To Your Health: Sleep & Insomnia

06 May To Your Health: Sleep & Insomnia

Dr. Alan Safdi, a world-renowned internist and gastroenterologist with encyclopedic knowledge of mind-body wellness and preventative medicine, posts on Telluride Inside… and Out under the banner of “To Your Health.” His blogs feature the most current information in his field: health, wellness and longevity.

This summer, Dr. Alan returns with his popular Live Longer Retreat wellness intensives. The dates so far are July 21 – July 29, 2019 ; Aug. 11 – Aug. 17, 2019; and Sept. 15 – Sept. 21, 2019. For further information, email telluridecme@gmail.com. or go to Safdi’s Telluride Longevity Institute website.

This week, Dr. Alan talks about insomnia and sleeplessness in general.

And because timing is everything, earlier in the month, Matthew Walker delivered the keynote at the Cognitive Neuroscience Society annual meeting titled “Why Sleep?” What he said about the consequences of a lack of sleep both reinforce Dr. Alan’s message – and could keep you up at night. A link to Walker’s talk is here.

According to sleepapnea.org, insomnia refers to our inability to get adequate and/or quality sleep, despite opportunities for same. Picture people lying in bed all night, staring at the alarm clock, or counting sheep and you have a pretty good idea what insomnia looks like.

Generally speaking, people don’t choose insomnia. They struggle to fall asleep or to stay asleep or they awaken far too early and lose sleep in that way.

Insomnia is probably more prominent in the presence of medication or substance use, the presence of other health conditions, or other sleep disorders, as well.

On the other hand, sleeplessness is the shortening or complete loss of sleep due to externally imposed restrictions. Just imagine a college student staying up all night to study for a test or a nurse working the overnight shift. In those cases, people have voluntarily opted to remove any opportunities for sleep.

Sleeplessness is also the result of ongoing sleep loss, voluntary or otherwise. People become sleep deprived if they continue to sleep less than 8 hours a night over a long period of time. Collectively, that lost sleep is known as “sleep debt” and the more you incur, the harder it is to fix.

If you have insomnia, you are experiencing a sleep disorder (or the symptom of a sleep disorder or other medical condition). In that case, there are opportunities to seek therapy, sleep medications or a combination of both.

If you are sleep deprived, you have the power to change your habits and sleep patterns to improve the amount and quality of the sleep you get every night. The motivation should come from the cascade of serious consequences of not enough zzzs.

To wake you up to the facts, listen to Dr. Alan’s podcast.

Dr. Alan Safdi, more:

Dr. Alan Safdi is board-certified in Internal Medicine and in Gastroenterology and is a Fellow of the American College of Gastroenterology. A proven leader in the healthcare arena, he has been featured on the national program, “Medical Crossfire” and authored or co-authored numerous medical articles and abstracts. Safdi has been involved in grant-based and clinical research for 30+ years and is passionate about disease prevention and wellness, not just fixing what has gone wrong. He is an international lecturer on the subjects of wellness, nutrition and gastroenterology.

And back by popular demand, this summer, in partnership with the Peaks’ Spa, Dr. Safdi returns with his three, week-long wellness intensives titled Live Longer Retreat.

Again, using an evidence-based, scientific approach to health and longevity and featuring an experienced staff of medical professionals, personal trainers, Pilates and yoga instructors, dietitians, and chefs, the focus is on your unique wellness profile. Each Live Longer Retreat is one-of-kind in the U.S. Those intensives, limited to only 10 – 15 participants, will include personal consultations, hiking, spinning, yoga, Pilates, talks and demonstrations related to nutrition, cooking classes, and more.

Go here to read a review of the experience by one very satisfied participant.

Feel free to sign up now to participate in a Live Longer Retreat – or call 1-877-448-5416 for further information.