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Boosting the Immune & Neurological Systems

Boosting the Immune & Neurological Systems

In this mini-webinar, Dr. Eboni Cornish gives you her practical tips to keep your immune system healthy during the Coronavirus quarantine. Dr. Cornish is a functional/integrative medicine doctor from Amen Clinics in Washington DC.

Trichotillomania: The Hair-Pulling Disorder

Trichotillomania: The Hair-Pulling Disorder

Hair-pulling disorder occurs in about 1%-2% of American adults and more frequently in females, including Victoria’s Secret model Sara Sampaio.

The End of Mental Illness | December 7th, 2022

The End of Mental Illness | December 7th, 2022

Our foundation’s mission is to end mental illness by creating a revolution in brain health. We’ll be sharing the exciting ways we’re making progress.

Energy, Fertility, and Drive

Energy, Fertility, and Drive

As an energy tonic, maca is used to overcome fatigue and increase mental clarity. There are also claims that maca has benefited people with autoimmune disorders like fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome.

Zap Stress Before It Starts

Zap Stress Before It Starts

It’s no secret that stress can take a toll on our body, mind, and brain. December is not the month to throw your self-care and mental health priorities out the window. 

5 Ways to Stay Motivated This Winter

5 Ways to Stay Motivated This Winter

When the seasons change it suddenly becomes harder to get out and exercise. Winter fitness programs aren’t the easiest to stick to, but they’re imperative to your overall health and well-being.

So with that in mind, let’s take a look at what you can do to stay motivated and successful with your winter fitness goals.


How to Detox After Holiday Feasts

How to Detox After Holiday Feasts

If you’re having a hard time committing to your diet over the holidays, you’re not alone. And the good news is you don’t have to be perfect to maintain your weight over the holiday season. Try following these simple detox tips after each scrumptious holiday meal and start the new year fresh and ready to finally achieve your health and fitness goals.

High Protein Meal Replacement Shakes

High Protein Meal Replacement Shakes

Meal replacement shakes aren’t just low in calories, they’re high in essential nutrients your body needs to keep yourself nourished and your stomach feeling full, while helping also you maintain or lose weight. Protein provides numerous benefits to your body, including fueling the entire body, helping build muscle mass and being a key component to essential substances your body needs, like antibodies and blood.

Skin Cycling: all about the newest trend

Skin Cycling: all about the newest trend

The skin cycling hashtag has been viewed over 3 billion times on TikTok—and dermatologists say it's a strategy worth trying.The term "skin cycling" is all about taking a cyclical approach to your facial skincare routine.

Get ready for a plumper, perkier-looking neckline

Get ready for a plumper, perkier-looking neckline

Meet our new luscious neck cream featuring our proprietary elasticizing bioactive plant blend that targets lines and texture, so your neckline appears smoother, renewed & 10 years younger looking!



June 20, 2018
INT Therapy Center

Maintaining a Healthy Sleep Cycle


Maintaining a healthy sleep cycle is as important as keeping a balanced diet in delivering the energy you need to get through a full day of tasks. 

Maintaining a Healthy Sleep Cycle

 

The CDC reports that more than a third of U.S. adults is sleep deprived and it’s a statistic that doesn’t bode well for the state of national health.

Sleep deprivation (less than 7 hours a day for adults aged 18–60) has been attributed to an increased risk of developing these serious and chronic conditions:

  • obesity
  • diabetes
  • high blood pressure
  • heart disease
  • stroke
  • various psychiatric disorders (e.g., depression and anxiety)

Whatever your age or health status, it is never too late to invest in rest. Here are a few tips to begin paying off that sleep debt.

Where Do You Rank?

Let’s explore your overall degree of sleepiness. Using the Stanford Sleepiness Scale, how would you rate your degree of sleepiness at this precise moment on a scale of 1 to 7? How would you rate it at any given time throughout the week?

  1. You feel active, alert, or wide awake
  2. You’re functioning at high levels, but not fully alert
  3. You’re awake and responsive, but relaxed, not fully alert
  4. You feel a bit foggy; it’s getting harder to focus
  5. You’re foggy, slowing down, and losing interesting in staying awake
  6. You’re fighting sleep, longing to lie down
  7. You’re in and out of consciousness, having dream-like thoughts, and no longer fighting to stay awake

For all the hours you’re awake—especially at peak hours of the day—you would ideally rate yourself between 1 and 2. Anything between 4 and 7 is an indicator of sleep deprivation, but to really hone in on your typical hours of alertness, record your rating at different times of the day for one week. Adjust your sleep schedule accordingly and see how many 1s and 2s you can collect during your most critical windows of time.

Sleep Cycles and Your Mood

Maintaining a healthy sleep cycle is as important as keeping a balanced diet in delivering the energy you need to get through a full day of tasks. When your sleep cycle is off, your productivity and mood (and consequently your relationships) will start to suffer.

According to Dr. Lawrence Epstein, an instructor at Harvard Medical School and the Medical Director of Sleep Health Centers, “there’s a big relationship between psychiatric and psychological problems and sleep. So people who are depressed or have anxiety often have trouble with sleep as part of those disorders.”

Related research has found that:

  • subjects limited to just 4.5 hours of sleep per day reported an increase in feelings of anger, sadness, stress, and mental exhaustion
  • 15–20% of people diagnosed with insomnia are also chronically depressed
  • insomniacs are 20 times more likely to develop a panic disorder and 5 times more likely to develop depression

Tips for Revamping Your Sleep Schedule

The thing to remember about sleep is that quality beats out quantity every time. Your goal should be to arrive at and maintain the later stages of the sleep cycle in which “restorative sleep” occurs. The rapid eye movement (REM) stage falls into this window.

In addition to being the period of time in which dreaming occurs, restorative sleep is associated with stabilized glucose, testosterone, and human growth hormone levels, cellular regeneration, cognitive restoration, and memory allocation and retention.

Follow these tips to claim your share of restorative sleep every night:

  1. Prioritize sleep. A to-do list that doesn’t pencil in sleep is incomplete.
  2. Stick to your established schedule even on weekends.
  3. Exercise regularly, though not before bed.
  4. Create a relaxing bedtime ritual. Before too long, your body will respond to the signals you’ve set to prepare it for sleep: relaxing music, soothing scents, calming bathroom regimen, ambient noise machines, etc.
  5. Moderate and monitor your substance intake (alcohol and caffeine).
  6. Don’t keep a television in your bedroom. It’s never a good idea to over-stimulate your eyes with electronics before bed.
  7. Finally, keep a dream journal. Having paper and pencil near the bed also allows you to jot down any thoughts or concerns that are keeping you awake, allowing you to let it go until the morning.

Tired yet? Treat yourself and try these tips tonight for a full night’s rest. For chronic sleep conditions, don’t hesitate to consult a professional.

 Sources

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