Sleep Vs. Rest

There's a difference between sleep and rest. You can have a night where you sleep, even sleep in, and not feel rested.  You could have a night where you sleep lest, yet wake up feeling refreshed and ready.  And it's very important to be aware of the difference.

It's vital to our body that we get regular rest.  For us to be living a wellness lifestyle, rest is a MUST.  Your body will not function well without proper rest.  What are some of the effects of poor rest?  The list is long but includes reducing stress, improving your immune response, reducing inflammation and more.  Rest is when your body repairs the damages done to it with every day living.  To me, the whole act of getting sleeping is a perfect example of the innate intelligence of the body.  That sensation of sleepiness comes on telling us it's time to power down, time to make repairs.  And, when we're sick with an infection or the flu, our body's natural response is to want to sleep more.  Pretty cool the way the body works isn't it?

It's important that we develop a good routine for rest, particularly as we get a little older.  Our body's work best in a routine.  This routine should start before bedtime, when we do things like turn down the lights, turn off anything that may be too stimulating, maybe put some soft music on and spend time relaxing.  That way when we hit the bed, we're already on our way to powering down.  Keep your room as dark as possible.  Most experts agree that having a TV in the bedroom is not conducive to good rest.  Maybe have some white noise in the background to drown out random sounds (I keep a floor fan running, even in the winter).  Avoid caffeine after 3 or 4 in the afternoon.  I know, people say "I can fall asleep even after a pot of coffee".  I get that, but remember that sleep and rest are two different things, and it is scientifically proven that caffeine reduces your chances of reaching the deepest levels of sleep, REM sleep (Rapid Eye Movement), which is where real rest and repair occur.

Here's a couple of important notes for those that have trouble sleeping/resting. Don't lay in bed tossing and turning. Get out of bed and go read something boring (like some of my blog posts???) until you get sleepy.  Staying in the bed when you're not able to sleep starts to develop a neuro-association in your mind of "bed = sleep problems".  Don't bring your work to bed with you, ie laptop, iPad, paperwork etc.  Once again, a bad neuro-association can occur.  The bed is for rest, and sex.

If you are a teen, or have teens, be wary of starting the habit of texting with friends laying in bed.  That can go on for hours and interfere with rest.  Even adults that are chained to work via their smart phones need to be wary of this habit as well.

Remember, resting well is part 4 of our wellness formula:  Eat well, move well, think well and rest well.

Until next time...Be Well!

Dr. Bruce

Then, and ONLY Then, Will It Happen For You

It's 20 days into the new year of 2013, and I wonder what percentage of New Year's Resolutions are still standing.  So I did a little (very little) research into the topic.  Here's what I found in one article this morning:

"It took one-third of Americans less than a week to cheat on their New Year's Resolutions, a new study by research and consulting firm YouGov reveals. The research showed that 11 percent had already broken at least one resolution, while 22 percent had cheated a few times, but were still trying to stick to their goals."  That was taken from Business News Daily's January 15 edition.  

Wow, that didn't take long did it? Less than a week?  Elsewhere in the article, it stated that health and fitness were the most common types of resolutions made, and thus the most common ones to be broken.  Have you been one of those annual health and fitness resolution breakers this year?  and last year?  Or maybe for most or all of your life?  There's a simple reason for this, and I am going to explain it here.

Here it is in a nutshell:  Your "why" isn't big enough.  That's really it.  If your "why" were big enough, you'd not have any issue staying true to your stated goal/resolution.  Your "why" is your reason for making that decision.  If your resolution is to get fit, or lose weight, or get healthy because you're in need of those things, yet you've failed regularly at it, then your "why" isn't big enough to keep you committed to your goal.

