Why Can't I Sleep

Having been resident a few years ago, I can tell how poor sleep affects the body.  There are many reasons why you can't sleep.  But also many things can help as well with poor sleep.

Being unable to sleep, also known as “insomnia,” affects one in five individuals.   This is a very common  problem.  The risk factors include medical illnesses, mental  illnesses, stress,  night shiftwork or rotating shifts.

We don’t know why, but it affects women more often, and occurs more often in people over the age of 60.

There are different kinds of issues with sleep.  Issues most commonly experienced is simply falling or staying asleep.  Also if you have non-restorative sleep, where individuals wake up not feeling refreshed or having poor quality of sleep then you have daytime fatigue and sleepiness during the day. 

If you have difficulty concentrating and remembering changes, or moodiness, irritability,  anxiety, or depression, it can stem from poor sleep.  You might even experience reduced motivation and energy.

Doctors can help by ordering blood and urine test to evaluate for liver or  kidney issues,  even for chemical imbalances such as low magnesium. 

Keeping a sleep log to record your sleep habits and patterns over 1 to 2 weeks can help us detect which habits are bad. 

Finally, we can order a sleep study, called a polysomnography, which is overnight test that can diagnose problems such as sleep apnea.

We can treat insomnia with medications.  But it is important to use the bedroom for just sleep and intercourse.  Having a TV in the bedroom is the first thing that makes sleep poor.  Using relaxation techniques in bed helps as well. 

Lunesta and Ambien are two of the most commonly used sleep agents.  They are well tolerated.  I do not use Ambien in older age groups above 65, but Lunesta appears cleaner with less side effects. 

Until next time, stay healthy!

What Causes Depression? How do I know I am at risk?

If I could change the diagnosis of "Depression" from being a medical diagnosis to a "normal" state of flux in life, I would.  A lot of things can make us depressed.  A lot of things make us happy. 

The problem is when we get down for long enough, then our brain chemicals start "acting out."  What I mean by "acting out," is that they are not doing their job.

The natural brain chemicals—serotonin is a finite chemical that makes us feel good.  The more of it, the better we feel, the less, well the worse we feel.  When we run out of our feel good chemicals, we get depressed.

Take a look at the most common risk factors for depression:

1.      Family history

2.      Chronic pain

3.      Chronic medical problems

4.      Female sex

5.      Low income

6.      Job loss

7.      Low self esteem

8.      Low social support

9.      Prior depression

10.  Single

11.  Divorced

12.  Widowed

13.  Younger age

14.  Traumatic brain injury

Does this meet one or more of your criteria?  You may need more feel good chemicals if you have been “down,” for over 2 weeks. 

Symptoms can include worsened sleep, decreased interest in hobbies, feelings of guilt, hopelessness, decreased energy, decreased concentration, decreased or increased appetite, and/or thoughts of suicide. 

If you have had the above symptoms for over two weeks, please see a doctor right away.  If you can’t see one, please email me at runsinthewynd@gmail.com 

Smoking Hearts

If there was one thing you could change to prolong your life, your quality of living, and benefit daily from, would you do it?

I tell smokers to quit every day in my clinic.  I tell them to watch the Allen Carr YouTube video on how he quit smoking, how he learned to rationalize against smoking. 

Cigarette smoking is main preventable cause of premature death in the developed world—440,000 deaths every year in the U.S. 

Here are 6 things that occur when you smoke that lead up to a heart attack:

1.       Your vessels all over the body constrict.

2.      Your blood pressure rises.

3.      Plaque builds up in the vessels.

4.      Hardening of the vessel walls occur.

5.       Thrombosis can occur (blood clot in vessel).

6.      Heart attack.

Here are 6 reasons to quit today:

1.      Reduces risk of heart attack or any heart related condition by 50%

2.      Reduces risk of Thrombosis

3.      Reduces chances of developing several types of cancer.

4.      Improves stamina

5.      Improves senses of taste and smell.

It is the most difficult thing to quit.  I know that.  Wellbutrin and Chantix help your chances by 40%, nicotine gum, and patches can help.  But the first thing you have to do is make up your own mind you want to quit.  After that, it can be a journey for your body and soul—mostly for the better.

 

Storytellers' Campfire Radio Show

Greetings readers,

 

I had a very nice radio show interview with the Storytellers Campfire Radio Show.  Please take an opportunity to listen in.

 

Here is the Show Link: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/storytellers-campfire/2013/02/11/a-walk-in-my-moccasins-memories-of-a-deaf-physician

 

            

Storytellers Campfire Radio Show

Literacy & Educational Program

5806 119th Avenue SE #114

Bellevue, WA 98006

www.storytellerscampfire.org