Departments, Wellness

Beauty Sleep

Are you gettıng enough?

Restoring natural beauty is more than skin deep BY GLORIA HAKKARAINEN, MD, FACOG, FASBP, FABAAM

DOES THIS SOUND FAMILIAR? The alarm wakes you up at 5:45 AM. You have deliberately set it a little ahead because you want to snooze another 15 minutes. And yet despite getting barely five to six hours of goodsleep, you rise up to start another long day.

Did you know that without proper periods of rest your entire health is affected? With a society that runs 24/7, how does proper sleep make us more beautiful?

The human body is capable of achieving truly amazing feats. We require a period of restoration about every 12 to 16 hours (some folks every 10 hours or so). This involves the brain going through a series of different

bio-electrical rhythms during sleep in order to re-set and clear out the daily activities it has stored (creating new memory files, sorting out and weeding out of extraneous information).

The brain’s incredible ability to think and store information has been well studied using both diagnostic imaging (SPECT scan or MRI) and brainwave analysis EEG (electroencephalogram). The brain has a predictablerhythm that it follows when one is about to go to sleep, first we see an alpha wave frequency (8 to 13hz) and then it enters into a well studied cycle of brain waves that is crucial for proper well being, (delta waves 0.5 to 3.5hz, theta 3.5 to 8hz, and beta 13 to 30hz). A hertz (hz) is a cycle per second that is the measurement unit of brain activity on an EEG which can be examined in patients having a sleep study.

We need a proper synchronization of all these waves to enable the human mind to be its natural, beautiful, creative self. Beta waves are associated with ordinary waking consciousness and are seen when one isproducing logical, linear type thought. Alpha waves are very different and are commonly seen as one drifts off to sleep, bridging between the external and internal worlds. Deep sleep produces delta waves and thetawaves are associated with dreaming and creative innovative thinking. We can experience all of these states of consciousness throughout the day in mostly ordinary linear type patterns with bursts of extraordinaryinsight, creativity and emotional and/or mental clarity. These moments can appear briefly, in fleeting little groups of thought which are the “aha!” moments of the world.

Some people suffer from lack of proper sleep and consequently do not have normal cycles through these brainwave patterns, as evidenced in a sleep study. They are not able to achieve their best, whether at work or athome, and cannot even enjoy the simplest activities of human existence. Our bodies need that time to restore themselves and if deprived chronically of this restorative phase, daily activities can become downrightdangerous (think about airline pilots and staff that are not allowed to work more than a pre-determined schedule). Improper sleep wave patterns can be corrected by first having a sleep study done and then rectifying the missing brainwave activity by using various sound tracks that have been specifically produced to induce the missing brainwaves to return. Some of these tracks help a person better access their creative selves,sparking new spontaneous thinking. The “inner core genius” can now show itself.

Many celebrities and “genius” scientists share a common trait; spending a significant amount of their brainwave activity in the desired theta block (3.5 to 8hz) during sleep that helps them come up with new creativejuices during the day. One wellknown sleep researcher, Dr. Jeffrey Thompson, has designed this type of audio therapy for many high level executives at Fortune 500 companies in order to boost problem-thinkingpowers. Now it is simply good mind/sleep therapy that should be available to everyone, including you.

Improper sleep can also be seen in a myriad of different diseases that patients suffer with everyday. These people never realize that half the battle is getting enough rest. They will never completely heal unless the bodygets a chance to literally perform thousands of tasks during sleep. The list is vast and seemingly endless but I am going to try to point out a few of the more common ones.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is on the rise and is a condition where patients may suffer with a partial obstruction of their airways during sleep causing a transient hypoxia where the tissues are not receiving enoughoxygenation. A simple sleep study can usually pick up the diagnosis and patients can be given a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure device) machine that they can use while sleeping, ensuring adequateoxygenation to the body. Various CPAP devices are available and some have smaller and lighter masks that fit around the face and are more comfortable than before. People who have even a mild apnea can be at increased risk for serious heart disease. OSA patients can suffer with daytime sleepiness and problems staying alert which can affect their ability to perform their work.

