I love to sleep and will sleep nine hours a night if I can. Maybe to justify this indulgence, I pay attention to research on the benefits of sleep and recent studies are showing that sleep deprivation likely contributes to Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. So maybe my eight to nine hours of sleep is moreContinue reading “Sleep Tight, Think Right: The link between insomnia and Alzheimer’s disease”
Tag Archives: insomnia
Lavender for Sleep and Anxiety
Nearly all of us suffer from occasional sleeplessness. For those who experience it more often, insomnia may be taking a serious toll on their health. In the short term, lack of sleep causes fatigue, irritability, and reduced ability to concentrate the next day. Long-term insomnia can also contribute to serious health conditions like heart disease,Continue reading “Lavender for Sleep and Anxiety”
Fight Stress with Magnolia and Relora
Because of the serious impact stress can have on our health, stress-reducing herbs are becoming nearly as important as a multivitamin. An example that might be right for some people is Magnolia, a relaxing herb that has been shown in studies to be effective at reducing nervousness and anxiety in 78% of participants. Magnolia wasContinue reading “Fight Stress with Magnolia and Relora”
Keep Calm with Skullcap
Skullcap is one of the relaxing herbs that are native to the Southeastern United States. These herbs are known as nervines, and they both calm and tone the nervous system. Because of this calming effect, skullcap is used for mild cases of anxiety. Its active components have also been shown to bind serotonin receptors inContinue reading “Keep Calm with Skullcap”
Soothe Your Nerves with Passionflower
Passionflower is a relaxing herb that is native to Arkansas and other southeastern states. It is a close relative of passion fruit, but that species doesn’t have the calming action of passionflower. Even though the plant is named passionflower, we actually use the leaves of this vine before it flowers. One of the most commonContinue reading “Soothe Your Nerves with Passionflower”
St. John’s Wort for the Winter Blues
Though the holidays are a time of joy for many, they can be trying for some. The combination of shorter days and holiday stress can contribute to winter blahs, more technically known as seasonal affective disorder. St. John’s wort is one of the most popular herbs for mild depression, and it can also be aContinue reading “St. John’s Wort for the Winter Blues”
Sleep and Stress
My blog last week was about the connection between sleep deprivation and blood sugar issues. My goal was to encourage people to sleep more to help improve their overall health, but some people know they need more sleep but are struggling with insomnia. There are two different patterns of insomnia. Some people have trouble fallingContinue reading “Sleep and Stress”
The Connection Between Sleep and Blood Sugar
I am a huge fan of sleep and find it to be key to my feeling of overall vitality. While it is commonly known that inadequate sleep can contribute to fatigue, few people realize it can contribute to heart disease, diabetes, and weight gain. Specifically, reductions in sleep duration or quality can contribute to insulinContinue reading “The Connection Between Sleep and Blood Sugar”
Motherwort for Menopause and More
As I have said before about menopause, no every herbs works equally well for every woman. We have to look at the unique attributes of each herb and compare them to the experience of each menopausal woman. The herb I wanted to highlight today is motherwort. As the name implies this is a useful plantContinue reading “Motherwort for Menopause and More”
Dr. Laurell Matthews, ND 