Jimmy Kimmel, host of Jimmy Kimmel Live suffers from narcolepsy.

“When I get on a flight to Vegas, I’ll fall asleep before the plane takes off and wake-up after it’s landed. I’m always very close to sleep. [Yawns.]”

Narcolepsy is a neurological sleep disorder in which the brain loses its ability to maintain normal sleep and wake states, causing excessive sleepiness and frequent daytime sleep attacks lasting from a few seconds to several minutes. In rare cases, sleep attacks extend for an hour or longer.

Other symptoms might include legs buckling, the face drooping and half the body becoming weak, or even paralyzed. Narcolepsy could also cause you to fall asleep in a car or drift during meetings.

Many are misdiagnosed as ADD/ADHD because of difficulty recalling the day before. But instead of taking the average 12 minutes to fall asleep, narcoleptics take 30 seconds to go from zero to zonked.  Narcoleptics run to the couch before losing consciousness, become dead to the world around. Some experience cataplexy, which is involuntary loss of muscle control – paralyzing the body, but not the mind. Some narcoleptics never really feel like they read to the land of the living and awake and are in a constant state of sleepy stupor.

Narcolepsy is brought on by strong emotion — positive or negative. If events becomes a storm that drains energy, then narcolepsy induces misery. It is treatable, thought most rely on expensive stimulant medications to survive the day.

Sleep specialist suggest amphetamines, Provigil or Nuvigil, which are basically prescribed speed. They make work to a certain extent, but their long-term safety have not been determined. Other “newer” drugs are supposedly better, more concentrated in the brain to stimulate wakefullness. However, this just means your blood is carrying this concentrated drug everywhere inside your body, exposing it to toxicity – even before you “wake-up!”

There are no “quick fixes” for narcolepsy, especially since doctors don’t truly understand narcolepsy – and therefore can’t cure it. To alleviate the fatigue and drowsiness, try B-complex supplement in the morning and liquid B-complex when the sudden urge to fall asleep occurs. Vitamin D can also help regulate body’s sleep rhythm.

Counter measures for narcoleptics include dietary changes and supplements:

• Avoid processed foods
• Avoid unnecessary dairy
• Avoid genetically modified fruits or veggies
• Avoid bleached sugar and high fructose corn syrup
• Maintain regular protein intake
• Juice for usable vitamins and enzymes
• Use filtered water
• Avoid large meals, instead choose 5 smaller meals through out the day
• Mix 1 tsp cayenne with juice to combat sleepiness
• Take about 2,000 mg of calcium everyday before you go to bed
• Take 500 mg of magnesium twice during the day and then once before bedtime

Additionally, regular sleep patterns on a fixed schedule reinforce restful sleep for narcoleptics. Wake-up and sleep at the same time every day, as well as eat at the same time. Reserve your bed for sleep only to condition your mind that being in bed means being asleep.

Jimmy Kimmel explains narcolepsy feels like “somebody’s gently sitting on your brain. You have almost no focus. All you’re thinking about is not falling asleep.”

On that note, time to try to go back to bed.. *YAWN* Nighty-night!

Quotes taken from http://www.jimmykimmel.net/articles/esquire0803.htm

“Damage to cell division is characteristic of cancer, and it is therefore important to understand the causes of this damage,” notes Dr. Ben-Shlomo.

The current research was carried out by placing lab mice into an environment where they were exposed to light for 12 hours and dark for 12 hours. During the dark hours, one group of mice was given artificial light for one hour. Changes in the expression of genes in the rodents’ brain cells from sleep deprivation were then examined.

Earlier studies that Dr. Ben-Shlomo carried out found that the cells’ biological clock is affected, and in the present research, she revealed that the mode of cell division is also harmed and that the transcription of a large number of genes is affected. She states it is important to note that those genes showing changes in their expression included genes connected to the formation of cancer as well as genes that assist in the fight against cancer.

Too Little Sleep Tied To Increase Cancer Risk

I know how hard it is to remember even a fraction of what we read. So, here’s reminder of some information and advice I about sleep.

Losing sleep for even part of one night can trigger the key cellular pathway that produces tissue-damaging inflammation. Your body perceives sleep deprivation as stress and responds by producing deadly stress chemicals. A single night of reduced sleep . As you add days, impairment becomes cumulative. Worse, you are often the last to notice or admit the signs:

• Increased mood swings, stress and irrationality
• Spike in your blood pressure
• Reduced your ability to adapt to change
• Impaired performance; sapped of your energy
• Slowed reactions
• Impaired memory, judgment and decision making no matter what you do.

