Articles

Stress - Is Work Stressful? #

 

Is Work Stressful?

by John Pepper

 

In 1970, my wife Shirley, and I started a new business, printing computer stationery. This business grew very quickly, along with the growth of computers, and in 1987, this company went public, on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

The problems we encountered in this growing company, soon became too much for us to handle. I am an entrepreneur, and have no formal training in management procedures, or the desire to manage others. I first appointed a new Managing director, in 1982, to run this fast-growing company, on a daily basis.

The company continued to grow, after it went public. Soon afterwards, I found that the company was not sticking to its tried and tested culture, and I appointed a new Managing Director. This improved the company’s performance, but it did not bring the culture back into line.

In 1974, while all these problems were developing, I did something very unusual. I started to write a suite of computer programmes, which would run this burgeoning company from the time the orders came in, to the time the client received his account. It also ran everything else, except the final accounts.

I found it impossible to train other computer programmers to take this workload off my shoulders. I landed up running the business during the daytime and writing programmes during the night. This became too much for me to handle, when I got down to sleeping for only three hours a night.

I set up another company, to take over the writing of these programmes, and also to broaden the market for these programmes, to include all different types of printing. However, I was never able to find anyone capable of writing those programmes, for the production and estimating functions.

I soon realised that it would be easier to find a professional manager, to run the printing company, than it was to find someone who was able to write computer programmes and, at the same time, solve the problems of how to quote any type of printing job. I appeared to be the only one able to do this work.

In 1992, when I was first diagnosed, I decided to take that final step. I resigned from my position as the CEO of a this large printing company. I also closed down the software company, which I had founded in 1976. Both of these changes had made an enormous difference to the high levels of stress, under which I had been working.

The company was soon taken over by some large conglomerate and my late wife’s and my own involvement in it, have long since been forgotten. Was it all worth it? Yes. I proved to myself that I was as capable as anybody else of creating something good.

In answer to my own question at the beginning of this article, NO! Work is not stressful, unless you allow it to get you down!

 

 

Sleep Disorders - Even a Little Exercise Can Improve Sleep

 

Even A Little Exercise Can Improve Sleep

Copied from The Northwest Parkinson’s Foundation Weekly News Update

 

Rick Hauert

PsychCentral.com - About 70 million people in the U.S. suffer from chronic sleep problems. But a new poll of more than 1,000 Americans finds support for a simple sleep aid: exercise.

“Exercise is great for sleep. For the millions of people who want better sleep, exercise may help,” said David Cloud, CEO of the National Sleep Foundation, which conducted the poll.

Sleep deprivation is associated with injuries, chronic diseases, mental illnesses, poor quality of life and well-being, increased health care costs, and lost work productivity.

In the poll, whose participants ranged in age from 23 to 60, self-described exercisers reported better sleep than self-described non-exercisers, even though they say they sleep the same amount each night (6 hours and 51 minutes average on weeknights).

Vigorous, moderate and light exercisers were significantly more likely to say “I had a good night’s sleep” every night or almost every night on work nights than non-exercisers (67 percent-56 percent vs. 39 percent).

Also, more than three-fourths of exercisers (76 -83 percent) say their sleep quality was very good or fairly good in the past two weeks, compared to slightly more than one-half of non-exercisers (56 percent).

“If you are inactive, adding a 10-minute walk every day could improve your likelihood of a good night’s sleep,” said Max Hirshkowitz, Ph.D., the task force chair. “Making this small change and gradually working your way up to more intense activities like running or swimming could help you sleep better.”

“Our poll data certainly find strong relationships between good sleep and exercise,” said Hirshkowitz.

“While cause and effect can be tricky, I don’t think having good sleep necessarily compels us to exercise. I think it is much more likely that exercising improves sleep. And good sleep is fundamental for good health, productivity, and happiness.”

Researchers discovered vigorous exercisers are almost twice as likely as non-exercisers to report “I had a good night’s sleep” every night or almost every night during the week. They also are the least likely to report sleep problems.

More than two-thirds of vigorous exercisers say they rarely or never (in the past two weeks) had symptoms commonly associated with insomnia, including waking up too early and not being able to get back to sleep (72 percent) and difficulty falling asleep (69 percent).

In contrast, one-half (50 percent) of non-exercisers say they woke up during the night and nearly one-fourth (24 percent) had difficulty falling asleep every night or almost every night.

