Sleep deprivation and Addiction

July 31, 2014

Sleep deprivation and Addiction – Why it is important to sleep well

Sleep deprivation is not healthy at all. It becomes complicated if you are addicted to certain substances. Ensure you get enough sleep for good health.

After a long day of work you retire home and after taking a cold or warm bath and c nice healthy meal all you would want is to fall asleep. It is actually a routine that we retire to bed every night. What many may not know is that sleep is not just for relaxation of your body after work, it also has great benefits other than relaxing like good memory, health, looks, ability to lose weight and even positives on your sex life. It is therefore necessary that we have not just good but adequate sleep. The following are some of the consequences of not having enough sleep:

Sleep deprivation and Addiction – Accidents

Majority of fatal accidents on our transport sector especially road transport is as a result of sleep deprivation. Drowsiness can slow reaction time as much as driving drunk will. The problem is not just on the road poor-quality sleep also leads to accidents and injuries at the workstations. In one study, workers who complained about excessive daytime sleepiness had significantly more work accidents, particularly repeated work accidents. They also had more sick days per accident.

Sleep deprivation and Addiction – Sleep Loss Dumbs You Down

Sleep plays a major role in thinking and learning. Lack of sleep injures these cognitive processes in many ways. It impairs attention, alertness, concentration, reasoning, and problem solving. This makes it more difficult to learn efficiently. Besides these during the night, various sleep cycles play a role in combining memories in the mind and if you are deprived of sleep, you may not be able to remember what you learned and experienced during the day.

Sleep Deprivation Can Lead to Serious Health Problems

Sleep disorders and chronic sleep loss can put you at risk for:

Heart disease
Heart attack
Heart failure
Irregular heartbeat
High blood pressure
Stroke
Diabetes

Lack of Sleep Kills Sex Drive

The experts are reporting that sleep-deprived people may report lower libidos and less interest in sex. Depleted energy, sleepiness, and increased tension may be largely to blame.

For men with sleep apnea, a respiratory problem that interrupts sleep, there may be another factor in the sexual slump. A study published in 2002 suggests that many men with sleep apnea also have low testosterone levels. In the study, nearly half of the men who suffered from severe sleep apnea also secreted abnormally low levels of testosterone during the night.

Sleep deprivation and Addiction – Depression

Over time, lack of sleep and sleep disorders can contribute to the symptoms of depression. The most common sleep disorder, insomnia, has the strongest link to depression. In a 2007 study of 10,000 people, those with insomnia were five times as likely to develop depression as those without. In fact, insomnia is often one of the first symptoms of depression.

Insomnia and depression feed on each other. Sleep loss often aggravates the symptoms of depression, and depression can make it more difficult to fall asleep. On the positive side, treating sleep problems can help depression and its symptoms, and vice versa.

Lack of Sleep Ages Your Skin

Most people have experienced sallow skin and puffy eyes after a few nights of missed sleep. But it turns out that chronic sleep loss can lead to lackluster skin, fine lines, and dark circles under the eyes.

When you don’t get enough sleep, your body releases more of the stress hormone cortisol. In excess amounts, cortisol can break down skin collagen, the protein that keeps skin smooth and elastic.

Sleep loss also causes the body to release too little human growth hormone. When we’re young, human growth hormone promotes growth. As we age, it helps increase muscle mass, thicken skin, and strengthen bones.

Sleep deprivation and Addiction – Forgetfulness

If you want to keep your memory sharp then get good and adequate sleep. Researchers have established that the brain events called sharp wave ripples are responsible for consolidating memory. The ripples also transfer learned information from the hippocampus to the neocortex of the brain, where long-term memories are stored. Sharp wave ripples occur mostly during the deepest levels of sleep.

Losing Sleep Can Make You Gain Weight

When it comes to body weight, it may be that if you snooze, you lose. Lack of sleep seems to be related to an increase in hunger and appetite, and possibly to obesity. People who sleep for under six hours a day are almost 30 percent more likely to become obese than those who slept seven to nine hours.

