Better Sleep Better Health

It’s that time of year again. The airports are crowded with people traveling home, the store shelves are packed with gravy and stuffing, and turkeys everywhere are looking around nervously.  After the feast is over, we’ll all loosen our belts and relax for a nap. Invariably, some Uncle or Aunt will repeat what they say every year, “Did you know that it’s the Tryptophan in the Turkey that makes you tired?” And everyone will nod and then drift off. But this year, you can amaze your family by jumping up and exclaiming, “Not true!”

Your startled relatives will be surprised to learn that despite popular belief, the Tryptophan in the Thanksgiving turkey is not a strong sleep inducing factor. Tryptophan is a essential amino acid for humans derived from our diets. In it’s purified form it can be a mild sleep inducing substance. However, to get large levels of Typtophan to the brain, it must be taken on an empty stomach. When consumed with other foods, Tryptophan loses it’s effectiveness because it has to compete with other substances trying to cross the blood brain barrier.

“Tryptophan is taken to the brain by an active transport system shared by a number of other amino acids, and there’s competition among them—like a crowd of people trying to get through a revolving door,” said Simon Young, a neurochemist at McGill University in Montreal, Canada in National Geographic.

Not enough of the Tryptophan from Thanksgiving turkey reaches the brain to cause drowsiness. In fact, though turkey contains a fair amount of the amino acid, many other foods such as beef contain more. Yet we never hear about a “post steak” nap.

So what does make us nod off every year after the meal?

Well, Thanksgiving usually involves eating thousands of calories which we normally wouldn’t ingest all at once. This amplifies the normal post lunch tiredness as your body tries to digest and metabolize this massive amount of food and leads to nap time. So this year after you munch away, try going out for a nice walk to burn off some of those excess calories.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pregnancy can be a very difficult time for women to get the rest they need. Changes in hormones, pain, and positional difficulties can make it hard to get comfortable. The National Sleep Foundation offers some good tips for women who are expecting:

1. In the third trimester, sleep on your left side to allow for the best blood flow to the fetus and to your uterus and kidneys. Avoid lying flat on your back for a long period of time.

2. Drink lots of fluids during the day, but cut down before bedtime.

3. To prevent heartburn, do not eat large amounts of spicy, acidic (such as tomato products), or fried foods. If heartburn is a problem, sleep with your head elevated on pillows.

4. Exercise regularly to help you stay healthy, improve your circulation, and reduce leg cramps.

5. Try frequent bland snacks (like crackers) throughout the day. This helps avoid nausea by keeping your stomach full.

6. Special “pregnancy” pillows and mattresses may help you sleep better. Or use regular pillows to support your body.

7. Naps may help. The NSF poll found that 51% of pregnant or recently pregnant women reported at least one weekday nap; 60% reported at least one weekend nap.

8. Learn to relax with relaxation and breathing techniques, which can also help when the contractions begin. A warm bath or shower before bed can be helpful.

9. Talk to your doctor if you develop medical problems and/or insomnia persists.

It’s a common scenario for millions of Americans: Get up early, work a nine-to-five job, stay up late, and make up for lost time on the weekends. But this cycle takes its toll on people’s bodies and minds, and eventually it will catch up to you.

A study released in the August 2010 issue of SLEEP details the extent to which repetitive sleep deprivation can affect cognitive performance. Participants were assigned a reduced sleep schedule for five consecutive nights then randomly assigned different lengths of recovery sleep to simulate weekend rest after a workweek. The subjects were then tested  on their cognition, motor skills, and sleepiness.

The researchers found that those who have their sleep time reduced on a regular basis, such as when someone has to rise early for a job, accrue significant sleep debt. Sleep debt is the result of sleep deprivation in which an individual does not experience a feeling of being rested or refreshed. The drive for rest becomes increasingly strong and affects peoples’ daytime functioning. The subjects who had longer recovery periods scored slightly higher on tests but their performance was still impaired. The evidence suggests that most people cannot sleep long enough on the weekends to compensate for lack of sleep throughout the week. Worse still, trying to sleep in or make up for lost sleep time on weekends often disrupts a person’s normal sleep cycle, further complicating matters when Monday arrives.

If you find yourself trying to compensate for a lack of sleep by catching up on the weekends, it may be a sign that you need to improve your sleep hygiene. Try to cut out caffeine and alcohol before bed, eliminate distractions such as television from the bedroom, and try going to bed earlier and at the same time each night. You may not be able to change your work schedule, but adopting a better sleep schedule will make it that much easier to deal with. For more information on sleep hygiene, visit www.oregonsleepassociates.com.