According to food expert Adele Davis, ‘calcium can be as soothing as a mother, as relaxing as a sedative, and as lifesaving as an oxygen tent.’
It is said that despite a diet adequate in calcium, stress can lead to relative lack of this mineral because of the buildup of lactic acid in the blood. This may be particularly so in those conditions where generalised muscular pain is associated with soft tissue injury. Lactic acid is said to ‘bind’ the calcium, making it difficult to assimilate.
Taking a glass of ultra-filtered calcium-enriched milk together with a daily supplement of calcium may help sleep to return to normal. (It should also be noted that all women require between 600 and lOOOmg of calcium per day between the ages of 30 and the beginning of menopause just to prevent the loss of bone mineral density which leads to the often painful consequences of osteoporosis.)
Foods rich in calcium include yoghurt, cheese and other dairy products, eggs figs, oranges, almonds and calcium rich vegetables such as cauliflower and broccoli.
The most readily absorbable natural sources of calcium are soft-boned fish such as sardines and salmon.
If you consume large amounts of sugar rich foods, excessive amounts of flour or alcohol you are likely to be low in dietary magnesium which is essential for calcium absorption. Magnesium-rich foods include sea salt, kelp, seeds of all kinds,nuts, beets, spinach, dates and prunes. According to some nutritionists magnesium oxide supplements taken a half hour prior to going to bed have replaced the sleeping pill for many insomniacs.
Of the B group vitamins the one said to be most influential in helping sleep is pyridoxine or Vitamin B6. This vitamin is said to have sedative effect on the nervous system. It appears to be essential for the normal functioning of the brain, and for maintaining the level of magnesium in the blood. When B6 is deficient, the amino-acid tryptophan is not used properly by the body. This has particular relevance to chronic pain patients where the levels of serotonin or 5 HT are known to be depressed in some with chronic pain. The taking of L-tryptophan has been associated with both promoting natural sleep and a natural anti-depressant and has been shown to increase the brain levels of serotonin.
To treat insomnia Vitamin B6 is usually taken in doses of 25-50mg daily.
Pantothenic acid, another of the B group of vitamins has also been linked with insomnia. This is a key vitamin in the conversion of fats and sugar in the body into cellular energy. The dose of this vitamin to promote natural sleep is lOOmg per day.
The vitamin B12 has also been used by orthomoloecular psychiatrists to treat depression and insomnia. It should be given only after a test for B12 deficiency is carried out. Supplements of 25 milligrams daily may then be of help in sleep disorders.
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