Health for a Lifetime

Sleeping Disorders

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Don Mckintosh (Host), David DeRose

Home

Series Code: HFAL

Program Code: HFAL000174


00:49 Hello and welcome to Health for a Lifetime.
00:50 I'm your host Don Mackintosh.
00:52 Today we're going to talk about insomnia which means... well,
00:56 we'll learn more about it in a minute as we talk to our guest.
00:59 Our guest is Dr. David DeRose.
01:01 He's a physician from southern Oklahoma.
01:03 He started a ministry entitled, "CompassHealth," available
01:09 on the internet, compasshealth. net
01:11 Dr. DeRose we're glad that you've joined us.
01:14 It's always good to be with you, Don.
01:15 Now you trained in internal medicine, which is looking
01:18 more closely at medical conditions, but also you're
01:22 interested in preventive health, in other words
01:25 preventing things.
01:26 CompassHealth - tell me a little bit about this ministry.
01:30 CompassHealth has been around for about 3 years.
01:33 We really started the ministry to focus more on giving broader
01:38 dissemination to health wisdom that God has given to His people
01:43 collectively.
01:44 We just find out in the market place that many people don't
01:48 recognize the really cutting edge insights that God has in
01:52 the scriptures and scriptural principles.
01:54 So CompassHealth has started with that in mind.
01:57 We do a lot with various types of media.
02:00 I host a regular radio show and a number of TV appearances
02:05 of which we are doing one right now, seminars, and do
02:09 a lot of writing as well.
02:10 compasshealth. net
02:13 Does God have anything to say or science have anything to say
02:17 about this problem of insomnia?
02:19 First of all what is it?
02:20 Some background on it and then I guess you're going to share
02:24 with us some things to do that are non drug type strategies
02:28 to deal with it.
02:29 Well, this is a huge problem.
02:30 If you just look at medical magazines, medical journals,
02:35 you'll realize it's a pressing problem because every
02:38 medical journal, I haven't done a study on it, but it seems
02:41 like every journal I get has ads for the latest and greatest
02:45 sleeping pill.
02:46 People are troubled in our society with insomnia.
02:50 It's even more frustrating because we're probably
02:52 driving ourselves harder than ever before
02:55 and as far as the little amount of time that we spend in bed
03:02 sleeping, so it's very frustrating if you finally
03:05 get a chance to lay down and you can't fall asleep!
03:07 Very frustrating!
03:08 I don't seem to have this problem in my discipline
03:11 which is preaching.
03:12 A lot of people seem to go to sleep during my sermons.
03:14 But at night their having problems, right?
03:17 Yes, exactly.
03:18 The problems really are caused by a host of things.
03:22 We have what we call primary insomnia.
03:24 That means where the insomnia is occurring for reasons that
03:28 the average medical professional would not identify.
03:31 It's not some clear cut disease state that's causing
03:34 the sleep problems.
03:35 But then there's secondary insomnia
03:36 where actually medical conditions are causing
03:39 the problems.
03:40 So it may be a woman who's going through menopause,
03:41 through the hormonal changes are interfering with her sleep.
03:44 Could be restless leg syndrome, or sleep apnea,
03:48 breathing problems, disordered breathing problems at night,
03:51 So there can be these so called secondary causes of insomnia
03:55 there's a medical condition.
03:56 The treatment for those we're not going to say the treatment
03:59 is not necessarily just what we're going to be talking
04:04 about today because we want to talk about general strategies.
04:07 Specific strategies are called for if there's a medical
04:11 condition that's causing the sleeping problem.
04:13 The restless leg syndrome - is that mean like your leg
04:15 is keeping you awake at night?
04:17 It's sometimes spoken of a movement disorder.
04:21 Periodic movement disorder can sometimes affect the legs
04:24 but it can affect other parts of the body as well.
04:25 So, you're going to share with us some basic principles on how
04:30 to address this problem.
04:32 One of the things you say is have a daily sleep routine.
04:35 That's right.
04:36 This is something that most people in our culture
04:39 have gotten away from.