Recent research has focused on the link between sleep and the peptides that regulate appetite. Ghrelin stimulates hunger and leptin signals satiety to the brain and suppresses appetite and sleep deprivation is associated with decreases in leptin and elevations in ghrelin. Not only does sleep loss appear to stimulate appetite. It also stimulates cravings for high-fat, high-carbohydrate foods. Ongoing studies are considering whether adequate sleep should be a standard part of weight loss programs.

Sleep Loss Impairs Judgment

Lack of sleep can affect our interpretation of events. This hurts our ability to make sound judgments because we may not assess situations accurately and act on them wisely.

Sleep-deprived people seem to be especially prone to poor judgment when it comes to evaluating the effects of lack of sleep in their lives. In our increasingly fast-paced world, functioning on less sleep has become a kind of badge of honor. But sleep experts say if you think you’re doing fine on less sleep, then you’re very wrong for example if you work in a profession where it’s important to be able to judge your level of functioning then this can be a big problem.

Studies show that over time, people who are getting six hours of sleep, instead of seven or eight, begin to feel that they’ve adapted to that sleep deprivation they’ve gotten used to it. However if you look at how they actually do on tests of mental alertness and performance, they continue to go downhill. So there’s a point in sleep deprivation when we lose touch with how impaired we are. In conclusion take time and sleep well because failing will not just be disastrous to you but even to others. In case of any problem of addiction or weight gain due to your action of sleeping less then you may want to visit AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under Doctor Akoury’s care for professional help. Doctor Dalal Akoury will focus on Neuroendocrine Restoration (NER) to reinstate normality through realization of the oneness of Spirit, Mind, and Body, Unifying the threesome into ONE and you will have your life back completely.

Sleep deprivation and Addiction – Why it is important to sleep well

Can Addiction Cause Cancer?

July 30, 2014

How Addiction Can Cause Cancer

What causes cancer?

addiction Cancer is a complex disease with many possible causes. It is characterized by out of control cell growth. As by today, there are over hundred types of cancer that are known. The type of cancer is primarily determined by the cells that it initially affects. The harm that cancer causes to one’s body is that the damaged cells divide uncontrollably forming lumps or masses of tissues known as tumors. These tumors can grow and even interface with the digestive, nervous and blood circulatory systems and they sometimes release chemicals that alter the normal functioning of the body organs. Tumor can be considered to be starting if it stays at one position and demonstrates limited growth.

These are many causes of cancer. Some of the causes are tough specific to a given type of cancer. Some of the common causes of cancer can be; genetic factors, lifestyle factor, diet, physical activities among others. In this discussion, we will be looking at the type of cancer that is caused by lifestyle and more specifically cancer caused by addiction.

· Tobacco addiction causes cancer!

Before we even look at how tobacco addiction causes cancer, we need to remember the meaning of addiction. Addiction is a situation in which a person uses a given addictive substance uncontrollably despite the negative effects it may pose to one’s health. Tobacco addiction therefore makes a person to take/ smoke tobacco uncontrollably. The amount of tobacco substance that the addicted person takes is by far high above the amount a normal person would manage. This means that the addicted person has high chances of being faced with the harmful effects associated with tobacco abuse.

Tobacco is among the highest causes of preventable deaths all over the world. This is because it leads to diseases affecting critical organs like heart, lungs and liver with cancer among the highly risky possible diseases to attack these organs.

The smoke that tobacco produces has been the leading cause of many of these cancer types. When the smoke is inhaled, it poses almost all the body organs to the risk of cancer disease. The most affected organs by the smoke are the ones that form the respiratory system. These includes: – the lung, mouth, larynx, esophagus among others. Some of the other health problems associated with smoking includes; the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Emphysema, Chronic bronchitis, pneumonia, asthma and tuberculosis.

What makes cigarette smoking cause cancer?

The tobacco smoke contains over 7,000 chemicals and about 70% of these chemicals are known to cause cancer. This means smoking of cigarettes poses risk of cancer than any other cause of cancer known. Cigarette smoking is the number one cause of lung cancer and there are very few survivors of lung cancer. The main reason why there are very few survivors of lung cancer is due to delicacy in the organ and thus making its treatment difficult.

Does smokeless smoking cause cancer?

Smokeless smoking refers to the type of tobacco that is not burned. It is commonly taken in the form of chewing tobacco, oral tobacco, spitting tobacco, dip and snuff. Nicotine is a special type of tobacco that is absorbed through the lining of the mouth.