These compromises in function from losing sleep have been clearly proven in clinical studies as well as in brain scans.

What Losing Sleep Does To A Body

Even more alarming is, losing sleep contributes to diabetes, obesity, weakened immune system, depression, cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. Also, a single night of sleeping just four, five or even six hours can impact your ability to think clearly. Sleep deprivation can cause changes in your brain activity similar to those experienced by people with psychiatric disorders.

So, lack of adequate sleep is definitely pro-aging. If that’s not enough reason to get enough quality sleep, consider the fact that sleep deprivation makes you a less active lover.

The average person needs seven to eight hours of quality sleep a night. Some need more, and some need less. That means deep, undisturbed sleep.

Helpful Hints For Deep, Rejuvenating Sleep:

• Get regular exercise, but do not exercise shortly before going to bed.
• Adopt a regular sleep schedule.
• Keep your TV out of your bedroom.
• Go to bed earlier and get up earlier, rather than going to bed later and getting up later.
• If you drink coffee or tea, drink them early in the day.
• Reduce interruptive noise, even if you need to use some type of white noise machine. Heavy drapes can also reduce noise.
• Keep your bedroom as dark as possible.
• If you normally get up during the night to urinate, stop drinking liquids late in the day, and urinate right before bedtime.
• If you drink, do not have more than one or two alcoholic beverages in the evening. Excess alcohol disturbs your sleep cycle.
• Take a warm bath before bed.
• Keep your bedroom cool, under 70° F.
• Use a deep relaxation technique, or listen to a deep relaxation audio right before sleep.
• Quit working at least an hour before turning in to give your mind time to unwind.
• Supplement with:

- Melatonin (Editor’s Note: See our Melatonin Product Review for safe supplement choices)
- Sleep-inducing herbs such as kava, chamomile, valerian and/or ziziphus spinosa
- 200–500 mg of calcium citrate
- 200–400 mg of magnesium citrate right before bedtime

Please visit our Home Cures That Work Amazon store for your vitamin and mineral supplement needs.  Not all supplements are created equal, so we have researched those that safe for consumption, proven to properly digest and qualify according to label specifications.  Don’t leave your health to just any vitamin, supplement your health with the best in our Amazon store.

How well you sleep may determine how well your body fights cancer.  Is a good night’s sleep your weapon against cancer?

David Kekich is President/CEO of Maximum Life Foundation that focuses on aging research, a 501(c)(3) corporation dedicated to curing aging-related diseases. For more information, visit: www.MaxLife.org. David contributes to our column Living Healthy to 120: Anti-Aging Breakthroughs. MaxLife is helping to make the anti-aging dream a reality with cutting edge Bio-Engineering research and products.

Curing insomnia is simple with the right techniques

Ever lie in bed telling yourself to sleep, yet your body is tossing and turning with the energy you wish you had when the morning hours comes? If so, you are not alone. Millions others suffer with insomnia.

There are natural cures to insomnia. Most people need simple lifestyle changes – not addictive medications. For people who have difficulty going to sleep at night, several remedies may be tried.

Sample bedtime snacks that promote sleep:

If you are hungry, then you have to eat, but what you eat before bed can affect the quality of sleep you get.

• Instead of a large evening meal, try eating a light non-fat snack before going to bed to help fall asleep.
• Some people find that a small glass of warm milk and half a turkey or peanut butter sandwich helps sleep arrive quicker.
• A light snack before of whole-grain, no or low-sugar cereal with low-fat milk or low-fat yogurt can help promote sleep.
• When you combine tryptophan-containing foods with carbohydrates, such as a cup of hot chamomile tea and half a banana, it promotes relaxation within your body and allows you to sleep quicker and better.

Habits that can hinder with sleep:

• Alcohol. Alcohol reduces your sleep quality, waking you up in the night. To avoid this effect, stay away from alcohol in the hours before bed.
• Caffeine. Caffeine can cause sleep problems up to twelve hours after drinking it! Stop consuming caffeinated drinks like coffee, tea, sodas, as well as chocolate, after 5 P.M.
• Smoking.  Nicotine is a stimulant, which disrupts sleep.
• Too much liquid. Drinking lots of fluid may result in frequent bathroom trips throughout the night therefore interrupting your sleep.
• Too much food. Especially fatty food. These take a lot of work for your stomach to digest and can keep you up. Acidic or spicy foods in the evening can cause stomach trouble and heartburn. Some people have experienced nightmares after consuming heavy meals before bedtime; it is not researched enough however.

