able to sneak in that weekend getaway or even just a day trip with the family. Getting out of your everyday environment, especially when trying to build in some respite and relieve stress, can do wonders for our mind, body, and spirit.
We may love our homes, but they do represent the endless to-do list and remind us of all the things that contribute to our stress levels. Getting away from this environment where you can get outside and engage in some of your favorite activities with your favorite people will free your mind and your body.
Granted, COVID-19 has definitely hindered our road trip or vacation opportunities. However, with a little creativity, we can build in the little breaks that we need to relieve some stress, reconnect with the people who are important in our lives, and help us to feel ready for the next hurdle in front of us.
Should I Get My Supplements In Pill Form Or Gummy Form
If you can, its best not to reach for gummy vitamins as your first choice of supplement, no matter the appeal of eating whats basically candy to get your nutrients.
An analysis of supplements conducted by ConsumerLab.com in 2017 found that 80 percent of gummy vitamins failed testing when it came to having too much or too little of their ingredients.
Theres also the simple fact that gummies tend to contain more sugar than their pill counterparts.
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Sugarbear Sleep Vegan Gummy Vitamins With Melatonin
If you consult a doctor to help you overcome the problem of sleep disorder, this is a supplement that is often prescribed to take care of the disease. The administration of this supplement is common among doctors because over the years, it has proven to be so effective.
Melatonin is a hormone that helps regulate your bodys sleep cycle. It also helps to put your brain in a good mood to feel like a rest
Vitamin Deficiencies That Can Affect Your Sleep
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We know that diet and sleep are deeply connected. But the truth is, we dont know nearly enough yet about how individual nutrients impact our sleep. Here, I look at 5 vitamins that appear to play a role in how much sleep we get and how restful and high-quality that sleep is. As youll see, several of these vitamins may affect our risk of sleep disorders, including insomnia and sleep apnea. And at least two of them appear to play a role in regulating our circadian rhythms, the 24-hour bio rhythms that control our sleep-wake cycles.
Im a big believer in leveraging a healthy diet to improve sleep. Often, diet alone doesnt give us all the nutrients we need. Supplements can play an important role in filling those gaps.
But before you run out and add the vitamins below to your supplement list, I encourage you to do two things. Look for ways to improve your vitamin intake through your diet. And talk to your doctor. Getting the dosingand the timingof supplement intake is critical to success, when it comes to sleep.
Always consult your doctor before you begin taking a supplement or make any changes to your existing medication and supplement routine. This is not medical advice, but it is information you can use as a conversation-starter with your physician at your next appointment.
Vitamin D
Vitamin E
Vitamin C
Vitamin B6
Vitamin B12
Sweet Dreams,
Michael J. Breus, PhD, DABSM
The Sleep Doctor
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