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11:14 AM (10 hours ago)
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August 26, 2019
Dear Reader,
Each week, I typically spend between 5 to 10 hours reviewing
the latest research at pubmed, the ultimate online resource for
biomedical literature.
An issue I've become clear on is the vital importance of restful
sleep on longevity and function. No other determinant - diet,
supplementation, exercise, and stress management included - comes
close to having the same impact on health and healing as how well
we sleep.
It's simple - to optimally protect against Alzheimer's, cardiovascular
disease, and cerebrovascular disease, we must do all we can to
consistently wake up feeling refreshed.
But how, you might ask? How can we improve our ability to sleep
deeply when we've had trouble with this for years?
There are many ways to improve sleep quality, of course. But in
my experience, the three most important ways are as follows:
1. We must be physically and mentally active enough during the
day to create a true need for deep sleep.
2. We must not disrupt sleep quality with frequent trips to the
bathroom from having too much to eat or drink before bedtime.
3. We must ensure darkness via appropriate window coverings or
a sleeping mask.
When these three conditions are met, we stand a good chance of
entering rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, a state in which we can
experience vivid dreams and produce optimal quantities of hormones
that promote general recovery and tissue healing.
Do you remember the last time you woke up feeling like you were deep
in hibernation and not quite certain where you are? This is the
ideal that we want to shoot for every day.
I cannot overemphasize how important it is to ensure darkness. I
find a sleep mask invaluable in this regard. If you don't have one,
you can view a variety of inexpensive yet highly effective ones
here:
https://amzn.to/2HqS5bo
For more on WHY getting restful sleep is so important to disease
prevention as well as other tips to help you wake up feeling refreshed,
please feel free to view the following:
https://drbenkim.com/how-much-
Included in the post above is a free video embedded from YouTube that
can be used to promote relaxation just before going to bed or as one
is falling asleep - please note, however, that you don't want exposure
to blue light from a screen or any other electronic device in your
surroundings as you prepare for sleep, so if you use this video, you'll
want to use only the audio portion with the screen off - there's a
setting in YouTube that allows for this.
If you have family or friends who have trouble getting restful sleep,
please consider sharing some of the tips above with them.
Wishing you and your loved ones a wonderful final week of August and
many deeply restful nights ahead.
Warmly,
Ben
Thought of the Moment:
"...the shorter your sleep, the shorter your life. The leading causes
of disease and death in developed nations — heart disease, obesity,
dementia, diabetes, and cancer — all have recognized causal links to a
lack of sleep."
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