Breaking your Poor Sleep and Energy Cycle

Sleep and energy are intimately linked. Poor sleep inevitably leads to low energy. This snowballing sleep and energy deficit creates a vicious cycle. We need quality sleep to restore, rebuild and detoxify our bodies.

Stress reduction and exercise improve sleep. However, when we are exhausted it is extra hard to muster the energy to exercise. We then lose out on the numerous benefits of exercise, including lowering stress.

What is the best way to break this cycle? Take natural remedies that boost energy, lower stress, and improve sleep. I recommend two herbs and one mineral: ashwagandha, medicinal mushrooms, and magnesium.

Ashwagandha
Ashwagandha is an herb that helps our bodies adapt to stress, reduces inflammation, and improves both muscle strength and mass.^{1, 8} 

Medicinal Mushrooms
Medicinal mushrooms have countless benefits for our bodies and minds. Amongst these are helping adapt to stress and boosting energy levels. In particular, Reishi (Ganoderma lucidium) helps calm the nervous system and promote sleep.⁵ Therefore, it may be best to take later in the day or before bed.

For your get up and go energy, however, try cordyceps. Cordyceps boosts energy. One mechanism for this energy boost is protecting our mitochondria from damage.³   Your mitochondria are the energy factories of your body.

If you are feeling particularly mentally fatigued, or just want to boost your concentration and memory, then Lion’s Mane (Hericium erinaceus) is the mushroom for you. Lion’s Mane help protect and regenerate brain cells, as well as helping reduce stress, boost energy and more!⁷

Magnesium
Many people get deficient levels of magnesium from their diets.² Magnesium is essential for our energy metabolism, muscle function, heart function, blood sugar levels, and more.^{4, 6} Therefore, deficiency in magnesium can have major consequences on energy and sleep.

Magnesium is best taken with dinner or before bed. In the short term, this helps relax muscles before bed and reduce cramping in the night. Longer term, magnesium helps increase energy in the body.

The great thing about all of these sleep and energy remedies is that they are safe for almost anyone to take and they do not interact with most common medications.

References:
1. Dar NJ, Hamid A, Ahmad M. Pharmacologic overview of Withania somnifera, the Indian Ginseng.. Cell Mol Life Sci. 2015 Dec;72(23):4445-60. doi: 10.1007/s00018-015-2012-1.
2. James J DiNicolantonio, James H O’Keefe, and William Wilson. Subclinical magnesium deficiency: a principal driver of cardiovascular disease and a public health crisis. Open Heart. 2018; 5(1): e000668. Published online 2018 Jan 13. doi: 10.1136/openhrt-2017-000668.
3. Li XT, Li HC, Li CB, Dou DQ, Gao MB. Protective effects on mitochondria and anti-aging activity of polysaccharides from cultivated fruiting bodies of Cordyceps militaris. Am J Chin Med. 2010;38(6):1093-106.
4. Liu M, Jeong EM, Liu H, Xie A, So EY, Shi G, Jeong GE, Zhou A, Dudley SC Jr. Magnesium supplementation improves diabetic mitochondrial and cardiac diastolic function. JCI Insight. 2019 Jan 10;4(1). pii: 123182. doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.123182.
5. Sanodiya BS, Thakur GS, Baghel RK, Prasad GB, Bisen PS. Ganoderma lucidum: a potent pharmacological macrofungus. Curr Pharm Biotechnol. 2009 Dec;10(8):717-42.
6. Reddy ST, Soman SS, Yee J. Magnesium Balance and Measurement. Adv Chronic Kidney Dis. 2018 May;25(3):224-229. doi: 10.1053/j.ackd.2018.03.002.
7. Üstün R, Ayhan P. Regenerative activity of Hericium erinaceus on axonal injury model using in vitro laser microdissection technique. Neurol Res. 2018 Dec 20:1-10. doi: 10.1080/01616412.2018.1556494.
8. Wankhede S, Langade D, Joshi K, Sinha SR, Bhattacharyya S. Examining the effect of Withania somnifera supplementation on muscle strength and recovery: a randomized controlled trial. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2015 Nov 25;12:43. doi: 10.1186/s12970-015-0104-9.