In our discussions of qi and vital energy, it makes sense that if you don’t sleep, then you don’t get enough rest to
recharge your batteries. But it is much more complex than that - chronic sleep deprivation interferes with the
chemical messengers (called hormones) that the body uses to communicate on a cellular level. Now most of us think of
hormones as those pesky critters that cause problems in personal relationships, alá Mars-Venus, or what changes during
menopause, pregnancy, etc. But there are literally dozens of hormones used by the body to communicate between
systems - we understand a mere fraction of how they interact with each other. But to disrupt the endocrine system
means that even if you give the body the best nutrition and supplements in the world, it may not recognize the fuel
that you give it or be able to use it appropriately. The body’s failure to recognize its own fuel may explain some of the
overeating patterns seen in our society today.
Researchers at the University of Chicago found that they were able to induce a pre-diabetic state in their healthy male
subjects (ages 18 – 27) merely by limiting their sleep to 4 hours per night for one week. They found that the metabolic
and endocrine changes from significant sleep debt mimic the aging process, and suggest that chronic sleep loss may not
only hasten the onset but also the severity of age-related ailments such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity and memory
loss. 1,2,3 These metabolic changes were particularly strong when tested in the morning, with glucose tolerance
tests that were consistent with the diagnostic criteria for impaired glucose tolerance, an indication of early-stage
diabetes. Furthermore, patients with chronic sleep deprivation had higher circulating levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) with
implications for inflammatory disease such as rheumatoid arthritis. 4
The good news, however, is that all study patients returned to baseline levels after spending more than 12 hours in
bed, with added benefits noted when they consistently spent more than 8 hours in bed per night. The studies suggest
that our health may be improved by getting more than 8 hours of sleep on a regular basis. 1,2
Turn off the computer…
When working with a new patient, before I consider herbs or other measures, I find it helpful to consider behavior
when it comes to bedtime and sleep. How do you typically spend the evening hours? Believe it or not, our activities in
the evening have a profound impact on our ability to have restorative sleep, and minor activity changes can yield
dramatic results with little other intervention.
It is important to establish an evening sleep ritual. Parents of young children already know this – my friends with young
children jealously guard regularity and bedtime like mother tigers. This does not change as we age - the body likes and
needs regularity, and you can actually help re-train the body to sleep by following the same patterns every night before
bed.
Make a rule with yourself to turn off the computer or stop studying/book work by 9 PM or so. Many times, folks who
work on the computer or in the office until it’s time for bed are surprised when they cannot fall asleep. From the
perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine, analytical work causes the qi to rise to the head, which can lead to the
mental-hamster-wheel that so many of us experience in the evening. If this seems unrealistic, remember that the time
sacrificed working in the evening is often made up for by greater productivity and better health during the day.
Whatever benefits you may have derived from working or studying late are soon wasted after a night tossing and
turning.
Other supportive practices include...
Wholistic Acupuncture facelifts!
Incredible before and after
photos.
Fertility and Acupuncture
How acupuncture and Oriental
medicine can help you conceive
naturally.
medicine, but will interest his patients in
the care of the human body, in diet, and in
the cause and prevention of disease."
Thomas Edison
