Rest, Regeneration and Recharging Tools for customizing optimal sleep Dr. C. Gus Tsiapalis, president of TeamChiropracticGTA.com, and Sleep Expert Advisor for Foamite Industries Inc, has been providing family wellness chiropractic care in Vaughan, ON since 1999. He has been helping make subluxation a household word since graduating in 1995, and now brings a special focus to the sleep component of subluxation. To learn more about the Customized Sleep Program or to take part in it contact Dr Gus at [email protected] or call him direct at 416-885-0827. not receive full rest, regeneration and recharging from their sleep. There are a number of factors involved, that once addressed can lead to a better night’s sleep. A OPTIMAL SLEEP HOURS It is a common belief that the optimal amount of sleep for adults is eight hours per night. However, more recent studies show that six to seven hours of sleep per night is optimal.1 The largest study was a six-year one of more than one million adults, ages 30 to 102. The study found that people who live the longest report sleeping for six to seven hours per night, while individuals who slept eight hours or more, or less than four hours per night, were shown to have a signifi cantly higher mortality rate.2 Sleep is divided into two types, rapid-eye-movement (REM) and non rapid-eye- movement (non-REM) sleep. Non-REM sleep is anabolic, or a ‘building’ stage during which growth and rejuvenation of the immune, nervous, muscular, and skeletal systems occurs. Upon falling asleep, individuals go through a 90-minute cycle of non-REM sleep followed by REM sleep, and this cycle repeats throughout the night. The most optimal time for non-REM sleep is before midnight. This is for two reasons. The first is because the ratio of non-REM-to-REM sleep within these 90-minute cycles changes across the night, with more non-REM sleep in the cycles early in the night and more REM sleep in the cycles later in the night. There is also a hormone involved called melatonin. Mela- tonin is produced at night to help promote healing and boost our immune system. It is produced at it’s highest levels before midnight.3 Thus if we get our seven hours of sleep between 10pm-5am, we will be much better rested, rejuvenated and recharged than if we slept from 1am-8am. 38 • CANADIAN CHIROPRACTOR | SEPTEMBER 2009 www.canadianchiropractor.ca good night’s sleep, just like proper nutrition, healthy water, exercise and regular adjustments, is essential to your mental, emotional and physical health. While sleeping, our bodies regenerate and recharge. Many people in today’s society do Gus Tsiapalis, DC feature
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