Category: Insomnia

9 Ways to stay healthy and prevent illnesses

2/1/2013

Achieving balance in life is not always easy but it should be what we all thrive for. We all know what can impact our health, and what to avoid (i.e.: drugs, smoking, stress...), in order to stay grounded. Let's focus on what we can DO to prevent chronic illnesses and live a long happy life.
Defining health:
- Eating a wholesome non processed diet that suits you need.
- Go play outside, get some fresh air daily no matter what the weather is like.
- Exercise: whatever you enjoy, hiking, swimming, playing sports, yoga, tai chi.
- Get some sleep, go to bed every night at the same time, practice deep breathing and
let your body relax.
- Having family and/or friends support is crucial to your wellbeing.
- Do you have a purpose, a goal, a vision? Work on it daily.
- Listen to your favorite music, dance, sing and fill your soul with harmony.
- What are you passionate about? what makes you happy? what makes feel alive?
- Use natural therapies for preventive measures: get massages, acupuncture, chiropractic adjustments regularly, talk to a Naturopathic doctor, use infrared saunas, talk to a counsellor...

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Acupuncture for Insomnia

11/6/2012

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Chronic Insomnia
It can take different forms, such as the inability to fall asleep when going to bed, waking up during the night and not being able to fall back asleep, or not sleeping at all. 50% of insomnia disorders are attributed to anxiety, stress, or depression.

Common causes:
- Emotional or mental disorders.
- Stress!
- Chronic illness such as Fibromyalgia, Arthritis, Parkinson's.
- Diet: eating late at night, too much food, indigestion, coffee consumption.
- Jet lag
- Medications such as beta blockers or decongestants.
- Lack of Calcium and magnesium.
- Sedentary lifestyle!
- Restless leg syndrome, sleep Apnea may also be the cause of insomnia.

Recommendations:
- Supplement with Calcium and Magnesium (it has a calming effect).
- Melatonin 2 hrs before bedtime (It is a natural hormone to promote sleep used occasionally only and do not give it children).
- Herbs: Valerian root, lemon balm, kava kava or hops in tea form before bed.
- Food that promotes sleep to be eaten at dinner time or as a snack before bed: banana, figs, dates, nut butter, turkey, yogurt.
- Food that stimulate your brain and to be avoided at night: cheese, sugar, chocolate, bacon, ham, sausage, sauerkraut, tomatoes, spinach and eggplant.
- Do not eat large meals in the evenings.
- Avoid alcohol, caffeine, and any stimulants 6 hrs before bed.
- Go to bed when tired, establish regular sleeping patterns, do not watch Tv in bed, do not read or watch stimulating programs (No "Breaking Bad" right before sleep!), use your bedroom only for sleep and sex, sleep in a dark quiet room with a comfortable temperature.
- Take a hot bath before bed.
- Exercise regularly.
- Put your worries out of your mind and concentrate on pleasant memories.
- Have you tried acupuncture and Chinese Medicine? It works wonders for sleep.

Clara Cohen
Healing Cedar Wellness

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What are the best times to exercise, eat, rest, and meditate?

9/7/2012

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What is the best time to exercise? Worst time for coffee? Best time to meditate? Worst time to watch a thriller? According to Acupuncture and Chinese medicine theory, each system/organ is most active during specific 2 hour spans within a 24 hour day. Since great health is all about balance and prevention, here's a few things you may want to do (or avoid) during these specific hours to reap the benefits of optimum health.

Did you know that most heart attacks happen around noon? The Heart system/organ is most active between 11 am and 1 pm: avoid caffeine and any stimulants during that time. Look at the Latin countries: they take their time at lunch, they don't multitask, they relax and enjoy their food. At lunch, leave the office, go for a walk, breathe some fresh air and eat peacefully without distractions. I know: easy to say, and not always easy to do. But give it a try at least a few times/week.

Do you wake up often between 1 am and 3 am? This is the Liver system/organ time. The liver helps the body regenerate at night. So when someone is awake during those 2 hours, it is usually a good indication that stress is a factor. If you do wake up during the Liver time, figure out ways to relax and deal with stress. Listen to your body, it gives you clues all the time.

What is the best time to exercise? Definitely not in the evening between 7 and 9 pm. The Pericardium system/organ is prominent between those hours. Being the cover of the heart, the pericardium protects it. So this would not be a good time to exercise vigorously, or watch a thriller in your bedroom before sleep. Instead it’s the perfect time to meditate, listen to soft music or take a warm bath.

According to Chinese medicine, the Spleen system/organ is strong between 9 am and 11 am, and is in charge of the muscular energy of the body. So this period is often the best time to exercise, right after breakfast.
The Stomach system/organ is between 7 to 9 am. This should make sense to everyone, as it is the best time to eat breakfast and feed the body for the day ahead.

