Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Insomnia, sleepwalking, sleepeating, sleepsex, night terrors - sound familiar? 70 million people in America suffer from some type of sleep disorder and Dr. Oz's visit with Oprah looked into a few individual cases. First, Dr. Oz explained that issues during sleep happen when the brain is in a restorative mode and lets go, allowing for the unconscious to become reality - including getting up and moving around without knowing it. Footage of 2 viewers, Angela and Sherri, showed food being consumed in large amounts, many times standing right in front of the refrigerator, not knowing what they're doing.
Dr. Carlos Schenck, who is an expert in sleep disorders, appeared on the show and described how today's world is such a high stress place to live that people have trouble shutting off at night. Once cause of sleep disorders, according to Dr. Schenck could be sleeping pills that alter the natural sleep stages. Both Angela and Sherri did sleep studies and neither remember eating in their sleep. Dr. Schenck explained that medication and therapy can help the situation, but most importantly, a reduction in stress is required.
Dr. Oz revealed that the change in society is affecting people in the way they are sleeping - sleep is very important and many people are just not getting enough quality time to recoup. In the past, darkness would naturally bring about a feeling that it was time to start ending the day, but in the 24/7 world we live in, people are taking every last minute to get more work done and staying up late to do more instead of getting rest.
Footage of night terrors showed many people screaming, slashing around and jumping out of bed in their deep sleep - including 2 viewers Ashley and Amy. Ashley has had night terrors for a number of years and described 95% of them being about bugs, even though she doesn't have a phobia about them when awake. Amy's night terrors revolve around someone coming into her room to get her and having to escape. Amy hit her bottom when she had a night terror after falling asleep nursing her son and running out of the room holding him. Dr. Schenck explained that therapy can be effective in treating night terrors.
Viewer, Kris, taped herself experiencing extreme insomnia where she was awake for 5 days and struggled to sleep even though her body was exhausted. Dr. Oz explained that many times it is difficult to catch up on sleep depending on the debt of hours missed, but that routine is the more important step. Dr. Oz recommended that people go to bed and wake up at the same time each day so that the body can anticipate sleep. Many Americans tend to deprive themselves during the week and catch up on the weekends, which isn't always possible. One way to help ease a reckless mind is to keep paper by the bed to write thoughts.
Michelle in the audience asked a difficult question about anal fissures and how to treat them - Dr. Oz explained that anal fissures are holes in the rectal wall that can be very painful. Anal fissures can be treated, but Dr. Oz recommended soaking in a warm bath to relieve the pain as well as sitting on a heating pad and using a hair dryer to dry the area and not leaving it moist which can worsen the problem.
An Oprah Show producer asked for Dr. Oz help with his sweaty palms that cause him stress in his job where he needs to welcome guests. Dr. Oz explained that hyper-hydrosis effects 1% of the population and it could be caused by a number of reasons - thyroid trouble, diabetes, blood pressure, etc. and that there are treatments. Popular treatments include using anti-perspirant on hands, injecting Botox or having surgery to prevent the perspiration.
Melissa in the audience asked Dr. Oz why she has trouble crying all the time - Dr. Oz mentioned that it could be hormone problems that would cause the crying to be over-sensitive. Feeling the pain of others is common in humans, but Dr. Oz shared that if you "suppress it you will obsess it" and make the situation worse that it would have been if dealt with at the start. Having a good cry is OK and totally normal.
Dr. Oz's second Prescription America includes eating whole grain bread and extra virgin olive oil before dinner each day. One slice of 100% whole grain bread and just enough extra virgin olive oil to drizzle. These 2 simple additions will quickly help add fiber and nutrients to a diet, but also help fill up a bit before dinner - the meal Dr. Oz says people make poor choices with the most. This Prescription America should be done each day before dinner for 2 weeks.
