Sunday, March 21, 2010

Heart Rate Increases When I Can’t Sleep

Why does your heart rate increase when you are resting or trying to go to sleep? There are many reasons why you can’t sleep because your heart is racing, which could be as simple as trying to deal with the stress in your life. Medically there are three reasons you should see your physician when your heart rate increases: Atherosclerosis, Panic Attacks and Hyperthyroidism.

ATHEROSCLEROSIS

Atherosclerosis a type of arteriosclerosis is a medical condition where fatty calcium deposits or plaque collect along the walls of the arteries and may eventually cause blockage. Symptoms don’t start until blood flow becomes restricted. Restricted blood flow can cause other medical problems such as; an aneurysm, coronary artery disease, kidney disease or stroke.

To help stop atherosclerosis it is important to make healthy lifestyle changes for example; avoid fatty foods, stop smoking, don’t drink more than two alcoholic beverages a day and exercise at least 30 – 90 minutes a day. You might live a healthy lifestyle but still experience atherosclerosis because of age or family history.

Go to the doctor and make sure you get your blood pressure, cholesterol and triglycerides checked. If you have plaque buildup in your arteries statins or other cholesterol-lowing drugs can prevent plaque from forming. Your doctor may also prescribe Plavix to help prevent blood clots. If you are having complications due to atherosclerosis, surgery maybe recommended such as; heart surgery, carotid artery surgery or abdominal aortic aneurysm repair.

Symptoms of atherosclerosis are chest pain, shortness of breath and irregular heart beat. If untreated the results could be a heart attack, embolism or stroke. Atherosclerosis can affect other organs including your lungs, brain, intestines, kidneys and extremities (arms and legs). Call for an appointment with your health care provider if you are at risk for atherosclerosis, especially if you have symptoms.

PANIC ATTACKS

People that suffer from panic attacks sense fear and fight a strong urge to flee also known as the ‘fight-or-flight response’. Their bodies release a hormone epinephrine (adrenaline) in large amounts that cause them to experience the feelings of a heart attack, faint or nauseated, numbness, hot flashes, hyperventilation, heavy breathing, rapid heartbeat and/or even tunnel vision due to blood flow leaving the head as a defensive mechanism to other parts of the body.

My mother experienced a panic attack as she thought her shortness of breath and chest pain were symptoms of an incorrectly without a doubt sign of a heart attack and went to the emergency room. My mother at the time was going through cancer treatments and her fear of dying was the cause of her panic attack. Many people that have chronic or serious illness experience a panic attack, especially if someone has a cardiac condition they find it hard to distinguish between symptoms of cardiac dysfunction and symptoms of anxiety.

Other causes of panic attacks maybe due to heredity. Panic disorder has been found to run in families as parents express an overly cautious view of the world which overtime creates accumulative stress with their children. Post traumatic stress disorder, phobias, obsessive compulsive disorder, hypoglycemia, hyperventilation syndrome, inner ear disturbances and a Vitamin B deficiency have also been known to trigger a panic attack.

Drugs, caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, Ritalin, amphetamines contribute to panic attacks particularly when starting or weaning off a stimulant or medication. Alcohol withdrawal can also be a factor. Emotional triggers such as a personal loss, significant life change, negative thinking, withheld feelings and stress from school, work, family issues and deployment cause panic attacks. If you feel you are experiencing panic attacks contact your physician as he will find the cause and provide proper treatment.

HYPERTHYROIDISM

Hyperthyroidism or overactive thyroid is a condition in which the thyroid gland makes too much thyroid hormone. Some symptoms are restlessness, fatigue, increased appetite, increased sweating, hair loss, rapid or irregular heartbeat, nausea and nervousness. Treatment for hyperthyroidism includes; anti-thyroid medications, radioactive iodine and surgically removing the thyroid. If you take radioactive iodine which will destroy the thyroid or surgically remove it you will have to take thyroid hormone replacement medication for the rest of your life.

How do you get hyperthyroidism? Your thyroid is located in the front of your throat just below your voice box. It produces hormones which control the way every cell in your body uses energy or your metabolism. When your thyroid releases too much hormone over a short or long period of time it can cause you to get too much iodine, inflammation of the thyroid, noncancerous growths on your thyroid of pituitary gland and/or tumors on your ovaries or testes.

A physical exam may reveal an enlarged thyroid, increased heart rate, high systolic blood pressure and abnormal thyroid hormones in your blood levels. As there are no known ways to prevent hyperthyroidism it is generally treatable and only rarely life threatening. Thyroid crisis also known as thyrotixicosis is sudden worsening of hyperthyroidism symptoms and immediate hospitalization is needed as heart related complications may occur including; rapid heart rate and congestive heart failure. When do you go to the emergency room? When you are suffering from hyperthyroidism and experience a change in consciousness, dizziness or have a rapid, irregular heartbeat.

The information I provided should not be used for diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. If you can’t sleep because your heart rate increases a licensed medical professional should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.
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Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Valerian Root to get to Sleep Fast

Valerian Root originally came from Europe, South Africa and parts of Asia and has been used as a medical herb since the times of ancient Greece and Rome. Valerian Root has been used for other medical conditions besides a sleep aide. In Germany, it is used to calm down children with ADHD and other cultures it was used as a perfume. Valerian is a perennial flowering plant with big pink and while sweet odorous flowers.