“Poor sleep might lead to negative health partly because it makes people less inclined to exercise,” said Shawn Youngstedt, Ph.D., poll task force member. “More than one half (57 percent) of the total sample reported that their activity level will be less than usual after a night of poor sleep. Not exercising and not sleeping becomes a vicious cycle.”

Researchers also discovered that non-exercisers tend toward being more excessively sleepy than exercisers. Nearly one-fourth of non-exercisers (24 percent) qualify as “sleepy” using a standard excessive sleepiness clinical screening measure. This sleepiness level occurs about twice as often than for exercisers (12-15 percent). Also, about six in 10 of non-exercisers (61 percent) say they rarely or never have a good night’s sleep on work nights.

Sleepiness clearly interferes with many non-exercisers’ safety and quality of life. One in seven non-exercisers (14 percent) report having trouble staying awake while driving, eating or engaging in social activity at least once a week in the past two weeks, almost three times the rate of those who exercise (4-6 percent).

“Sometimes we might feel tired, and that’s normal,” said Matthew Buman, Ph.D., poll task force member, “but if excessive sleepiness is your normal state, it warrants a conversation with your doctor. It could be a red flag that something is wrong with your health.”

Indeed, non-exercisers have more symptoms of sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a serious medical condition in which a person stops breathing during sleep. Its symptoms often include tiredness, snoring, and high blood pressure.

Sleep apnea can also increase the risk for heart disease and stroke. More than four in 10 non-exercisers (44 percent) exhibit a moderate risk of sleep apnea, compared to between one in four and one in five of light exercisers (26 percent), moderate exercisers (22 percent) and vigorous exercisers (19 percent).

“The poll data suggest that the risk of sleep apnea in exercisers is half that of non-exercisers,” said Christopher Kline, Ph.D., poll task force member. “People with sleep apnea are often overweight. Exercise can be part of the treatment.”

Less time sitting is also associated with better sleep and health as researchers discovered those who sit for less than eight hours per day are significantly more likely to say they have “very good” sleep quality than those who sit for eight hours or more (22 -25 percent compared to 12-15 percent).

Furthermore, significantly more of those who spend less than 10 hours per day sitting mention excellent health, compared to those who spend 10 hours or more sitting (25-30 percent compared to 16 percent).

“This poll is the first to show that simply spending too much time sitting might negatively affect our sleep quality,” said Prof. Marco Tulio de Mello, poll task force member. “In addition to exercise, standing at your desk, getting up for short breaks, and moving around as much as possible are important healthy behaviors to include in our lives.”

Despite common advice to not exercise close to bedtime, researchers discovered exercise at any time of day appears to be good for sleep. Those who report exercising close to bedtime and earlier in the day did not demonstrate a difference in self-reported sleep quality.

However, people with chronic insomnia should continue to restrict late evening and night exercise, if this is part of their treatment regimen.

“Exercise is beneficial to sleep. It’s time to revise global recommendations for improving sleep and put exercise — any time — at the top of our list for healthy sleep habits,” said Barbara Phillips, M.D., poll task force member.

Sleep experts suggest the following sleep tips:

Exercise regularly. Vigorous exercise is best, but even light exercise is better than no activity. Exercise at any time of day, but not at the expense of your sleep;

Create an environment that is conducive to sleep that is quiet, dark and cool with a comfortable mattress and pillows;

Practice a relaxing bedtime ritual, like a warm bath or listening to calming music;

Go to sleep and wake at the same time every day, and avoid spending more time in bed than needed;

Use bright light to help manage your “body clock.” Avoid bright light in the evening and expose yourself to sunlight in the morning;

Use your bedroom only for sleep to strengthen the association between your bed and sleep. It may help to remove work materials, computers and televisions from your bedroom;

Save your worries for the daytime. If concerns come to mind, write them in a “worry book” so you can address those issues the next day;

If you can’t sleep, go into another room and do something relaxing until you feel tired;

If you are experiencing excessive daytime sleepiness, snoring, or “stop breathing” episodes in your sleep, contact a health care professional for a sleep apnea screening.

Source: National Sleep Foundation



 

 

Sleep Disorders - Sleep Improves Working Memory in People with Parkinson's Disease

 

Sleep improves working memory in people with Parkinson's disease

Copied from The Northwest Parkinson’s Foundation Weekly News Update

 


Emory news center - People with Parkinson's disease performed markedly better on a test of working memory after a night's sleep, and sleep disorders can interfere with that benefit, researchers have shown.

