The Importance of Sleep

Deep, restful sleep is key to reaching your optimum health potential, and is certainly not be excluded in your Kaufmann 1 dieting arsenal.

Part of the reason I became so good at operating sans sleep in my younger years is that I often suffered from sleeplessness. I had real trouble falling asleep, and would lie awake for hours on end with blinking eyes and a wandering mind. There are plenty of things that can keep one from falling asleep – too much caffeine, inadequate physical activity, stress or even traumatic events that keep your mind from resting. There have been a number of studies even recently claiming that many people’s evening routines, such as staring at an illuminated screen (i.e., a computer, smartphone of TV) right before bedtime can inhibit one from falling a sleep. Big Pharma isn’t blind to this condition, evidenced by the countless dollars they spend advertising prescription sleep aids.

Lack of sleep can lead to your immune system being compromised – not something you want to deal with when ridding your body of fungus and mycotoxins on Kaufmann 1. Good sleep is critical. I usually require 7-8 hours, but everybody is different.

I try to do a couple things to ensure that I get a good night’s rest. I drink no caffeine after 2PM. If you are like me, your morning coffee is something you are hard pressed to give up. Even though coffee isn’t really allowed on Kaufmann 1 (coffee beans are a legume), it is my guilty pleasure – I love the taste, the ritual, the warmth and of course, the caffeine pick-me-up. Knowing this about myself, I have to be careful. I try to limit all caffeine intake to before lunch, and when I’m strictly eating Kaufmann 1, I try to cut it out completely as best I can. I try to put away my computer or turn off the TV at least an hour before I crawl into bed. Same goes for my phone. I sleep in a completely dark room and I usually use foam ear plugs. These are great, but you might want to give your ears an occasional swab with tea tree oil to keep them clean and fungi-free.

Even with the best getting-to-sleep-strategies, some people might need a little extra help falling asleep. There are a couple things that may help you:

L-Tryptophan with Pyridoxine
L-Tryptophan is something Doug recommends all the time and has even recommended to me. Taken with the co-nutrient pyridoxine (a B Vitamin), tryptophan helps promote calmness that leads to sleep.

Valerian Root
Valerian is an herb that can also aid in falling asleep. Valerian supplements are usually available at your local health food store.

Natural Calm Magnesium Supplement
The reason I want to promote this product specifically is because I’ve had great success with it. Years ago before Doug’s son Evan was married, we were room mates. Ruth knew that I had trouble sleeping sometimes (and subsequent trouble getting to work on time!), so she recommended that I try this supplement. Try it I did, and it really works! Every night for a month I used this supplement until I got into a good sleep routine. If you have trouble falling asleep, I encourage you to try it.