Simple Natural Methods to Refresh Your Mind, Body, and Spirit
Sleep Disorders
Depression (Books)
Happiness Self-Help
Date Published: April 7, 2020
Publisher: Bublish, Incorporated
"[An] incredible self-help book. Highly recommended!" Susan Keefe, The Columbia Review of Books and Film
“Dr. Buddharaju dissects the most complex sleep science into simple practical strategies that can be put to use by anyone!” — Murali Ankem, MD, MBA, Associate Dean School of Medicine at University of Louisville
Did you know that sleep is a key component for a happy life? Research shows us it is. But with all of today’s technology and stresses, many people are getting less sleep or experiencing poorer quality sleep. This can negatively impact mood, concentration, productivity, physical health and, yes, even happiness.
As a practicing physician for more than twenty years, Dr. Venkata Buddharaju (known as Dr. Buddha to his patients) has extensive experience treating patients with sleep problems. And the number of patients he is seeing with sleep disorders is on the rise.
In Better Sleep, Happier Life, Dr. Buddharaju teaches seven simple, practical, and natural methods to help you get better sleep in order to refresh your mind and body. Filled with wisdom from his years of experience as well as simple lifestyle changes, Better Sleep, Happier Life can help you find rest and refreshment in the midst of your busy life…and reap the benefits.
Diet and Sleep
There is strong scientific data supporting the notion that our
sleep patterns and sleep duration influence our eating behavior. Sleep deficiencies
are associated with increased hunger for high-calorie and high-carbohydrate foods,
which may lead to weight gain and even obesity. Diets that can help sleep
initiation and maintenance contain high amounts of melatonin and serotonin.
Diets that reduce serotonin levels can cause insomnia. American adult obesity
rates have increased from 33.7 percent to 39.6 percent over the past decade,
according to the CDC. Obesity has been linked to sleep apnea, heart disease, hypertension,
and diabetes. As a doctor, it is no coincidence to me that obesity rates have
skyrocketed at the same time that we have entered a public health sleep crisis.
According to the CDC, one third of adults fail to get the recommended seven
hours of sleep at night. Salivary production and gastrointestinal motility
decrease during sleep. Gastric acid secretion peaks between 10:00 p.m. to 2:00
a.m. and decreases in the morning hours after awaking.
Gastrointestinal
motility is lowest during sleep. These normal changes that take place during
sleep delay esophageal acid clearance and prolong acid contact with esophageal
mucosa in patients with
acid reflux. That’s one reason why what you eat and when you eat it can
influence the quality of your sleep.
Sleep-encouraging Recipes and
Practices
Blue or black berries,
almonds, walnuts, cherries, and kiwifruits can encourage sleep onset and
improve sleep duration and quality. These nuts and fruits have a high
concentration of the amino acid tryptophan, which converts into sleep-promoting
melatonin and serotonin—neurotransmitters that encourage and improve sleep.
Below are three recipes
that can help you ingest more of these sleep-friendly foods
• Cinnamon Turmeric Lemon
Water (CTLW).
Drinking the following
recipe has curbed my need for coffee, improved my sleep, lessened my fatigue, and
kept my mind sharp. Heat approximately one liter of water until it is lukewarm.
Add the juice of one lemon for taste and Vitamin C. Then, lightly sprinkle the beverage
with cinnamon and turmeric powder. Stir until dissolved. Drink this beverage
warm on an empty stomach and be prepared to empty your bladder over the next
few hours. If you suffer from acid reflux, don’t add lemon.
• Cinnamon and Turmeric.
Both of these spices have
been on the forefront of eastern diets for decades. Because of their flavor and
health benefits, they are now gaining popularity in the West as well. Cinnamon
has antioxidant properties and can help lower blood sugars. A 2009 study
abstract published in the Journal
of Medicinal Food by Jitomir J and
Willoughby DS from the Department of Health, Human Performance Recreation at
Baylor University in Texas showed that supplementation of cassia cinnamon
facilitates glucose uptake into the cells by improving insulin sensitivity and
may attenuate insulin resistance from sleep loss. Turmeric belongs to the
ginger family and also has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, with
curcumin as the most active compound.
• Soaked Almonds and
Walnuts.
The following recipe
helped me to eat more nuts, which, as I mentioned earlier, can help your body
create sleep-encouraging chemicals. I find it easier and tastier to eat soaked
nuts rather than dry nuts. Soak a handful of raw almonds and walnuts in drinking
water overnight. The next morning, remove the skins of the almonds. Then, eat a
few almonds and/or walnuts after or in between drinking the CTLW.
Sleep Inhibiting Habits and
Substances
While nuts and fruits
can help with sleep, other foods, habits, and substances can inhibit the onset
of sleep and deprive you of quality sleep. Below is a list of some of the
worst sleep-inhibiting
foods, habits, and substances.
Fatty and oily foods.
Eating fatty or oily
foods for dinner or close to bedtime is not conducive to sleep, as your
digestive system slows at sunset and can’t handle these heavier foods. It is
advisable to eat easily digestible, plant-based foods in small quantities in
the evening.
Late meals.
Eating within a few
hours of bedtime is a bad idea unless you are diabetic. As our systems slow in
the evening, contractions propel waste to the colon to be eliminated in the morning.
Eating close to bedtime interferes with this process and doesn’t allow the
stomach to rest while we sleep.
Caffeine.
Ingesting caffeine in
the evening can cause insomnia by counteracting sleep-inducing adenosine, which
accumulates in the brain throughout the day during the awake state. When consumed
close to bedtime, it delays sleep onset, decreases total sleep time and sleep
quality. Caffeine reduces slow wave sleep (deep sleep). Be cautious about
drinking coffee or tea (check the caffeine content of your tea) close to
bedtime. Different people have different levels of sensitivity to caffeine.
Interestingly, increasing caffeine intake over time can lead to an accumulation
of adenosine and begin to encourage sleep during the wake period—having the
opposite effect that most people hope for when they drink caffeinated beverages.
My own experience is that when I cut back or completely stop drinking caffeine,
I sleep longer and deeper and feel more refreshed in the morning. If you have
sleep problems, cut back or stop drinking coffee—especially in the afternoon, evenings,
or close to bedtime.
About the Author
Dr. Venkata Buddharaju (or Dr. Buddha, as his patients call him) is a fellowship-trained physician at the Albany Medical Center in Albany, New York. He is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine from the American Board of Internal Medicine.
He now teaches and consults at hospital intensive care units and pulmonary units as well as sleep medical practices. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and teaches medical students from UIC, Chicago Medical School and Internal Medicine resident trainees at Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
He directs the Sleep Disorders Center and Clinic at Thorek Memorial Hospital in Chicago and serves as a Section Chief of Pulmonary & Critical Care at AMITA Health Saints Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center Chicago where he teaches Internal Medicine and Family Practice Residents while working in ICU as an Intensivist. Additionally, he is president of the medical staff at Kindred Chicago Lakeshore and Central hospitals. Dr. Buddharaju has numerous medical-device patents and is working to develop more patient friendly medical devices. Throughout his career, he has conducted clinical research, published his work in various medical journals, and worked to develop and implement high quality patient-care policies. He believes strongly that balancing natural healing practices with traditional medicine is important for the future of effective health care.
For additional resources, visit www.drbuddha.com.
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