SLEEPLESSNESS

• Sleeplessness is usually associated with emotional or mental tension, anxiety, depression, work problems, financial stress or unsatisfactory sex life. While insomnia is not usually related to any physical illness there are exceptions.
• Any illness that can cause pain or discomfort may cause sleeplessness. The more mental energy you consume the more sleep you will need.
• This is because when the brain works overtime it uses up blood sugar leaving you mentally exhausted. Sleep patterns also change in old change
• A sweet drink before bed increases the brains supply of the amino acid L-tryptophan. This increases the likelihood of falling asleep more easily.
• Herbs that may be of help Sleeplessness are valerian, skullcap, hops and passion flower. Magnesium and Calcium are usefull minerals in relieving Sleeplessness.
• All of these natural approaches are non habit forming and most importantly non toxic.

Sleeplessness Alters Metabolism.

• A lack of quality sleep may lead to love handles and double chins. Doctors at the University of Chicago found that not getting enough sleep altered basic bodily functions such as regulating blood-sugar levels, storing away energy from food and the production of various hormones.
• The study examined the effects of sleep deprivation on a group of 11 young men in their 20's. For one week the participants were allowed only four hours of sleep a night and were told to continue the normal routine of their lives. After one week of four hours of sleep a night, the participants' metabolic levels and their ability to process carbohydrates were the same as those of a 65 year-old man.
• The young men took 40 percent longer than normal to regulate their blood sugar levels following a high-carbohydrate meal.
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  Their ability to secrete insulin and to respond to insulin both decreased by about 30 percent. A similar decrease in acute insulin response is an early marker of diabetes.