Sleep Easy
Each year a growing number of people suffer from insomnia. The quality of sleep is closely related to how people think, act and feel and as sleeping five hours or less per night increases our mortality rate from diseases and accidents by 15%, it means it’s top of the list for priorities.
Eliminating or even reducing sleep problems will improve both health and wellbeing but let’s take the pressure, off, lie back, relax and read. One GP, Dr Roderick Fahey, who often advises people on this area, shared what he’s seen help his patients.
‘There are many different types of sleep aids for insomnia, including non prescription and prescription medications. However, as a doctor, I will always try to take an holistic and natural approach to reaching a solution due to side effects or short effectiveness of sleeping tablets which are only designed to help bridge the gap for a few weeks. I look to the common factors that play a role in most sleep disturbances. Understanding these factors can help person overcome a sleep problem. These include a Wellsense Insomnia Assessment which seeks to first understand what could be causing sleep difficulties.
Broadly speaking I assess the following areas: medical, lifestyle, diet, sleep environment, anxiety and depression.
I encourage my patients to keep a Daily Sleep Diary and introduce my 10 rules for improved sleep hygiene. Following my assessment I am in a position to personalise a treatment plan. Normally, I recommend music as a first stage such as The Alphamusic of John Levine. I receive excellent feedback with positive results after treatment with this particular music. In summing up, I believe following a prescribed plan to bring back restorative sleep should work best for insomnia sufferers.”
Dr Roderick Fahey’s opinion does not stand alone. There are more and more doctors and other clinical practitioners who switch to natural methods when trying to cure patients’ symptoms such as depression, stress or insomnia.
Using relaxation techniques to ease the stress of dental anxiety is one of dentist Dr Nader Malik’s fundamental principles when treating each of his patients. Being concerned about the possible negative side effects of dental sedation on both his patients and staff, Dr Malik has incorporated natural drug-free methods such as Levine’s music with exceptional results! Even high security dementia wards in Australia and nursing homes in the UK, Ireland and USA are now using alpha relaxation techniques to manage dementia patients and help them stay calm by reducing their agitated state.
