Sleep

Get Some Sleep New Hampshire

Our Office provides two very unique and effective programs to help you sleep better. I personally began my work with NeuroLab/Sanesco four years ago as a patient first. I was suffering from most of the symptoms listed below and had no idea that there was even a test to detect imbalances in neurotransmitters. The test is easy, done in the comfort of your own home, and the best part is that the solution is natural. After seeing what this company did for me as a patient, I became certified in the “Communication System” and have been helping people with sleep difficulties and the subsequent symptoms that follow when someone is not getting enough quality sleep.

Sanesco uses NeuroLabs to conduct their testing and uses the highest quality supplements.

NeuroLab uses HPLC and Mass Spectrometer technology.
• HPLC is the “Gold Standard” in measuring small molecules like neurotransmitters

• 3rdparty Certification

• CLIA licensed

• NeuroLab assays exceed US/FDA regulations

• Participate in Biorad quality control

• Participate in Sigma Aldrich quality control

For more information on Sanesco click here

If you suffer from sleep disturbances in addition to any of the following symptoms, you would benefit from a consultation in our office. If you suffer from sleep disturbances but do not suffer from any of the symptoms listed here that the second method we use in our office may benefit you.

• Do you have a hard time waking up in the morning?
• Do you have difficulty sleeping?
• Do you feel fatigued or lethargic?
• Do you have difficulty concentrating and completing tasks?
• Do you feel irritable?
• Do you have a low libido?
• Do you have addictions and cravings?
• Do you have PMS or menopausal symptoms?
• Do you gain weight easily, particularly around your abdomen?
Do you suffer from symptoms of anxiety and depression?
If you answered yes to any of these 10 questions,
 call our office for a consult to see if Sanesco can help you become balanced.

Th cost of this program varies as each person will have individual recommendations based off of their lab results. The cost of the lab tests range from $235-$369. The amino acid supplements range from $21 to $49.

The Laser Method

The second method we successful use in our office uses low level light therapy and micro-frequencies in addition to the highest quality remedies. This program consists of 3 visits to the office performed over one week and the use of 4 herbal remedies. The cost of this program is $425.

If you would like to learn more about sleep please continue to read the information that follows. Also be sure to look at the check list below. If you have tried these hints to better sleep and are still having difficultly than our approach may benefit you. Please call the office at 603-894-0656 to schedule your visit.

Sleep Recommendations

Avoid caffeine throughout the day.
Journal prior going to bed to release the racing thoughts in your mind.
No TV prior to bed. It is ideal to remove it from the room.
Eat a high-protein snack 2-3 hours prior to bed.
Take a hot bath or shower before bed.
Wear socks to bed to reduce waking up throughout the night.
Develop a bedtime routine (i.e. meditation or journaling).
Get to be early. Ideally around 9 P.M.
Stop work one hour prior to bed.
Do not drink fluids prior to bed.
Listen to relaxing music.
Avoid alcohol at all cost!
Exercise regularly
Lose excess weight (can benefit sleep apnea*)
Avoid foods you may be sensitive to.
Avoid daily stress

Sleep Check List

Place Of Sleep
___ Does the patient sleep in complete darkness?
___ Is the temperature in the area of sleep above 70 degrees F ( 68-70 is ideal) ?
___ Is the area of sleep free of electro-magnetic fields? (alarm clocks, cell phones, etc.)
___ Are there any electronic devices within 3 feet of the bed?
___ Is a loud alarm clock utilized for waking up?
___ Do other activities take place in the bed other then sleeping? (i.e. watching television)
___ Is the bedroom shared? (i.e. with a loud snorer or restless sleeper)
Prepping for Bed
___ Is the patient staying up late? (after 9 P.M.)
___ Does the bedtime change from night to night?
___ Does the patient drink fluid within 2 hours of going to bed?
___ Are bed time snacks eaten? (i.e. starchy sugar snacks)

What Do We Really Know About Sleep?
Sleep is a part of our everyday life. It effects our health and well – being, our mood and behavior, our energy and emotions, our relationships, and at the core, our happiness and sanity. Sleep has been written and talked about for centuries now. All of us do it nearly every night of our lives (one third of our life on average is spent sleeping), yet most know very little if anything about it.
Most people think of sleep as quiet time or inactivity. However, during sleep, many complex activities occur both in the brain and in the body. Sleeping does not turn off our body’s systems; in fact, many of them are amplified during sleep. There are many medical disorders now discovered to only take place during sleep, thus making many medical text books out of date.
What Actually Happens In Sleep?