We use the root of the plant and crush it to make a tea or in a pill form. The problem with drinking Valerian tea is that some of the weaker oils are boiled out and the tea losses some of its potency, but not its odor, so generally it is taken in a capsule. Valerian Root as a sleep aide is a natural herbal supplement that came to North America in the last few decades. Almost every company claims to have the best formula to help you get to sleep. With the internet, supplement companies have flooded the market. New ways to use Valerian Root has been tested and research has found that people use it to treat insomnia.

Valerian Root acts by interacting with neurotransmitters in the brain tricking us to release chemicals that make us fall asleep. There are other supplements known to do the same thing, but are not as effective. Clinical trials have been conducted with Valerian preparations and the results claimed that Valerian was most effective in inducing sleep fast.

Valerian goes by other names such as; Wild Valerian, Blessed Herb, Capon’s Tail, Garden Heliotrope, German Valerian, Tagara, Setwall, Vandalroot and All-Heal. The active compounds in Valerian Root are valepotriates, which have recognized sedative properties and considered useful for individuals with insomnia. Valerian also acts as a muscle relaxant, controls hypertension and helps calm an overactive mind. Other uses for Valerian Root are stress disorders, neck and shoulder tension, TMD, incontinence, phobias, ADHD and epilepsy

One note, although Valerian Root is a powerful natural sleep aide, pain reliever and muscle relaxer; some people experience a Valerian ‘hangover’ if used over an extended period of time which may result in a mild depression. On rare occasions it has been known to excite people making it more difficult for them to fall asleep. Recommended use of Valerian Root is on a short term basis and only for those suffering from insomnia. Valerian Root is also combined with other natural herbal supplements such as; hops, passionflower extract and catnip.
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Saturday, March 6, 2010

Insomnia Mp3

Sleep Easy - An End to Insomnia - Mp3 Download

Listening to a sleep sound or a self-hypnotic meditation insomnia remedy will help you to fall asleep easy and quickly without prescription drugs or over-the-counter medication. You will be able to think of only the sleep music or self-hypnotic Mp3 instead of your racing thoughts. Learn to relax and enjoy life again by getting a good night’s sleep.

An insomnia Mp3 remedy can help you drift off to sleep whether you hear the sounds of a rain storm or a calming voice. We spend nearly one third of our lives sleeping or at least trying to sleep, it is nice to know that there is a natural way to calm our spirit and relax enough to sleep soundly. When we were young we never gave sleep a second thought once we hit the pillow. No worries or frustrations…No aches or pains just listening to a sweet lullaby as it lulled us to sleep. Now we worry about the kids, the bills and the boss…No wonder we can’t sleep.

When we do fall asleep the brain remains active and this activity causes waves of energy that can be graphed with an EEG. During the day when we work or play our brain rhythms are known as ‘beta’ when at rest they are called ‘alpha’, but when your mind is racing as you lay in bed your beta rhythms remain alert. The alpha waves must be present in order for us to fall asleep. As we sleep slower rhythmic waves, theta and delta will guide us through the night and reenergize our brain for day time activities.

There are mp3 sleep downloads with sound technology that can guide our brainwaves to its alpha state. This scientific approach is known as brainwave entrainment. Entrainment meaning it will coax the brainwaves into following a new rhythm called ‘frequency following response’ because the brain’s pulses are following the frequency it hears. Use brainwave entrainment to guide your brain waves into sleep by listening to exact tones and beats that are embedded into relaxing sleep music, nature sounds or included in the back ground of a self-hypnotic meditation sleep mp3 download.

I have used a self-hypnotic meditation tape for over 20 years. There is nothing to it. All you have to do is get comfortable, listen and soon you will drift off to sleep. I find that I am asleep before the tape is over. Even though I am asleep, my mind still receives the messages subliminally. Your brainwaves will follow the rhythm being played even if you are asleep. If you wake up during the night all you have to do is listen to it again.

Meditation has shown us that it can relieve symptoms of anxiety that causes heart palpitations and high blood pressure. Sleeplessness increases our anxiety. Many people even avoid going to bed because of how frustrated they are trying to fall asleep. Meditation if practiced daily (or nightly) can overcome the stress associated with these feelings. Natural, restorative sleep is essential for our well-being. Each of us knows that our mind, body and emotions need replenished every day or we become restless, irritable and unwilling to do the things we usually enjoy. Studies have shown that insomnia is often caused by our mind’s inability to stop thinking about all the problems and issues we have in our daily lives. As we lay there awake we become aggravated with ourselves that we cannot get to sleep.

If you are dealing with a work related problem or family issue and you are awake for more than 20 minutes, get up. Write down what is troubling you and get it off your mind. Keep a sleep journal or pad of paper next to your bed. Once you have it on paper you might be able to relax. Sometimes we figure problems out as we lay there and we don’t want to forget them so we continue to rehash the answer. Now that your mind is clear, get comfortable and breathe deeply, hold and slowly exhale all the while telling yourself to relax and counting slowly backwards from 8 to 1. Some self-hypnosis downloads will have a breathing exercise included along with a physical exercise that helps you to concentrate on the subject at hand and not your problems. Your problems will still be there tomorrow and getting a good night’s sleep will help you to feel refreshed and able to deal with them head on.

Remember, it is not recommended to listen to sleep music or your hypnotic instructional insomnia Mp3 download while operating a vehicle. Dah…ok that is what it told me on the tape. If you feel your insomnia is causing other health problems, please contact your physician as he may recommend further treatment or an insomnia specialist.

The content provided in Insomnia Mp3 is for information purposes only, intended to raise the awareness of different solutions for you or your families sleep problems and should not be considered medical advice. For medical diagnosis and treatment, please see your qualified health-care professional.
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