Oh sure, you "know" you should get fit.  You "know" you should lose weight.  But you actually haven't sat down and really gotten serious about listing and reading and "feeling" all your reasons for staying true to your desire. It's in your head, but not your heart.   If you had done this, your commitment would stick.  Lots of people "want" to, but most don't.  I had a friend and patient that allowed herself to gain massive amounts of weight, and I mean massive.  I remember trying to coach her to stop the weight gain as she became larger and less healthy.  Eventually she had to have a tracheotomy so she could breath, and eventually she was confined to wheelchair, and eventually her bed.  I even tried to hit her with what to me would be the most convincing and compelling reason to change:  watching her son grow up.  Sadly, none of this worked and she continued to gain weight, her health continued to deteriorate, and she died in her mid 40's.  

On the other hand, I can think of a few examples in my world where people have hit "rock bottom" and created such a massive reason or "why" that they made incredible changes in their life and thus in their health.  One such lady lost well over 100 pounds by eating better and exercising and now looks FANTASTIC!!  Beyond looking fantastic, she's feeling great physically, and about herself.  She simply had a big enough "why" to stay committed to her goal.

Oh sure, I get that there are reasons that sometimes we fail.  I sometimes have my reasons......er...ok.....let's be real here, there aren't reasons, there are excuses.  I sometimes come up with a good enough excuse to not exercise for a day, or eat badly for a bit.  It happens to the best of us.  But how long do we sit in those excuses?  That is the issue.  Skipping exercise isn't so bad for a day, but when that day turns into a week, or longer, or a lifestyle, that is the issue.  

If you're not where you want to be with regards to your health, fitness, weight etc and you know it, GOOD!  At least you know it.  First step done!!  Now you have to come up with all the reasons why you need to change, all the pain that you have from not making that change.  Make it real.  Feel it.  What will your life/body be like if you continue down this path in 1 year, 5 years, a decade?  How will you feel about yourself if you don't make the changes?  Then, spin it around and write down and think/dream/feel what it will be like if you DO make the changes you know you need to make?  Get really really good at feeling those emotions for making and NOT making the changes.  Once you have that down, you'll get moving in the right direction.  If you fall off the wagon, re-focus on those reasons again.  See and feel them.  Make it real.  

Then, and ONLY then, will you it happen for you.

If the "why" is big enough, the facts don't count.

Until next time...Be Well!
Dr. Bruce

At Least We'll Look Good In The Casket

How's that for a morbid title.  It came to me early this morning, I guess it's dangerous to blog before 6 a.m.  I was reading an article about this "fat zapping drug" called Adipotide that targets the blood vessels leading to fat cells to effectively starve the fat cells by killing those blood vessels.  Well that sounds like a healthy way to go doesn't it?  Let's take fat cells, which are necessary in the body, and start starving them til they die off and kill the fat cells as a result. 

Hmmm.  Let's think about this.  The drug kills blood vessels in the body.  So, when we quit taking it what happens?  I'd guess the blood vessels re-grow or new ones grow to the new fat cells that will invariably appear because no lifestyle changes have occurred.  Hmmm. I guess that means we'll have to take this drug for the rest of our lives.  Hmmm.  I guess that will make the drug manufacturers happy, and wealthy, and ironically "fat". 

So, we can continue to eat what we want, avoid moving much at all, live a stressed out life, and not rest well because we have a drug that will reduce the fat and keep it away.  All without us having to lift a finger to change.  Just take this pill and all is well, or so it appears.

Hey, you know what?  My oil light came on in my car.  That's a warning sign that the car needs oil isn't it?  I need to get that problem addressed.  I should probably stop and get some oil and pour it in.  Or...........I could just find the wires to the oil light, and yank them out.  That way the oil light isn't on and disturbing me while I try to keep driving.  It's cheaper too, doesn't cost a thing to yank some wires out.  Or better yet, some black electrical tape over the light will keep me from seeing it on too.  That's even easier, though very slightly more expensive than yanking the wiring out.  No one around me will know that my bright shiny car is dying of thirst for oil, it will still look great as I drive down the street and everyone can marvel at my beautiful car that I keep washed and vacuumed regularly. 

