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STEP FIVE: Rest, Relax, Sleep & Fun
Zzzz. Why do we need sleep?
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Did you just yawn? Is it because of the subject matter, or is your tiredness is a sign that all is not well and you need a good night's sleep?
Without rest, your body will not function optimally. When deprived of sleep, the brain operates poorly, like a car running on three instead of six cylinders. Our thinking process slows. Our creativity suffers, and oops, we're more prone to making mistakes. Without proper sleep we become cranky and irritable, and we're not just talking about children.
Everything alive needs sleep to survive. Our pets-dogs, cats and gerbils-love to curl up and nap. Even our plants shut down and take a cell-building breather at night when photosynthesis doesn't occur.
While we don't fully understand everything about sleep, we do know that sleep is an anabolic, or "building up" process for our organs and tissues. (It does require energy for this process, which is why we need nutritious food to keep us going.)
Sleep gives your body a mini vacation every day
Scientists believe sleep is the time when the body repairs itself. Think of sleep as the daily respite your body needs to allow muscles to relax, cells to divide and rebuild, energy stores to replenish.
We do know growth hormone is secreted during sleep, which is why children need sleep more than adults. But even in adulthood, we need sleep to rebuild and repair tissues, which is why it's vital for our overall health.
Sleep and rest are important not just for the body but also for the brain. When we sleep, our brain sifts through information, replenishes our reserves and basically gives our body a necessary mini-vacation every day.
And like a vacation, our goal is to awaken refreshed, repaired and ready to take on the stresses of the day and, if necessary, life in the fast lane.
When deprived of sleep, it doesn't just affect our mood, but also our general health, weight, as well as the appearance of our skin and muscle tone. Get proper sleep and your immune system works harder and better.
So don't think of rest and sleep as a waste of time, but as a necessity to repair your body and brain functions.
Can't think? No wonder: modern life sleep statistics
- The average adult sleeps under 7 hours a night during a work week
- 33% of adults surveyed sleep only 6.5 hours per night
- 40% of adults admit that the quality of their work suffers when they're sleepy
- 19% report making mistakes and errors due to sleep debt and fatigue
- 68% say their ability to concentrate is diminished by lack of quality rest
- 33% of adults would nap at work if allowed
- 24% of adults wake up repeatedly during the night and struggle to get back to sleep
The stats are not all that good. While we know we need sleep, some us can't get enough. Or we'll have a fitful sleep where we get up through the night or lie exhausted, awake in bed.
One of reason you may be getting enough sleep is because of adrenal fatigue, a stress-related condition that affects not just your sleep, but also all aspects of your life.
How do you know if you're suffering from adrenal fatigue?
Have you been gaining weight, uncomfortably tired or depressed recently? Have you experienced a serious family, work or financial-related problem? These events could lead you to suffer from adrenal stress, a leading cause of extreme fatigue and weakness.
You can sense something is wrong when you find it difficult to get motivated, you experience energy slumps during the day or you simply want to withdraw from the world. You know something is wrong when you go to bed exhausted and yet can't close your eyes because you're simply too wired to sleep,
If this sounds at all familiar, you may be suffering from adrenal fatigue, a condition that affects an estimated 80 percent of the population in the industrialized world. For some, the symptoms may last for a few days, for others it may last for decades.
While adrenal fatigue affects people in different ways, the symptoms are similar. Adrenal fatigue occurs when your adrenal glands fail to work at their optimum best. The walnut-sized glands, located above each kidney, are responsible for the production of as many as 50 hormones that our bodies need to function properly.
The original, life-saving role of the adrenal glands
The basic task of your adrenal glands is to rush all your body's resources into "fight or flight" mode by increasing production of cortisol, adrenaline and other hormones. When healthy, your adrenals can instantly increase your heart rate and blood pressure, release your energy stores for immediate use, slow your digestion and other secondary functions, and sharpen your senses.
Let's emphasize two points about this healthy stress response. First, it takes priority over all other metabolic functions. Second, it wasn't designed to last very long. Whether you accidentally step on a snake or you accidentally step on the gas while in a car wash, your cortisol hormones are released faster than a greased airbag.
Stress and the adrenal glands
Unlike our ancestors, we live with constant stress. Instead of occasional, acute demands followed by rest, (the occasional sabre-tooth tiger jumping out at you) we're constantly over-worked, under-nourished, exposed to environmental toxins, worrying about others - with no let-up.
Every challenge to the mind and body creates a demand on the adrenal glands. And the list of challenges is endless: lack of sleep, a demanding boss, the threat of losing your job, financial pressures, personality conflicts, yo-yo dieting, relationship turmoil, death or illness of a loved one, skipping meals, reliance on stimulants like caffeine and carbs, digestive problems, over-exercise, illness or infection, unresolved emotional issues from our past or present and more.
This results in your adrenal glands on constant on high alert.
The destructive effect of high cortisol levels
In its normal function, cortisol helps us meet these challenges by converting proteins into energy, releasing glycogen and counteracting inflammation. For a short time, that's okay. But at sustained high levels, cortisol gradually tears your body down.
Sustained high cortisol levels destroy healthy muscle and bone, slow down healing and normal cell regeneration, co-opt biochemicals needed to make other vital hormones, impair digestion, metabolism and mental function, interfere with healthy endocrine function; and weaken your immune system.