While the classic symptoms of Parkinson's disease include tremors and slow movements, Parkinson's can also affect someone's memory, including "working memory." Working memory is defined as the ability to temporarily store and manipulate information, rather than simply repeat it. The use of working memory is important in planning, problem solving and independent living.

The findings underline the importance of addressing sleep disorders in the care of patients with Parkinson's, and indicate that working memory capacity in patients with Parkinson's potentially can be improved with training. The results also have implications for the biology of sleep and memory.

The results were published this week in the journal Brain.

"It was known already that sleep is beneficial for memory, but here, we've been able to analyse what aspects of sleep are required for the improvements in working memory performance," says postdoctoral fellow Michael Scullin, PhD, who is the first author of the paper. The senior author is Donald Bliwise, PhD, professor of neurology at Emory University School of Medicine.

The performance boost from sleep was linked with the amount of slow wave sleep, or the deepest stage of sleep. Several research groups have reported that slow wave sleep is important for synaptic plasticity, the ability of brain cells to reorganize and make new connections.

Sleep apnea, the disruption of sleep caused by obstruction of the airway, interfered with sleep's effects on memory. Study participants who showed signs of sleep apnea, if it was severe enough to lower their blood oxygen levels for more than five minutes, did not see a working memory test boost.

In this study, participants took a "digit span test," in which they had to repeat a list of numbers forward and backward. The test was conducted in an escalating fashion: the list grows incrementally until someone makes a mistake. Participants took the digit span test eight times during a 48-hour period, four during the first day and four during the second. In between, they slept.

Repeating numbers in the original order is a test of short-term memory, while repeating the numbers in reverse order is a test of working memory.

"Repeating the list in reverse order requires some effort to manipulate the numbers, not just spit them back out again," Scullin says. "It's also a purely verbal test, which is important when working with a population that may have motor impairments."

54 study participants had Parkinson's disease, and 10 had dementia with Lewy bodies: a more advanced condition, where patients may have hallucinations or fluctuating cognition as well as motor symptoms. Those who had dementia with Lewy bodies saw no working memory boost from the night's rest. As expected, their baseline level of performance was lower than the Parkinson's group.

Participants with Parkinson's who were taking dopamine-enhancing medications saw their performance on the digit span test jump up between the fourth and fifth test. On average, they could remember one more number backwards. The ability to repeat numbers backward improved, even though the ability to repeat numbers forward did not.

Patients needed to be taking dopamine-enhancing medications to see the most performance benefit from sleep. Patients not taking dopamine medications, even though they had generally had Parkinson's for less time, did not experience as much of a performance benefit. This may reflect a role for dopamine, an important neurotransmitter, in memory.

Scullin and Bliwise are planning an expanded study of sleep and working memory, in healthy elderly people as well as patients with neurodegenerative diseases.

"Many elderly people go through a decline in how much slow wave sleep they experience, and this may be a significant contributor to working memory difficulties," Scullin says.

The research was supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (R01 NS050595) and the National Institute of Aging (F32 AG041543).

Reference:
M.K. Scullin, L.M. Trotti, A.G. Wilson, S.A. Greer and D.L. Bliwise. Nocturnal sleep enhances working memory training in Parkinson's
disease but not Lewy body dementia. Brain (2012) doi: 10.1093/brain/aws192

 

 

Sleep Disorders - Melatonin: May Help More Than Just Your Sleep

 

Melatonin: May Help More Than Just Your Sleep

Copied from The Northwest Parkinson’s Foundation Weekly News Update

 

Julie Chen M.D.

huffingtonpost.com - Most of you have heard of melatonin before, but it's likely that you usually only hear about it in regards to insomnia or sleep issues. What you may not know is that it seems to play a role in other health concerns we frequently hear about, including cancers, hypertension, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease, just to name a few.

Melatonin is a compound in our body that helps to regulate sleep as well as other physiological rhythms in our body. It is secreted by the pineal gland and is a hormone that is affected by light. Light suppresses levels of melatonin, while darkness helps to trigger our body to secrete more of this compound. What's interesting about melatonin is that its levels start to wane as we age and certain medications seem to alter its levels in our body as well.

While the long-term side effects of frequently altering our natural melatonin secretion is not completely well understood, there is some concern that long-term alterations to normal secretion patterns can have other negative health effects. That is why sometimes you may hear from the medical community about concerns for night workers and their overall health.