The fact about tobacco is that it has chemicals that are harmful to one’s health and thus the form in which it is taken matters less though it determines the health problems that can be faced due to the drug taken. Smokeless tobacco is believed to be less harmful to the health as far as cancer and related diseases are concerned. At least 28 chemicals in the smokeless tobacco have been confirmed to cause cancer. Out of these cancer causing chemicals found in the smokeless tobaccos, the most harmful chemicals are the tobacco-specific nitrosamines. These are chemicals formed during the growing, curing, fermenting and aging of tobacco. The researchers have revealed that the nitrosamine level is directly related to the risk of cancer.

Apart from the nitrosamine content of the smokeless tobacco, there are other cancer causing substances in the smokeless tobacco such as the Polonium-210 which is a radioactive element found in the tobacco fertilizers, and poly nuclear aromatic hydrocarbons.

Nutrition Triggered Cancer

Research has indicated that certain foods can cause cancer. Some of the cancers that are believed can be caused by nutrition are the stomach, bowel, lung, prostate and uterus cancers which are most likely to develop if the diet is high in fats and low in fruits, vegetables and fiber.

Some foods have been proven to be addictive and thus, the prove that food addiction is a reality. The main problem arises when a person becomes addicted with foods that are known to cause cancer. This will put the person at high risk of getting food addiction facilitated cancer. This is because a food addict will uncontrollably eat the addictive food and crave for the food every now and then. This rises the chances of cancer to the food addict. Some food additives have been proven to be carcinogenic and thus should be also avoided. The best way to avoid or limit the chances of cancer resulting from diet is by ensuring healthy eating. Ensure you eat balanced food and avoid the cancer causing foods.

In conclusion, we can generally conclude that the reason why addiction plays a role in cancer disease is because the addictive substance may be cancer causing and the addicted person cannot stop taking the substance despite these health threats. When someone is addicted with a substance known to cause cancer, the chances of getting cancer rises in the addict.

How Addiction Can Cause Cancer

Alcoholism and Obesity

July 30, 2014

Alcoholism and Obesity – Their Relationship

Alcoholism and Obesity are two health conditions you must not allow to affect you all at the same time.

From the definitions of the two terminologies you may not see clearly the absolute similarities however these two conditions (alcoholism and obesity) may be much more correlated that you have ever imagined. If you look at the two conditions, you will realize that both are provoked by an episode of loss of control. It may not matter how the loss of control took place whether it was genetically instigated, propelled by environmental factors or it was just a moment of one’s weak moments does not count, the common denominator is there is a loss of control.

Many people suffering from these conditions normally invest heavily in the management of their addiction occasioned by various factors like struggling to maintaining control, feeling guilty or just juggling with when they will access their addictive elements that is alcohol or food. With this both conditions can grow progressively worse and when taken to the extreme can be life threatening.

The powerful ingredients making alcoholism and obesity to be similar are the contents of what causes their being addictive which are ethanol and food and how they work on the brain. For instance ethanol stimulates reward centers in the brain exactly the way sugar, salt and fat also do. It is because of this that people with a tendency of over-drinking may also have the same tendency to overeating.

Alcoholism and Obesity – Alcohol and Weight loss

Ignorantly people often say that alcohol consumption increases appetite and therefore alcohol consumers are motivated to eat more thereby gaining weight. This is not true since ethanol which is the key addictive ingredient in alcoholic drinks and fat from foods have approximately the same amount of calories however those people suffering from alcoholism have a tendency not to be affected by obesity primarily because they are often malnourished due to poor feeding habits having replaced a portion of their food calories with calories from alcohol

According to a study conducted in 2005 sampling regular alcohol consumers it was established that those who drank the smallest amount (i.e. one drink per day) with the extreme frequency (i.e. three to seven days per week) had a lower body mass index (BMI) than those who drank more occasionally, but in larger units. Even though we may not rely heavily on these findings they may indicate some relationship between over-drinking and overeating.

