The Captains Lady

Sleep Disorder & Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) 

 

If life without breath is death, life without sleep is a living death.  

- T. Scott Johnson 

 

Symptoms of Sleep Disorder

Feeling cold and unable to get warm.

Never feeling fully rested, energized or driven.

Waking during the night anxiety or rapid heart beat.

Lacking interest in social events or multiple relationships.

Having to get up 2-3 times per night to pee or shake of anxiety.

Waking with a deep ache in your head, which turns into a headache ache during the day.  

Low tolerance for stress of any kind, which may include sensitivities to noise, smells or light.

Pain, sometimes severe in your joints and muscles that unexplainably come and go.

Feeling disconnected from the world, thinking crazily or wanting to scream.

Not interested in sex, or not being able to really enjoy it from tiredness.

Being irritable and hostile in relationships and feeling like a failure.

Unable to develop or retain muscle mass through exercise.

Canceling 'life' because you don't have the energy.

Falling to sleep at inappropriate times.

Your thoughts and feelings don't match your decisions and actions anymore!

 

Causes of Sleep Disorder

Adrenal Burnout, Weight Gain, Obesity, Body Sleep Position, Poor Mattress, Central Nervous System Disorders, Unresponsive Sympathetic System, Stress, Bacterial Infection, Vitamin B-12 Deficiency, Irregular Sleep Schedule (this can also cause 'sleep jerks).

 

It is Possible to Suffer From More Than One Sleep Disorder at the Same Time.

When we are tired, both our judgment and our focus are impaired and we become irritable.

If we get too little sleep, production in growth hormone declines and our hormones become imbalanced. Our hormones balance during the hours we are sleeping.

When our immune system is taxed from not enough good sleep, it provides less resistance to viruses, and, also, diabetes may develop due to a drop in insulin response. 

Sleep deprivation can lead to weight gain as nutrients (carbohydrates, fats and protein) don't break down in the body the way they should.

While we are sleeping, tiny tears in our muscles are repaired. Without sleep, our bodies cannot repair themselves. This leads to muscle wasting, chronic pain and depression.

 

Sleep Disorders

Sleep Apnea: There Are Three Types

1. The first, and most typical, is Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) caused by a blocked airway and can be treated with weight loss or a gadget that helps you to receive enough oxygen. In the case of sleep disordered breathing, Sleep Apnea is but one, which is usually characterized by snoring caused by an obstruction in the upper airway. This obstruction is usually a collapsed airway caused by sleep position and/or a 'heavy' neck which causes snoring. The nerves and muscles that keep the airway open during the day may not be as active at night. A weight loss of only 10% of the individual's body weight can sometimes eliminate the apnea all together. At present time it is thought that this type of Sleep Apnea is not caused by emotions or feelings since it can be treated with devices.

2. The second is Central Sleep Apnea (CSA), whereby the mechanism (a group of neurons in the brain) that regulates breathing has temporarily failed and the lungs receive a delayed signal from the brain to breathe. I don't know about you, but I consider this a serious glitch! Continuous oxygen deprivation can harm the whole body, especially the heart. Sleep Apnea may also be caused by a fear response and contracting muscles during sleep, similarly to tensing muscles when frightened. When problems are not worked out in waking life, they can surface in your sleep. Pain, during sleep, may also cause this fear response. The glitch causing CSA may not actually be in the brain,, but anywhere in the Central Nervous System (brain and spine). Those with Central Sleep Apnea may also have problems with Tinnitus (head noise heard in the ears).

3. The third type of Sleep Apnea is actually a combination of the first two.

 

Other Sleep Disorder Symptoms

Muscle jerks can be a real nuisance and kind of scary. It is caused by tight muscles that are trying to relax as you are falling to sleep. These can range from you suffering slight twitches and jerks (hypnic jerks) to jumping clean off the mattress with a hypnagogic massive jerk! Often times, in respose to stress, we hold our shoulders tight, clench our jaws and contract our stomachs, sometimes all day long. Not good. Then, when muscles start to relax as we fall asleep, the brain thinks we are falling and alerts us. Sleep jerks are the result.

