Improve Sleep Quality with Glutathione

Do you grind your teeth at night? Are you an obnoxious snorer? Do seasonal allergies have you all stuffed up? Sleep problems stem from many different sources — substance abuse, your environment, anxiety, depression, and a long list of other conditions can wreck your sleep. But few people know about the link between sleep and glutathione — a chemical your body makes. 

Our sleep experts at Advanced Medical Care in Queens and Brooklyn, New York, understand this two-way relationship and can determine if low glutathione is keeping you up at night. Here’s what you need to know.

Why is sleep so important?

Like air, food, and water, you can’t live without sleep — but you can limp through life on inadequate sleep. We say “limp along” because sleep deprivation affects all your body’s systems, slowing and even shutting them down. 

A lot of biology happens at night. As you snooze, your brain consolidates and processes the information you’ve acquired during the day, enabling you to form and retain new memories. 

Sleep also affects your cognitive abilities, like critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making. Sleep is even critical for mood regulation, which is why studies link insufficient sleep with increased levels of anxiety and depression.

It isn’t enough to get a few hours every night; your overall health depends on a solid block of uninterrupted slumber at regular times every night. When you deprive yourself of quality and quantity of sleep, you risk several consequences, such as:

• Obesity
• Heart disease
• Diabetes

To get the most out of your time asleep, start by making sure you get enough sleep every night, typically seven to nine hours for adults, and stick to a consistent sleep schedule. Next, take a look at your room. You want to set yourself up for sleep success by creating a comfortable space where it’s easy to relax and fall asleep. And by all means, avoid stimulants like caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine before bedtime. 

Finally, consider implementing cognitive-behavioral strategies to address common sleep problems, such as mild insomnia. This might include relaxation exercises, such as progressive muscle relaxation, or cognitive restructuring techniques to address sleep-related anxiety.

The link between glutathione and sleep

To understand the relationship between sleep and glutathione, you first need to understand oxidative stress. Oxidative stress occurs when you have too many free radicals — molecules with an odd number of electrons — floating around in your body and not enough antioxidants to neutralize them. When antioxidants go unchecked, they interact with other molecules at will and change their behavior. The solution is to increase the antioxidants and restore balance. 

That’s where glutathione comes in.

Glutathione is your body’s naturally occurring antioxidant that protects your cells from damage by free radicals and other toxins in the environment. 

Glutathione and sleep go hand-in-hand. Poor sleep sabotages your body's production of glutathione, triggers oxidative stress, and leaves your cells vulnerable to damage — the perfect recipe for chronic inflammation, chronic fatigue, and other health problems. 

On the other hand, getting plenty of sleep ramps up your glutathione levels. The bottom line is that sleep increases your glutathione production, and high levels of glutathione help you sleep better.

Treatments to help you sleep better

When low glutathione is the culprit behind your sleep issues, we can help by administering glutathione injections to boost your levels and get oxidative stress under control. 

However, not all sleep problems stem from glutathione deficiency. Our board-certified sleep medicine specialist, Dr. Maria Dolgovina, has many years of experience diagnosing and treating all kinds of sleep disorders, including bruxism (teeth grinding), snoring, and obstructive sleep apnea. 

She uses the latest technology and most advanced techniques to determine the root cause or causes of your sleep issues and starts you on a personalized treatment plan that may include glutathione.

Don’t let poor sleep steal your joy and vitality, call our friendly staff today, or book an appointment using our online scheduling feature, and find out if our glutathione treatment is right for you.