As a matter of fact, a patient of mine mentioned to me earlier this week about how she has had terrible sleep due to her husband’s infamous talent of producing a deep soprano type snore every single night. She tried every method available to help her sleep. Every night she had to go to bed at least half an hour earlier than him so that she can fall asleep before he revved his v12 engine. Unfortunately, a lot of the time, especially when she is not in a deep sleep stage, she would be woken up by his snore and never able to get back to sleep. Sequentially she resorted to having her GP to prescribe her with some sleeping pills. I told her that dependency on sleeping tablets to help her get to sleep is not a habit she should get into.  Yes, sleeping tablets can initiate sleep and get you to a shallow sleep state. However, it’s never intended to get you to the deep sleep stage where your mind and body could recover fully from a hard day of concentration. Getting into a good sleep hygiene practice would be ideal in her case and I also suggested her to give white noise a go.

What is white noise?

How will it help with your sleeping?

What does the evidence show?

The post Could Noise Be The Remedy To A Good Night Sleep?! appeared first on Eastmed Pharmacy.

As the day went on, my energy levels dropped a notch, and my thoughts drifted to my wife and the little guy. I was thinking more about my wife. A wave of worry started to erupt out of thin air. I was worried to the point that I need to call her just to make sure she is coping with the baby alone. But to my relief, my wife replied to me in a calm and a collective tone, saying – “ I’m fine, and I’m adapting.” This calm and reassuring response from my wife placed all my worries to rest.

We are indeed living in a fast pace society, especially in the post-COVID world where adaptability reigns supreme. Whether it is in business, life, relationships, and health. The need for adaptability has never been more relevant than it is now. Many of us like to think of ourselves as flexible and adjustable. However, when it comes to change, most of us are actually a lot more resistant to it then we believe. This is because change is usually difficult and is never easy. It’s our natural human instinct to stay within our comfort zone despite knowing that we need to step out of it for us to grow.

I look at change and adaptation like chocolate and coffee. It is the perfect combination that goes hand in hand. Whenever there’s a change, adaptability always follows. If we don’t adapt, we will simply be replaced.

Charles Darwin, one of our great minds of the century, knew about this from the get-go and his words still very much resonate in the 21^st century;

The post Do Not Underestimate Your Ability To Adapt appeared first on Eastmed Pharmacy.

Feeling like a walking zombie is somehow expected and socially acceptable when you have a newborn. Besides joking about how tired new parents can be and how much our body can adjust to less sleep, many parents might not be aware, or more correctly, chose to ignore the impact sleep deprivation can have on both our physical and mental well-being and it should not be a health issue taken lightly.

Take me as an example, one morning a few days ago; I was meant to get some more nappies from the supermarket as we were close to running out. Instead of listening to my wife’s suggestion of getting them delivered, I insisted on driving to get them. Partly because despite being beyond tired, I was still functioning well, so I thought I’d go for a drive, and get some much needed fresh after some gruelling nights of fragmented sleep. However, the part I didn’t consider in this was the fact that I hadn’t slept for more than a 2 hour stretch for the last few days. On my way to the supermarket, there were several traffic lights that I had to go through. I stopped at one of the red lights and then what seemed like a split-second later I dozed off, and it must have been a good 5 seconds after the traffic light flashed green and a few horns from cars behind me, I got my thoughts together and started moving again. I was fortunate because it could have been worse if it happened when I was driving where I could drift across to the oncoming traffic and cause a big accident. I didn’t realise how much my cognitive and motor function was impaired by sleep deprivation. What’s worse is that there are many more parents out there on the same page as me, and they don’t understand the negative impact of sleep deprivation has on their cognitive, phycological, and emotional functioning and are an accident in the waiting.