When sleeping, the type of EEG (electroencephalographic) waves your brain produces are much different from those when you are awake. In laymen’s terms it makes slower and bigger waves, the delta and theta waves. Why: When you are awake, each individual nerve cell in your brain fires individually. What the EEG records is the average of millions of nerve cells firing; and as they fire, their positive and negative electrical charges cancel one another out, and the average approaches zero. That’s why the waves are small and the fluctuations from positive to negative are very fast. When you are asleep, more of the nerve cells start working together, and much like a marching band in tune, they fire at the same time, which makes the waves slower and larger.

There are two kinds of sleep: REM sleep and non – REM sleep (“NREM”). NREM sleep is non dreaming sleep; REM sleep is dreaming sleep. REM stands for rapid eye movement, because our eyes move rapidly through that stage. We look around in our dreams. Realistically, you could without any devices, tell whether a person is dreaming simply by watching their closed eyes. If the bulge of the eyeball underneath the closed eyelids moves quickly or rapidly, the person is in REM sleep. You will want to watch for at least 30 seconds, because often times there are pauses between groups of eye movements.
It is interesting to note, the brain does not seem to know that we are dreaming, but still gives commands to our muscles to carry out the actions we dream about. Luckily, right before dreaming starts, a nucleus of nerve cells deep inside the brainstem relaxes all of our muscles to a point of almost being paralyzed. While dreaming, our brain’s commands to move these muscles result only in small movements, and this allows us to sleep through our dreams.

In many studies done with animals, researchers blocked out the nucleus that inhibits muscle tension during REM sleep. The animals acted out their dreams. Although their eyes were closed, they still scratched, sniffed, and fought. A similar phenomenon occurs in some people, usually middle aged or older, in which the inhibitory nerve cells are not functioning right. This is referred to as REM behavior disorder.

In the average person, REM sleep occurs roughly every 90 minutes throughout the night (roughly every 60 minutes in infants). The first REM period of the night is brief, about 5 minutes to be exact, the second is about 10 minutes, and the third is on average 15 minutes. The final dream of the night usually last 30 minutes, but often times up to an hour. Everyone dreams multiple times each night. If you sleep at least 6 hours a night then you can be sure that you had about four dreams. Unless you wake up from them, most dreams are usually forgotten.

Going to sleep is much like going down a flight of stairs. You start going down the first steps (stage 1) for half a minute to several minutes, with your thoughts drifting, but you do not fall asleep. Then you go down the next flight to stage 2, and your brain begins to put out waves with characteristic patterns called sleep spindles and K – complexes. Then, you go into deep stage 3 and 4 delta sleep.

Sleep experts call the time to the end of the first REM sleep the “first sleep cycle”, and the time from then to the end of the second REM sleep the “second sleep cycle”. There are four to six sleep cycles per night, depending on how long you sleep. The change between sleep cycles is gradual as you move up and down the stairs. It is interesting to note however, that in the last part of the night, there usually is no deep delta sleep.

Although, Stage 1 is called sleep, it is almost worthless in terms of recovery value. Sleep researchers continue to debate its recovery value. Delta sleep has shown to be the main kind of sleep that allows the body to recover. People deprived of delta sleep often wake feeling physically fatigued. Stage 2 sleep has shown to be a “less intense” form of delta sleep and, much like delta sleep, is concerned mainly with bodily recovery. But on the other end, REM sleep has shown to be mainly involved with mental recovery. If you do not have REM sleep, it can play havoc on your mental state of mind and clarity.
“The important thing is not what stages of sleep you are having, but the total amount and quality of sleep you get.”
Outside of what is happening in the brain, there are many other things taking place throughout your body during sleep. During the first hour and a half of sleep, there is a large decrease in heart and respiratory rate and a small drop in your blood pressure; after this, there is a further slow decline in these rates. The lowest levels of heart and respiratory rate, blood pressure, and core temperature occur about an hour before we wake up. Imposing on this decline are increases in heart and respiratory rate and blood pressure during REM sleep. In fact, heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration sometimes can fluctuate wildly during dreams.
One of the most interesting facts about sleep is related to blood flow. During delta sleep, when body recovery is taking place, most of your blood is directed to your muscles. Although the brain can think during delta sleep, it is very fragmented, since without much blood, the brain barely is able to hold onto a thought. During REM sleep, as our brain wakes up and starts thinking more intensely and dreaming, more blood flow goes into the brain and less into the body. Researcher’s now estimate that as much as a quarter of all blood circulating during REM sleep goes through our brain. This increased blood flow is needed to support the increased brain activity during our dreams.

