Sleep plays an important role in normal health. Your body and brain do not completely take time off during sleep. Growth hormone is released during sleep. This hormone plays a vital function in tissue repair. In addition, rapid eye movement (REM) sleep may help with memory retention. The lack of sleep results in lower production of killer T-cells that fight off viruses and may result in more illness.

Studies indicate that Americans are sleep deprived. Millions suffer from insomnia or other sleep disorders. Older people are more prone to sleep problems. Older people spend less time in deep sleep and wake up more often. While these changes may be a result of aging, they may also be caused by health conditions more common in seniors or by medications taken for these conditions.

Insomnia, sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome and narcolepsy are four common sleep disorders. If you have frequent problems sleeping or suspect any of these four conditions, you should see your physician or visit a sleep disorder center for a thorough evaluation. As mentioned above, sleep deprivation can have other health consequences and sleep apnea and narcolepsy can even be life-threatening.

Insomnia includes difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, waking too early, or waking still feeling tired. There are many causes including stress, caffeine or other stimulants, alcohol, depression and other medical conditions, or medications. Insomnia is commonly associated with menopause or perimenopause when nighttime hot flashes or sweats can disturb normal sleep patterns.

If you have frequent difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, you may want to have your doctor evaluate you for an underlying medical or psychological condition that may require treatment. It may help to practice good sleep habits such as maintaining a regular sleep schedule, do not lay in bed to read or other activities during the day, practice breathing and relaxation techniques to help you fall asleep, make sure your bed is comfortable, leave on some white noise if you sleep in a noisy environment, avoid daytime naps longer than 30 minutes, use alcohol only in moderation and not right before bedtime, get regular exercise (but not right before bedtime), and eliminate caffeine and nicotine.

Herbal preparations with valerian or chamomile can help but should not be used regularly or depended upon for sleep. Prescription sleep medications should only be used to help reset a regular sleep cycle because dependency can develop very quickly and be hard to break. Relaxation techniques and warm baths may help prepare you for sleep. One effective technique is to lay in the yoga "corpse" position and consciously relax each part of your body starting with your toes and moving upward toward your scalp.

People with sleep apnea stop breathing for 10 seconds or more numerous times during sleep. The interrupted breathing causes frequent awakenings (often not remembered) and put a heavy strain on the heart. It is more common in men and in people who are overweight.

If you have sleep apnea and are overweight, begin by losing some weight. Even a 10 percent weight loss can significantly improve sleep apnea. Avoid alcohol, sleeping medications, and valerian as they all overly relax the muscles of the airway causing obstruction of airflow. Try sleeping on your side instead of your back. A dental appliance worn at night to reduce obstruction of airflow by the tongue may also help. For severe cases, a machine known as a CPAP machine can keep the airways open during sleep.

Reference: Dr. Andrew Weil's Self Healing, March, 2002.

Next week: RESTLESS LEG SYNDROME AND NARCOLEPSY

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