Both ginko and melatonin are supplements that can be bought without prescription.  Both of the supplements have many claims to benefit the body.  However, they both have a similar side effect and we will see if that raises a safety issue.  The best thing to do is to consult your physician to see whether or not taking supplements, or prescriptions will have negative drug interactions before taking them.

Ginko is an extract from the ginko leaf.  It claims that it can improve blood flow, therefore benefits the brain because of the increased blood flow.  Since the brain has more incoming blood, ginko claims that it can help with memory functions and thinking.  The side effect to ginko is that it prevents the clotting of the blood (therefore the increased blood flow).  Sometimes ginko is used for those who have poor circulation because of this reason.

Melatonin is not an extract from a plant, but it is a hormone found naturally in the body.  Melatonin regulates sleep and wake cycles and using the supplement may help with sleep difficulties.  It claims that it can help people with jet lag by changing the circadian rhythm with melatonin supplements.  Melatonin also has a side effect of slowing the blood clotting ability.

Now the two side effects (preventing and slowing of blood clotting) raises concerns about using the two supplements at the same time.  The good part of prevention of clotting is increased blood flow.  However, if clotting agents are not in the blood, if one begins to bleed, the blood may not stop (clot) itself.  This eventually leads to extreme blood loss which can result in fainting and death.

Do you supply a night light for yourself or a loved one?  People who have a light at night may be at a higher risk of getting cancer.  Light can trigger your sleeping patterns to change that can increase the risk of cancer.

The recommended sleep for the average person is 8 hours of sleep.  Unfortunately, only about 30% of Americans are getting that much sleep.  This leaves the rest suffering from the lack of sleep.

Melatonin and cortisol are hormones that play a role in sleep, as well as fighting off cancer.  While looking into the possible causes of cancer, a theory arose about how the use of lighting may disrupt the circadian rhythm, which thus causes changes in hormones.  Specifically, scientists looked into the hormone of darkness, melatonin – the hormone that only gets secreted when it is dark.

Melatonin is one of the most powerful antioxidants in the body.  With melatonin circulating the body, estrogen levels are at bay.  However, when the light switch is flipped on, melatonin levels drop, and estrogen levels rise.  High amounts of estrogen are known to be the cause of breast cancer.

Researchers tested this theory on laboratory rats.  One group of rats were exposed to light with an injection of breast cancer agents.  Another group of rates were not exposed to light with an injection of breast cancer agents.  Studies showed that the rats not exposed to light had increased melatonin and were prevented from getting breast cancer.

Scientists say that one should not take melatonin tablets; just stay in the dark at night to naturally produce melatonin.

An interesting fact: Blind women have 50% less breast cancer than women who are not blind.  If you think about it, blind women live in the darkness for 24 hours a day, thereby creating more melatonin.

Light sources are not just limited to the light connected to the switch, but also from the TV, monitors, cell phones, and gaming devices.

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This is for the restless.  If you have trouble falling asleep, follow these directions here.  After you follow those rules to help you to get to a relaxed state, eat these foods to help you fall asleep.

There are certain foods that you can eat in order to help your body get an extra boost of certain “sleepy” chemicals.  For example, as you may or may not know, after eating a thanksgiving dinner, you or your family members may feel sleepy.  If you think it is because of a food coma, your are partly correct.  After you eat, your body is happy and since you met all of the requirements for the body to survive, all it wants to do is get some rest.  However, during thanksgiving, most likely turkey is served.  Turkey contains the sleepy chemical called tryptophan.  This chemical makes the body feel sleepy.  So after thanksgiving dinner, on top of feeling full and satisfied, tryptophan kicks in and makes you feel tired.

Cherries – This sweet little fruit helps to produce melatonin, the chemical that is responsible for the sleep cycle.  Melatonin helps to make you feel tired.

Guava – This has the same chemical as turkey, tryptophan.  This makes you feel sleepy.

Almonds – And sesame seeds and sunflower seeds also contain tryptophan.

Pumpkin seeds – These have magnesium, which helps to relax muscles and the brain.  Being relaxed will help you slowly drift off to dreamland.

Green leafy vegetables – These contain key ingredients to help synthesize sleep hormones.

Seaweed (esp. Kelp) – Sheesh, do these things contain lots of calcium.  It does!  Calcium also has been shown to help with sleep too!

