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Wednesday, April 12, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Gotta get some sleep!
By Dr. Kim Hapke
Correspondent
Sleep is one of the foun-
dations of health, along with
diet, exercise, and breath. Its
contributions to our health
are often undervalued in our
society. At different times in
our lives competing needs to
be entertained or productive
or present for little ones take
precedence over sleep.
Being better-rested helps
memory, mood, and weight
control and lowers stress and
inflammation. We are less
accident-prone and tend to
make better decisions when
we are well-rested.
Changes in our environ-
ment have affected the sleep
of many of us at every age.
Darkness is the signal for
our bodies to release mela-
tonin, a hormone that signals
the brain to become sleepy.
Light inhibits the release
of this hormone. With the
invention of electric light we
had an effective way to turn
night into day, disrupting our
normal circadian rhythms.
Rather than being a time for
rest, night suddenly became
a time when we could be up
and about.
What happens when
circadian rhythms are sub-
stantially disrupted from the
norm? Studies done on peo-
ple who work the night shift
have found those workers are
at higher risk of cardiovascu-
lar disease, weight gain, dia-
betes, and mood disorders.
While some people can adjust
to a night schedule, for many
it is a stress to which the body
never fully adjusts.
Recently, our exposure
to blue light has increased
due to exposure to computer
and TV screens, handheld
devices, and energy-efficient
light bulbs. Different colors
of light are made up of dif-
ferent wavelengths, and the
blue wavelength of light is
more powerful at suppressing
melatonin secretion than the
other wavelengths. During
the day this is positive and
leads to improvements in
attention, reaction times, and
mood. In the evening, all
wavelengths of light suppress
the release of melatonin but
blue light’s more powerful
melatonin suppression lasts
twice as long as that from
other wavelengths of light,
leading to a further delay in
the onset of sleep.
Blue light takes a
greater toll on an already
We’re here to support your
total health & wellness
Reiki with Diana Timmermans
• Restore physical and emotional
well-being through energy work
• Ease tension & stress, and facilitate
the body’s natural healing process
Ladies Run Club
• Get moving, be motivated
• All ladies, all paces
(includ. walkers) welcome
• Meet at HOPE at 5:45 p.m. on select
Thursdays. Follow us on
to learn more
Personalized Health
& Nutrition Coaching
• Create healthy and
sustainable habits
• Lose weight, increase energy, transform
your body so you look & perform better
HOPE Aesthetics & Wellness
354 W. Adams Ave., Ste. C, Sisters
541.588.6503 • HopeWellnessSisters.com
ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/OCUSFOCUS
Blte light from smartphones stppresses melatonin prodtction, making it harder to fall asleep.
sleep-deprived population:
teenagers. Many teenagers
do not get enough sleep for
their still-developing brains
and bodies. Guidelines rec-
ommend 8-1/2 to 10 hours
of sleep for older teenag-
ers, but about 50 percent of
them get less than seven. Part
of the issue is that circadian
rhythms shift to a later time in
the teen years, but school still
starts quite early in many dis-
tricts. Some states have rec-
ognized this issue and have
implemented later start times
for middle and high schools.
The teenage population is
also heavily into screen time,
and research has found they
are substantially more sensi-
tive to the effects of blue light.
A study at Harvard found
equal melatonin suppression
in teenagers as adults at only
one tenth of the exposure to
blue light. As they tend to
be physically resilient and
unaware of being tired, sleep
deprivation in teenagers can
be misdiagnosed as ADHD,
depression or anxiety.
Some ways to decrease
the effect of blue light and
aid sleep — use red light for
night lights which has the
least effect on melatonin. Use
coated bulbs that block some
of the blue light. Turn screens
off at least one hour (2 or 3
is better) before bed and turn
the brightness setting down
on screens. There are apps
that can decrease the amount
of blue emitted from screens
and also blue-blocking
glasses for those who need
to work at night. Or let the
house get dark as night falls
and read an actual book for an
old-fashioned approach.
HOPE Aesthetics
& Wellness
HOPE Aesthetics & Wellness is expanding its
services to support your total health and wellness.
Whole-body health and wellness is a combination
of inner health and outer beauty. Nourish your
mind, body and soul — from the skin in.
Reiki with Energy Intuitive and Reiki Master
Diana Timmermans restores physical and emo-
tional well-being through energy work. Ease ten-
sion, reduce stress and facilitate the body’s natural
healing process.
Run Club — all ladies, all paces (including
walkers) welcome. Meet at HOPE at 5:45 p.m. on
select Thursdays. Follow us on Facebook to learn
more @HOPE Aesthetics & Wellness, P.C.
Create healthy and sustainable habits with-
out being a slave to restrictive, fad diets through
Personalized Health & Nutrition Coaching.
Discover which foods and diet are best for you.
Lose weight, increase your energy, transform your
body so you look and perform better.
Do something today that your future self will
thank you for.
Therapeutic Associates
Sisters golfers are already out there hitting the
links, in defiance of the occasional snow shower.
Therapeutic Associates is there to help you when
you go out too hard too fast and get hurt. But bet-
ter still, they’re there to help you prevent that from
happening in the fist place.
Join Therapeutic Associates and Sisters Athletic
Club for a free Golf Performance Clinic at Aspen
Lakes on May 3 and at Black Butte Ranch on May
7, and learn exercises and warm-ups that can help
prevent the overuse injuries that plague golfers.
Call or email SAC by May 1 to sign up.
And anyone can come out and “ask an expert” at
Sisters Athletic Club on Wednesday, April 19, 5 to
7 p.m. Physical therapists and a chiropractor will
be on hand to answer questions about coping with
or preventing injuries.
Therapeutic Associates and SAC offer a unique
rehabilitative environment that helps Sisters
Country folks get back in action when the active
lifestyle catches up to them.