Fall Asleep Within Ten Minutes or Less Without Drugs and Alcohol

June 16, 2009 - PRLog -- Portland, Maine –  It wasn’t too long ago when most experts believed that missing an hour here and there of sleep could be quickly compensated for with a strong diet of coffee. Not any more. Evidence is mounting that missing as little as an hour of sleep a night can have catastrophic long term effects, including brain damage, heart disease, weight gain, and diabetes.  

“We’re used to hearing,‘I’ll sleep when I’m dead,’" said Polly Colvin, a sleep disorder specialist at NAP Sleep Deprivation Center.  "Well now we’re realizing people who say that could be getting their wish sooner than later.”

Researchers at the University of Chicago report in the Journal of the American Medical Association that too little sleep can promote calcium buildup in the heart arteries, leading to the plaques that can then break apart and cause heart attacks and strokes. Meanwhile the University of California’s Surrey Sleep Research Centre has just released a report connecting sleep deprivation with brain damage. Other studies have linked it to obesity, lack of creativity, employee mishaps, stress and even premature death.

“On average, we sleep an hour less today than our grand parents did.” Colvin said. Maureen Ceresney, a consulting psychiatrist at UBC’s Sleep Disorders Program, says that people should fall asleep within about 15 minutes of hitting the pillow and sleep for eight hours. “You should wake up feeling refreshed and alert,” Ceresney says in a phone interview. “The most common problem these days is that people don’t give themselves enough opportunity for sleep. People don’t take enough time to relax and unwind at night, so they go to bed still bothered by the worries from the day.”

Colvin suggests getting up if you can’t sleep and doing something relaxing, like having a cup of organic, fresh herbal tea, taking a bath or listening to soft music. She suggests avoiding smoking, or drinking alcohol or caffeine within two hours of bedtime. Colvin suggests natural, organic sleep aides only. “Most sleep medications produce hangovers, addiction and eventually become ineffective as people develop tolerances,” she said.  “A lot of people who have tried herbs and herbal tea get dissatisfied when they don't work. The problem is that most herbal remedies are made from inferior herbs that have no potency. You have to find an herbal concoction that is made from quality, organic herbs grown by a reputable grower. So much stuff they put in teas and other herbal products is neither safe or effective. It's just filler, full of heavy metals and pesticides.”

She recommends a tea called “The Nightcap” sold online at http://www.homegrownherbandtea.com/index.php?page=shop.p ...

"The Nightcap is the most potent formulation of herbs I have every used," she said. "It leaves no hangover and is non-addictive. It is a very powerful sedative grown by local organic farmers that is all natural, safe and organic. I drink it every night before bed and I sleep like a baby."

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Homegrown Herb and Tea is an herbal tea apothecary located in Portland, Maine and online at http://www.homegrowntea.com. We serve wellness tea, Ayurvedic teas and specialty teas.