Do We "Sleep" Enough?

There are many reasons why we don't "sleep" enough . . . such as shift work, family obligations, demanding job, children, caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, or it could be heartburn, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, thyroid disease, respiratory problems anxiety, stress, depression or cancer.

Now, lack of sleep won't kill you in itself, but the effects of it on your body can be fatal. After several days of not sleeping, your organs begin to shut down and sections of the brain will degenerate.

Sleep deprivation takes a toll on your mind, body and overall health, with lack of sleep being linked to colds and flu, diabetes, heart disease, mental health and obesity.

So what else can lack of sleep do to the body? Well . . . one big effect lies in hormones. During deep sleep, the production of Growth hormones are at its peak. Growth hormones speed the absorption of nutrients and amino acids into your cells and aids the healing of tissues throughout the body. These hormones also stimulate your bone marrow, where your immune system cells are born and make "antibodies" to protect us from illness, disease, obesity and yes even this Virus!

Okay . . . so you can clearly see . . . we must get enough SLEEP!

So how do we fix this problem? Normally people use the following. But BEWARE . . . this is what is really happening when you take these sleep aids:

Diphenhydramine, Benadryl, Aleve PM (these are all actually "Anti-histamine") Because "estrogen" causes an increase in histamine production normally, while the hormone "progesterone" breaks down histamine . . . adding in an antihistamine may cause the body to actually produce more histamine than normal and cause more severe allergic reactions.

Doxylamine succinate (which is sedating like Anti-histamines) works the same as the above because its an antihistamine. But exposure also results in a decrease of serum thyroxine (T4) levels (approximately 80% of control) with an increase in serum thyroid-stimulating hormone levels. This messes up your normal thyroid function.

Melatonin (which is a hormone that helps control your natural sleep-wake-cycle)

Valerian ( is an herb)

Zolpidem (which is sedative also called a hypnotic) long term use can cause depression, confusion, respiratory depression and stomach bleeding. It can also induce a moderate "hyperprolactinemia". Which is when high prolactin levels interfere with the normal production of other hormones such as estrogen and progesterone.