04:40 In the old days we used to do things in a fairly typical way.
04:44 We were living closer to the land.
04:47 Our forefathers were farmers, many of them, and they had to
04:52 be disciplined.
04:53 Well, in our culture, what we do is we tend to run on one
04:56 schedule during the week and another schedule
04:58 on the week end.
05:00 And even during the week, if there's a program we want to
05:03 watch that's on late at night, we'll watch that.
05:07 If we've got something pressing, now I'm not saying
05:11 we've got to be, "Uh oh, Don, it's 9:15, I've got to
05:15 start my bedtime routine, it was nice that you stopped by
05:18 10 minutes ago but you're not part of my routine, so time
05:21 to go. "
05:22 We're not talking about interfering with our Christian
05:24 ministry and our walk.
05:26 But at the same time we're saying if we do things in a
05:29 more regimented way, have a routine, schedule, and a
05:32 sleep routine, most of us don't make a big enough distinction
05:36 between our waking hours and our sleeping time.
05:39 We don't give our bodies any chance to wind down.
05:44 I've noticed with my children, my 18 month old and my
05:49 5 year old, that at certain times if they go past a certain
05:54 time 7:00, 8:00 o'clock at night and we ramp it up
05:57 they have a real hard time going to sleep.
06:01 But if they have a routine they go to sleep.
06:06 But that routine, just like it's important for the kids
06:09 it's important for adults and some of the things that can
06:13 contribute to conducive routine.
06:14 But the message is though making a distinction between waking
06:19 activities and sleep.
06:21 You're balancing your check book at the same time you're watching
06:24 the evening news and you're thinking about all the problems
06:28 you're going to handle the next day by writing a list.
06:30 That is not putting your mind or your body in a
06:34 framework to rest.
06:35 So take a shower, take a bath, read something devotional,
06:40 play a musical instrument for a little bit.
06:44 Some routine, something that you do that helps you wind down
06:47 and tells your body "I'm now getting ready for bed. "
06:49 Ok, what about late night meals?
06:53 Late night meals - you know the conventional wisdom on this one
06:56 is they can help you sleep.
06:58 And they actually can.
07:00 Some people by eating right before they go to bed
07:02 it will help them sleep.
07:04 Many people notice this.
07:06 They say, "You know when I eat I get sleepy right after. "
07:10 But here's the problem.
07:11 If your blood sugar is rising early in your sleeping hours,
07:16 in other words you've eaten a meal and you go to sleep,
07:20 certain restorative hormones in your body are going
07:24 to be suppressed.
07:25 You're not going to make as much melatonin as your body needs.
07:29 You're not going to make as much growth hormone.
07:31 Growth hormone is not just needed by kids to grow taller.
07:34 It's needed by adults to build up the body
07:36 from the wear and tear of the day.
07:38 If your blood sugar is rising you're not going to get
07:41 optimal levels of those.
07:42 So yes, eating late at night may help you fall asleep.
07:45 People recognize that.
07:48 But it can contribute to poor quality sleep.
07:51 Many people notice that not only they poor quality sleep
07:54 they sometimes report more vivid dreams, nightmares,
07:57 and things when they eat right before going to bed.
08:00 Ok, so there's a definite payoff and there's not a good payoff.
08:03 What is some other things we can do to avoid insomnia?
08:09 Well, avoiding insomnia is great.
08:13 Treating insomnia or addressing it is also important.
08:16 One of the things that does both is regular physical exercise.
08:19 Exercise - we've got to be a little careful with this one.
08:23 I know we've talked about it before on other programs,
08:27 but it's important to emphasize it in this context.
08:30 Physical exercise is important for regulating our metabolism.
08:35 Many people go to bed at night.
08:37 They're laying in bed and they can't sleep.
08:40 They're in a state of what we call hypertonic fatigue.
08:43 Hypertonic fatigue - now that's sounds important.
08:44 It is very important and that's why I mentioned it.
08:47 Your muscles are tense and they're trying to lay there
08:50 and go to sleep and they can't fall asleep.