Because melatonin has antioxidant effects in our body, there is growing interest in its benefits for patients with neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease or Alzheimer's disease.[1-3] There is even growing interest in using melatonin for stroke patients and those with high blood pressure.[1-4]

Early studies suggest that there may be some benefit from melatonin use in patients with cancer. Some of these studies suggest that patients on melatonin had better response to chemotherapy in breast cancer patients, and some of the side effects and anxiety associated with therapy were somewhat mitigated -- more so in the melatonin users compared to those not on melatonin.[7-12]

There was a meta-analysis of randomized, controlled trials using melatonin as adjuvant therapy or alone for cancer patients, and researchers found that there was a 34 percent relative risk reduction in death in the melatonin user group.[11]

Another study looked at patients who had advanced cancer in the breast, lung, gastrointestinal tract, head or neck. When given chemotherapy either alone or with 20 mg/day of melatonin, there was a reduction in side effects of low platelet count, fatigue, mouth sores, heart complications, and neurotoxicity in the melatonin group, and higher rate of survival.[7-9],[12]

There is even some indication that melatonin may be helpful with migraines. There was a study that looked at migraine sufferers who were given 3mg of melatonin about 30 minutes before bedtime every night for three months. Of the patients who finished the study, two-thirds of the patients seemed to have a 50 percent reduction, and the severity and duration of migraines were less severe.[13]

While these early studies suggest some exciting benefits from regular melatonin therapy, I want to caution you from going out and buying large quantities or dosages of melatonin without first running the idea by your physician. The fact is that these are early studies and that further studies are warranted to help us really get a better understanding of melatonin's comprehensive role in our health. For now, if you are interested in trying out melatonin, make sure to ask your physician about it and whether it is right or safe for you.

Once you have the go-ahead from your doctor, the general rule on dosing is that for those of you looking for help with sleep, a dosage of about 0.5-3mg at bedtime is what you would need for insomnia or sleep issues. You may consider 5-6mg for time zone changes or jetlag but for daily usage, the lower dosages are ideal at about 0.5-3mg at bedtime.

For those looking for help in more complicated health issues such as migraines or cancers, make sure you get clearance from your treating physician first and make sure to take it separately from your prescription medications once you have the clearance to take it. The dosages for these therapeutic goals are usually higher at around 5-20mg. If you would like to utilize higher dosages, my recommendation is to first consult your physician but also seek the guidance of an integrative physician or naturopathic doctor.

While these early studies are truly exciting and indicate a potential wide array of health benefits, I am just as excited as you are to see further studies that will help to clarify more of the intricacies of therapeutic indications as well as safety and side effect profiles above and beyond what we currently already know.

References:

1. Suzen S. Recent developments of melatonin related antioxidant compounds. Comb Chem High Throughput Screen. 2006 Jul;9(6):409-19.

2. Cardinali DP, Furio AM, Reyes MP. Clinical perspectives for the use of melatonin as a chronobiotic and cytoprotective agent. Ann NY Acad Sci. 2005 Dec;1057:327-36.

3. Srinivasan V, Pandi-Perumal S, Cardinali D, Poeggeler B, Hardeland R. Melatonin in Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. Behav Brain Funct. 2006;2(1):15.

4. Reiter RJ, Tan DX, Leon J, Kilic U, Kilic E. When melatonin gets on your nerves: its beneficial actions in experimental models of stroke. Exp Biol Med (Maywood.). 2005 Feb;230(2):104-17.

5. Scheer FA, Van Montfrans GA, van Someren EJ, Mairuhu G, Buijs RM. Daily nighttime melatonin reduces blood pressure in male patients with essential hypertension. Hypertension. 2004 Feb;43(2):192-7.

6. Cagnacci A, Cannoletta M, Renzi A, et al. Prolonged melatonin administration decreases nocturnal blood pressure in women. Am J Hypertens. 2005 Dec;18(12 Pt 1):1614-8.

7. Lissoni P, Barni S, Meregalli S, et al. Modulation of cancer endocrine therapy by melatonin: a phase II study of tamoxifen plus melatonin in metastatic breast cancer patients progressing under tamoxifen alone. Br J Cancer.1995 Apr;71(4):854-6.

8. Cos S, Gonzalez A, Martinez-Campa C, et al. Estrogen-signaling pathway: a link between breast cancer and melatonin oncostatic actions. Cancer Detect Prev. 2006;30(2):118-28.