Adrenal fatigue may be a factor in many related conditions, including fibromyalgia, hypothyroidism, chronic fatigue syndrome, arthritis, premature menopause and others. It may also produce a host of other unpleasant symptoms, from acne to hair loss. (Click here to see a list of adrenal fatigue symptoms and related conditions.)
The loss of DHEA production
When the adrenals are chronically overworked and straining to maintain high cortisol levels, they lose the capacity to produce DHEA in sufficient amounts. DHEA (the full name is dehydroepiandrosterone) is a precursor hormone to estrogen, progesterone and testosterone, and is necessary to moderate the balance of hormones in your body. Insufficient DHEA contributes to fatigue, bone loss, loss of muscle mass, depression, aching joints, decreased sex drive, and impaired immune function.
Testing for adrenal fatigue
Conventional medicine is truly wonderful at treating disease-state conditions. Unfortunately its focus on drugs also tends to suppress early-stage symptoms rather than treat their underlying causes. This can have the effect of delaying treatment until a disease state has developed. This is true in the case of adrenal fatigue cortisol testing. In the conventional standard of care, any cortisol level within a very broad range is considered normal, and anything outside that range indicates disease.
In our practice, we measure cortisol levels at several points in the day to track the adrenals' day-night pattern (called the "diurnal rhythm") using a panel of simple saliva tests. We hope to see cortisol elevated in the morning to help you get going, lower but steady throughout the day to sustain energy, then fall in the evening to support restful sleep.
In the early stages of adrenal dysfunction, cortisol levels are too high during the day and continue rising in the evening. This is called "hyperadrenia." In the middle stages, cortisol may rise and fall unevenly as the body struggles to balance itself despite the disruptions of caffeine, carbs and other factors, but levels are not normal and are typically too high at night. In advanced stages, when the adrenals are exhausted from overwork, cortisol will never reach normal levels ("hypoadrenia").
Conventional medicine will detect only the extremes of these conditions, when damage to the adrenals has already occurred (Cushing's disease and Addison's disease). Within those extremes, you can feel miserable and still be told your cortisol levels are normal. But by responding to early-stage symptoms of adrenal fatigue, we can reverse the developing dysfunction.
Should you get an adrenal test?
In general, if you feel happy and well, have steady energy and emotions, sleep soundly seven to nine hours a night, wake up feeling rested, recover well from stress, and maintain a healthy weight without dieting, then your adrenals are probably doing well.
On the other hand, if your energy lags during the day, you feel emotionally unbalanced much of the time, you sleep poorly or less than seven hours a night, can't lose excess weight even while dieting, use caffeine or carbohydrates as "pick-me-ups" - these are all red flags indicating adrenal insufficiency.
Natural adrenal support - how to restore healthy adrenal function
The first step is to have a full physical examination to rule out disease or other factors. In our experience, women with mild to moderate cases of adrenal fatigue can see significant improvement through these steps:
1. Change your diet
Make dietary changes to enrich your nutrient intake and reduce your consumption of refined carbohydrates (white bread and sugar in particular). Increase your consumption of vegetables and whole grains. Cut back on caffeine stimulants like colas and coffee. We also recommend the addition of high-quality nutritional supplements, including essential fatty acids from fish oil.
2. Reduce your stress
Perhaps easier said than done, but well worth looking into. Try alleviating the stress builders at home and work. Start a moderate exercise program and take more time for yourself. It's helpful to make a list of your stressors, especially those that are constant.
Take time out to relax, visualise and meditate.
3. Get more rest
Your body needs time to heal.
Women with more severe symptoms, or those who have reached complete adrenal exhaustion, usually need greater intervention and should consult a nutritional or herbal therapist.
It's important to emphasize the role of emotional factors. Guilt, pain from past hurts, self-destructive habits, unresolved relationship problems - your past and present emotional experience may serve as an ever-present stressor. Dealing with these problems directly is much more beneficial than trying to compensate for the stress they create, in the same way that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."
In all but the most extreme cases, we expect to see dramatic improvement within about four months. For mild to moderate adrenal fatigue, the turnaround can be much faster. Remember, you may feel too tired to make changes now, but by moving forward in stages, you'll build the strength you need to stay with it. And you'll love how you feel when you do!
With these types of sleep and relaxation challenges, you compromise your body. Your metabolism cannot function for you at an optimal rate. While you may not get to enjoy 8 hours of sleep because of your job and family commitments, you can still come out ahead. With tools like meditation, yoga, and the Pzizz rest & relaxation programme, you can help give your body back the quiet thought and reflection time that is such an important part of the weight loss without dieting programme.
Regular relaxation has been shown to decrease stress levels. If you're not familiar with yoga or meditation relaxation techniques, try a daily session of creative visualisation, where you become the star of the film you create in your mind's eye. It's both easy and immensely enjoyable.
4. Have Fun
Let's not forget letting down your hair and having fun, even if you don't have much hair. Fun is also high on the recommended list of things to do to keep your body feeling great.
When you laugh, endorphins are released, providing you with that "feel-good" factor. Regular laugher helps us to take time out to experience the "joy" we all need to help us enjoy a better future.
1. Brain Chemistry & Hormone Balance
2. Food & Energy Balance
3. Fitness & Muscle Tone
4. Mind Over Matter
5. Rest, Relax, Sleep & Fun
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