Connection between Alcoholism and Obesity

Early 2010 researchers from Washington University School of medicine released one of the most important findings regarding the connection between obesity and alcoholism. The study was based on two large alcoholism surveys previously done where 80,000 people participated in both. They then put proper control on all the factors of the study and the ultimate finding was that in quite recent survey those with a family history of alcoholism had a greater chance of being affected by obesity. For women, who had a 49 percent greater chance, this was especially true. One possible reason is that in trying to avoid the alcoholic behaviors observed in their families, people replace alcohol with a different addiction.

Surprisingly enough researchers did not find any connection or association between obesity and family history of alcoholism in the first survey. The fact that the link strengthened as much as it did in the relatively short amount of time between the two surveys suggests that environmental factors (the increase in sedentary times; the increased prevalence of fatty, sugary and salty foods in grocery stores and restaurants; and the reduced access to opportunities for activity) are involved. In brief a genetic risk might be submissive in a world that makes maintaining one’s weight a relatively straightforward task. But, change the environment to make unhealthy eating easier and being active harder, and the problem will become apparent.

Finally in their (researchers’) comments in their publication they focused on changes to our food environment, suggesting that obesity may be rising in “individuals vulnerable to addiction. This may be specifically the result of a changing food environment and the increased availability of highly palatable foods.”

Alcoholism and Obesity – Overlapping Brain Pathways

More and more, neuroscientists are finding similarities in the pathways that lead to excessive eating and dependence on alcohol and other drugs. Both obesity and alcohol addiction have been linked to the brain’s reward system. Overconsumption can trigger a gradual increase in the reward threshold, requiring more and more palatable high-fat food or strengthening alcohol to satisfy cravings. It is no secret that addiction and obesity the two major and most challenging health problems in U.S and many other nations across the globe today. It is therefore important that we learn from these research findings to not just keep talking but to put into practice some of the knowledge we have gathered about addiction to the study of overeating and obesity.

Every day possess an opportunity to learn something new and we are privileged to be learning more about how eating and drinking are indistinguishably connected at the physiologic level. These physiologic commonalities help to explain why the behaviors of excessive food intake and excessive alcohol consumption share so many similarities. Nonetheless, in appreciation of possible link between obesity and alcoholism we all have a duty to unlock the link and use the findings to understand, treat and most importantly prevent these two diseases from further damaging our societies and families.

It will finally take a collective approach for all of us to win this race. On your part you can contribute by talking to the experts like Dr. Dalal Akoury, Founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center concerning all that may be bothering you concerning these these health conditions. Doctor Akoury and her team of experts are there for you and your friends to ensure you are not just educated but well treated by offering exclusive NER Recovery Treatment to you, your friends, other physicians and health care professionals through training, clinical apprenticeships, webinars and seminars. Remember together we will win and celebrate having chosen to be a part of this truly successful and fast addiction recovery treatment.

Alcoholism and Obesity – Their Relationship

Buprenorphine

July 30, 2014

Buprenorphine – Addiction treatment

Buprenorphine drug may not be the best for addiction treatment and it has to be prescribed by a doctor and not across the counter

The prevalence of drug abuse in our streets is in the rise and unless something is done fast to contain the increase then the dangers are likely to be fatal. Besides rehab centers we can also use certain medications like buprenorphine which is helpful in keeping off drugs like heroin from the streets by reducing the bad withdrawal symptoms when one ceases to use drugs. This medicine closely related to heroin and often administered as treatment replacement. It is the choice drug for many even though some people choose to progressively limit their dose and eventually come off it. Normally this drug last longer in the body system and therefore its prescription is a once daily dose. To regulate its use users may be required to be taking buprenorphine in the presence of a supervisor normally the pharmacist dispensing the drug to the user. This close supervision is to ensure that only the right dose is taken and with time the user can be allowed to be taking it all by themselves after ascertaining regular dose maintenance.

Buprenorphine – Side Effects

Just in like all other medications buprenorphine drug treatment equally has side effects for instance when you start using buprenorphine you may not get it out of your system with ease irrespective of what option you went for be it inpatient or outpatient in a rehab program.

As with all medications, Buprenorphine (Suboxone) drug treatment also has some disadvantages. It is still a medication and if you prefer to break free from any kind of addiction immediately, then Buprenorphine may not be the way to go. Also, you may not be completely Buprenorphine-free by the time you leave drug treatment, even if you opt for an inpatient drug rehab program.

