We spent up to one-third of our lives asleep. Although some hard-driven people may view sleep as an inconvenience that curtails productivity and leisure activities, slumber is certainly no waste of time. In fact, sleep may play a more crucial role than diet or exercise in fostering optimal health.
Sleep is a natural restorative, an antidote to the damage done to our bodies during the course of the day. It allows the body to replenish its immune system, eliminate free radicals, and ward off heart disease and mood imbalances. The mechanisms of sleep are as remarkable as its physiological function. You may think that merely closing your eyes signals the slumbering instinct, but the process of falling—and staying—asleep requires an elaborate cerebral orchestration of hormones, biological rhythms, and environmental cues. And as with any other bodily function, sleep requires a balance of all factors to ensure proper health.
When sleep is disrupted—due to insomnia, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, restless legs syndrome, jet lag, sleepwalking, night terrors, or other disorders—emotional and physiological health suffers. If you’re among the 60 million Americans suffering from chronic or intermittent sleep disorders each year, tossing and turning all night has likely beset you with a host of potentially debilitating conditions, including an inability to concentrate, fatigue, and poor immune function. But you don’t have to accept sleep deprivation and the ills that accompany it. And you don’t have to resort to pharmaceutical sleeping aids that come with their own set of disabling side effects.
There are many practical alternative therapies proven to induce and maintain a deep, regenerative sleep. Before you take a tranquilizer that invariably masks your symptoms, consider trying natural remedies that treat the underlying causes of your disorder. Diet modification, detoxification, stress management, and environmental controls can gently and effectively help you snooze your way back to health.