08:53 The strategy for hypertonic fatigue is not rest -
08:57 it's exercise.
08:58 But if you're laying in bed and your muscles are all tense
09:02 and you can't relax, you don't want to go out and run 5 miles
09:07 because many people will find that late night exercise
09:11 wakes them up.
09:12 So what you do at night if you can't fall asleep, this is
09:17 what I do, it's not frequent, but if I lay down and I can't
09:21 fall asleep and feel more tense, I'll get up and take a walk.
09:24 A light, slow walk, maybe just walk through
09:28 my living room and pray, maybe walk outside my house,
09:32 whatever.
09:33 I'm in a fairly quiet area so it's not walking in the streets
09:37 of Manhattan.
09:38 The kids are old enough now that the living room is not dangerous
09:40 to walk through like mine.
09:41 That's right.
09:42 So the idea is the light exercise at night if you're
09:45 having trouble sleeping can be an excellent strategy.
09:49 But during the day doing more vigorous exercise can help
09:52 you at night time have your muscles relax and get some of
09:55 that tension out so you can fall asleep better.
09:57 I notice that when I do have a good exercise program
10:00 in the morning or during the day I don't have to sleep as much.
10:04 That's right.
10:05 Why is that?
10:06 It's because your body is operating more efficiently.
10:08 At least that's the way that I conceptualize it.
10:11 There's several things going on.
10:13 One is your sleep quality may be better.
10:16 Your muscle tension is less when you go to bed.
10:19 There's a number of things that happen with exercise
10:22 metabolically that seems to be useful.
10:25 Optimal, daylight sunlight exposure you're talking
10:29 about as well here.
10:31 Yes.
10:32 Most of us live in an artificial environment.
10:34 Most of our jobs call for us to be indoors in our culture.
10:37 So we're not getting exposed to outdoor light.
10:40 People that wake up in the middle of the night
10:43 and can't fall asleep.
10:44 It's 2:00 o'clock, 3:00 o'clock in the morning and they wake up.
10:48 They can't fall back to sleep.
10:49 Many of these people are helped by getting
10:52 bright light exposure.
10:53 By bright light we're speaking of light like you get outside.
10:56 Like what we have right here?
10:57 This is very bright.
10:59 I don't know how many lux this is but a bright day outside
11:02 would be like 3,000 lux, somewhere in that range,
11:05 that's a unit of light measurement.
11:07 So yes, this is doing us good even though we're indoors
11:10 recording this.
11:12 Late in the day, if the show is being recorded 5:00-6:00 o'clock
11:17 or bright light therapy, if someone 5 or 6 p. m. sometimes
11:22 in some parts of the country in the winter months
11:25 it may be dark, so they can use a light box.
11:28 But the idea is that bright light exposure helps to set the
11:31 circadian rhythm and the person will often sleep better
11:34 through the night.
11:35 What about sleep environment?
11:37 Sleep environment - this is a very important one.
11:40 Some people say. "Hey, I can sleep anywhere. "
11:43 That's great if they really can.
11:45 But most people can't.
11:46 There's several qualities of an optimal sleep environment.
11:50 One - it should be generally most people sleep better
11:54 in a cool environment - not cold so they're shivering
11:57 - but a cool environment.
11:59 They should be comfortable when they're lying down.
12:02 It should be quiet and should be dark as possible is the most
12:07 conducive for optimal sleep.
12:09 So what if your husband or wife snores?
12:12 If your husband or wife snores that definitely produces some
12:15 challenges.
12:16 The challenge may actually be worse for them because the
12:18 snoring could indicate a tendency to sleep apnea.
12:22 So especially if they're stopping breathing at night
12:25 they've got a major sleep problem.
12:27 But for you, that snoring is not helping you sleep either is it?
12:32 I'm not admitting to anything for myself but the person
12:36 that goes through it, yes, probably so.
12:37 I realize that but if you were in a room...
12:39 I had a friend just the other day they were telling me
12:43 that they were at a Christian camp and there was some
12:46 shortage in housing.