Some may consider these disadvantages while others consider them well worth the advantage of avoiding opiate withdrawal symptoms.
Initial studies on long-term use of Buprenorphine suggest that there are anti-depressant effects of the drug as well.
The dosing schedule is also relatively easy to maintain as most don’t even have to take it every day.
Additionally, you can’t abuse Suboxone, get high off of it or overdose on it like you can with some other opiate addiction maintenance or detox drugs, like methadone.

Much as this may offer treatment for addiction, it is in itself addictive and should not be encouraged. Its shortcomings far much out ways the advantages as illustrated in the paragraphs below.

Buprenorphine – Before using buprenorphine

Certain medications are so reactive to people and especially to those with certain health conditions. Buprenorphine is such medicine that needs to be used with extra care being taken therefore before this medication is administered, your doctor must be aware of the following to help them make a decision whether to allow or not.

Do you or have you ever had liver or kidney problems.
Do you or have you ever had prostate problems or any difficulties passing urine.
Do you have any breathing problems like asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
Have you ever been told that you have low blood pressure
Do you have any problems with your thyroid or adrenal glands
Are you epileptic?
Do you have any problem with your bile duct
Are you pregnant or breast-feeding
If you have been constipated for more than a week or have an inflammatory bowel problem.
Do you have a condition causing muscle weakness, called myasthenia gravis?
Have you in the recent past had a severe head injury
Have you ever had an allergic reaction to any medicine
Are currently taking any street drugs or medicines including any medicines you are taking which are available across the counter without a prescription like herbal and complementary medicines.

Buprenorphine – Achieving the best from your treatment

Occasionally when using buprenorphine you may experience some discomfort during the first 3 days, this is a normal reaction and you must not attempt taking heroin on top, and again do not take more than what the doctor instructed.
Periodically keep regular consultations with your doctor or clinic for proper review of how you’re progressing. During these meetings you are likely to be requested to give specimen of urine from time to time for the evaluation exercise.
You cannot get Buprenorphine without a doctor’s prescription and you will not be able to ask for any changes to be made to your supply because your pharmacist can only dispense the prescription exactly as per the instructions of your doctor.
There are several different brands and strengths of buprenorphine tablets, so each time you collect a supply, check to make sure it contains what you are expecting.
You are more likely to succeed in staying off heroin if you have support and counseling in addition to taking buprenorphine. Local drug community teams, self-help groups and other agencies may be of help.
You must refrain from any street drugs or drinking too much alcohol while using buprenorphine because other street drugs such as benzodiazepines (benzos) and alcohol can affect buprenorphine and increase the chance of unwanted effects.
You should tell the DVLA that you are taking buprenorphine if you are a driver. You are likely to be banned from driving at first, although you may be allowed to drive again later, subject to an annual medical review. Your doctor will tell you when you can resume driving.
When there is need to stopping using buprenorphine discuss this with your doctor before stopping. It is important that buprenorphine should be taken regularly to reduce the risk of withdrawal symptoms occurring. When you are ready to consider becoming drug-free, your doctor will be able to help you decide on the best way to do this in order to keep withdrawal effects to minimum and manageable levels.
If you are planning any visit abroad, you should carry a letter with you from your doctor to explain that you have been prescribed buprenorphine. This is because buprenorphine is classed as a ‘controlled drug’ and is subject to certain restrictions.
If you buy any medicines, check with a pharmacist that they are suitable for you to take with buprenorphine. Many other medicines have similar side-effects to buprenorphine and taking them together will increase the risk of unwanted effects.
If you are having an operation or dental treatment, tell the person carrying out the treatment that you are taking buprenorphine.

Finally you have had all the attached effects and conditions while using this drug, you may wonder why use such medicine with so much conditions and believe me you are right therefore for good healthy and user friendly alternatives talk to Dr. Dalal Akoury, Founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center. She is a medical doctor with over two decades of addiction treatment and together with her team of experts she is offering her exclusive NER Recovery Treatment to all patients across the globe as well to other physicians and health care professionals through training, clinical apprenticeships, webinars and seminars. Your condition will be safe at this facility and you will be among many individuals and qualified professional joining this truly successful and fast addiction recovery treatment.