In closing, it would be unfair to not acknowledge hormone secretion being active during sleep, including the release of growth hormone. At the onset of delta sleep, there is the largest release of growth hormone in the entire 24 – hour cycle. This is imperative not just for growth, but tissue repair as well.

Sleep Statistics

A National Sleep Foundation Survey recently found that millions of Americans are suffering from daytime sleepiness and roughly 43% of adults are now saying that it is interfering with their daily activities. So let’s look at some more statistics:

Driving while drowsy causes on average 100,000 accidents each year in the United States. A recent study done by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration stated that 62% of adults have reported driving while feeling sleepy or drowsy. 60% of children below the age of 18 have complained of feeling tired during the day, and 15% admitted falling to sleep in school.
So as you can see sleep is extremely important. The duration and quality of sleep may vary from person to person, but how well we sleep is ultimately the result of both psychological and physical factors.

Altogether, Americans are now spending an estimated $16 billion each year on sleep – related medical care. Sadly though, the majority of this money is mis-spent, because traditional sleep aids (which can be addicting) ultimately only create more sleep imbalances then they eliminate.

Each year on average 13 million Americans are given prescriptions for sleeping pills. The downfall is that many medications prescribed can hide the underlying cause of a sleep disorder and lead to more serious health risks and dependencies. This comes down to one very simple reason: over the counter or prescription sleep pills can alter the brain-wave patterns or sleep, thus preventing a normal cycle of sleep stages. Most types of sleep “aids” work by sedating or “depressing” the brain. Benzodiazepines slow the brain waves, anti – depressants manipulate the levels of brain chemicals, and over the counter drugs block histamine and other chemical reactions in the brain and our body. The worst part is that most sleeping pills have a negative effect on your sleep cycle, increasing the time spend in light, Stage 2 sleep and eliminating the time spent in deep sleep and REM sleep.

However, research has shown over and over again the benefits of Melatonin supplementation for various sleep/wake rhythm disturbances. Melatonin effectively relieves insomnia, sleep phase syndromes, and REM behavior disorders. * Melatonin can decrease sleep – onset latency in stages 1 and 2 (which is light sleep), which is the perfect boost needed for those suffering from insomnia.

The Bio Melatonin Difference

Studies show that many adults do not get the sleep that they need each night. Insomnia has gone from medical terminology to a commonly recognized layman’s word. So many people have trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep each night that we are constantly being bombarded by commercials and advertisements for prescription and over-the-counter sleeping pills.
These sleep aid drugs can have several unwanted or dangerous side effects. Additionally, they can become addictive, you can build a tolerance to them, and they can actually cause your insomnia to become worse. People generally report needing to take more and more sleep aid drugs over time.

We have seen a drastic increase in the number of people taking sleep drugs. People are having dangerous, disturbing and life-threatening side effects from drugs that we all thought were perfectly safe just a year ago. They build up a tolerance, become dependent, have withdrawal if they try to stop, and are looking for answers. They want to educate themselves on time-tested, natural sleep aids so that they can safely get the sleep that they need.

The most recognized, natural sleep remedy is melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone naturally made by your body. It has been tested time and time again showing no serious side effects for short-term use (up to three months). Negative long-term side effects have not been reported, but have not been tested much.

