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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (March 2, 2022)
Wednesday, March 2, 2022 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Commentary... The magic elixir By Mitchell Luftig Columnist I am going to tell you about a magic elixir that if taken regularly will: 1. Reduce the buildup of toxins in your brain. 2. Control inflammation, which may reduce the like- lihood of developing certain cancers. 3. Boost your immune system. 4. Restore energy and vitality. 5. Promote creative problem-solving. 6. Enhance concentration and improve memory. 7. Support better regula- tion of your emotions. 8. Help to process painful emotions and experiences. The magic elixir in ques- tion is a few weeks of good sleep. (<Why Do We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams,= by Matthew Walker). In our fast-paced soci- ety this magic elixir is often underutilized. There are sev- eral reasons why we may get suboptimal sleep: " Working long hours to complete projects. " Shift work/frequent travel with jet lag. " Staying up late to hang out with friends. " Viewing sleep as time wasted (<I9ll have plenty of time to sleep when I9m dead.=) " Noisy sleep environ- ments and excess artificial light in modern cities. " Round-the-clock entertainment. When we miss weeks of good sleep, we lose out on the benefits that sleep confers on us. And when we try to make up for lost sleep through exten- sive napping or sleeping late on weekends we may further disrupt our sleep patterns. Not getting sufficient sleep can be harmful to your health: Research is demonstrat- ing a connection between poor sleep and <hyperten- sion, obesity and type-2 diabetes, impaired immune functioning, cardiovascu- lar disease and arrhyth- mias, mood disorders, neu- rodegenerative disorders, and dementia, and even loneliness.= ( h t t p s : / / w w w. n c b i . nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/ PMC6281147/) ADDENDUM Sisters Middle School eighth-grader Saylor Weston achieved a 3.5 GPA, mak- ing the honor roll for the first semester. The timing of sleep According to the National Sleep Foundation9s website, <Your urge to sleep is guided by two factors: your sleep drive and your circadian rhythm. Sleep drive refers to a homeostatic system in your brain which makes you feel sleepy. With every hour that you are awake, your sleep drive gets stronger. The sleep/ wake circadian rhythm is your body9s internal system that triggers both feelings of sleepiness that send you to bed and feelings of alert- ness that tell you it9s time to get up.= Excessive consumption of caffeine (more than two to three cups of coffee per day) disrupts the sleep drive because it blocks the uptake of adenosine, a chemical that signals the body that it9s time to become drowsy to rebuild energy reserves. Excess adenosine makes us feel groggy the next morn- ing. Loading up on caffeine to compensate for morning grogginess perpetuates poor sleep, and can make us feel tired all day. Blue light emitted by computers and smart phones interrupts the circadian rhythm by fooling the brain into thinking that it9s time to wake up, rather than prim- ing the brain for sleep by melatonin release. How we sleep We sleep in 90-minute cycles. During the first half of the night the 90-minute cycles are comprised of lots of deep sleep and very little REM sleep. During the sec- ond half of the night, REM sleep dominates the sleep cycle. Both are critical to our well-being. According to Matthew Walker, we need deep sleep before we learn something new so we can empty out our short-term memory cache. Our brain is now primed to receive new information. <But we9ve also learned that you need sleep after learning to then take those freshly minted memories in the brain and cement them and solidify them into the neural architecture of the brain.= <But what dream sleep does by interconnecting them is it shifts us from knowledge, which is the individual facts, to wisdom, which is knowing what it all means when you fit it together.= (https://www.npr.org/ transcripts/964209001) Taking full advantage of the magic elixir of sleep " Set a schedule 4 go to sleep and wake up at the same time each day. " Exercise 20 to 30 min- utes a day but no later than “TAMMY IS AN ABSOLUTE JOY TO WORK WITH! She is efficient, friendly, professional, and knowledgeable. I will be recommending her to friends, family, and clients. Thank you, Tammy!” — BRONWYN B. 541-549-3172 1-800-752-8540 a few hours before going to bed. " Avoid caffeine and nicotine late in the day and alcoholic drinks before bed. " Create a room for sleep 4 avoid bright lights and loud sounds, keep the room at a comfortable tempera- ture (about 65º F), and don9t watch TV or have a com- puter in your bedroom. " Expose yourself to sun- light as soon as you wake up 4 this helps to keep melato- nin levels in sync with your circadian rhythm. " Don9t lie in bed awake. If you can9t get to sleep, do something else, like reading or listening to music, until you feel tired. " See a doctor if you have a problem sleeping or if you feel unusually tired during the day. Most sleep disorders can be treated effectively. Detailed information about the brain9s role in sleep and wakefulness can be found at https://www.ninds. nih.gov/Disorders/Patient- Caregiver-Education/ Understanding-Sleep. Oregon to get $262M in wildfire recovery funds SALEM (AP) 4 The U.S. Forest Service in Oregon will receive more than $262 mil- lion in federal disaster funding to help with wildfire recovery. Oregon Public Broad- casting reports the money is part of a $1.1 billion disaster assistance bill that passed last year to help regions across the country recover from a variety of natural disasters over the last three years. Oregon9s Sens. Jeff Merk- ley and Ron Wyden, both Democrats, supported the Extending Government Fund- ing and Delivering Emer- gency Assistance Act of 2021, which passed in September with more than a billion dol- lars in funding for recovery efforts after wildfires, hur- ricanes, tornadoes, and other natural disasters. More than a million acres of land across Oregon burned in Labor Day 2020 wildfires, calling attention to the need. YOUR Y O U R O ONE-STOP NE-S SHOP! Residential & Commercial Service. New Construction, Remodel, Radiant Floor Heating & More! 541þ549þ4349 260 N. Pine St., Sisters Licensed • Bonded • Insured • CCB#87587 H APPY IC ST. PATR K’S DAY 704 W. 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