Menopause and Insomnia: The Calcium Link

July 13, 2010 - PRLog -- Research journals and nutritionists continue to clarify the relationship between declining levels of estrogen and lowered calcium levels in women.  Adelle Davis, the first nutritionist to base her recommendations on science-based studies says, “The amount of calcium in a woman’s blood parallels the activity of the ovaries. The blood calcium falls to such an extent during the week prior to menstruation that PMS, nervous tension, irritability, and perhaps mental depression result.  During the menopause, the lack of ovarian hormones (estrogen and progesterone) can cause severe calcium deficiency symptoms to occur, such as irritability, hot flashes, night sweats, leg cramps and insomnia.”

Helen Bishop MacDonald agrees with this in her article from the journal “Nursing British Columbia”.  She says: “Aging, combined with the estrogen reduction that occurs at menopause, results in an estimated 20 to 25% deterioration in calcium absorption in women from 40 to 60 years of age.”

The National Institutes of Health fact sheet on calcium discusses other factors that can affect calcium levels. Vitamin D helps improve calcium absorption. Your body can obtain vitamin D from food (fish, eggs and cheese) and it can also make vitamin D when your skin is exposed to sunlight. The more salt and protein we eat, the more calcium is lost from the body. Increasing dietary potassium intake (such as with 7-8 servings of fruits and vegetables per day), may help decrease calcium excretion, particularly in postmenopausal women.  

We think of calcium as food for our bones, but it’s also a natural insomnia remedy that releases the sleep-inducing amino acid tryptophan. Calcium is directly related to our cycles of sleep.  In one study, published in the European Neurology Journal, researchers found that calcium levels in the body are higher during some of the deepest levels of sleep, such as the rapid eye movement (REM) phase.  The study concluded that disturbances in sleep, especially the absence of deep REM sleep or disturbed REM sleep, are related to a calcium deficiency. Restoration to the normal course of sleep was achieved following the normalization of the blood calcium level.

Regarding the use of calcium as a natural insomnia remedy, Adelle Davis says, "A calcium deficiency often shows itself by sleeplessness and insomnia, another form of an inability to relax. The harm done by sleeping tablets, to say nothing of the thousands of dollars spent on them, could largely be avoided if the calcium intake were adequate.”

Jobee Knight, a nutritional researcher and founder of http://www.NutritionBreakthroughs.com  in Glendale, CA., is someone who fought her own battle against menopausal insomnia.  After testing several formulas containing calcium, one sleep remedy stood out from the rest. The product, which became Sleep Minerals II, contains six different types of calcium, three types of magnesium, Vitamin D, Vitamin K, boron and horse tail herb.  The ingredients are formulated with carrier oils such as evening primrose, an oil that has been shown to increase mineral absorption, reduce calcium excretion, and increase bone density.

Lyn K. of Los Angeles, CA. says, "I’ve had chronic insomnia for some years now and had been taking other calcium products to help with my sleep. None have worked as effectively or consistently as Sleep Minerals II. I can count on it whenever I need help falling asleep at night or going back to sleep in the middle of the night. This is what sets it apart from the rest – it works reliably. And in my life, I need to be well-rested 7 days a week, so I call this product my "Sleep Insurance". It also eases my menopause symptoms, evens out my hormonal changes, and seems to put my body into a healthy balance."

Adelle Davis recommends calcium is best taken by balancing it with about half as much magnesium, and complementing it with Vitamin D.  She says, “Because calcium is less well absorbed and the urinary losses are greater when the output of estrogen decreases, such calcium-deficiency symptoms as nervousness, irritability, sleeplessness, headaches, and depression are common (at menopause).  These problems can be easily overcome if the intakes of calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D are all generously increased and are well absorbed.”

For more information on Sleep Minerals II, visit http://www.nutritionbreakthroughs.com/html/sleep_remedy_f...

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Nutrition Breakthroughs is a natural health company that provides articles and remedies based on the latest nutritional discoveries. They provide the effective insomnia remedy Sleep Minerals II. Your improved health and well-being is their goal.