If you have sleep apnea, theres a tasty way to reduce the damage it can cause.
Sleep apnea affects up to 25% of the American population. When you stop breathing at night you are subject to excessive oxidative (free radical) molecular damage to your brain.
A recent study found that green tea can reduce this damage. In the study, researchers gave a group of rats some green tea extract. Then they studied the rats for cognitive effects following simulated sleep apnea (intermittent hypoxia or low oxygen). The green tea protected them.
Green tea has long been one of my favorite brain-protecting nutrients. It can specifically protect against the peroxynitrite free radical that is so damaging to your brain. So drink as much green tea as you want.
Speaking of Getting a Good Nights Sleep…
If you are one of the millions who have difficulty sleeping, and have not had relief with supplements, theres something you may consider before taking drugs.
In a randomized, single-blind study on 44 women between the ages of 22 and 56, researchers randomly assigned each of the women to receive either acupuncture or medication (estazolam) plus sham acupuncture. They performed the acupuncture and sham acupuncture treatments on the women daily for three days, then every third day for 11 days.
The researchers found that daily acupuncture treatment can work extremely well. The participants in real acupuncture had significant improvement in their sleep parameters compared to the estazolam.
According to the study, acupuncture lowered their score on the Leeds Sleep Evaluation Questionnaire by an average of 26 points. The authors concluded, Results indicate that short-term abdominal acupuncture is more effective than pharmacological treatment for relieving insomnia in adult women and has few adverse effects.
Action to take: If you have sleep problems, and have access to an acupuncturist, take this information to him/her. The points used are mostly all abdominal and easy to identify: CV-17, CV-10, CV-4, CV-6, KI-17, ST-24, Xiafengshidian, and Qipang. This is a far safer method than possibly addictive drugs.
Ref: Wang, X.Y., S.H. Yuan, et al. Abdominal acupuncture for insomnia in women: a randomized controlled clinical trial, Acupunct Electrother Res, 2008; 33(1-2): 33-41.