Integrative Practitioner Digital Summit
Aging & Longevity – April 18, 2023
Sleep – Essential Anti-Aging Medicine
11:30 am - 12:30 pm Tuesday April 18, 2023
As George Burns said, “You can’t help getting older, but you don’t have to get old.” Sleep health is an essential part of the strategy to stay vital, via many mechanisms.
It’s during normal Stage 3 or ‘deep sleep’ that the majority of growth hormone is secreted. Typically, deep sleep declines in old age, however there are strategies to maintain both Stage 3 sleep and growth hormone levels.
Both sleep disorders and insufficient sleep degrade telomeres, even in children as young as nine years old. This leads to damage of the DNA. Assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of sleep disorders throughout life will likely delay telomere degradation.
In the modern built environment light exposure patterns are different than those people have historically experienced. This results in a decrease in the duration of melatonin secretion. As melatonin has a role as a powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and in mitochondrial protection it is important for anti-aging. Chronic suppression of melatonin due to a darkness deficiency may have a role in the development of chronic disease.
Sleep as anti-aging medicine is essential for the high percentage of people who currently get insufficient sleep, and who have sleep disorders. Including sleep therapeutics will improve the health and longevity of your patients.
Speaker: Catherine Darley, ND
Catherine Darley, ND, is the leader in natural sleep medicine. She combines her knowledge of sleep disorders with her training as a naturopathic physician to bridge these two fields. As a naturopath, her expertise lies in providing natural and effective treatments for sleep problems. She treats people of all ages and especially enjoys working with teens and their families. She founded The Institute of Naturopathic Sleep Medicine Inc. in Seattle, which is dedicated to patient care, public education about sleep health, and consultation with high-risk populations such as first responders. Darley regularly writes articles and trains healthcare providers in the treatment of sleep disorders. She has served as adjunct faculty at Bastyr University and the National University of Natural Medicine.
