Many people find that fresh air is a great help in getting to sleep.
It’s natural in the summer months to open the bedroom windows to let some fresh air in: it’s a relaxing feeling to have a gentle breeze into the room in which you sleep and our natural inclination is to open windows.
People often find that their insomnia is seasonally affected. Often, they find it harder to get to sleep during the colder months of the year. Some people put this down to the reduction in the amount of daylight they are subjected to, or perhaps to a mild case of SAD. (seasonal affective disorder)
There may be some truth in these assumptions, and the solution could be very simple: open the window.
A modern, well-insulated home becomes an isolated bubble in the winter months. Cold air is kept out and warm in and we’re soon breathing ‘stale’ air. Relying on this stale air can be enough to give people a problem with insomnia.
Getting fresh air is harder than ever in the cold of the winter. We look out of the window to see snow and ice everywhere and the idea of throwing a window open to let some fresh air in (last thing at night particularly) just doesn’t cross our minds.
Insomnia is a miserable condition from which to suffer, as anyone who has lain through the wee small hours praying for sleep to come will testify. It can affect your whole life and even cause more serious problems such as depression and anxiety disorders.
However, you can get some fresher air into your home in the cold winter months, and here are a few things you might like to try:
1. Buy an air purifier: These nifty little machines are getting more and more common – you’ll find them easily online and might even see them in your local hardware store. Technology has made these machines small enough to move around your home so you can freshen up your bedroom at night and the rest of your home during the daytime.
2. Install a fan: Ceiling fans are dual action wonders if only you remember to use them throughout the years. They don’t just cool a summer room; they can circulate the air around a room when it’s cold. You might need to hire a handyman or electrician to install your ceiling fan.
3. Change your furnace: The newest furnaces are actually designed to keep air in circulation. In fact, they are now very sophisticated climate-control machines and a new furnace, particularly if you live somewhere very cold, could well help you sleep too.
If you’re lucky enough to live in more temperate climes then do the natural thing and leave the windows open when you can. In fact, if the temperatures are high enough where you live then you probably do this anyway, quite naturally, because you know it’s a good way to help you get a good night’s sleep.
Vitamin B6, also known as Pyridoxine, is a real vitamin powerhouse. Dr. Ellis, of Mount Pleasant, Texas, has studied the vitamin for over 30 years, and rates its importance to the body as highly as that of water or oxygen.
Pyridoxine, says Ellis, is vital to giving us sufficient energy and also plays a role in many nerve disorders and psychological problems and psychiatric illnesses.
Without Vitamin B6, the red cells in our blood would not regenerate and it is vital to the immune system. Vitamin B6 is particularly useful in staving off cancer of the liver.
Our memory relies on neurotransmitters which cannot be produced without Vitamin B6. Glucose intolerance too can be limited with Vitamin B6. As if all that weren’t enough, Dr. Ellis’ findings suggest Vitamin B6 relieves asthma by lowering histamine levels in the body. Arteriosclerosis is caused by a blood-borne chemical and B6 lowers levels of this chemical.
Its action on histamine may help with allergies other than asthma. It can alleviate the symptoms of PMS by acting as a diuretic. If all this weren’t enough, Vitamin B6 is also credited with a helpful role in skin health, morning sickness and acne.
Who Might Need More Vitamin B6
It would seem that almost all of us can benefit from more Vitamin B6. Anyone who suffers from stress, for example, as well as people exposed to extra high levels of chemicals in their environment. Smokers can benefit too. Anyone who suffers from PMS; women going through the menopause and the elderly are all on the list of those who might benefit from extra levels of Vitamin B6.
The Symptoms of a Deficiency of Pyridoxine
As we have seen, almost anyone can benefit from extra Vitamin B6, and the symptoms of a deficiency can be serious. Medical evidence has linked Pyridoxine deficiency with lethargy, anemia and depression. Tingling and numbness in the joints and Carpal tunnel syndrome can show that a patient is deficient in Vitamin B6. PMS, kidney stones and insomnia have also been suggested as symptoms of Vitamin B6.
Nutritional Sources of Vitamin B6, and Should You Supplement?
Vitamin B6 can be found in a whole host of foods, many of which we naturally consider as “healthy”: for example yeast extract; bananas; poultry; whole grains, including brown rice and whole wheat; organ meat such as liver; nuts and legumes (peanuts are not true nuts, but legumes, like beans); and avocados.
If you think you need to take a supplement to support your intake of Vitamin B6, then the best advice is to take a food-based supplement of Vitamin B Complex: trying to take B vitamins can be difficult to balance correctly and can even damage health.
Despite all these advantages, it is possible to take too much Vitamin B6: symptoms are similar to some of the nerve damage symptoms associated with deficiency. If you intend to take high doses of any vitamin you should consult your doctor first and it is almost always advisable to try and increase your intake naturally in what you eat first.