 

Loud 'bangs' or 'flashes of white light' in your head, as you are drifting off to sleep, are actually electrical shocks caused from being overtired. They can occur alone or in combination with muscle jerks. This can be a sign neurological problems, but is most often a sign of but is most often a sign of Magnesium or Calcium deficiency or stress related tension. These excessive bursts of brain activity may be controlled through stress mangement techniques and nutritional therapies. Take, both, Calcium Citrate and Magnesium together. They work to calm the muscles, which build up Lactic Acid under conditions of stress and too little exercise. 

 

Hypopnea is a reduction in airflow, which can be caused by an upper airway resistance syndrome (UARS) and although not considered an actual sleep apnea, still creates symptoms much as sleep apnea does. This apnea is usually only present when the person sleeps on their back.

 

Insomnia is not only the inability to get to sleep, but to stay asleep, or to return to sleep if awakened too early. There may be frequent waking during the night. It is related to UARS (Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome) and is more common in women. Insomnia is common during episodes of hormonal fluctuation. Some women report waking up after having been asleep for a particular amount of time after they have fallen asleep, such as an hour afterwards or three hours afterwards. They say it is like clockwork. Cycling hormones may be responsible.

 

Cheyene-Stokes Respiration is a condition marked by alterations between deep breathing and cessation of breathing due to the failure of the breathing control system in the brain. Brain sensors that register and measure the amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood may be ineffective or injured in some way. This may be related to Central Sleep Apnea.

 

Nocturia is the need for sudden or frequent urination at night. It may be a symptom of Sleep Apnea, as a hormone is released during oxygen deprivation that causes this. The feeling of having to 'go' is so great that it can cause panic attacks. It may even take awhile to get back to sleep after one of these episodes. For those with incontinence, it can spell disaster! Changing pajamas and sheets in the middle of the night doesn't exactly promote sleep.

 

SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) is often either confused with, or is an overlapping symptom of, 'CFS' and typically bothers people during the winter months when there is not much exposure to sunlight, especially here in the Northwest.

 

Other Important Sleep Disorder Considerations

Oxygen deficiency. Sleep disorders can cause an overall reduction of oxygen in the blood during sleep. This can be a serious problem leading to high blood pressure, cardiovascular problems, heart attack, strokes and accidents due to tiredness. This is not just a deficiency of oxygen in the lungs, even though this is true enough while you are not breathing, but an oxygen defiency in the cells of your body.

Note! If you have a breathing related sleep disorder, please see your doctor for a simple oxygen test. A clothespin-like device will be clipped to your pointer finger for a few seconds and your oxygen levels will be recorded. this is good advice for anyone who finds themselves yawning all day long. Yawning is the body's way of increasing oxygen.

 

Lactic Acid is a substance that forms in the body as a result of muscular activity. Inadequate oxygen levels create high levels of lactic acid, disrupting pH balance. There are certain things we can do to improve pH balance and oxygen flow, not just to our lungs as we sleep, but to our cells, where energy is created. We can exercise, eat whole foods, meditate, drink plenty of fresh water, breathe deeply, and remove toxins from our environments. All of these things will help you to sleep better. Of these things, diet is probably one of the most important. You don't want an overabundance of Lactic Acid. It causes muscle pain.

 

80% of all those with Fibromyalgia have sleep disorders! It has been proven that those with Fibromyalgia have deficiencies of cellular oxygen. Without enough oxygen in your cells it is very easy for the body to become too acidic (pH imbalance), leading to pain and dis-ease. It is unclear as to what came first, the Fibromyalgia or the Sleep Disorder. Both disorders show mineral deficiencies. Get your minerals in, ladies!

