I know. It sounds weird. But you really can purge an incredible amount of anxiety if you purge your closets, cupboards, and underneath your bed.

A business associate emailed me this week because he was completely exhausted. His wife had decided that the month of August would be clean-up time, since the kids would be headed back to school , routines and crazy schedules would be starting, and frankly, they were falling over their junk.

Three kids, a dog and two parents have a lot of ‘stuff.’  Cram this into a house with even 4 bedrooms and it’s a recipe for elevated blood pressure and illness if not carefully managed.

CFS or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: chronic and persistent fatigue and weakness in the absence of any other physical condition. This basically means that they don’t really know what it is, so it becomes “CFS” by default.

Symptoms aside from the fatigue include (and worsen upon physical or mental stress or exertion):

Sore throat
Loss of memory
Difficulty concentrating
Enlarged lymph nodes
Headache
Wandering joint pain

One problem with this is that these symptoms are also included in the list of certain types of infection, most notably Lyme disease.  They are also present in mood disorders like depression and also other psychological conditions.

Insomnia is a difficult to treat condition that afflicts more than 20 percent of all adults living in the United States. While side effect-riddled treatments like sleeping pills remain the frontline of remedies, they may have to make room for the cooling cap developed by two University of Pittsburgh sleep disorder scientists.

In their study, a group of 24 adults suffering from insomnia were given a cooling cap to wear on their head before going to bed. They found that the cooling cap dramatically boosted sleep quantity and quality –making their sleep similar to that or normal sleepers. More than 75 percent of the cap-wearers reported significantly better sleep –a figure that trumps most sleeping pills on the market today.

More, simple insomnia-treating remedies here…

Warm regards,

Christian Goodman

I have often been guilty of letting this thought run through my mind when I read some of the commentary related to people asking for help with their snoring issues.

The latest comes from a reader in Alabama who asked me to share her story as not only a caution to others, but also as a reassurance of hope.

We have been spending a good deal of time lately on sleep issues and the key reason is this: summer is in full swing and for a lot of us, especially in the US, that means late nights at the ball park or watching fireworks.

It means days spent exerting muscles with yard chores and swimming, along with the added lactic acid buildup that comes from water skiing and hiking, among other sports and summer fun activities.

Add to that the other muscle issues that might be keeping you up at night as well and you’ve got a perfect storm brewing for sleep-wrecking muscle pain, twitching, and other nuisances.

Halting, or at least reducing, the ache that comes with exercise or general nighttime leg cramps doesn’t have to mean eating 5 bananas before bed. You can still absolutely do that if you want, but you might want to also consider one other little fruit.

One of the most common side effects from blood pressure medications is poor sleep. In many people, poor sleep can contribute to increased appetite and weight gain –creating a vicious cycle. Taking melatonin, a natural sleep aid, can counteract the insomnia caused from ß-Blocker anti-hypertension medications, notes a study presented this week in the 25th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies.

In this research, men with high blood pressure taking daily ß-blocker medications were given a small dose of 5mg of melatonin before bedtime. They found that melatonin significantly boosted sleep time and sleep quality in nearly all research subjects.

More natural supplements to help you fight high blood pressure…

Natural method to sleep better…

Warm regards,

Christian Goodman

While limiting salt intake, exercising and losing weight are often considered the three pillars of natural high blood pressure management, a new study has found that adequate sleep and relaxation are just as important. In this study of 20 young adults, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh’s Sleep Medicine Institute found that a poor night’s sleep and/or stress can dramatically impact blood pressure.

As part of the investigation, study participants were put in stressful situations after a good night’s sleep or after staying up all night. Those that were well rested were able to handle the stressful task without a significantly impact on their blood pressure. However, the group that didn’t sleep found their blood pressure creep up by 10 points under the same stressful circumstances. The researchers concluded that adequate sleep and stress management are musts for effective blood pressure treatment.

Want more natural ways to reduce blood pressure? Then check this out…
More info on fighting insomnia…

Warm regards,

Christian Goodman

I am always intrigued to read up on studies that discuss nutrient
deficiencies as this is one area that is such a great controversy, especially
as it relates to supplementation.

It is generally known and accepted that many conditions
affecting poor health can be prevented and/or treated by simply increasing the
amount of a vitamin or mineral that might be lacking.

But what if we go the other way and cause problems because
of over-supplementing?

Those on the look out for a natural treatment for insomnia may want to focus on their dinner plate, according to research published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. In this study of nearly 6,000 adults, the researchers found that consuming a Mediterranean diet –an eating pattern rich in whole grains, fish, vegetables, olive oil and fresh fruits–reduced insomnia symptoms in women.

The researchers add that the Mediterranean diet was particularly effective against “difficulty maintaining sleep” –a common symptom of insomnia. However, they found no connection between the Mediterranean diet patterns and sleep quality or maintaining sleep.

You can fight insomnia with this natural program…

Warm regards,

Christian Goodman
el331005

I just love the feedback I get with the food articles. A lot of times it’s from folks who have tried the recipes and liked them or have offered their own to make a featured food more interesting.

Today, I thought I’d combine some of the info on three of my favorite minerals with a great bedtime snack recipe to help alleviate a common problem for a growing number of people: Restless Leg Syndrome.