Before the birth of our little guy, both my wife and I were considered ourselves good sleepers. We both enjoyed a good sleep in on the weekends and rarely had problems getting to sleep at night – usually a solid 8 hours for my wife and at least 6 hours for me on weeknights. We were aware of the sleep situation when looking after a newborn. However, we did not anticipate it to this extent. We were a little naïve to think that quantity will make up for the lack of quality from fragmented sleep. However, it this true? Can new parents get the same amount and quality of sleep as usual? Both my wife and I attempted to answer this from our experience of 2 weeks into looking after our newborn. I would generally consider our little guy a good sleeper, considering that it is typical for a newborn to sleep between 2 and 3 hours before they are due for their feed. I remember it so vividly that the first week, he was able to sleep soundly for a good 3 hours before a nappy change or a feed. However, as we approached the second week, cluster feeding kicked in, where he would be feed somewhere between 1 to 2 hourly. This was when things started to get interesting. We noticed that when we had to wake up every 3 hours at night to feed our son, even though it was hard, we were still able to function throughout the day besides a few yawns. However, for the past week of cluster feeding, waking up every 1 to 2 hours does start to take its toll.  Even though we still ended up sleeping for a good 7 hours a day in total, this kind of sleep we are getting is not the kind of sleep that made us feel well-rested the next day because highly fragmented sleep has stolen much of our needed deep sleep. In other words, we are not spending enough hours in restorative sleep to make us feel refreshed and ready to take on the world.

When you look at the sleep pattern of an adult versus, a newborn, an adult has a definite sleep pattern cycle, each one lasting about 90 minutes to 2 hours. On the contrary, a newborn usually has a much shorter sleep cycle of approximately 50 minutes, and they generally spend 50% to 80% of sleep time in the deep sleep phase (REM), compared with our 20%. In other words, if your newborn wakes up every 1 to 1 and a half hours, technically, the fragmented sleep that you managed to fit in during the night may not even allow your body to complete the full cycle of sleep. This type of sleep, which is typical for most new parents – where you are up 2 to 3 times for at least 1 hour over 8 hours could be worse than someone only managed to get 4 to 5 hours of straight sleep at night. Because at least they are getting somewhere between 2 to 3 sleep cycles compared to nothing at all if your sleep is fragmented. This is alarming because every time you get up and go back to sleep, you are practically starting the sleep cycle all over again – meaning that you have to go through shallow sleep stages before you return to deep sleep. The problem is the majority of parents felt like a walking zombie because, with a newborn, you will never reach the deep sleep stage.

So, what can parents do about their deprived sleep state? Most of the parents I came across on my walks tried to convince me that we eventually just get used to the feeling of being so fatigued, however, we tend to underestimate the significant effect on our health and performance as a direct result of prolonged sleep deprivation. Sometimes what we need to do is to make sleep a priority and admit that we do need a decent amount of sleep to function properly. Rather than just accept our fate, we need to proactively try to do something about it and find some personalised ways to help us fit in a few naps where possible. Because at the end of the day, listening to expert advice or finding methods that work entirely for you and your partner can often be the fine line between what will or will not remedy the situation.

Of course, this often is easier said than done, especially when parents need to deal with small children on top of a newborn. However, after almost three weeks of fragmented sleeping patterns, there were several things we’ve noticed and are actively doing that helped us to make us perform a little better than just being walking zombies and could be beneficial advice for some of the new parents or parents to be that you know.

1. Sleep in on the weekends – what we’ve found beneficial was to sleep an extra 2 to 3 hours on the weekends if possible. Even if it means that you need to get your in-laws or parents in to look after your little ones so that you can catch up on some well-needed rest. However, the trick is not to let yourself over-indulge because oversleeping can often lead to a new cycle of sleep deprivation where you don’t feel tired at times where you need to sleep.
2. Take regular naps – take frequent naps is crucial, but getting a full cycle of nap is much more critical. We have often been told to take 20 minutes power nap. However, it only helps if you are getting a decent amount of sleep at night. Given that we now know that a full cycle of sleep last approximately 90 minutes, it would be much better off if you could get an entire cycle of sleep into a nap where it will allow your brain to get into a deep sleep stage and sequentially giving you a feeling of being well-rested.
3. Ask your partner so you can skip a feeding – I’ll be doing this more when I’m back to work in a week so that my wife and I could get a good stretch of 6 hours sleep. This can be done by getting your partner to get a bottle of breast milk pumped ready to go so that you can feed the little one while your partner is getting some well-deserved sleep.

Despite a difficult time for us and many other new parents out there who are feeling sleep deprived, knowing that the gruelling nights will eventually come to an end and that we can start enjoying a good night’s sleep that we always taken for granted is reassuring.