Tips to prepare your body for sleep:

• Low impact physical exercise early in the evening, such a leisurely walk, helps clears the mind of the day’s worries and activities.
• A warm or cool bath promotes sleep for some.
• Repetitious thinking such as counting sheep or reciting positive affirmations works for a some people to cure insomnia.
• Reading, praying and meditating can relax the mind allowing sleep to come.

Stop midnight awakenings:

For people who awaken during the night and cannot return to sleep, several natural remedies may be tried.

• Avoid drinking fluids after the evening meal to reduce the need to go to the bathroom during the night or in the early morning hours.
• People who take diuretics should take them in the morning instead of the evening to prevent bathroom trips at night.

Don’t touch that SNOOZE button:

People suffering from early morning insomnia should attempt to go to bed earlier so that their rest is completed by their morning waking time. Rather than remaining in bed and perpetuating the focus on not sleeping. It is best to get up and do productive activity.

Give yourself 3 hours:

Yes, 3 hours before going to bed. Do not consume anymore calories. As I mentioned before, your body starts to slow down as the day goes on and gets ready for sleep. You do not want to consume a lot of calories RIGHT before you go to bed, because you will end of potentially storing those calories as FAT!!!

Your body sometimes give you a false sense of being hungry as you bedtime nears. You get those 9pm cravings… And a lot of people end up hitting the refrigerator and over consuming right before bed time, which is not good for managing your weight and body fat percentage.

If you just can’t resist the munchies, eat a few good high fat nuts like unsalted almonds with the skin-on (good for fiber) or a couple spoonfuls of no sugar added all natural peanut butter. Eating a good quality fat food will satisfy your craving and will keep you from bingeing on something with lots of bad carbohydrates or simple sugars, like ice cream, cake or cookies.

Don’t Stay Up Late:

The opposite would seem to make sense: If you stay up late, you burn more calories. Burn more calories, burn more fat. Right? Unfortunately, staying up late can set off a multi-pronged attack on your body composition. 

First, sleep is vital for recovery. If you don’t get enough sleep, your body won’t build as much muscle mass – no matter how much time you spend in the gym in the morning. Less muscle mass = less fat burning power.

Next, if you are sleep-deprived, then you have increased levels of the stress hormone “cortisol.” Insomnia has long been associated with poor health, including weight gain and even obesity. The connection between stress/cortisol and obesity is well established, but it gets worse. A recent study (Epel, Yale) shows that cortisol related fat storage tends to be around the vital organs – the worst possible place to store fat in your body. If that’s not enough, lack of sleep is linked with glucose intolerance (diabetes), lower growth hormone levels, a weakened immune system, low energy, and more …

This is NOT to be taken lightly! Get a full night’s sleep (7 to 8 hours), but make sure your place of natural rest is peaceful and pitch dark. Your natural sleep hormone, melatonin, is suppressed when there is too much light.

Nordine Zouareg is a former Mr. Universe, an International Fitness Coach, Speaker and Author of the book Mind Over Body: The Key to Lasting Weight Loss is All in Your Head! He offers world-class advice on health and fitness, inner balance and stress management, and achieving one’s full potential the inner keys to extraordinary performance. An inspiring message of hope and achievement, based on his own extraordinary story. For more information, visit: www.avtarwellness.com/

You don’t have to search for years to find something that supports ongoing sleep health, naturally. SerenitePlus is a product that works:

• Reduces night-time restlessness
• Provides evening support of healthy sleep
• Maintains ongoing, long-term support of the sleep cycle
• Promote natural sleep patterns for a good night’s sleep
• Maintain regular satisfying sleep, harmony and rest
  
• Reduces stress

The therapeutic effects of SerenitePlus from Native Remedies are attributed to these all-natural herbs:

• Valerian root for for its soothing and calming properties and for its ability to encourage peaceful slumber.
• Melatonin to influence healthy sleep patterns and the quality of sleep.
• 5-HTP is important for a healthy sleep cycle, as well as for a balanced mood and feelings of well-being.
• Passion flower to soothe worry and support mental peace and harmony.

This remedy has been used safely and effectively for many years. The new and improved herbal formula is based on up-to-date scientific knowledge of natural sleep patterns.

Not only will you sleep better every night, but you will also feel fresher and with more energy in the day.  You’ll be grateful for the difference in your life a positive boost will make.

SerenitePlus for a good night’s sleep.

SerenitePlus for you.