12:47 So in with their family they moved some other people
12:50 and one of those people snored the whole night.
12:52 One of the children came in with one of the parents saying
12:56 "I can't sleep, I can't sleep. "
12:58 So, yes, we can relate to this.
13:01 What do you do?
13:02 Many people say the only way I can sleep is to sleep in
13:05 another room.
13:06 Other people say, "What is the cause of the snoring?"
13:10 Many people if they are over weight and snoring,
13:12 weight loss can help address the snoring.
13:14 There are other techniques that can address that.
13:17 There are surgical techniques because sometimes the snoring
13:19 is really a problem contributing to sleep apnea.
13:23 But the other strategy is just using ear plugs.
13:26 Some people with simple in the ear, ear plugs decreasing
13:30 the sound 25 decimals and then putting some white noise on
13:33 at the same time - fan running, sounds of the ocean, whatever -
13:37 the snoring will just blend right into that.
13:40 Someone told me once to put a tennis ball in a sock
13:43 in your back.
13:44 If you got some people snoring and they roll over they hit that
13:46 and then they'll go on their side and won't snore anymore.
13:48 Sometimes that does work.
13:49 That's a good strategy.
13:51 I'm glad you're the host of the show because that's one
13:53 I wouldn't have mentioned.
13:54 That does work for some people.
13:56 We're talking with Dr. David DeRose.
13:59 We're talking about insomnia.
14:00 It's something that is a big problem.
14:04 Join us when we come back and continue talking
14:06 about this subject.
14:09 Have you found yourself wishing that you could
14:11 shed a few pounds?
14:12 Have you been on a diet for most of your life?
14:14 But not found anything that will really keep the weight off?
14:17 If you've answered yes to any of these questions, then we
14:21 have a solution for you that works.
14:23 Dr. Hans Diehl and Dr. Aileen Ludington
14:26 have written a marvelous booklet called,
14:28 Reversing Obesity Naturally, and we'd like to send it to you
14:31 free of charge.
14:33 Here's a medically sound approach successfully used
14:36 by thousands who are able to eat more
14:38 and loose weight permanently
14:39 without feeling guilty or hungry through lifestyle medicine.
14:43 Dr. Diehl and Dr. Ludington have been featured on 3ABN
14:47 and in this booklet they present a sensible approach to eating,
14:50 nutrition, and lifestyle changes that can help you prevent
14:54 heart disease, diabetes, and even cancer.
14:56 Call or write today for your free copy:
15:09 Welcome back.
15:10 We talking with Dr. David DeRose.
15:11 He's a physician in southern Oklahoma.
15:13 We're talking with Dr. DeRose today, about insomnia.
15:16 He has a webpage compasshealth. net
15:20 where a lot of this information can be shared
15:22 even in more detail.
15:23 You're keeping me awake here!
15:25 This program has not put me to sleep but the object of this
15:28 program is to put me to sleep - put people to sleep so they
15:30 can get a good night's rest!
15:32 Isn't that right?
15:33 Well, that's the goal and if they fall asleep during the
15:35 program we'll just consider it a compliment.
15:38 So we've talked about several strategies.
15:40 We won't go over those again because there's quite a bit
15:43 more we have to cover.
15:44 But you're saying also avoid unnecessary stimulants.
15:47 What do you mean by that?
15:48 Well, you know the two primary stimulants that we use in our
15:51 country are caffeine and nicotine.
15:53 Both of those habits are often things that
15:57 people use throughout the day.
15:58 Caffeine taken even after noon, as early as 12:00, 1:00 o'clock
16:05 in the day, you know 1:00 p. m. can interfere with sleep
16:08 in the night for many people that are sensitive.
16:10 So really the best policy with caffeine is leave it out
16:13 altogether.
16:14 If you feel you must use caffeine, if you're having
16:16 trouble sleeping, definitely don't have any of it after
16:19 noon.
16:20 When it comes to nicotine, well I don't know of any people
16:23 that are addicted to nicotine that stop using it at noon.
16:26 Nicotine really is another compound that interferes
16:30 with quality sleep.
