December 11, 2021 - EyeClarity Blog
Now just close your eyes and go to sleep. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Well not so much for the 70 million Americans suffering from sleep disorders today – the same number of those who died in WWII.
In this article, you will find out how sleep is critically important – not just for your eyes – but for your mental/brain health, digestion, and even longevity. Then, explore some of the many ways to improve sleep naturally, without using drugs. As always, consult with your physician about any intent to replace sleeping medications with natural remedies; some prescriptions require careful, calculated cessation and medical oversight while weaning off.
Currently, what’s even more alarming than the growing number of people in the US suffering from insomnia and its many dangerous tentacles, is the rate at which it’s growing: right now one in every four Americans per year, according to this study from the University of Pennsylvania and published in Science Daily. Sleep. Everyone needs it, and fewer people are getting it with each passing sleepless night.
Solid new research offers the latest data “on the prevalence of acute insomnia, which is characterized by difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep for as little as three nights per week for at least two consecutive weeks up to three months. Insomnia becomes chronic when it occurs at least three nights a week for more than three months.” FMI, click here.
One chime that I’ve repeated over the years, and is dominant in medical literature lately, is the importance of healthy digestion to the body as a whole. What does digestion have to do with sleep? A healthy gut is — literally and figuratively — at the core of your health and wellness. So it’s no surprise that “recent studies have suggested that there is a strong association between sleep disturbances and gastrointestinal diseases.” (An exceptional reference on the subject is linked.) I emphasize this fact because I see many patients’ eye health markedly improve, along with total body health, when deliberate actions are taken to follow a healthier lifestyle, plant-heavy diet, and limited consumption of alcohol. For some insomniacs, any alcohol is enough to come back and bite them into a wide-awake state in the middle of the night. Ultimately, a good night’s sleep feels so much better than a glass of Shiraz.
Among the litany of health issues associated with insomnia, “the cumulative long-term effects of sleep deprivation have been linked to an increased risk of a wide array of (co-morbidities), including hypertension, diabetes, obesity, stroke, and heart attack.”1 In fact, acute and chronic sleep deprivation is known to, over time, notably increase patients’ general mortality rate.
When you look at all these connections, you can see the many dangers posed by sleeplessness. In a peer-reviewed study, the World Health Organization (WHO) asserts that insomnia and macular degeneration, in addition to depression, are all inexorably related. 71% of the respondents had insomnia and 70% suffered from depression. The WHO strongly recommends that patients suffering Macular Degeneration take an inter-disciplinary approach: “Since patients with (AMD) are at a higher risk of sleep disorders and depression, they should remain under the professional care of a multidisciplinary team, including a holistic optometrist, a family doctor, a psychiatrist, and a psychologist.” The full article is linked here.
What’s more, and what lies at the heart of my own optometry practice, is to foster a holistic approach for my patients’ healing and preventive eye care. The many benefits of naturopathic remedies are especially crucial for those suffering from insomnia. The good news? A treasure trove of natural remedies is available from which you may cull, make your list, customize your own regimen, and then just tweak it until a star is born and your natural sleep cycle returns. It does because it can.
This may sound trite, or like a bit of a luxury that many cannot afford, but finding a way to take time for a short nap later in the day is a practice that has more benefits than sheep you can count at night. Sleep is imperative to processing new information and memories. Napping helps recapture cumulative lost sleep in those suffering insomnia and other sleep disorders. Medical News Today echoes this napping-wisdom, showing that “even a short period of sleep may help process information, improve our reaction times, and potentially influence our behavior when awake.” Another sleep expert, Dave Gibson, offers compelling suggestions for teenagers needing more sleep during these pandemic times, in this article.
More remedies include:
• Mindfulness. Make a point to shift the evening toward sleep time.
• Anti-glare. Lower brightness on all screens all day and night. Then turn off screens at least 30 minutes before sleeping.
• Responsible drinking. Enough said. (This goes for alcohol as well as caffeine.)
