Sleep Awareness
Paul Sullivan, RPh RxN, IDLife Chief Formulator
At the 2018 Natural Products Expo lecture on Sleep, Cognition and Nutrition, melatonin was the “star” nutrient. Since the launch of IDLife, melatonin has been the major ingredient in IDLife Sleep strips.
At the lecture, the panel mentioned buzzwords such as ChronoNutrition and circadian rhythms (both described in the IDLife November 2017 Newsletter) pointing out that melatonin signals the Biological Night to the brain, which throws on our internal sleep switch. There was also broad discussion about alcohol and its suppression of melatonin. Alcohol causes rebound wakefulness. You may have experienced rebound wakefulness: waking up suddenly in the middle of the night after drinking a glass of wine before bed.
Facts and Figures of Sleep Problems
Allow me to share with you some alarming facts and statistics:
• As many as 70 million Americans suffer from insomnia or broken sleep and other sleeping disorders.
• An astounding 30% of Americans suffer symptoms of insomnia in any given year and twice as many elderly women as men have trouble sleeping.
• 35.3% adults report less than 7 hours of sleep during a typical 24-hour period.
• We think texting is a problem but 4.7% reported nodding off or falling asleep while driving at least once in the preceding month.
• Drowsy driving is responsible for 1,550 fatalities and 40,000 nonfatal injuries annually in the United States
• 100,000 deaths occur each year in US hospitals due to medical errors and sleep deprivation have been shown to make a significant contribution.
Usual Fixes
Many people self-treat insomnia with prescriptions, alcohol and OTC products such as Tylenol PM and Benadryl, which have their own problems. Risks of sleeping pills are well documented: daytime drowsiness, headaches, suicide increase, sleepwalking, sleep-eating, nausea, dizziness and addiction.
Sixty million prescriptions for sleep aids were written in 2013 (up from 48.9 million in 2006). The National Sleep Foundation survey stated that 85% of American adults would sleep more if they only could and the CDC states that sufficient sleep is “not a luxury” and should be thought of as a necessity and a “vital sign” of good health.
Broken (Interrupted) Sleep Can Lead to Chronic Disease.
The CDC also states a third of US adults report that they usually get less than the recommended amount of sleep. Not getting enough sleep is linked with many chronic diseases and conditions—such as diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and depression—that threaten our nation’s health. Not getting enough sleep can lead to motor vehicle crashes and mistakes at work, which cause a lot of injury and disability each year. Getting enough sleep is not a luxury—it is something people need for good health. Sleep disorders can also increase a person’s risk of health problems.
As stated above, sleep quality now may affect memory and cognition later. New clinical trial presented to the Alzheimer’s Association July 17, 2012 from data from more than 15,000 participants in the Nurse’s Health Study showed that women who regularly slept 5 hours or less a night had an increased risk for cognitive decline compared with women who regularly slept 7 hours per night.
According to investigators above, sleep disturbances affect up to 50% of older populations. Although these problems are often treatable, they have been associated with falls, co-morbidity and even mortality.
The Wake-up Call: IDLife Sleep Strips
The science used to develop IDLife Sleep Strips is not “just” to give help or aid in sleep, but to help with:
1. Trouble getting to sleep
2. Awakening in the middle of the night and unable to get back to sleep due to stress or anxiety
3. Awakening in the morning exhausted
IDLife uses fast acting oral strip technology instead of slow acting tablets or capsules to deliver natural ingredients that promote a healthy Tri-Phasic Sleep Cycle that will allow you to:
• Get to sleep quickly (Phase I)
• Stay asleep (Phase II)
• Awaken refreshed (Phase III)
The Take Away:
Broken (interrupted) sleep and insomnia increases risk of next day drowsiness and fatigue and can also increase risk of chronic diseases and conditions such as diabetes, cancer, weight gain, urinary tract problems and inflammation.
The IDLife Sleep Strip, with its advanced Oral Thin Film Strip Technology, helps solve the problems of falling asleep, staying asleep, and awaking refreshed and is provided in convenient oral strip that acts quickly and has a refreshing taste.
As new evidence is released almost weekly on the added advantages of not only a healthy night’s sleep, but the other benefits of Melatonin and its nightly requirement for so many body systems, it just makes sense to consider its irrefutable value.
Sufficient sleep is “not a luxury.” Sleep should be thought of as a necessity and a “vital sign” of good health. Sleep on it.
