November Newsletter

Season’s Greetings from us at Alpine Acupuncture and Magus Family Medicine! The holidays are just around the corner and we are excited to be traveling (with three little ones!) to the Midwest to visit family. The office will be closed Dec 20- Jan 1, but will be open on Friday Jan 2, 2009 for anyone who has been waiting!! So get those appointments in soon, you’ll be feeling great for the long days ahead, and we’ll look forward to being a part of your resolutions for health in the New Year! With the addition of Dr. Katja Magus to our clinic, we will be shifting days around a bit beginning Jan 2009. Carleton will be available M, W, F and Katja will be in the office T and Th. Of course, either of us can help you with scheduling or supplements. If you need other arrangements or have questions, please call us anytime!

Our New Year’s resolution is to double our practice (and number of patients) by March 2009, so we can continue to serve you with a thriving, healthy practice. You can help us towards our goal by referring friends and family to us and by picking up literature and cards for anyone you think might be interested. One of our new packets is “Acupuncture in a Nutshell” and is a great little intro reference, it is available at the front desk! Thanks so much!

This issue of our newsletter focuses on the sleep and also the usefulness of acupuncture in the treatment of nausea.

Doctor’s Notes: Hello everyone, I am glad to say I passed boards and have received my license to practice medicine! It was a long (7 years!) journey but it was so worth it. We recently moved to Issaquah to be closer to our practice and to become a part of this wonderful community. I am slowly working on opening my doors to see you, and will be starting formal hours in the New Year. For now, I am available for 15-30 minute consults, free of charge, to discuss what naturopathic medicine can do for you and your family. Just call to schedule. The process for accepting insurance as payment is slow, so I will first be open for cash patients and later to take insurance. Both Carleton and I are committed to helping everyone have access to quality health care, so please speak to either of us about our sliding scale.
Best wishes for the holidays, Dr. Katja Magus

Sleep

If you or someone you know has insomnia, know that acupuncture combined with Chinese herbs is very effective at treating insomnia. The goal of acupuncture is to help your body adjust so that you will no longer need pharmaceutical or other sleep aids. Let me know if I can help you or someone you love get a good night’s sleep

Sleep is that elusive nighttime activity that so many people have trouble with. We live in a remarkable time in history; the night is as bright as the day. We are bombarded by constant stimulus all day: driving cars, watching TV, using IPODs and Blackberries! It seems we never have time when life is moving slowly. We move and think and do all day. Even when we relax our bodies we rarely rest and “do nothing”. What does all this have to do with sleep? In order to live a healthy, peaceful life we must balance activity with our inactivity. We must have down time during the day so that our body and mind can process events while we are awake and not have to process everything at night. If we find ourselves in ‘fight or flight’ all day, when we try to sleep it becomes difficult to settle into ‘rest and digest’. Our sleep is affected by this constant activity and when we try to regenerate at night, we toss and turn so in the morning we wake not very rested. If the body is not accustomed to shutting down or even slowing down it will find it hard to do so at the end of the day. Take some time every day. Go for a walk, write in a journal, doodle in a notebook. Allow yourself the time for creative expression and relaxed play so that your night can be a time for sleep.


Sleep Hygiene

Sleep is neither a 'dispensable' nor an option! Going without sleep is self-destructive. Potential consequences of sleep deprivation and poor sleep include the following:

• Shortened life spans and higher mortality rates.
• Increased risk of heart disease and stomach problems.
• Irritability, depression.
• In some cases, explosive outbursts and mood swings.
• Increased risk of high-speed highway crashes.
• Decreased work performance and memory lapses.
• Marital, social and employment problems.
• Food cravings, and obesity.

In order to sleep well, it is important to have good sleep hygiene. The principles of sleep hygiene are simple and taught by insomnia clinics, medical doctors, and alternative care practitioners alike. I have found it interesting that many of these principles are not new knowledge but old beliefs being rediscovered and proven by sleep doctors. Some of these principles are part of Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine. And many of us may recognize some from our childhood (mom was right!).

The Do’s:

-Ensure adequate time in bed, free from interruptions and demands. Most adults require 7.5-8.5 hours. Teenagers and children require even more sleep!

-Get up at the same time every day, regardless of what time you fell asleep the night before

-Maintain a consistent bedtime (in bed with lights out); regardless of what time you actually fall asleep

-Keep your bedroom as dark as possible, cover all sources of light (even the clock), and if you get up during the night do not turn on any bright lights. If you live in a well-lit area think about getting blackout curtains.

