Thursday 5 February 2015

In search for optimal SLEEP

Restful sleep is essential to maintaining optimal cognition, sound energy production, a regulated endocrine system and a functional body weight. The higher quality of sleep, the more rested the body will be, the less lactic acid and histamine in the way (non-oxidative-glycolytic metabolism) and thus more energy the mitochondria are able to efficiently turn out through our oxidative pathways i.e. You feel great!

Unfortunately, there are plenty of people out there finding it difficult to fall asleep, stay asleep, wake up easily or simply cannot sleep at all. A few months in India and time in North Africa gave me a small insight into other cultures views and patterns around sleeping. Amongst all the common ideologies surrounding the cause of sleep disturbances i.e. ageing, menopause, stress, too much sugar, eating too close to bed time, electromagnetic frequencies etc.. the one commonality found is the direct affect all of
these factors have on blood sugar regulation.
Whilst the North Africans and North/East Indians seemed to consume typically a diet abundant in starchy grains, fruits, roots, foliage, eggs and dairy, their sleeping habits on the whole promote 6-8 hours of regeneration at night (10/12pm-5-6am) and anywhere between 30 minutes to 2 hours of daytime kips. It seemed common to note, that the small societies and people who had restricted availability only to the foods native to their land (rice, eggs, milk, foliage, fruit, wheat), had quite often, regular, optimal sleep patterns, irregular cases of a compromised immune system (accept the cavities found in the tobacco chewers), athletic physiques and awesome facial structure (observations).  


Though still, throughout the world insomnia; which is caused by a chronic and vicious cycle of unrecovered and perpetual stress, is getting to know every age, race and sex due to a large number of environmental stressors. Though stress can be a million different things internal and/or external, a slowed metabolic rate is a result of our chronic exposures to it. (Stress = every environmental factor that interferes with energy production and the integrity of an organism on every level, starting with the cell).

When the metabolic rate has slowed, the body has no option but to compensate with adrenaline, ACTH, and various adaptive metabolic hormones, placing the body into a hyper-adrenal state. The adrenaline helps to sustain blood sugar and body temperature by causing vasoconstriction to the skin (cold hands, nose and feet) and can also lead to disrupted sleep and an accelerated heart rate. In old age, the metabolic rate is decreased, the commonality of coldness sets in and sleep becomes regularly unsound….
What do you see? Dedication, yes. Perseverance, yes.
Hormonal havoc, uh yes. Metabolic damage, defiantly.
 Crap sleep, most likely yes. If its a dream go for it,
but the message is to understand the unnatural/
unrealistic practices being done to achieve this look.  




"The key to quality sleep is high energy metabolism and maintaining optimal body temperature (98-98.6F or 36.5-37C). Children sleep well because of their ability to maintain a high body temperature and produce energy (ATP) and carbon dioxide"- Broda Barnes.




When blood sugar falls at night the body relies on stored glycogen from the liver. Though individuals with slow metabolic rates (elderly, dieters, calorie restricters, ketogenic goers, hyper-estrogenic populations) or low body temperature individuals, have a limited amount of glycogen reserve. So when adrenaline and glucogon peaks naturally between 2-4am, and because the body is already in a compensatory state due to limited energy reserves, it is common to wake with a pounding heart and have difficulty falling back to sleep!



  • Create a sleep schedule and routine. If you are currently getting to bed at 12am, start trying to get to bed 15 minutes earlier. Do this for 2 weeks and shave another 15 minutes off until you are getting to bed no later then 10:30pm. Walking away and switching off all blue lighted frequencies i.e. t.v's, laptop and mobiles/pads etc.. 1-2 hours prior to getting your head down is probably the wisest thing you could do in order to establish a sound, less disruptive circadian (and even the dorks at Harvard agreed).



                                                                                   Photo credit.
  • Turn off and make distance between you and any source of high field electromagnetic frequency (we obviously can't avoid it all)…. So by switching off and removing any sources of Wifi, bluetooth, infrared, microwave, and handsfree technologies i.e. ya mobile phone, that are in close proximity or in same room as where you sleep. If you tend to feel like you don’t get any deep sleep, or that you’re unsure if you actually fell asleep or not, that is a common sign that your nervous system is being “irritated” by EMF (watch/read about the concerns surrounding EMFs here and here and the dangers of radiation, physicians arn't aware, so you got to do your own research).



