I’ve been making a sincere effort to reduce referring to “stress” when talking with patients. Why? You might think it’s obvious two minutes into a new doom scrolling session on Twitter, but as soon I enter into the discussion with patients, I’ve just started to feel as if it’s a moot point. Here’s often how the conversation goes. “So, talk to me about your … [Read more...]
Sleepless, Restless and Sad?
Sleep deprivation in Hong Kong is so prevalent it’s almost considered part of the lifestyle. An HKU study showed that 92% of the people studied showed signs of sleep deprivation without even knowing it. The same trial suggested that over 60 per cent of people woke up more than once in the preceding seven days before the survey.
If you feel as if you are one of those people, just because it seems normal does not mean it can’t improve. Maybe you’ve always been a good sleeper, but things have changed recently without a good reason why.
Most of us can handle the odd night where we don’t hit the magic eight hours, but when you find yourself waking at 3 a.m. every night, struggling to sleep from then until the alarm goes off every morning, it’s then that you start to feel anxious, restless and even sad. From there, it becomes difficult to know where one starts and the other begins. Sleepless, restless and sad offers articles and podcast episodes to explore the origins and solutions around fixing your sleep, feeling less anxious and improving your mood using natural medicine.
FIR Episode 12: Is histamine worsening your mental and IBS symptoms?
We've all been affected by histamine at one stage in our lives. Hay fever and skin rashes aside, there are more profound effects of histamine in the gut and the brain that you might not know about. It can be surprising how intrinsic it is. For instance, histamine plays critical roles in immune defence, brain activity, growth and development, fertility and … [Read more...]
Article: Is histamine making your mental and IBS symptoms worse?
I feel histamine is most well-known because of anti-histamine drugs than its actual effect on the body, certainly not IBS. It's no wonder as allergic rhinitis, or hay fever, is thought to affect ten to thirty per cent of the worldwide population, and that was ten years ago.[1] We've all been affected by histamine actions on the body at one stage in our lives, but hay fever … [Read more...]
Article: “I don’t know why, but by 3 pm, I’m tired and ready to sleep.”
We’ve all been there. Lunch is over, the afternoon workload is looming, and the clouds in your brain are starting to form. Your brain always gets foggy around this time of day, and just as you feel it on the horizon, the bloating starts. Your eyelids are heavy and tired within a few moments, and you’re ready for a nap - it must be 3 pm. Feeling tired at 3 pm is a common … [Read more...]
Article: Waking up during the night? Maybe it’s your blood sugar.
I prescribe a few things to people in the clinic that raise my patients’ eyebrows. No more so than when I prescribe an herbal and nutritional formula for blood sugar levels to be taken in the morning to fix a problem centred around waking up at night. I can just hear the voice my patient’s inner voice saying, “Oh my god, I’ve come to get my sleep sorted out, and this guy is … [Read more...]
FIR Episode 8: Is blood sugar affecting your sleep and waking you up?
In this Free and Inspired radio episode, we will be looking at how to identify if your blood sugar is affecting your sleep and waking you up at night. “Now, it’s fair to say I prescribe a few things in the clinic that raise my patients’ eyebrows. No more so than when I prescribe a herbal and nutritional formula for blood sugar levels to be taken in the morning to fix a … [Read more...]
Article: Can my gut cause anxiety?
The answer is most likely yes, your gut can cause anxiety. And make it worse! Extensive studies have validated the presence of the brain-gut connection, with the bi-directional relationship between the two systems now clear and variable in its presentation. In this article, we’re going to help you understand the different ways digestion and your brain interact to either … [Read more...]
FIR Episode 6: Can digestion make my anxiety worse?
Pre-COVID-19 studies suggest that just over a third of people will experience an episode of anxiety in their life. In Hong Kong, an estimated 26 per cent of people have reported mental health deterioration since the pandemic began. Pandemic aside, for those with another illness, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), the prevalence of an accompanying anxiety disorder can be … [Read more...]