Well, when that motor blows, and the car dies, it sure will look pretty sitting in the junkyard too.  If we keep taking the same approach to our health, taking drugs to mask symptoms, botox injections to look good, living a suicidal lifestyle, we'll suffer the same fate.

At least we'll look good in the casket.

Until Next Time...Be Well!
Dr. Bruce.

Resting Well

We all know sleep is important, and we all sleep a bit pretty much every day of our lives. It's vital to our well being, it's vital for our bodies to function at peak levels. Without it, we can become ill, and even getting just a bit too little sleep over the long haul sets us up to be more susceptible to disease and illness. Why is sleep important, and how do we ensure we are getting it appropriately? That's what i am going to visit on here today.

First let's throw out a controversial statement to get you thinking: Sleep and rest can be two distinct things. One can sleep, but not rest. Follow me on this. Rest occurs when we spend a good amount of time in REM (Rapid Eye Movement, not the rock band)sleep. REM sleep is the deepest levels of sleep. It is not as vital for us to sleep as it is for us to reach REM sleep. At these deepest levels of being asleep is when rest really occurs. And getting to rest allows our bodies to do the repair work that needs to be done after being awake for 16 hours.

We all have had times where we slept for a long time. Have you ever slept a long time and NOT felt rested? That's the difference between sleep and rest. Something kept you from getting to REM sleep. Maybe it was too much caffeine, eating too late at night, not feeling well, stress, exercising too close to bedtime etc. Even alcohol abuse inhibits REM sleep, which is why people can drink all night, sleep for 12 hours and feel horribly tired. Alcohol may put you to sleep, but it interferes with REM sleep, thus keeping you from resting.

The more often we miss out on rest, the more we move toward the illness side of what you hear me call the "Wellness Spectrum". Our immune systems drop, our ability to think clearly is impaired, our energy levels decrease, our productivity decreases, we become more on edge with our love ones. None of this fits in with a wellness lifestyle does it? Of course not. So what do we need to do to ensure, or at least improve our odds of getting proper rest? That's where we're going next.

Sleep hygiene refers to the habits we have prior to bedtime. These become more important as we age and our body secretes less of a hormone called melatonin that helps regulate our sleep cycles. One of the first things you can do is begin to create a regular routine for your bedtime. Go to bed (and rise) at the same time, or at least close to it, every night. Do this even if you aren't working the next day. Routines are very important for helping us develop good rest patterns. People with jet lag are caught out of their routines and thus don't rest well.

Avoid substances that interfere with sleep too close to bedtime. No caffeine after 5 pm is a good rule of thumb. I know some of you will say "I can drink a pot of coffee and still go to sleep". I remember doing that in college too. You may be able to sleep, but you won't rest well since caffeine interferes with your ability to get to REM sleep (rest). Alcohol in excess does the same thing as we mentioned earlier.

Shower about 30 minutes prior to your bedtime every night. Turn the lights down lower as you approach bedtime. These are factors that get your body ready for rest.

No exercise for about 2 hours prior to bedtime, it tends to keep your heart rate up too high in some people to allow for good rest.

Turn on some soft music and spend some time without the TV on (tv will stimulate the brain too much). Learn some deep breathing techniques to begin slowing your mind patterns down.

If you have trouble sleeping there are some things to do to help out as well. Don't toss and turn for 20 minutes or more, get out of bed if you can't sleep and go read something pleasurable, or practice more deep breathing. If you stay in bed too long, your body will begin to associate the bed with stress. If you get up, do NOT turn on the lights too brightly, this signals your body to wake up more. You can try some natural relaxants like Passion Flower, Valerian Root, or even melatonin. Check with your natural health care provider for ideas on supplements that will work for you. We carry in our office something called Formula 303 that is a combination of relaxing herbs and minerals that we use for muscle spasm and for de-stressing/relaxing.

Remember, the goal is to develop a healthy pattern for rest. Good sleep hygiene will put you on the road to resting well.

Until next time...Be Well!

Dr. Bruce