Blog — Sleep

By Dr Kate Placzek, ZRT Laboratory We love talking about the sun! We grumble about it being hidden away behind heavy rain clouds for months at a time in the winter; we delight in the first breakthrough rays in the spring, realizing our pagan longing for it, watching, as if for the first time, as everything around us wakes up from a deep slumber; we marvel at its delightful, almost intoxicating warmth in the early summer; and yes, we find it irritating when the temperature goes a dash over 80 degrees, or if stays too hot for too long into...

O sleep, O gentle sleep, Nature's soft nurse, how have I frighted thee,That thou no more wilt weigh my eyelids downAnd steep my senses in forgetfulness? William Shakespeare, Henry IV A good night's sleep is important to health. During sleep the body is in an anabolic state when energy conservation, tissue repair and growth take over. The body temperature drops, growth hormone is secreted and immune cell production is increased. Thus sleep is essential for a healthy body and a peaceful mind. Insomnia is defined as difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep and affects roughly 50% of all adults. It...

Glycine has a calming effect on the brain – it helps you wind down and prepare for sleep. Its role as an inhibitory neurotransmitter has been unfolding over many years of ongoing research efforts. Easily one of the most versatile amino acids, glycine serves as a building block to proteins (collagen, the most abundant protein in our body, is one-third glycine), and is heavily utilized for the production of heme, DNA and RNA synthesis, glutathione formation, and for enriching the body’s capacity for methylation reactions [1][2]. Sleep Problems People need sleep. It is our basic human need. Too many of...