The synthesis and release of melatonin are stimulated by darkness. Our eyes have specialized light- sensitive receptors that we use to determine how light or dark our surroundings are. These receptors then signal a cluster of nerves in the brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus, or SCN. The SCN sets our circadian rhythm, otherwise known as our biological clock, which regulates many body functions, including sleep. When the eyes tell the brain that day has turned into night, your pineal gland takes your serotonin and turns it into melatonin. This helps you to become more relaxed and helps to regulate your sleep cycle.

What is Melatonin?

Melatonin is a natural hormone produced in the pineal gland, which is located in the center of the brain. Its secretion is inhibited by light and stimulated by darkness. Therefore, it has been shown that melatonin peaks at night. Research now shows us that the body’s natural production of melatonin decreases with age. Over the years melatonin has received ample amounts of publicity for its ability to promote natural sleep patterns, decrease jet lag, boost the immune system, and its potent antioxidant abilities. Melatonin has long been recognized as the miracle hormone. Over 5,000 plus research papers have been published showing the benefits of melatonin, most of which noticeable within days of beginning use. Melatonin is thought to be a basic, bio-regulator in that it coordinates all the body’s complex systems.

Melatonin and Aging

The relationship of melatonin and disease is quite unique: the lower the melatonin levels, the higher chance of disease.* Some researchers now believe that the steady depletion of melatonin is a leading cause of aging and chronic diseases such as stroke, heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s Disease.* Many researchers have found that aging is a pathological process originating from the gradual decrease of melatonin from the pineal gland. Many believe that the pineal gland is much like our “biological clock”, and is synchronized with the light-dark cycle. The pineal gland produces many neurohormones in small concentrations, primarily melatonin and serotonin. Melatonin is often times deficient in those exposed to harmful EMF’s (Electromagnetic Frequencies) on a regular basis, such as computers, cars, cell phones, and televisions.*

A Potent Antioxidant

Melatonin is thought of as one of nature’s most potent antioxidants, offering protection against hydroxyl free radicals (cause cellular damage). This evidence may show that melatonin could aid in the promotion of protection against many harmful diseases.* Research now shows us that melatonin is 5.9 times more effective then glutathione and 11.3 times more effective then mannitol in the protection against free radicals. Another study also showed melatonin to be twice as good a scavenger of the peroxyl radical then vitamin E.

What Do We suggest? “Bio Melatonin”

All melatonin is not the same!
How many times have we heard about an amazing nutrient, purchased it from the local health food store, but after taking it for a few weeks could not notice a difference? This cycle will be repeated over and over again in the years to come, since research shows us that 80% of health food store supplements do NOT meet label claims. This means that what the label says is not what is in the product. Melatonin is no different.

Many of the researchers who demonstrated the amazing benefits of melatonin were supplied high grade, non toxic melatonin made in a top notch laboratory in Europe. Sadly, melatonin made in the United States can be classified as “junk” according to the European chemist of this laboratory. He tested several companies and stated that US made melatonin shows characteristic peaks on HPLC graphs which reflect the impurities from toxic solvents and chemicals that are used in the making of the melatonin. This is no surprise considering how cheap solvents are to use!

If you or your patients are using one of these solvent-tainted melatonin’s, not only will they not experience the benefit’s melatonin has to offer, but it can also be harmful. If your melatonin contains these solvents, then it can cause negative reactions, such as nausea, anxiety, shakiness, insomnia, liver toxicity, kidney damage, and so on. It is sad to see so many people use melatonin for a short period of time, and then discontinue use after experiencing these side effects.

We know that this extremely pure source of melatonin we use is much more expensive, but it truly works! There have been many other sources tested that were also found to be contaminated with solvent residues outside of the US as well.

We ensure that we are using one of the only “natural sourced” melatonin that is identical to the source your brain produces. We have used our proprietary blossom technique to break down the particles into the tiniest particles making it extremely bio-available to every cell within your body. Not only this, but it is almost “pre-digested” in that it contains physical nutrients in the tiniest particles while providing an abundance of information to the cells within your body through the use of sound and induction lasers and our exclusive “BioCore” technology.

Ensure that you are using only a natural-source, solvent-free melatonin! Do not take chances with you, your family, or your patients health; avoid solvent based melatonin. These residues are cumulative in the body and associated with increased risks of many degenerative diseases.*