16:31 They both work together, don't they?
16:32 They're both stimulants.
16:34 Alcohol?
16:35 Well, alcohol generally in the levels that it's used
16:39 has more of a depressant effect.
16:40 So many, many people have found that alcohol is something
16:44 that can help them sleep.
16:46 You don't recommend that though?
16:47 No, I don't recommend it.
16:48 The reason why is sleep is just not an all or none phenomena.
16:52 We have what is called a sleep architecture.
16:55 We go through stages of sleep.
16:57 If you take alcohol it interferes with quality sleep.
17:01 It interferes with the sleep architecture.
17:03 You don't get the restful sleep that you need.
17:05 So alcohol is not a short-cut to better sleep.
17:08 Leave it alone.
17:10 You're asleep but you're not asleep.
17:11 You're not getting the kind of sleep you need.
17:12 That's right.
17:13 What about medications that disrupt sleep?
17:16 Are there any that do that?
17:17 Well, there's other medications.
17:18 Of course we've mentioned caffeine and nicotine.
17:22 Those are drugs,
17:23 but we don't usually think of them as medications.
17:24 Diuretics, water pills - many people take those late
17:30 in the day or even earlier in the day and they're going to
17:32 the bathroom throughout the night.
17:34 Now, I'm not making a plea on international television
17:37 for people to stop using their diuretics because if
17:40 they've got congestive heart failure, believe me getting up
17:43 to go to the bathroom is better than suffocating in your sleep.
17:46 Don't stop your Lasix, don't stop your?
17:48 That's right!
17:49 But if you're on a diuretic maybe for high blood pressure
17:53 it maybe worth talking with the doctor if you're getting
17:56 up frequently - "Is there another medication I could use?"
17:58 Are there some lifestyle strategies that would free me
18:01 from reliance on this drug?
18:03 What about ways to position yourself to increase sleep?
18:10 Yes, this is an interesting question.
18:11 Sleep position a lot of people think well this doesn't have
18:15 much to do with quality of sleep.
18:16 As we get older, most all of us will experience some degree of
18:22 osteoarthritis.
18:24 These are just normal degenerative changes that happen
18:27 in our bony structure.
18:28 Many, many people have problems for instance with back pain,
18:32 or arm, or neck, or other pain.
18:35 Sleep position can have a profound role on us.
18:38 Let's just talk about low back pain - very common.
18:40 If someone is being interrupted as far as their sleep because of
18:45 their low back bothering them, what can they do?
18:47 One of the strategies is to keep you knees bent
18:50 when you're sleeping.
18:51 So if you're laying on your back put a large pillow under your
18:56 knees so your knees are bent.
18:57 Behind the small of your back put a lumbar roll, a small roll
19:02 maybe this size or smaller.
19:05 Like a towel or a blanket or a special pillow that you can buy
19:09 for that purpose.
19:10 That will help take the stress off the low back and if you're
19:13 not being awakened with pain that's great.
19:15 If you're sleeping on your side, again a pillow between
19:17 the knees, knees bent so that the hips are aligned just like
19:22 they would be if you were standing up.
19:25 Should we watch TV in bed?
19:27 Well, if you have no problem with insomnia it may be ok.
19:31 But for people with insomnia, we say, "Look it, make the
19:36 bedroom a room that is especially focused on
19:40 non-normal-waking activities.
19:44 Don't be eating in bed, don't reading the newspaper in bed.
19:51 Make the bedroom a place that is not an environment
19:56 where you are doing normal waking activities.
19:58 If I can't go to sleep and I'm saying I don't know if I'm ever
20:01 going to get to sleep, should I lay in bed thinking about it,
20:03 or should I get up?
20:04 Common scenario.
20:05 That's a destructive scenario, really, psychologically.
20:10 What happens, many people who have insomnia
20:12 becomes a vicious cycle.
20:13 Like you said, they're laying in bed saying, "I can't sleep,
20:16 I know it's going to be another terrible night, how can I
20:19 tomorrow, what am I going to do tomorrow?!"