- Ensure adequate exposure to natural light during the day. Fifteen minutes to a half hour of light exposure helps maintain a healthy sleep-wake cycle.

- The bed should be used for sleep and sex. Learn to associate your bed with relaxation and not with activities that will be likely to keep you alert for prolonged periods (like watching TV).

-If you do take a nap, do not take one in the late afternoon or evening. It is best to take a nap in the early afternoon, after lunch.

-Exercise can promote good sleep. Vigorous exercise should be done in the morning or late afternoon, at least 3-4 hours before bedtime. A relaxing exercise, like yoga, can be done before bed to help initiate a restful night's sleep.


The Don’ts:

-Avoid watching television and using the computer 2 hours before bed. The bright screens change the melatonin levels in the brain and confuse the sleep-wake cycle.

-Avoid large meals and excessive fluid intake that may provoke poor sleep, indigestion, heartburn or frequent awakenings to urinate. Any bedtime snacks should be small and consist of non-spicy foods.

-Don’t go to bed hungry. The best nighttime snacks are high in protein and simple, these help to stabilize the blood sugar at night.

-Don't ingest caffeine or nicotine for at least six hours prior to bedtime.

-Don't drink alcohol for at least four hours prior to bedtime.

-Do not allow yourself to lie in bed worrying about problems or challenges of the upcoming day. If necessary, set aside a 'worry time' some hours before bedtime and tell yourself that any difficulties you cannot resolve during that allotted time can be put off until the next day. Journaling or talking to a friend or counselor is a good way to spend this worry time.

-Do not read interesting materials in bed. You may read something light that helps you wind down. Reading something boring can actually help you fall asleep and get your mind off the day if you are having trouble.

Things to Think About
- Try to gradually decrease the surrounding light levels as you go through the hours before bedtime

-Warm baths (not showers) prior to bedtime truly can prove helpful. It is best if the warm baths (just above body temperature) should be an hour or so before bedtime.

-Set the thermostat down a few degrees and hour before you go to bed. The body naturally slows down and gets ready for sleep when the temperature is lower.

This information is largely is from the following sources:
- Columbus Community Health Regional Sleep Disorders Center
- Michael Thorpy, MD, is the director of the Sleep-Wake Disorders Center Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, New York and an associate professor of neurology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
- Wikipedia
- Stanford University

One last note: If you have children then I would like to suggest the attached article from the New Yorker. Also an excellent book to own is Good Night, Sleep Tight: The Sleep Lady's Gentle Guide to Helping Your Child Go to Sleep, Stay Asleep and Wake Up Happy.


Nausea
Nausea is that queasy uncomfortable feeling in the stomach that can lead to vomiting and generally makes us miserable. If you are suffering from chronic nausea, acupuncture may be able to help you. There are many causes of chronic nausea including morning sickness, migraines, digestive issues, and chemotherapy. For acute nausea you should consult a physician.

Nausea is hard to live with and can make us very uncomfortable. It is our body’s way of telling us something is wrong or a change is happening. During pregnancy, morning sickness is natural and up to 70% of women suffer from nausea during this time. The good news is that acupuncture is very safe, and has a long tradition of helping with these symptoms.

How Acupuncture Can Help
When your stomach is in a knot it is time to come in and see an acupuncturist. Acupuncture is a gentle and safe approach to many chronic digestive symptoms. Your acupuncturist will take your individual constitution into account when determining the right course of treatment. They will select specific points based on traditional concepts and modern research to relieve the nausea. Additional points may be selected to address any anxiety, aid your appetite, decrease pain and help with any other complaints you may have.

Scientific Evidence
There have been studies conducted all over the world verifying the efficacy of acupuncture for nausea in pregnancy and during cancer treatment. In Manchester, England a study concluded that acupuncture showed a statistically significant improvement over placebo for post chemotherapeutic nausea1. In Singapore patients were given acupuncture after their first round of chemotherapy and 26 out of 27 patients had significant decrease in nausea and vomiting2. In Morristown, New Jersey a study of 187 women concluded that acupuncture is effective in reducing nausea and vomiting in symptomatic women in the first trimester of pregnancy3. In Adelaide, Australia, researchers conducted a single blind study with 593 women and concluded that acupuncture is an effective treatment for women who experience nausea and dry retching in early pregnancy4.

1 Complement Ther Med. 2007 Mar;15(1):3-12. Epub 2006 Sep 27.
2 J Altern Complement Med. 2006 Dec;12(10):963-9.
3 Obstet Gynecol. 2003 Jul;102(1):129-35.
4 Complement Ther Med. 2002 Jun;10(2):78-83.