Buprenorphine – Addiction treatment

MITOCHONDRIAL RESTORATION TO TREAT ADDICTION

July 29, 2014

What is a mitochondrion?

They are also sometimes referred to as the powerhouses. It is a membrane bound organelle which is found in most of the cells (eukaryotic cells) that make up living things.

What is the function of mitochondria?

mitochondrial restoration As we mentioned earlier, mitochondria are also referred to as powerhouse due to the functions that they do in our bodies. Their main work is to generate the energy that our body cells require in order to execute their jobs. One of such cells which need a lot of energy is the brain cells. The brain cells are responsible for the communication to all the other parts of the body and thus these mitochondria must be transported along the cells.

Mitochondria generate chemical energy similarly to the one we normally get from batteries. This energy which is generated by the mitochondria in the form of chemical is referred to as Adenosine Triphosphate or simply ATP. This is an energy currency that every ling thing cell can use and this is what makes it possible for us to be kept alive.

What principle makes mitochondrial restoration able to treat addiction?

Most of the addictive drugs cause damage in the body organs. For instance, alcohol may cause damage to the liver, muscle weakness as well as brain damage in severe cases. Any attempt to help the patent recover from the addiction must therefore apart from treating the addiction itself focus on the damage that has been caused by the addictive drug on the various body organs.

Any cure for addiction that doesn’t address the damage caused by the drug is considered incomplete since even after the patient recovers from the addiction, he/she will suffer from other illnesses which may come as a result of the damage caused by the drug. On top of this, some of the prescription addiction recovery drugs have been found to have residual effects on the body of the addict even after recovering from the addiction.

Mitochondrial restoration is a natural process that seeks to restore the various body organs which have been previously cellular affected to their normal working state. The mitochondrial restoration targets the organs that have been affected by the addictive drug and hence whose functional capacity has been also been affected but the drug and then restores its functional state.

Addiction is known to first affect the human brain before the drug even has any effect to the other related organs. In this case therefore, the treatment of addiction must address the damage that has been caused to the brain by the drug. Mitochondrial restoration is an appropriate natural way of treating addiction, since it helps in the restoration of the various body organs to their normal working states.

The mitochondrial energy

As earlier mentioned, the core mandate of mitochondria in the body is to produce the energy required by the cells in the body. The mitochondrial energy production is usually accompanied by two very closely linked metabolic processes. These processes are; a) the citric acid cycle also known as the Krebs/ biological fuel and b) an oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS).

mitochondrial restoration

The citric acid cycle

This is usually a series of chemical reactions which are used by all aerobic organisms to generate energy via the process of oxidation of acetate which is derived from the food. The acetate is converted into carbon dioxide and chemical energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). This cycle also provides some precursors of certain amino acids as well as the reduction of the NADH that is used in a number of other biochemical reactions in the body.

Oxidative phosphorylation

This is the pathway through which the mitochondrion which is released by the oxidation of nutrients is transported to the cells. They use its structure, enzymes and energy released by the oxidation processes to reform ATP. ATP is an important molecule in the body, as it works to supply energy to all the metabolic processes.

OXPHOS operates through a network of electrons, five protein complexes which are attached in the inner membrane of the mitochondria. The five protein complexes are: –

Complex I also called NADH dehydrogenase
Complex II known also as succinate dehydrogenase
Complex III (the cytochrome-c reductase)
Complex IV referred to as cytochrome-c oxidase
Complex V (this is the ATP synthase)

The oxidative phosphorylation converts adenosine di-phosphate (ADP) to adenosine triphosphate (ATP). This is the chemical currency of cells and can then be transported to the cells where work needs to be done.

Does mitochondrial restoration provide a permanent solution to the drug addict?

The aim of mitochondrial restoration is to ensure that the cells in the body are provided with the energy that they need to function. By ensuring that the cells are working correctly, makes it possible for the addict’s body organs to heal from the damage caused by the drugs. This ensures that the addict is healed inside out from the addiction and its damages it had caused to the addict’s body. This also helps to ensure that the recovery process doesn’t experience withdrawal symptoms and craving. This process though may take some time to complete; it provides a permanent solution to the addict as well as improving the overall well-being.

MITOCHONDRIAL RESTORATION TO TREAT ADDICTION

Category Archives: addiction