Keep those foods in mind when you are thinking of going to bed and have a history of sleep issues.  Hope you can eat well and sleep well.

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If you have been tossing and turning in your bed last night, it may be due to the activities that you have been involved in earlier that day.

Counting sheep is so last century.  There must be something else that you can do to sleep.  First, if you do find yourself unable to fall asleep, get up and do something else; don’t just lie in bed – it’s counterproductive.

Insomnia is one of the most common sleep disorders.  Over 60 million people suffer from it every year.  Those who have chronic insomnia take pills for it, but that can usually leave a groggy feeling the morning after.  (As you may or may not have known, the reason Michael Jackson died is through an overdose of sedatives).  Although sleeping pills are useful for short term use, the effects of any drug usually wears off (the body gets used to the chemicals and it takes more to obtain the same effect).  Sleeping pills may help you to fall asleep, but it does not do a very good job in getting the deep sleep cycles the body needs to feel refreshed.  That can only be done naturally.

To be able to sleep naturally, here are some things to keep in mind.  Remember how I told you that the activities that you may have participated in may have kept you up?  Here are some things to avoid.

1. TV right before bed.  Yes, it may be common, but if you do watch something that is exciting, you may keep your body alert and active even after you have turned off the TV.  If that is not it, the TV emits a lightwave that can keep your body awake because it confuses the body into thinking that there is still light out, therefore the lack of production of the sleep hormone melatonin.  You may actually want to start dimming all lights in the house and avoid electronics that emit light when you are about to sleep.
2. Caffeine at 3.  If you had a caffeinated drink after 3 PM, this may be something that is keeping you awake.  Even after 6 hours, there still may be a few milligrams of caffeine circulating the body.  This will surely keep you alert and awake during the night.  Now if you think that you can counteract the caffeine with a sedative (like alcohol) you are wrong.  There has been a study that says that alcohol will help you to fall asleep, but it disrupts the sleep cycle and you get very little restful sleep.  If at all possible, stay away from caffeine after 3 PM.  (Oh, and stay away from the alcohol too).
3. Pills.  If you take pills to help you fall asleep (like some medication that ends in PM), then you might want to switch up to a natural pill.  Tryptophan, the amino acid that is found in turkeys, is a good alternative to popping pills.  Tryptophan is broken down into serotonin and melatonin.  Both help you to fall asleep.
4. Exercise.  Too much can keep you awake.  Avoid vigorous exercise before sleeping.  Exercise does help you to fall asleep, however.  If you find yourself full of energy, it is time to expend that energy through exercise.  If you still have trouble falling asleep, some light stretching (keyword is LIGHT) can help relax the muscles, which in turn help you to fall asleep.
5. Finally, avoid staying in bed if you are not sleeping.  Earlier in this article I mentioned that you should not stay in bed if you cannot fall asleep.  This is because you do not want the body to think that the bed is a place for you to be awake.  If you do work on your bed, stop!  Do work on the kitchen table, in an office, in the living room; anywhere but the bedroom.  You want to train your body to fall asleep when you climb into bed.  Therefore, if you find yourself awake in bed, get out of bed, do something else for a few minutes, and then return to bed to see if you can fall asleep.

If you continue to have problems falling asleep, consult your physician for some additional advice.

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As I have said before, melatonin is the naturally occurring hormone in the body that regulates sleep and wake cycles.  Light is needed to start and stop production of melatonin.

If you are older and you find yourself in a situation where it is hard to fall asleep, this may be because of the yellowing of your eye lens.

Researchers in Denmark found that blue light needs to be absorbed in order for your brain to release melatonin.  However, when you have yellow eye lens, the blue light cannot be absorbed as effectively, and the body does not recognize the light as being light or dark.  This stops the release of melatonin through the body.

One scientist mentioned that as soon as we are ten, we start to develop a yellowing of the eye lens.  This gradually becomes more severe as we age.  By the time you are a senior, the amount of blue light that comes through our eyes are very little.

The yellowing of the eye lens does not create any vision difficulties, but does create sleep difficulties.

Smoking and having diabetes can accelerate the yellowing process.

If you do have trouble getting restful sleep, make sure that you contact your physician to see if you have yellowing eyes, or any other condition that may affect your sleep.  One needs restful sleep to re-energize the body, and also replenish the brain with needed chemicals from sleep.

