Does Sleep affect your health?
This Blog will answer the question, Does Sleep Affect your Health?
There are those rare individuals (approximately 1 in 10,000) who can function effectively on less than six hours of sleep per night. Looking back at the history of Chiropractic, there is such a man. He dedicated his life to helping those in the worst of health to regain and maintain a quality of life. This man is Dr. Clanence S. Gonstead (1989-1978). Dr. Gondtead was a man of great mechanical and technical knowledge.
As a young man in school, he suffered from a debilitating acute arthritis. This limited his ability to move so significantly, that his aunt coerced him to see her doctor, a chiropractor. Several in-home adjustments and he was back on his feet with a complete recovery. Soon he was off to be a chiropractor himself. The story of Dr. Gonstead’s successful practice continued to grow. I share this with you because his busy days drew into busy nights. He worked six and one-half days a week seeing over 250 patients a day. He was not a man to slow down either. To this he added more work hours helping people from all over the country. It is said that often his last patient would be 2:30am the next morning. Dr. Gonstead’s need for sleep is an exception to most of us needing a good eight hours per night.
Studies continue to show the ill effects of sleep deprivation. These include the body’s decreased ability to recharge and repair itself from the day’s task, injury, illness or other calamity. This makes the body susceptible to increased risk of pain complexes, heart disease, digestive problem and even cancers. These studies determined “more than 40 percent of Americans are sleep deprived, getting less than 5 hours of sleep per night.” The Centers of Disease Control (CDC) categorized “sleep deprivation” as a public health epidemic.
A combined 300 studies on sleep show-getting under seven hours of sleep per night will increase your risk of weight gain by affecting specific hormone balances. If you are getting less than six hours, even for one night, this can affect cognition and the ability to think clearly the next day. Do you risk that daily with tasks and school, home or work?
It could be that your sleep is being disrupted by a breathing or oxygen uptake condition such as apnea. This should be addressed at the causation. Seek treatment with a health care provider who can get to the foundation of your problem. Your sleep may also be disrupted, or limited, due to pain complex. Proper quantity and quality of sleep can help reduce pain by raising pain tolerance.
How can you help optimize your body’s rhythms to maximize the benefits of an eight hour sleep night? Well, getting to sleep before midnight is of key importance. Getting to bed too late will disrupt the pineal gland and create an imbalance of brain chemistry that helps proper sleep rhythms. Also spending brief periods in natural sunlight (15-20 minutes) upon waking and
around the noon hour. These periodic therapeutic doses of sunlight reset circadian rhythms of the body.
Some tips to assist your journey to better sleep:
-Keep your sleep place/room void of light and electronics while sleeping.
-Avoid T.V., computer, smartphone or other visual electronics at least 60 minutes before bedtime.
-Avoid caffeine late in the day-caffeine can stay in your system for 8+ hours.
-Avoid medication with stimulants such as cold/allergy drugs late in the day.
-If you need an alarm, do not put it next to your bed near your head.
The answer to Does Sleep Affect Your Health is-YES! Your local Tempe Chiropractor can give you tips on how to optimize your sleep.
Reed Chiropractic
250 W. Baseline Rd. #107
Tempe, AZ 85283
480-785-1355
Contact us today and schedule a free consultation.