The Large Intestine system/organ is between 5 to 7 am. Obviously the best time to have a bowel movement. But if you have one later during the day, it's still good! Not having one at all is a problem!

Chinese medicine is fascinating, and makes a lot of sense. It really promotes listening to the body and mind, as well as working on a daily basis at keeping our health in balance and preventing illnesses.

Clara Cohen
Port Moody Healing Cedar Wellness
Registered Acupuncturist

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"Red wine is great for me" The research said so!

4/12/2012

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"Red wine is great for my health."
Looking deeper at research & Acupuncture

Have you heard? French people have very low occurrence of Cardiovascular diseases and less heart attacks than North Americans. Of course, you've heard. Books, television, and articles basically have been telling us that even though the french diet is heavy in fat, cream and butter, their hearts are in great shape. And all because of red wine. Are you kidding me?

I was born and raised in France and I can tell you, it's true! They don't die of heart attacks. Oh no, they all get liver failure and lung cancer, instead! So much better. The instance of Lung, and throat cancer in France is enormous: my mom smoked 2 packs/day for 60 years (that's an average there). Liver cirrhosis and Liver failure is also very common: I have been around enough drunk people to see the effect of alcohol has on them. Not pretty.
So drink red wine, eat cheese, and butter your white bread, apparently you'll be just fine.

So my point here is when reading about research, take it with a grain of salt. Because it's all relative. When studies come out about acupuncture with percentage of success or failure, I smile. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a complex modality and very thorough, but unfortunately it is very difficult to measure its results. Here's why.

TCM looks at the root cause of the problem, not the outcome. Each patient is unique with their own constitution, lifestyle and living environment. If a study looks at the effect of acupuncture or Chinese herbal remedies on insomnia, it would be difficult to get an accurate result, as the study conducted would treat all participants the same way. But everyone is so different how could it work?

Let's look at 2 patients (Sue & Mark) coming for the same reason: Insomnia.
- Solution A: sleeping pills for Sue & Mark. Not my kind of temporary solution, but what the heck, if that's your cup of tea.
- Solution B: natural treatments: herbal teas, melatonin. Temporary natural solution. Helpful.
- Solution C: TCM treatments. Long term results. The practitioner needs to do a full consultation (sometimes lasting over 1 hour to be totally thorough) and establish a treatment plan suitable for each patient. It may take a while for the issue to be resolved depending on how long it's been going on, but it will result in a longer lasting effect.

2 patients, 2 different symptoms, 2 different people:
- Sue: takes 2 to 4 hours to fall asleep each night. She says, she has a million thoughts running through her mind at night, she starts worrying and cannot shut her brain off (Did you recognize yourself there?). She eventually falls asleep but in the morning, she has to drag herself out of bed. She's fatigue all day long. She gets anxious often and worries constantly.

- Mark: goes to bed at 11 pm and falls asleep easily. He wakes up though every night between 2 am and 3 am and he just lays there, feeling restless. He's never tired. He is jumpy, feels stressed due to his job and gets irritable and short tempered with his family.

Those are 2 different types of insomnia. And that just the sleeping part, we need to figure out what else is out of balance in the body, and look for the root cause (In the 2 cases, emotions and stress). So we'll ask about each and every system in your body, from your digestion to your memory. If we treated those 2 patients the same way, it would not work well. Sue looks weak and deficient, so we may strengthen her, and calm her overactive mind. Mark seems strong but too hyper, so we may relax and soothe him in order to calm his mind. Different treatment principles.

TCM is a complex medicine that treats the patient first, not the disease, and looks at the root of the problem for prevention of re-occurrence.
I have been practicing for many years and still get amazed by the great outcome of Acupuncture & TCM treatments. it challenges me every day and I love how specific a practitioner has to be in order to help patients feel their best and reach optimum health.
Give it a try, you too will be amazed.

Clara Cohen
Port Moody & Coquitlam Acupuncturist

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"I love my job!
My patients keep me humble daily, and helping them reach their health goals is the best reward of all. And every morning I cannot wait to go teach and inspire students to love Acupuncture as much as I do. If I can make a difference in someone's life on a daily basis, I feel I have reached my own goal."

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"I feel blessed to a have supporting husband, a loyal dog, amazing friends and to live in beautiful Port Moody, BC"

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9 Ways to stay healthy and prevent illnesses

Acupuncture for Insomnia

What are the best times to exercise, eat, rest, and meditate?

"Red wine is great for me" The research said so!

"Red wine is great for my health."
Looking deeper at research & Acupuncture

Clara's Blog

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9 Ways to stay healthy and prevent illnesses

Acupuncture for Insomnia

What are the best times to exercise, eat, rest, and meditate?

"Red wine is great for me" The research said so!

"Red wine is great for my health." Looking deeper at research & Acupuncture

Clara's Blog

Archives

Categories

"Red wine is great for my health."
Looking deeper at research & Acupuncture