  • Have a night time snack 30-60 minutes prior to going to bed. This can be small and what is recommended will vary per individual. Find what works for you. The key is to include carbohydrates and salt for the purpose of down regulating adrenaline and cortisol, helping you to sleep more soundly and wake up refreshed! My personal favourite that works for me is a Mango chutney (make your own) or half a teaspoon of raw honey+salt (no iodised shit). The high percentage of fructose:glucose ratio (sucrose) in both the mango and honey places limited reliance on insulin during assimilation, as the fructose acts to enhance glucose oxidation within the mitochondria i.e. tells the body to turn off our glucocorticoid stimulating hormones…so we can relax!

Anytime, anywhere, grab the sun's light.
  • Maintaining optimal vitamin D3 and B12 blood levels. This was a recommendation tooted by Dr Garrett Smith NMD back in 2012 and has stuck with me ever since. His reasoning for maintaining these essential vitamins is largely due to their role in optimising cellular respiration (energy production). It can take up to four weeks for oral B12 (pills) to take an effect when taken at the study dosage of 3000mcg per day, however, many people notice improvements in their sleep after 1 or 2 injections of 5000mcg B12 intramuscularly. Note many well published studies and practitioners don't recommend the standard synthetic form of B12 'cyanocobalamin', as the liver struggles to convert any into its active form of 'methylcobalamin'. So rather, a prescribed injection of methylcobalamin is recommended for optimal synthesis. As for D3, if you can't get the preferred dosage of sunlight everyday and are like me and live in the not so bright, northern hemisphere, try using a form of red-light shining down on you when ever inside. As for oral supplementation, theres some bad rap surrounding the use of D2 and many "PhDs" are recommending the use of 'drop-liquid' formula of D3 instead, I personally use the red-light and expose myself to sunlight as much as possible, when possible.

  • Make your meals regulating. Throughout the day, all day, if your not meeting your energy demands and managing your blood sugar levels and daily stressors effectively, you can bet your systems are going to wind up into a ball of perpetual stress! This is where individualisation really comes in, what works for you? a plate of tropical ripe fruit and an omelette? a bowl of starch and animal flesh?, a litre of milk and some berries? or a liquified form of smoothed minerals.. ?whatever stage of healing your at, making sure your consuming enough that your body has a
    Coconut water; Rich in potassium,  helps keep sodium in circulation 
    (great for people with hypothyroidism) assists in carbohydrate metabolism 
    (great fore regulating blood sugar), as well as increases blood volume 
                               (great for pregnant women). 
    surplus of nutrients and minerals to catalyse energy, to carry out all metabolic_emotional processes. Or you could end up finding yourself sparked upright in bed at 3am with a windmill of thoughts and a pounding pulse… sound familiar? 













  • More C02, MORE SLEEP: (Taken from my blog post "mouth breathers dilemma")                                                                                                            Since nasal breathing seems to be the preferred route during sleep, nasal obstruction frequently leads to nocturnal mouth breathing, snoring and ultimately obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). When the individual begins to dysfunctionally transition towards mouth breathing, their ability to retain sufficient carbon dioxide (C02) is reduced, though their rate of breathing is increased, otherwise known as hyperventilation. Now C02 isn't just a useless waste product of metabolic-respiration, it plays a vital role in the dilation of blood vessels and transportation of oxygen via the haemoglobin, your blood cells may be carrying sufficient oxygen but without the CO2 it will struggle to be released. Not only that, CO2 enhances sleep quality during REM stages, rids the system of ammonia and urea and down regulates histamine- mucosa production (thats why asthmatics often have to clear their trachea, due to low CO2). Not only is the CO2 deficiency a risk factor associated with sleep apnea, at the same time as the mouth being open the lower jaw begins to drop posteriorly. In other words, as the individual is lying supine on their back, with the mouth beginning to open the mandible (lower jaw/chin region) will move backwards and down closing the airway, leading to the poor oxygen supply and CO2 retention. This lack of air forces the central nervous system to perceive a stressful situation, initiating the adrenal cortex to become stimulated, promoting adrenaline, histamine and various glucocortisiods to send signals towards the neurotransmitters in the hypothalamus/brain stem to wake you up! Leading to the evident lack of sleep and constant waking around 2-4am…. 

A whole approach to optimising functional sleep habits is by far the best approach if one wishes to realign their health status. Regulate your blood sugar, you regulate your sleep, to regulate your health.

Be wise.  

Beatle. 

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