9. Sanchez-Barcelo EJ, Cos S, Mediavilla D, et al. Melatonin-estrogen interactions in breast cancer. J Pineal Res. 2005 May;38(4):217-22.

10. Sainz RM, Mayo JC, Tan DX, Leon J, Manchester L, Reiter RJ. Melatonin reduces prostate cancer cell growth leading to neuroendocrine differentiation via a receptor and PKA independent mechanism. Prostate. 2005 Apr 1;63(1):29-43.

11. Mills E, Wu P, Seely D, Guyatt G. Melatonin in the treatment of cancer: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials and meta-analysis. J Pineal Res. 2005 Nov;39(4):360-6.

12. Lissoni P, Barni S, Mandala M, et al. Decreased toxicity and increased efficacy of cancer chemotherapy using the pineal hormone melatonin in metastatic solid tumour patients with poor clinical status. Eur J Cancer. 1999 Nov;35(12):1688-92.

13. Peres MF, Zukerman E, da Cunha TF, Moreira FR, Cipolla-Neto J. Melatonin, 3 mg, is effective for migraine prevention. Neurology. 2004 Aug 24;63(4):757.

14. Drake MJ, Mills IW, Noble JG. Melatonin pharmacotherapy for nocturia in men with benign prostatic enlargement. J Urol. 2004 Mar;171(3):1199-202.

15. Brzezinski A, Vangel MG, Wurtman RJ, et al. Effects of exogenous melatonin on sleep: a meta-analysis. Sleep Med Rev. 2005 Feb;9(1):41-50.

 

Sleep Disorders - Sleep-punching disorder

 

Sleep-punching disorder may be linked to

Parkinson's

Copied from The Northwest Parkinson’s Foundation Weekly News Update

 

Cari Nierenberg

Bodyodd.nbcnews.com - Everyone dreams. But less than 1 percent of adults have a rare condition that causes them to act out their dreams while asleep.

During a vivid dream involving lots of action, people with REM sleep behavior disorder, (RBD) may punch, kick, scream, shout, swear or grab someone while sleeping or they may jump out of bed -- injuring themselves or hurting a bedmate in the process.

RBD episodes happen during rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep, a stage of shut-eye when dreaming occurs, or roughly every two hours.

Usually the body is "paralyzed" during REM sleep. But this doesn't happen in people with RBD, so their arms and legs are free to move while dreaming. As a result, if someone with RBD is dreaming of being attacked, they may fight back in their sleep. There's medication to treat RBD symptoms, yet doctors have previously known little about who is affected by the disorder other than it is more common in men and typically strikes people after age 50.

For reasons that are still unclear, REM sleep behavior disorder also seems to increase a person's risk for Parkinson's disease and one type of dementia. Some studies have suggested that more than 50 percent of those with this rare sleep disorder may go on to develop a neurodegenerative disease.

To learn more, a recent study published in the journal Neurology tried to determine the risk factors for RBD and whether they were similar to those for Parkinson's disease or dementia.

They compared the lifestyle habits of 347 people with RBD to the same number of people who didn't have this sleep problem but were similar in age and gender.

The study identified several potential risk factors for RBD, including having a previous head injury, being a farmer, and working in a job with pesticide exposure. All three of these risks have also been linked with Parkinson's disease.

Researchers also found that people who had fewer years of education increase their chances of RBD.

"Many of the risk factors for RBD are the same as for Parkinson's disease, however, it is ultimately where they differ that can teach us the most," says study author Dr. Ronald Postuma, a neurologist and associate professor at McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

One important difference scientists found was that people who smoke were more likely to develop RBD, but nicotine has been shown to reduce the odds of Parkinson's disease. A second difference is that coffee drinking was not linked with the sleep disorder while other studies have suggested it helps protect against Parkinson's disease.

Postuma suspects that in some people, REM sleep behavior disorder can be an important sign of early Parkinson's disease. In these early stages, he says the disease may affect areas of the brain involved in sleep, smell, and bladder control.

As Parkinson's advances, it affects the motor areas of the brain, producing symptoms such as tremors, rigid muscles, and problems with walking or posture.

Someone who is acting out their dreams at night often first learns they're doing this from their sleep partner. Sleep talking or sleep walking is usually something quite different from RBD, points out Postuma.

