Restorative Sleep - Week 2 of Dr. Mao's 8-Week Longevity Program
To determine whether you are likely experiencing or will experience sleep problems that affect your health, add up the number of Yes answers.
If you answered Yes to:
• 5 questions, your risk is mild.
• 6 to 10 questions, your risk is moderate.
• more than 10 questions, your risk is severe. You should see your doctor for further evaluation.
What are your reactions to this quiz? Do you have a feeling of where you would like to make some changes in your health plan? Whatever your assessment score, the practices you will engage in during your Sleep Restoration Week can help to get you back on your natural sleep cycle and restore you to normal functioning and peace of mind.
Welcome to the second week of my 8-week Longevity Program!
Week #2 is Sleep for Restoration
When your alarm goes off in the morning, do you hit the snooze button or dread getting out of bed? Do you wake up feeling tired? If you answered yes, then you’d better do a check-up on your sleep. Because if you suffer from poor sleep or insomnia, it can affect your memory, concentration, and ability to work effectively.
When insomnia becomes chronic, it increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), chronic pain, stress and anxiety, depression, and alcohol and drug abuse. In fact, people who have fibromyalgia will tell you firsthand that when they don’t sleep well, they always wake up in severe pain all over their bodies.
Generally, it requires 7-8 hours or longer each night to achieve a minimum total of 90 minutes of REM (rapid eye movement) stage of sleep to experience restorative sleep, which is essential for your body to repair itself and regenerate. There’s a reason for the term “beauty sleep” because poor sleep causes rapid aging!
If you wake up feeling rested and energized, that’s the best measure of your sleep quality. If you are unsure, there are several sleep-tracking devices, ranging from apps on your smartwatch or phone or rings you can wear. There are plenty of apps that you can download to measure your sleep.
If you suffer from poor sleep, here is a five-step sleep training routine that I have used to help many patients achieve deep and restorative sleep.
Step #1:
Dim all the lights in the house after dinner.
The darkness works to program the pineal gland of your brain to begin to release melatonin. Similarly, getting light-blocking curtains for your bedroom works the same way. In other words, get rid of all light from your bedroom. Even a tiny LED warning light from your TV can potentially disturb you. By the way, your own melatonin works much better than taking it in a pill.
Step #2:
Set an alarm for both going to bed and waking up.
If it takes you half an hour to get ready for bed, set the alarm for one hour before your desired bedtime. So if you need to wake up by 6 am and want to get eight hours of sleep, you’ll want to be asleep by 10 pm, which means setting the alarm at 9 pm. Set the wake time at the same time each morning. This way, you don’t give yourself jet lag by waking up two hours later on weekends and then having to recover the following days.
Step #3:
Use the healing power of acupoints.
Used in acupuncture, acupoints are stimulated with a sterile needle to signal your brain and body to physiologically elicit a specific, intended response. That’s how acupuncture works—by getting your body to change and heal. You can benefit from at-home acupuncture by using essential oils on acupoints and enjoy similar benefits. Apply Sleep Rollerball containing essential oils of vetiver, white ginger, and Clary sage on the acupoint, Inner Gate (see chart) and get in bed for relaxing and restorative sleep.
Step #4
Take natural herbs instead of drug medication.
Several natural and safe herbs have been used to help sleep for centuries. They include chamomile flower, passionflower, valerian root, and others. You can drink them as tea or take them in capsules before bedtime. We recommend SLEEP formula to our patients, consisting of seeds from the jujube dates, gardenia flower, and rose petals, and other herbs traditionally used to promote deep and restorative sleep.
Step #5
Practice meditation, especially ones designed specifically for sleep.
Below, I share my Sleep Meditation visualization. Download it here.
Slow your respiration to deep abdominal breathing. Visualize going to the beach and taking ten steps down to the sand, with each step corresponding to a full respiration of inhale and exhale. Once you are on the sand, walk towards the water, lie down on the sand and feel the warm water of the ocean lapping against your body. Allowing all the tension and stress to be released from your being and into the water. The tides swell, and then there you are, floating on the water, experiencing weightlessness, becoming one with the sea, the earth beneath, and the sky above as you drift off into a deep sleep.
Try the sleep training outlined here or pick more tips from my 8-Week e-book and practice the routine daily for the next seven days.
Listen to my podcast here and watch my video here.
Here’s a sneak preview of Week #3, Create Energy and Stamina
Low energy really puts a drag on your day—and your longevity plans. Disease and aging, according to Chinese medicine, are the result of a blockage in energy. This means that when you keep your energy strong and flowing, you will enjoy better health. This week, focus on habits that keep your stamina up and protect your vitality…