Sleep

[Guest guest]

I remembered this interesting article on sleep had something about

copper. Kit

" Sleep is a precious thing. But when you lay your head down on the

pillow, do you get a fitful, peaceful rest? Or do you toss and turn?

Or wake up intermittently? Even worse, are you tormented with nightmares?

Of course, these problems assume you can fall asleep in the first

place. How many sheep do you have to count before you doze off?

Sleep problems generally are the result of a calcium/magnesium and/or

a zinc/copper imbalance. These two ratios, of course, also determine

your basal body metabolic rate (translate: how much fat you'll burn

every day.) If you get these two ratios into a healthy balance, you'll

have better ZZZZZs and lose Lbs. (as in pounds!)

Not Enough Magnesium

People with a magnesium deficiency suffer from " Type II insomnia. "

They fall asleep easily but only experience a relatively short period

of deep, restful sleep, that delicious time when your body is able to

rebuild muscles, skin and bones. Most of the night they are trapped in

light, useless sleep. They toss and they turn. Then, they wake up

exhausted.

Ironically, people with too little magnesium in relation to calcium

develop this trouble because they don't have enough energy to sleep

fitfully. Restful sleep requires a certain amount of energy to reach

the stage of rejuvenating rest, which is characterized by rapid eye

movement (REM). When you can't maintain REM sleep for a prolonged

period, fatigue eventually becomes chronic during your waking hours.

(Your energy is zapped because you have too much calcium in relation

to magnesium.)

People under stress are prone to this kind of insomnia because stress

sops up all the magnesium it can find, creating a shortage.

Not Enough Calcium

Insomnia (the Type I kind) has been associated with calcium for

centuries. Did your Momma serve you a warm glass of milk and cookies

before bedtime?

People who don't have enough calcium have two sleep-related problems.

First, they have great difficulty falling asleep. In most cases this

occurs because low tissue calcium produces irritability. They're just

too upset to be able to fall asleep.

Second, people with low calcium levels are plagued with muscle cramps

at night. These painful cramps occur even without any real exertion

during the day. A calcium to magnesium imbalance causes these muscles

to remain in a constant state of contraction. Ouch!

Warm milk (without the cookies, of course) before bedtime can help

people lacking calcium fall asleep faster. But more dietary changes

are needed to deal with the muscle cramps.

Too Much Calcium

Frequent urination at night is one symptom of too much calcium. When

excess calcium settles in the muscles surrounding the bladder, it

reduces the bladder's holding capacity. Frequency and urgency are

increased. It's hard to have a good night's sleep when you constantly

have to get up and go.

Too Much Copper

High copper levels affect the neurological system. They also stimulate

the right side or creative hemisphere of the brain. (Artists typically

have higher copper levels than electrical engineers.) Unfortunately,

too much copper causes nightmares. Don't eat chocolate, peanut butter

or grapes before bedtime if you want to have sweet dreams. "

http://preventdisease.com/home/tips50.shtml