• Avoiding stressors. If watching or reading the news before bed causes stress and contributes to sleeplessness, learn about the news earlier, e.g.
• Laughter. Do what makes you laugh for a while; you’ll release serotonin and dopamine which will help you feel better while preparing for sleep.
• Dimmed lights. Turn off or lower the lighting in the house. Make sure to sleep in as dark a room as possible. Taking .5-5mgs of Melatonin at night helps some folks restore this natural sleep enhancer.
• Healing music. Easily find countless hours of deeply relaxing music of all kinds, on YouTube, Pandora, Spotify, and other streaming resources.
• White Noise. Also stream-able are many sources of White Noise. People suffering from racing thoughts, or other mental distractions before sleeping benefit by these easy-to-find machines. Others find that the lower frequencies of Red Noise or Brown Noise work better.
• Bedding. Keep bedding clean and tidy. A made bed makes for a better night’s sleep. Replace old, uncomfortable bedding when possible. Ergonomics is a factor; purchase the right pillow and mattress.
• Smart eating. Whether or not you’re practicing Intermittent Fasting, it’s always a good idea to leave time for your body to digest food before laying down to sleep. Consuming less caffeine and sugar are not easy lifestyle choices – but they are prodigiously rewarded by better sleep.
• Hygiene. Make it a priority to brush, wash, moisturize, and hydrate.
• Aromatherapy. Find the essential oil/s that work for you and infuse them into your room at night in whichever form you like best. Lavender, cedarwood, chamomile, and marjoram are a few.
• Soothe. Whether it’s a candle-lit bubble bath, a foot soak/rub, or any relaxing activities that you know help you sleep – do them as often as possible.
• Eyecare. Treat your tired eyes to a few drops of natural tears before bed. Before buying the first eye drops you see, ask your doctor which are the effective brands. In the morning, apply another couple of drops. Try not to rub dry or painful eyes; stay in contact with your eye doc.
• Bandwagon. Anyone living with you needs to be on board with your quest for a well-deserved sleep. If their habits and needs differ, a mutually-respectful agreement needs to be in place for harmonious living.
• Cognitive therapy. A powerful tool that is well worth discussing with your therapist.
Naturally, because of the centipede of negative side effects of chronic insomnia, many people become depressed. Ongoing sleeplessness has devastating effects on the body, mind, and daily living. A study of 6,050 adults aged 65 or older (Spira et al., 2014) found greater quality of life and independent functioning in individuals who had adequate sleep as compared to those who reported insomnia. Chronic insomnia in humans was associated with hippocampal atrophy that suggests decreased neurogenesis; this was associated with cognitive deficits (Joo et al., 2014). In a population of 2,822 men aged 67 and older, measured and reported sleep disturbance was associated with cognitive decline.”
But hope is here. On mental and brain health, the medical journal literature is optimistic: “Viewing cognitive differences across the lifespan as related to better awareness of details and accumulated learning is an example of a hopeful perspective which could effectively empower any individual to factor neuroplasticity into their efforts to promote improved business and health behaviors.” Literally, this is the power of positive thinking!
The review, from experts at the University of Washington, sheds light on “the many ways new neuroscience can inform treatment protocols to empower and motivate clients to make the lifestyle choices that could help build brainpower and could increase adherence to healthy lifestyle changes that have also been associated with simultaneously enhancing vigorous longevity, health, happiness, and wellness.”
It’s worth noting that, while neuroplasticity may sound like a trendy subject, the human brain has always had the ability to change itself in order to adapt to different stimuli or situations. Some of the most current, peer-reviewed info about the fascinating and far-reaching subject of neuroplasticity (and how it may apply to you and your loved ones) is linked here.
My patients know that I practice what I preach: everything is interconnected, everything is linked to eye health from my view. We’re only as strong as our weakest link. Finding and resolving that link, to the extent possible, has tremendous health benefits that you will quickly see, resulting from improved sleep. That fact in itself should get the nod.