20:21 The best strategy to do is if you're getting frustrated
20:25 you can't fall asleep, get up, do something!
20:29 Do some light activity, pray, take a light walk, whatever
20:33 it might be, don't lay there ruminating about how terrible
20:37 it's going to be because you can't sleep.
20:39 Maybe people that are having problems with sleep just don't
20:43 need as much sleep?
20:44 Well, it is true there are differences in
20:46 sleep requirements.
20:47 This is an important thing to recognize because we've been
20:52 doing a lot of education lately about telling people
20:54 that we need to sleep more.
20:55 Because this is a society who are really cutting ourselves
20:58 short on sleep.
21:00 So people are getting this message that you're probably
21:03 better off having 8 or 9 hours of sleep a night.
21:05 As we get older we often can't sleep that much.
21:08 And that's ok.
21:10 If you find that you can't perform the next day...
21:13 If you wake up at 4:30 in the morning and you feel rested
21:17 say, "Praise the Lord!"
21:19 Ok, I'm up early.
21:20 I can take some time with the Lord before anyone's calling
21:23 me on my phone.
21:24 So what do we really normally need,
21:27 a normal person - say age category?
21:30 The rule of thumb that we often talk about - 7-9 hours of sleep
21:36 in our adult life.
21:38 It's a reasonable rule of thumb.
21:40 If someone finds in their 70's or 80's they're only
21:43 sleeping 6 hours at night, they feel rested when they
21:47 get up at 5:00, but at 11:00 in the morning they're tired
21:50 well, then take a rest.
21:51 You can take a nap before noon, before lunch time.
21:55 That usually will not interfere with evening sleep.
21:59 Relaxation techniques?
22:00 That's an excellent thing to bring up.
22:02 Because that's another great thing you can do.
22:04 If you're in bed and you say, "Look it, I don't like this
22:07 DeRose guy.
22:08 I like Don Mackintosh a lot better.
22:10 DeRose says get out of bed when you're frustrated.
22:12 Mackintosh says relaxation techniques. "
22:14 That's another alternative.
22:15 So instead of being frustrated laying in bed,
22:17 do some progressive muscle relaxation.
22:20 Progressive relaxations you know like when you start with your
22:22 toes, tense them up and then relax them.
22:26 Do the same with your feet and ankle.
22:29 Just consciously doing some of those relaxation exercises
22:34 can really help.
22:35 Without waking your spouse up, hopefully.
22:37 Yes, you want to make sure and not wake the spouse.
22:40 You've got the message right.
22:41 How can I put a stop to racing thoughts?
22:43 My mind is going round and round.
22:45 You're thinking about all the programs you're
22:48 recording here at 3ABN?
22:49 That and whatever else comes up.
22:52 There are a number of strategies.
22:54 One of my favorites is a sleep tape.
22:57 A sleep tape?
22:59 Like is this Scotch tape, masking tape?
23:01 No, no, this is a tape recording - a sleep CD.
23:04 Or a sleep MP3.
23:07 Whatever medium you want to record on to.
23:11 What you do is you play this
23:14 when you're having trouble sleeping.
23:15 What you want is you want something that is engaging
23:19 but not stimulating.
23:20 Yes, ok, so not rock-in-roll.
23:23 Not rock-in-roll.
23:24 Let me give you an example.
23:25 Scripture - narrative portions of Scripture, the story of the
23:30 Exodus, Jesus ministry.
23:31 You know what happens when the children of Israel
23:35 get to the Red Sea.
23:36 Yes, I know.
23:37 Ok, the Red Sea parts.
23:38 You're not going to be laying there in suspense,
23:40 wondering are they all going to get wiped out, right?
23:41 No.
23:42 You don't listen to the latest Stephen King thriller.
23:46 You listen to soothing portions of Scripture.
23:49 That's right - soothing portions of Scripture that focus your
23:52 mind, engage your mind, but do not stimulate it.
23:54 Herbal preparations vs. medications?
23:57 Well, there are herbal preparations that have
24:00 sedative effects.
