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Get Deeper, More Restful Sleep
By Camille Gallinger, CN
Saving Our Sleep
There are certain things about sleep deficiency that we know to be true. Without enough sleep, we don’t think as clearly or concentrate as well as we’d like to; we are more easily irritated and we’re often too tired to carry out our daily tasks with grace and discipline. But there is something even more health-threatening than the described mental and physical fatigue. It’s called insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is described as a poor cellular response to the blood sugar regulating hormone called insulin. If the body’s cells are not sensitive to insulin, it may lead to metabolic syndrome, a precursor to diabetes. Lack of sleep most readily impairs the ability of the fat cells to respond to insulin. This leads to fat storage, or the dreaded “belly fat”.
If chronic stress is making sleep difficult, it is highly likely that your magnesium stores are very low and insufficient to offset the stimulating effects of stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenalin.
The elevation of these stress hormones may also worsen insulin resistance. Choosing to not take steps to enhance your sleep can have far more deleterious effects than fatigue and moodiness.
Enhance your eating style with foods high in magnesium such as avocados, beans and seeds, dark leafy greens like spinach and Swiss chard, raw nuts and seeds, blackberries, broccoli, mangoes, dried fruit and dark chocolate. But do not eat a heavy meal before going to bed as it will take too much energy to digest it and thus, keep you awake.
If you are showing the signs of magnesium deficiency such as leg cramps (especially Charlie horses), migraines, constipation, hypersensitivity to loud noises, creepy crawly sensation under skin and of course, trouble falling asleep, use a magnesium supplement. If the magnesium deficiency is due to stress and anxiety, you will fare better with a magnesium supplement, called magnesium-l-threonate, which crosses the blood brain barrier and results in relaxation and calming of the mind.
Finally, talk with your proven and true supporters about what’s bothering you rather than holding it all in. This is a wonderful stress-relieving habit and outlet for handling recurrent stress.