The challenge on the fast track
Sleep is precious. Every living organism needs sleep to thrive in the environment. For human beings, one needs it for our well-being. A life of quality and productivity. However, there are many people who are sleep-deprived for several reasons.
What is it like to be on the fast track? Working round-the-clock and traveling around the globe are exciting but they have health hazards. Constantly changing time zones while juggling multiple executive duties are physical activities that accelerate the ageing process and raise stress levels.
Everything has a price, it seems. Sometimes, the price of the perks of success and frequent travel may have its own hidden cost: the loss of sleep.
Sleep is a commodity that cannot be bought, borrowed, traded, or stolen. Time was when (as infants and toddlers) we had bountiful hours of blissful sleep. As soon as the lights dimmed, or as soon as dusk set in, carefree children floated easily to dreamland — soaring on clouds and flying over rainbows. Sleep was what we needed to grow tall, bright, healthy, and strong.
Growing up deprived us of quantifiable hours of sleep, we discovered. As we acquired responsibilities and privileges in adulthood, we also began to accumulate emotional, mental, and physical baggage. A complicated lifestyle and challenging work environment translate into pockets or waves of anxiety and woeful hours of sleeplessness.
Hormonal changes wreak havoc on the internal clock and gentle patterns of healing slumber.
As we grow older chronologically — not necessarily mentally or emotionally — we begin to miss the habit of easily falling asleep at night.
Perhaps we have had too much work, food, or drink. Most likely, we have simply forgotten to switch off the mechanisms that drive us to compete and achieve. We don’t know when or how to stop worrying.
Instead of dreaming, we are fretting about a thousand things — major problems and inconsequential details.
We are anxiety-ridden, full of angst or burnt out.
We try all kinds of remedies — whatever it is that motivates or pushes us to the brink of yawning. We rely on exercise, warm milk (it works because of tryptophan), a good book, TV and movies (not the news, please), counting sheep, praying the rosary, and some natural or prescribed anti-anxiety pills.
Insomniacs and jet-lagged victims, take heart! There is a natural food supplement — melatonin — a pill with the hormone that induces sleep. The hormone is produced by the pineal gland of the brain.
Throughout our early life, we produce melatonin in abundant quantities. As we age (chronologically), the production of this hormone decreases. This explains the difference between the easy sleep of babies and the insomnia (and senescence) of older persons. Melatonin keeps our cells from ageing and disintegrating. The hormone is secreted in response to the amount of light that hits our eyes. Doctors say that melatonin keeps us in sync with the circadian rhythms — of the day and the changing seasons.
It sounds reasonable enough — to desperate insomniacs.
Skeptics caution people not to pop pills indiscriminately. They should refrain from experimenting with supplements that do not have any record of long-term beneficial effects.
Cellular biologists, however, have discovered that melatonin has another important basic function — “to protect oxygen-based life from the side effects of oxygen.” The process of oxidation corrodes our cellular membranes and damages our DNA. As we metabolize oxygen, free radicals are generated — slowly destroying our cells. This weakens our minds and causes degenerative diseases (such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, and serious heart problems as we age.)
Although our bodies produce enzymes to protect certain cells — melatonin is supposed to produce enzymes that inhibit oxidation — we also need vital nutrients such as vitamin C and beta carotene, which are known antioxidants, to provide extra protection to certain cells.
Melatonin is still in demand a decade after it first came out in health food stores. There have been multiple marketing claims — it eases insomnia and jet lag, turns back the ravages of time, boosts the immune system, and extends life. But the pills or capsules come in a jar that says, “no proven therapeutic claims.” Caveat emptor.
Some doctors still prescribe it to help patients sleep better.
On a personal level, it works 75% of the time (3 mg to 10 mg) depending on the mood. If one is too anxious or burnt out, it might not be as effective. When one is in a state of peace or relaxation but cannot fall asleep, one pill would suffice.
Based on research and personal experience, healing sleep is still a function of one’s psychological and physical wellbeing.
The beneficial effects for people on the fast track could be the mélange of a natural hormone with a strong psychological suggestion that induces sleep!
(Contrary to the famous quote, “To sleep, perchance to dream,” this writer has a different creative rhythm. I dream — even before I fall asleep.) ■