24:01 One of the more popular ones is Valerian seems to be
24:04 generally safe and somewhat effective.
24:07 Chamomile is on the list.
24:09 There are other things that are sometimes used.
24:11 You have these listed on compasshealth. net?
24:14 Yes, on compasshealth. net we have a list of some of these
24:16 common herbs.
24:18 Melatonin use?
24:19 Melatonin does have a role in my opinion.
24:21 It's being used therapeutically.
24:23 We encourage people not to get melatonin from natural sources.
24:27 And the reason a lot of people are surprised...
24:29 "Dr. DeRose, you are always advocating natural therapies. "
24:32 But natural melatonin can come from the brain of animals -
24:35 pituitaries of animals- and with our concerns for mad cow disease
24:41 and related disorders we are very concerned about not using
24:44 organ sources for the melatonin.
24:47 And that says on the bottle?
24:49 It may say on the bottle, it may not, you may need
24:52 to call the company.
24:53 Make sure that you're not getting that kind of melatonin.
24:55 Vitamin B12?
24:56 Vitamin B12- many people are deficient in Vitamin B12.
25:01 There does seem to be some evidence that it may have a role
25:04 in some of the things that people awake if their
25:07 deficiency has nerve related functions.
25:08 So make sure you're getting adequate Vitamin B12.
25:12 Ok, herbal preparations vs. medications, you're saying avoid
25:17 the medications if possible?
25:19 Well, I'm not going to say there is never a situation where
25:21 a person would use a medication.
25:23 I'm not going to be that cut and dried.
25:25 If you're in a hospital situation, if you've got some
25:28 acute loss and your doctor prescribes you a sleeping pill
25:30 for 7 days, I'm not going to say it's wrong under all
25:33 circumstances to use that.
25:35 But really beware - typically people responsible in sleep
25:38 medicine are saying that these sleep medications generally
25:42 are short term strategies.
25:44 You need to look at the bigger picture - what's keeping
25:47 you awake - look at some of these natural strategies
25:49 that we've prepared and try to use those.
25:51 There are several others that we're not able to get to, but
25:54 the one I want to end with - you're a Christian clinician,
25:56 compasshealth. net is all dedicated to the Lord,
26:01 you're involved in ministry with your family and children - what
26:04 does God's Word have to say about insomnia?
26:11 What are some principles there?
26:13 Well, you know there are a lot of things in the Scriptures that
26:15 deal with principles that we've been talking about, Don.
26:19 One of the texts that comes to mind is in the
26:23 Gospel of Matthew.
26:25 Jesus is always reaching out to us, comforting us
26:30 with who He is and how much we mean to Him.
26:33 I'm looking at Matthew chapter 11.
26:35 A very familiar verse to most of our viewers, I'm sure.
26:39 But there at the conclusion of that chapter Jesus invites us.
26:42 He says, "Come unto Me all ye that labor and are heavy laden
26:46 and I will give you rest. "
26:48 That's a wonderful promise.
26:51 Jesus offers us rest in Him.
26:53 And really, if you look at it, a lot of the anxieties that we
26:57 have, a lot of the things that keep us agitated are because
27:02 you and I to some extent when we're in ministry we don't fully
27:06 allow Jesus to give us that rest.
27:08 I know it's true for me.
27:10 When I find myself kind of anxious about something
27:13 it's just really a call to prayer, kind of refocus.
27:16 It doesn't mean all the anxiety goes away, I sometimes have
27:19 used a sleep tape when things are really intense, I'll listen
27:22 to Scripture, I'll listen to an inspiring sermon or something
27:26 that's not too engaging because I've listened to it before.
27:30 But the Lord really wants to give us that comfort and peace.
27:34 Well, thank you so much for joining us and every blessing
27:37 on CompassHealth and the ministry there.
27:40 Thank you for putting up that website with all the resources,
27:43 as well, for our folks.
27:45 And thank you for joining us on Health for a Lifetime.
27:48 I hope that as a result from today's program you can find
27:52 some strategies that can help you get the rest
27:54 God wants for you.


Home

Revised 2014-12-17