— The keys for optimizing energy production can be summarized with the acronym SHINE:
1- Sleep
2- Hormones
3- Infections
4- Nutrition
5- Exercise as able
One of the most effective ways to improve energy, mental clarity, and immune function while decreasing pain and weight gain is to simply get your eight hours of sleep a night.
2. Begin by making time for sleep. Do this by cutting out things that don't feel good.
3. Create a restful bedtime routine.
4. If your mind is wide awake and racing at bedtime, consider phosphatidylserine, a natural phospholipid (100 to 200 milligrams), or an herbal mix called Sleep Tonight taken an hour before bedtime.
5. Wake frequently in the middle of the night? This suggests low blood sugar. Have a high-protein snack (1 to 2 ounces) before bedtime. A hard-boiled egg works well
6. Take a mix of six herbs called the Revitalizing Sleep Formula. You can also add a mix of four essential oils called Terrific Zzzz. If using melatonin, use the Dual Spectrum Melatonin 5 Mg by Nature's Bounty. All three of these can be used together.
7. Anyone who has high blood pressure, snores, falls asleep easily during the day (especially while driving), has a shirt collar size of 17 inches or larger, or is overweight should consider getting tested for sleep apnea.
8. If you tend to scatter your sheets and blankets, and especially if you tend to kick your bed partner or if you note that your legs tend to feel jumpy and uncomfortable at rest at night, you may have restless leg syndrome (RLS).
9. Most people with CFS/FMS will need to add medications as well. These are discussed in Chapter 13, "Sleep Intensive Care."
One of the most effective ways to improve energy and mental clarity is to simply get your eight hours of sleep a night. But is it really that simple? Like so many other things in life, the answer is yes . . . and no. Let's put things into perspective.
Until 140 years ago, when lightbulbs were invented, the average night's sleep in the United States was nine hours a night. Average. That means as many people got ten hours a night as eight. Going back further in time, to most of human history, anthropologists tell us that the average night's sleep was eleven hours. Most nights, when the sun went down it was too dark, boring, and dangerous to be outside. So people went to sleep. Then they woke up with the sunrise, an average of eleven hours later. Now we are down to an average of about six and three-quarters hours of sleep a night, compliments of lightbulbs, radio, TV, the interne, social media, and so on. This means the average person has lost 30 percent of their sleep in the last century.
In addition to simply not having time to get your eight hours of sleep a night, you may also find that the stress of modern life is causing insomnia. In this chapter, I will teach you how to treat day-to-day insomnia with natural therapies and sleep hygiene. In Chapter 13, "Sleep Intensive Care," we will discuss sleep medications for those with CFS and FMS.
Beyond giving us energy, sleep has a number of critical functions. For example, sleep:
• Is when tissue repair occurs, which is why poor sleep causes pain.
• Is also critical for proper growth hormone production. Growth hormone has also been called the "fountain of youth hormone" and is associated with looking young as well as increasing muscle and decreasing fat.
• Has been shown to be critical for immune function.
• Is important for weight regulation because appetite-suppressing hormones such as leptin are produced during sleep. Studies have shown that poor sleep was associated with an average six-pound weight gain. In a study of 68,183 women, followed over sixteen years, those sleeping five or fewer hours per night had a 32 percent increased risk of gaining thirty-three pounds relative to those who slept seven hours per night.
So, it pays to make time for your eight hours of shut-eye. Not only will you have more energy and less pain, but you'll lose weight and look younger as well.