Sweet dreams,

Chris
Pharmacist

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It was only a little over a week now that you arrived in this world at 10:27 pm on June 5^th, 2020, and ever since you have become the centre of our lives. Your presence became the cement that bonded your mum, and I even closer together. Although we’ve only known you for such a small period of time, it felt like we’ve known you for a lifetime. The way you frown, the way you smile, the way you startle, and the way you smell seems too all familiar to us as if we’ve known you way before you were born. Going back to the day before your arrival, your mum and I were randomly joking about how we should cherish the last meal that we’ll be enjoying together with no disturbance – just the two of us. Thinking about this retrospectively, there is no doubt that I’ll be missing the happy times spent with your mum before you were born. However, becoming a parent is an incredible experience that is second to none, especially as you are our first. Even though you introduced us to a whole new way of living, having to deal with regular feeding, caring, nappy changing, burping, and sleepless nights. It is all worth it.

Having the chance to witness you came into the world is both exhilarating and exuberant. It is truly a blessing, and all I can say is that your mum is amazing! The obstetrician and midwife told us that it could take your mother at least 12 to 36 hours after induction for you to be born. However, little did we know that you were an eager baby and meeting us as soon as possible was the only thing on your mind. Hence, it only took mummy two and a half hours and three final pushes to give birth to you, and the rest is history. The amount of pain your mother went through during those gruelling two and a half hours was unimaginable. I was pretending to be strong, holding your mother’s hand tightly, brushing her hair slowly and kissing her forehead as she pushes at each contraction. However, deep down, I could feel my heart ripping apart every time your mum experiences a contraction. It is the kind of pain you and I will never experience. It is something you must understand, treasure, and deeply engraved in your heart, son, as you get older, that your mother has given you her ultimate love through the selfless sacrifice. She held you close to her and comforted you when you were restless long before I could do anything for you. Your mother is the reason that I hold you today.

Your mother and I always knew that I wanted to be a Dad. Despite our busy work life, we knew immediately not long after we got married that something was missing from life that a dream job or traveling couldn’t fill. However, with the number of things on our plate at the time, it felt like starting a family would not be the best decision. Yet it turned out to be the best decision of our lives. One thing we’ve to learn from this and you should always remember when you get older is that there is never a right time to do the things you hate, but it is always the perfect time to do the right things and the things that you are passionate in.

My son, hearing you, and seeing you for the first time, was an incredible moment filled with an overwhelming sense of excitement and happiness. It must be our natural human instinct, but I felt immediately attached to you – my little man. Our first night at Birthcare was a huge learning curve for me. After being discharged from the maternity ward at 2 am, we had to drive to Birthcare where we stayed for the next four nights learning how to take care of you. It was the first time I drove with you in my car. Your mother would tell you that I’m usually a fast driver (of course, within the speed limits). However, suddenly driving at 50km/hr speed seems to be too fast. This is the first out of many adjustments that I had to make bearing you in mind. After we checked in at Birthcare, we were immediately given a run down by the midwife on how to take care of you. It was the night which I gave you a lot of my “first-timers.”

The first time I changed your nappy filled with meconium. The first time I cuddled and burped you on my shoulders. The first time I gazed into your eyes, introducing myself. You were calm and contented, which made me think that it’s because you knew who I was and you must have felt at home already.  It’s a wonderful moment that I will treasure for life, but it also marks the beginning of the unimaginable period of worrying, learning, and perfecting.  The truth is that the first week after your birth was bitter and sweet. I had to learn and do a lot of new things while I’m deprived of sleep. It is because of the unknown that made me feel nervous about being a dad. I could remember vividly that the midwife told us that you might have jaundice and we had to do a blood test on you made us so worried despite it is common in new-born. The sight and sound of hearing you crying during the blood test made my heart sink into my stomach, and we just felt so anxious, nervous, and helpless. I guess this would be the first taste of the many worries that are lined up for us for the rest of our lives.

Being a dad is like on a roller coaster ride where you continuously have the thoughts and feelings of whether I’m good enough for you and can be a good provider of not just being able to support the family financially but also by being there for you when you ever need me. But what fatherhood taught me so far is that life is precious and worth fighting for. A lot of the times we tend to let the regret of our past or the fear of the future distract us from the present. I have no doubt that you will grow up so fast right before our eyes and being fully present for you is the least, I could do to not miss any moments with you that I will never get back.
Having you in our lives is the best thing that happened to us despite the changes we need to make along the way. You have made me a more responsible, caring, patient, and loving person, which I never thought I could have become.

I can’t wait to share the rest of my life with you, teaching you how to play basketball, how to be a man, and find your purpose in life.

Love you always,
Dad

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