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As we age, we complain about lack of sleep or the inability to sleep.  As we age, we tend to go to bed earlier and wake up earlier.  If we don’t have enough refreshing and deep sleep, it means that we are spending more time in the lighter sleep stages which is not conducive to refreshing sleep.

However, there are strategies to fight a sleepless night.  Following these tips, and many more throughout the site from other articles can help.

If you tend to nap, that may be why you can’t sleep at night.  Stop napping and stay awake till bed time, and then go to sleep.  If you are in bed for 20 minutes and haven’t fallen asleep, get up, leave the bedroom, and do something else (like reading a book) and then only return when you feel tired.

The bedroom is only for sleeping!  If you have a TV in your room, get rid of it and move it elsewhere.  If you have a computer in your room, move it!  Your room should only be used for sleep and nothing more.  The bedroom should also be a quiet and dark place.

Increase your exercise during the day and not just before bed.  Moving and burning excess energy is a great way to feel tired for bed.  Just remember not to exercise too vigorously before bed because that can keep you awake too.

Remember to avoid caffeinated drinks.  Drinking a glass of warm milk can help too.  (Avoid falling asleep by alcohol because, although you sleep, the quality sleep is lost.

Stay outdoors.  Staying in the sun will keep you awake and stop producing melatonin (the sleep inducing hormone).  When you are at home, stay in dark or dimly lit places to induce sleep and the production of melatonin.

Avoid sleeping pills when possible.  Melatonin can be helpful for those who are older and lost the ability to create enough melatonin to fall asleep.  Nightly use of any sleeping pill will create a tolerance and one would need more doses to fall asleep.

If you still can’t fall asleep, ask a physician to seek any underlying reasons you cannot fall asleep.  It may be due to heart disease, anxiety, restless leg syndrome, or sleep apnea.

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In order to get quality sleep, one must have about eight hours of sleep.  This sleep has to be uninterrupted, and the longer one sleeps without interruption, the better he or she feels in the morning.  Scientists and researchers say that during out sleep, the body and brain sorts out memories and replenishes chemicals for the next day.

Whether it may be sleep apnea, insomnia, or some other sleep disorder, sleep can be difficult to come by for many Americans.  However, there are some foods that can help improve sleep and even help one to sleep.  Some foods that you can eat are as follows:

ALMONDS
Nuts in general that are unsalted are great, but almonds is best.  The magnesium in the nut promotes uninterrupted sleep because it relaxes your muscles.  Not only that, but because these almonds are packed with protein, it will keep one satiated as well as stabilize blood sugar levels because of the slow release of sugar into the blood stream.  One does not even need to eat a whole lot.  2-3 almonds an hour before bed is enough.

DAIRY
Milk, cheese, and yogurt are all considered dairy.  These contain tryptophan, yes, turkey contains this chemical too, which is a sleep inducer.  Taking tryptophan, through food, can help calm your nerves before sleeping.  The calcium in dairy products also help relieve stress and stabilize the nerves by stabilizing the fibers.  Calcium also helps the brain to use the tryptophan to produce melatonin.

EGGS
A midnight snack can help one sleep.  Remember not to overindulge.  After all, it is only a midnight SNACK!  Particularly, a hard broiled egg can do the trick.  The egg is high in protein and maintains your sleep.  Eggs to contain high levels of cholesterol, so just eating the egg white without the yolk is beneficial.

CEREALS
Whole grain cereals that are also low in sugar can help one to sleep better.  Cereals, like almonds, provide the blood with steady levels of sugar.  Topping one’s cereal with yogurt can give a double benefits of sleep by activating serotonin in the brain that is responsible for mood and sleep.  High levels of serotonin can help one feel good and drowsy.

POPCORN
Make sure they are nonfat.  Popcorn contains carbs and popcorn helps the brain to transport tryptophan to the brain.  The tryptophan is used to produce serotonin.  Having a few bowls about an hour before bed can help one to fall asleep.

CHERRIES
Dried cherries can help one to get more hours of restful sleep.  Cherries are loaded with serotonin boosting carbs.  Cherries also contain antioxidants and help with aging (reducing it).  If one has jet lag, having some cherries can help with that as well.

HONEY
Drizzling a small amount of honey on any of the foods listed above can help with sleep.  Honey is sleep inducing and is useful for those that have insomnia.  Honey can make a great improvement in the quality of sleep, so try some tonight!

