News and Views from kSero
Effective Strategies for Healthy Sleep	April 1, 2008
Millions of Americans suffer from sleep disorders and are not getting the help they need to remedy this problem. Conditions associated with sleep problems include increased risk for psychiatric disorders, cancer, diabetes, obesity, heart disease and stroke. Keep in mind that the average adult needs 8 hours of a sleep a day, and children, depending on age, need an average of 11-12 hours of sleep a day. If you are an adult and suffer from poor sleep, please read the tips below on how to get the proper sleep you need to function at your best everyday. Strategy #1: Start with a very low dose of melatonin. (.5 mg, achieved by breaking a 1 mg tablet in half) and increase by .5 mg every other day until optimal dosage is reached. If the .5 mg is too much, then melatonin deficiency is likely not the problem. Note: With increased sunlight during the summer months, the need for melatonin generally decreases. This is because the higher the melatonin levels (increased by sunlight) during the day, the higher the melatonin levels at night. Strategy #2: Chamomile tea (buy an organic brand), and a Calcium Magnesium Vitamin D supplement. If you are already taking such supplement, you should take it at night. It should have at least 1200 mg calcium and 600 mg magnesium, and at a very minimum, 400 units of Vitamin D. Note: This can be used with Strategy #1. If you wake up before 3a.m., even if you have taken the melatonin, have a cup of Chamomile tea, with 2 bags if you are particularly wakeful. Strategy #3, which can be added to #1 or #2. Get specialized CD's for sleep. We have included a link for one we often recommend here at kSero. http://www.monroeinstitute.com/store/product/php?productid=1662&cat=65&page=1 To read more on the relationship between sleep and health problems: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/86512.php/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/08/AR2005100801405.html