 

Sleep Disorder & Blood Sugar - Sleep Apnea can effect and impair the part of the nervous system that controls blood sugar absorption. If you have sleep apnea, you should try to eliminate sugar from your diet as much as possible. I know that is easier said than done, but sugar and fats are 'flight or fight' foods. Avoid corn syrup like the plague! It's the worst sugar product there is.

If you wake often at night, you are 25% less sensitive to insulin, a condition that is a precursor to Diabetes. So, if you are feeling shaky, confused and faint after not getting a good night's sleep, it may have to do with your blood sugar. Studies show that when we don't sleep well our blood sugar dips and dives more-so than when we do, which is one reason we snack more when we are tired. Make sure you eat something regularly, every 3-4 hours.

 

All-Natural Therapies for Sleep Disorder

Eat protein for 'calm'. 

Cut out caffeine and other stimulants for two hours before bed.  

Take Vitamin E (400IU) per day unless on heart medication.

Melatonin can help improve sleep as long as you are on a regular sleeping schedule. It does not, however, help with daily fatigue unrelated to your sleep disorder. I do not suggest taking Melatonin supplements, as Melatonin is a hormone. Instead, eat foods that contain Tryptophan (see page 84), which will boost Serotonin (the feel good chemical) in the brain.

Omega-3s help with pain and therefore help you to sleep better if pain is keeping your mind distracted while you are trying to sink into a deeper sleep. Supplements should not your omegas from eating fish 2-3 times per week.

It may help to take your B vitamins, considering it is the nervous system that is 'glitching'. They protect the nerves. Vitamin B-12 helps to reduce levels of homocysteine (a cause of heart attack and stroke) and restore normal sleep patterns by fostering the release of Melatonin, the hormone that helps us sleep. Vitamin B-12 also helps with mild depression, as do Omega 3 Fish Oils, which also help with pain. Take Vitamin B in a 50 mg or 100 mg complex that contains Folic Acid.

Passion Flower Tea. Drinking 3 cups per day will calm you. At this dose, it has no known side effects or interactions. Neither could I discover ill side effects at higher doses. Chamomile, Lavender, Skull Cap, Valerian and Hops relax as well, but I encourage you to read up on precautions concerning these herbs.

 

 

 

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

SAD is often either confused with or is an overlapping symptom of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. People who are tired, sad, depressed, especially during the cooler months, often have low levels of essential fatty acids.

 

All-Natural Therapies & Supplements for SAD

Don't allow father nature to keep you confined indoors during the fall and winter. People of make the mistake of hibernating rather than getting outdoors and enjoying the season. There's plenty of daylight to expose yourself to. It is true that the sun is not close enough to earth to be of benefit in helping our bodies to provide us Vitamin D from October to April. However, you can take 200-400 units of Vitamin D per day until April, when the sun will be strong enough to help you along again, provided you get 15 minutes of sun at least three times per week. Better yet, sit in the early morning or evening sun each day.

 

Supplement with Omega Fish Oils to make sure your body has the essential fatty acids that it needs to keep depression at bay. 1000-3000 (1-3 grams) mg per day should be sufficient. For moderate depression you can take as much as 3000 – 10,000 mg per day (3-10 grams) as long as you are not allergic to fish. Eat more Wild Salmon and cold-water fish than red meat.

 

Instead of Omega Fish Oils you could take 1 Tablespoon of Flaxseed Oil 1-2 times per day during winter months or grind a total of 2 tablespoons of Flax seeds and sprinkle into your foods each day. It would not hurt to take Omega 3's as well.

 

St. John's Wort, often used for depression, is also thought to help with sleep disturbances, muscle pain and gastritis, all of which keep you from getting a restful nights sleep. A typical dose is 300 mg (at 3% hypericin), three times per day, for 4-6 weeks. At higher doses you may experience bloating, constipation and photosensitivity (sunburn easily).

Note! Do not take St. John's Wort if you are on anti-anxiety or anti-depressant medications.

 

 

 

May Love & Energy Be Yours!

 

 

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