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Stress, anxiety, sleep and GABA

Are you having difficulty with sleep or battling with stress or anxiety?

GABA deficiency might be the culprit. 

GABA or Gamma-aminobutyric acid is an amino acid produced naturally in the brain and functions as a neurotransmitter. Being one of the major neurotransmitters, it is involved in the communication among brain cells. And guess what? Your gut health and good gut bugs influence your GABA levels!
This is just another reason why I focus on building up gut health. So much of your wellbeing depends on how healthy your gut is.

So how does a GABA deficiency lead to difficulty with sleeping and increased levels of stress and anxiety?

GABA is a major inhibitory neurotransmitter–meaning, it lowers the activity of the nerve cells in your brain and in your central nervous system. In short, it calms your mind and helps your body to relax. Having enough GABA in your brain helps you get your needed sleep, reduce stress and anxiety, and create a calm mood. It also, ironically, helps with focus by suppressing things you’re not paying attention to so you don’t get overstimulated. Interesting!

Imagine GABA as your neurons’ brake. Once there is a trigger, neurons start firing electrical signals that serve as a form of communication to their neighboring cells. Glutamate, the major excitatory neurotransmitter, is responsible for the neurons’ excitability (like putting your foot on the gas pedal). GABA serves as a brake to stop the neurons from firing after their job is done. Without GABA, the brain gets overstimulated.

Did you know that GABA is also known as “Nature’s Valium”?

The feeling of happiness and relaxation is attributed in having enough GABA in your brain. In fact, it is important that all the brain chemicals are in balanced levels in order for you to experience a balanced mood. If you notice that you don’t feel balanced, are easily triggered to feel anxious, having difficulty with sleep, finding it hard to focus and relax, or having mood swings, your gut and GABA levels may need supporting.

Are you experiencing the following symptoms?

  • You’re filled with dread and have a knot in your stomach for no obvious reason.
  • You’re frequently late because you’re too disorganized to make appointments on time.
  • You’re often doing many things at once, but, at the end of the day, have little to show for your efforts.
  • Even when things are going well, you find new things to worry about.
  • You can’t relax and racing thoughts keep you up at night.
  • Your heart pounds or beats erratically for no reason.
  • You rely on high carbohydrate foods, drugs, or alcohol to relax.

If you answered yes to several of these symptoms, you may be low in GABA and may wonder why.

There are several possibilities. There are inherited disorders of GABA metabolism. However, your lifestyle plays an important role in developing GABA deficiency. Stress, poor diet, lack of sleep, too much caffeine, and gluten intolerance are cited as causes of GABA deficiency according to the Harvard Medical School researcher Datis Kharrazian, discusses in his book Why Isn’t My Brain Working?

The first step in repairing proper brain is to dial in the best diet for YOUR body (one size doesn’t fit all!) and create healthy lifestyle habits like rock solid stress management tools. This may also include some targeted gut healing. Please watch out for next week’s newsletter as I will discuss GABA supplements, the pros and cons, and what are other options to increase your GABA levels.

It is my passion is to work with people like you whose health symptoms are getting in the way of you living life fully and with a sense of freedom in your body. I can help you to regain your health so you can feel great and free to enjoy life fully. 

If you’re ready to discover where your best health has been hiding, I’d love to connect with you!
Apply for a complimentary Unstoppable Health Discovery Session. http://bit.ly/schedulinghealth (subject to availability).

Until next time, I’m wishing you unstoppable health!

-Rebecca

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Sleep

By disturbmenot.co

Are you interested in getting the best night’s sleep ever? Do you want to learn more about what good sleep hygiene is and what might interfere with a good night’s sleep? If so, you’re in the right place.

The infographic below will give you the lowdown on getting the perfect night’s sleep. You’ll learn a lot more about sleep, and actual stats on how we tend to sleep.

Did you know, for example, that 10% of Americans suffer from chronic insomnia? Or that insomnia is twice as likely to affect women as it is to affect men? That’s just a smattering of the information that you’ll learn if you check out the infographic.

All of the information is evidence-based so you only get real facts, not something cooked up by the denizens of the internet. You’ll learn:

·         About historical sleep trends: Believe it or not, sleep was so important in ancient times that it was worshipped as a god.

·         More about the different sleep stages: The body goes through several distinct stages during sleep. If it doesn’t get through the full cycle, you’re not getting a restful nights sleep.

·         The right amount of sleep: Most adults need between seven and eight hours a night. The amount that you need depends on your age.

·         Daily naps: Naps, when approached correctly, can be a valuable part of your sleep routine.

·         The reality of sleep duration worldwide: How much do people really sleep? What are the numbers globally?

·         How to improve sleep quantity and quality: If you’ve been short of shut-eye, skip to this section to help improve your sleep straight away.

·         Things to avoid to improve sleep: We all know that caffeine is a no-no before bedtime. Did you know that acidic food can also keep you awake, though?

·         How technology affects sleep: There’s bad news for tech-heads. Too much artificial light affects your sleep quantity and quality. It’s not just the excitement of watching your favorite show that keeps you awake – the light from the screen does too.

·         Sleep disorders: There are around ninety different sleep disorders. Find out which are most commonly experienced.

·         Sleep facts about children: Find out what sleep means for your kids.

·         Myths about sleep: Do you wake a sleepwalker or leave them alone? Find out the truth about common sleep myths.

I think that’s enough preamble, let’s get to the infographic itself.

Eye-Opening-Stats-Facts-About-Sleep-Infographic