OSA is increasing among Americans because we have an ongoing obesity crisis in this country. The fatty tissues can accumulate around the airway and compress the trachea or windpipe affecting our ability tobreathe. So losing excess weight if you are overweight or obese is an important step in correcting this life-threatening problem. If you or your partner are suffering with daytime drowsiness and are overweight, a sleep study may be very helpful.

Patients that suffer with Fibromyalgia (a chronic pain syndrome) often have very disturbed sleep cycles. Even when they may be spending up to 10 hours in bed, they may not feel well because they can have periods of”automatic arousal” during sleep time. These frequent interruptions can mean that these patients are never able to get to their more restorative states where essential hormones are produced-the growth hormonebeing one important example.

It’s interesting that, growth hormone, one of the most important hormones in the adult body, and often touted as an “anti-aging” hormone in lay literature, is mostly produced late at night. Muscles need it for healing andrepair and most tissues have a receptor-binding site for it. Important brain signals such as neurotransmitters cannot be replenished without it. Hence, a lot of the wear and tear stresses of the day never get properlytaken care of, causing patients to develop over sensitiveness where even the smallest stress becomes overwhelming and causes pain. Better sleep means less pain and it is recommended that these people take their sleep seriously if they want to improve their health. Testing for nighttime neurotransmitter imbalance can often indicate where deficient levels need to be adjusted. Specific supplementation can often do the job.

Sleep deprivation itself has been studied as an independent risk factor in the development of obesity. There has been a growing body of research that demonstrates that adults and children in general who don’t getenough time asleep tend to weigh more than those who get enough sleep. The Nurse’s Health Study involved 60,000 women that were followed for 16 years. Those women, who all started out at a healthy weight, were asked about their behaviors. The nurses that got five hours or less had a roughly 15 percent chance of becoming obese compared to the women that got seven hours/per night. Why did this occur? Were sleep-deprivedindividuals too tired to exercise? Did they have less growth hormone? There is a mounting body of evidence that shows lack of proper sleep time can affect the body’s response to Leptin, a hormone made in our naturalfat stores that tells the body that we’re full and to essentially stop eating. Lack of responsiveness to Leptin has been shown in obese individuals who don’t get a lot of snooze time and may contribute to a vicious cycleultimately leading to the development of OSA and other disorders.

So how do we ensure that we do get a proper night’s rest? Let me offer some simple tips for a night to dream for: Have a small meal or snack at least three hours out from naptime. Limit alcohol and nighttime caffeine.

Heavy, fatty meals need at least a four hour interval to be processed well prior to entering into sleep mode. Make sure that your bedroom is a true oasis in the chaos of your life. Try to keep the activities of the rest of

the house out of your inner sanctum. Make sure that it is absolutely quiet or use a relaxing brain wave tape or other vibrational energy soundtracks to spark your creative inner self. Ensure that you make proper

melatonin by darkening the room and padding your bed against interruptive sounds. Limit news or stimulating thoughts when settling down for sleep. A warm cup of tea with chamomile or a hot cup of milk to release

tryptophan can be helpful. A warm soothing bath, hot shower or sauna is also a wonderful adjunct that can produce good restorative sleep patterns. Meditation or yoga at the end of a long day can actually be sleep

enhancing if the mind is allowed to drift without any intrusive thoughts from the day.

Even the delicate area around the eye can be affected with dark circles without proper rest, so make sure that you have a good eye cream as well. If you sleep on your back you’re less likely to develop new facial

wrinkles. But try thinking peaceful thoughts so you won’t frown to begin with, and get going on your sleep and make sure that your body has plenty of time to make itself beautiful for the next day beyond. Sweet
dreams.

Dr. Gloria Hakkarainen MD, FACOG, FASBP, FABAAM is an OB/GYN and also board certified in multiple disciplines. She specializes in wellness, weight loss and anti-aging, all with a focus on prevention. She

practices at Palm Beach Weight & Wellness Center in West Palm Beach.