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Everyone will suffer some sort of sleep disorder or problem in their lifetime.  Instead of complaining about it, do something to help you with the problem.  Remember that insomnia increases due to age, and with age the dangers also increase.

If you do not sleep enough, it can trigger inflammation and when this happens, you risk blood clots and high blood pressure.  If you take sleeping pills, they can be bad for you too because of the side effects.  After you wake up, you may feel groggy and also risk falling asleep again once you do an activity that has very limited movement (driving, operating machinery, etc.).  You can also feel drowsy, and have difficulty with cognitive function, like remembering events (memory).

Four ways to do something about insomnia:

1. Spend less time in bed.  Yes.  If you do other things than sleep in bed, your body feels like it needs to do something else rather than sleep.  So stop watching TV in bed.  Stop being on the computer on your bed.  Stop doing bills in bed.  Just sleep in bed.
2. Don’t go to bed until you are sleepy.  Going to bed and laying there for hours is not going to help you fall asleep.
3. If you do not fall asleep within 20 minutes after going to bed, get up and do some light stretching.  Then go back to bed and see if you can fall asleep.  If not, read a book in a chair, and when you feel sleepy, go back to bed and try to sleep.
4. Get out of bed the same time, every time in the morning.   Sticking to a regular sleep and wake schedule can help your body regulate its sleep and wake cycle.  If you are prone to getting up later on the weekends, and have trouble sleeping during the week, stick to a schedule that can work everyday.

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Melatonin is an amino acid that regulates the body’s internal clock.  This internal clock called the circadian rhythm regulates sleep and wake cycles.  The pineal gland responds to light and dark by secreting less and more, respectively.  Not having enough or too much light can interfere with the melatonin cycles.  Melatonin can help children with sleep problems due to ADHD, autism, cerebral palsy, or other illnesses or diseases.

Melatonin is available in all kinds of forms.  It is in pill form, in the shape of a tablet or capsule.  It comes as creams and also lozenges.  The lozenge can be placed under the tongue for absorption, or by the cheek for absorption.  Make sure you do your research before using such products.  Consulting a doctor before starting any regimen is highly recommended.

Research shows that there were no apparent harm in children who used melatonin.  However, parents should know the risks of using melatonin.  Never exceed the recommended dosage of 0.3 mg a day for children under that age of 15.  Doses that are higher, such as 1 to 5 mg, can give your child(ren) seizure.  Some side effects that may affect children or adults are drowsiness, irritability, confusion, stomach pain, vivid dreams and nightmares.

There are foods out in public that contain melatonin, but these are unsafe because of the food value.  For example, there are brownies that contain melatonin, but if you eat the brownie because of its taste, you may overdose on melatonin.  Make sure you read all labels for anything that may contain supplements or medicines.

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Women complain that they do not get enough sleep and that they feel like they have insomnia.  However, according to some polls, women get more sleep than men.  But why the complaint?

The national sleep foundation polled Americans and out of about 1,500 Americans, 30% of women said that they sleep eight hours or more while only 22% of men say that they get eight hours or more.

Women on average sleep longer than men, and therefore women tend to be healthier than men.  However, mothers do not feel like they had enough sleep.  The length of the sleep that is uninterrupted is key to feeling refreshed in the morning.  Women who have fragmented sleep will suffer the consequences in the morning.  Sleep patterns are interrupted when sleeping with a partner.

Several studies show that women have more slow-wave sleep patterns than men, and this slow-wave sleep pattern is responsible for keeping memories.  Luckily, this slow wave starts shortly after falling asleep.  Since women are able to quickly go into slow-wave sleep pattern, they generally cope better than men when it comes to sleep deprication.

Despite getting more sleep and quicker slow-wave sleep, women tend to suffer from insomnia than men.  AND despite hormonal changes during pregnancy and menopause, men still seem to lose more sleep overall.  The major cause is due to sleep apnea.

One reason women feel so sleep deprived may be due to our internal clocks.  Body temperature and melatonin levels are different in men and women.  The circadian period in men was about 24 hours and 11 minutes, and women were about 6 minutes shorter.  This means that men tend to sleep later and wake up later, while women sleep earlier and wake up earlier.  This means that women would be interrupted in the middle of their sleep.  This contributes to waking up and not being able to go back to sleep (insomnia) and this may account for the reason there are more insomniac women than men.

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