TO YOUR HEALTH
TO YOUR HEALTH
Are You Interested in an M.D. Who Treats The Person, Not The Disease?
Biphasic Sleep... ...continued from page 23
Different Types of Insomnia: Why the Right Supplement Depends on the Cause BY HELENA AMOS, M.AC., L.AC., EURO. PHYSICIAN Many people believe insomnia is simply the inability to sleep. In re - ality, insomnia is a symptom, not a diagnosis. Two people may both say, “I can’t sleep,” yet the underlying reasons may be completely dif- ferent. This is why the same supplement that works well for one per- son may do very little for another. Understanding the pattern of your insomnia is often the first step toward finding the right solution. Which type of insomnia sounds fa - miliar to you? 1. The “Busy Brain” – Difficulty Falling Asleep Some people are physically tired, but once they get into bed their mind becomes active. Thoughts race, tomorrow’s to-do list begins, or worries take over. This pattern is often associated with an overactive nervous system, chronic stress, anxiety, or elevated evening cortisol. Nutritional support: Magnesium is one of the foundational nu - trients for supporting relaxation of both the nervous system and mus- cles. L-theanine and GABA-containing formulas may also help pro - mote a calm, relaxed state before bedtime. These supplements work best when combined with stress management, breathing exercises, meditation, and limiting evening screen time. 2. Waking Between 2:00 and 4:00 AM Another common pattern is falling asleep without difficulty but con - sistently waking in the early morning hours and struggling to return to sleep. Blood sugar fluctuations, stress hormones, hormonal changes, alcohol, poor liver function, or sleep apnea may all contribute. Nutritional support: Supplements concentrated with daptogen- ic herbs such as ashwagandha, valerian, ginseng, Rhodiola rosea and others may help support a healthy stress response. When blood sugar imbalance or insulin resistance is part of the picture, metabolic sup- port — including products containing Berberine HCl — may be appro- priate as part of a comprehensive treatment plan. 3. Frequent Nighttime Awakenings Some individuals wake several times each night without under- standing why. Others awaken because of pain, acid reflux, frequent urination, restless legs syndrome, breathing disturbances, or environ- mental factors. In these situations, simply taking a stronger sleep aid rarely solves the problem. The priority is identifying and addressing the underlying cause. Nutritional support: If digestive discomfort contributes to poor sleep, digestive support containing deglycyrrhizinated licorice extract (DGL), aloe vera, slippery elm, marshmallow, chamomile, and okra, along with products that contain digestive enzymes to ease digestive distress (bloating, gas) may be beneficial. Magnesium may also be helpful, particularly when muscle tension or restless legs contribute to disrupted sleep. However, conditions such as sleep apnea or chronic pain require proper evaluation and treatment. 4. Early Morning Awakening Waking at 4:00 or 5:00 AM and being unable to return to sleep is another distinct pattern. Hormonal transitions, mood disorders, in-
regime of segmented sleep on themselves, particularly if it resulted in a reduction of total sleep time,” he added. What was clear to Foster was that interrupted sleep was perceived as less of a problem in the past than that of modern expectations about what constitutes a good night’s sleep. Waking at night need not mean the end of sleep. One example he cited was that more people woke up at night during lockdowns during the Covid-19 pandemic. “They’ll get terribly anxious and worried about waking up in the middle of night, because that’s not what they normally experience,” said Foster, who is also the author of “Life Time: The New Science of the Body Clock, and How It Can Revolutionize Your Sleep and Health,” published in May 2022. More likely, what had happened was people’s sleep episodes — how much time they have available for sleep — had expanded and were not con- stricted by an alarm clock going off. “It’s a throwback to a time when we genuinely got more sleep,” he said. The corollary of this is anything preindustrial is considered the golden age of sleep. Not so says Sasha Handley, a professor of history at The University of Manchester in the United Kingdom. She studies how families slept in Britain, Ireland and England’s American colo - nies between 1500 and 1750. Handley’s research suggests sleep was a topic people worried about. Doctors’ manuals and references from the period list hundreds of recipes for sleep including “cutting a pigeon in half and sticking each half to each side of your head.” Brigitte Steger, a senior lecturer in Japanese studies at the Univer- sity of Cambridge in the UK also countered saying, “There is no such thing as natural sleep.” She writes about the cultural history of sleep, and did not find any references to biphasic sleep in her research of sleep habits in Japan. “Sleep has always been cultural, social and ideo- logical,” said Steger. Before the era of alarms, smartphones, and the concept of an eight- hour sleep, the night was naturally divided into two segments. People would go to bed early, awake around midnight in a period of quiet, and then return to a second sleep until dawn. This pattern was normal, not unusual or unhealthy. References to “first sleep” appear in court records, diaries, letters, and even in the works of Homer and Virgil, indicating it was widely known — nighttime has a middle. Even now, as we enjoy an additional hour of sleep with the transi- tion to Standard Time, imagine a period when waking up in the middle of the night wasn’t a concern but a normal aspect of human life. We might reevaluate our contemporary sleep habits. So, when you wake up at midnight and wonder if you have insomnia, you may be histori- cally sleep typical. Consider the possibility that your body has not yet adjusted to the post Industrial Revolution sleep contract. Annie Larson, a psychic medium, is a sought-after speaker, read - er, and Reiki Master Teacher who has been featured in TV, radio, podcasts, magazines, and newspapers, including The Washington Post . She meets clients in-person in her office in Sterling, Virginia, via phone, and online. MediumAnnieLarson.com
Introducing Holistic Physician Margaret Gennaro, MD, FAAP, NMD, ABIHM Member: American Academy of Pediatrics American Board of Integrative Holistic Medicine American Holistic Medical Association Holistic Pediatric Association
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24—PATHWAYS—Fall 26
PATHWAYS—Fall 26—25
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