A specialist at a sleep clinic can confirm the diagnosis. Postuma also recommends that RBD patients should be followed by a neurologist, who can monitor and treat their symptoms should any Parkinson changes emerge.

http://bodyodd.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/07/31/13038815-sleep-punching-disorder-may-be-linked-to-parkinsons?lite

 

 

Parkinson's Disease - My Story Part 1 #

Parkinson's Insights – My Story Part 1

 There is no doubt that, contrary to established thinking, the progression of Parkinson’s disease, can be reversed. Although it has not been done by very many people, the fact remains that I've done it, and many others have followed, and will continue to follow.

 My name is John Pepper and I have successfully reversed my Parkinson’s disease, to the point where I no longer need to take any Parkinson’s disease medication, since 2003, and nobody would ever know that I still have Parkinson’s disease.

 How did I do this?

 My case was quite unique, for the three following reasons:

  1. My neurologist had prescribed a monotherapy of a unique type of Parkinson’s disease medication, which was the only medication that the manufacturers claimed - as a result of conducting extensive double-blind scientific studies on a wide range of patients – could possibly slow down or even reverse the progression of this condition. I know of nobody else, who has only been prescribed this type of medication and nothing else.

  2. I was in the habit of doing regular energetic exercise, for over twenty years, before I was first diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. I was therefore bodily very fit, which was not a unique occurrence amongst newly diagnosed patients, but it was, and is, not the norm; especially as it was accompanied by reason number one. I have continued to do rigorous exercise, since I was diagnosed, which is not common amongst Parkinson's patients at all.

  3. I gave up my high-powered job, three months after I was diagnosed. I was aware that my job had become very stressful to me and I would have done anything at that stage to help me cope with the Pd. I also stopped singing in the church choir. It was not just the services that ate into my time it was all the rehearsals and the travelling to get there and back that was the problem. I wanted to simplify my life. I also left my Rotary club, which was not a burden, but I did not want to be amember who did nothing active in the club. Stress is one of the major triggers for many health issues. It affects many of my symptoms.

      The combination of a Monotherapy of a special type of medication, regular energetic exercise and the management of stress, all urned out to be the crucial changes I had made in my lifestyle that have reversed the progression of my Pd, and they made my circumstances unique.

 

In addition to these three unusual circumstances, I made the following changes to my life style, during the next eight years, after diagnosis:

  1. I decided to change my type of exercise.

  2. I learned how to control my movements by focusing my full attention on controlling each movement!

  3. I examined and changed my whole attitude.

  4. After having given up my job, and having experienced the huge improvement in my health, I came to the realization that ‘Stress’ had played a major roll in the progression of my Parkinson’s disease.

  5. Many people ask me about diet. I have found only one food item that must not be eaten by Parkinson’s disease sufferers and several other interesting substances that should be avoided.

  6. Two years after my diagnosis, I realized that I had to learn to manage my sleeping problems.

  7. The last change I made to my lifestyle was to start doing regular brain exercises.

 

I hope you have found this Insight helpful.

John Pepper

Sleep Disorders - sleep problems #

 

More about Sleep

My name is John Pepper. I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1992.

Insomnia is a very common symptom of Parkinson’s disease. It has a very real affect on patient’s lives, which can prove to be very difficult to treat!

Why is insomnia so difficult to treat?

Medication is the obvious route to use, when faced with the inability to sleep! The problem that I faced was that my body became accustomed to whatever type of sleeping tablet I took, with the result that I had to continually increase my dosage, in order to be able to sleep. That was no good for anybody. There was also the problem of possible addiction, which I did not want or need.

I did find that there are some off-the-shelf medications that worked, but I was not happy about taking any regular medication for sleeping, because all medication is toxic, and the body has to cope with enough problems without any unnecessary medication.

I found that when I cut out any daytime ‘dozing’ or ‘cat-napping’, my night time sleeping became a lot better. I have now got to the stage, where I get five to six hours a night, without any medication, and that appears to be enough for me.

I have to avoid watching TV during the daytime, as that sends me to sleep very easily. I also have to avoid anything else, which causes me to fall asleep.

I did find that if I read a book, during the night, when I was unable to sleep, I often was able to go back to sleep again. I organised my bedside light to be positioned above my head, facing away from the other side of the double-bed. I did the same for my wife’s light. In that way, I did not disturb her, when I read during the night.

I found that walking also helps me to sleep better. Walking also helps in other ways with the progression of Pd. 

Why not get a copy of my book, ‘Reverse Parkinson’s Disease!’, and see what other methods I used to overcome movement and other problems?