An Extra Hour, and Still Tired

Sunday morning the clocks fell back an hour. On paper, that's a free hour of sleep.

Most of us don't get it. Your body doesn't read the clock on the wall. By midweek a lot of folks are waking up at 4:30, wide awake, staring at the ceiling, then dragging by mid-afternoon. It's dark before supper. The week feels long.

For most people that settles down in a week or so. For some, it was never really about the clock. The sleep was off before the time change, and it stays off after.

If that's you, I want you to know about something we do here.

Please note: The office will be closed Thursday, November 5 and Friday, November 6.

Office Hours

Monday and Thursday: 7:30 to 12, 1:30 to 5

Tuesday and Friday: 7:30 to 12

Wednesday: 8:30 to 12, 2 to 6

Sleep starts in the brain

Your brain has its own rhythm. During the day it runs faster patterns that keep you alert. At night it's supposed to shift down into slower ones so you can drift off and stay asleep.

When that shift doesn't happen the way it should, you lie there with your mind still running. Or you fall asleep fine and wake up at 3 a.m. and can't get back down.

That's where BrainCore neurofeedback comes in. Neurofeedback is brain training.

What a session looks like

You sit in a comfortable chair with small sensors resting on your scalp. They read the electrical activity your brain is already making. Nothing is put into the brain.

A computer watches that activity moment to moment. When your brain moves toward the pattern we're training, the movie or sound you're following responds. Your brain notices the feedback and adjusts on its own, with no effort from you. Repetition does the work, the same way practice builds any skill.

We map it first

Before we train anything, we do a qEEG brain map so we can see how your brain is communicating, and where things sit in normal, low and high ranges. We use what the map shows to guide the training.

Nobody here will point at a color on it and hand you a diagnosis.

See your doctor first

Poor sleep has a lot of causes, and some of them need a medical doctor. If you snore loudly, if someone has told you that you stop breathing at night, if you wake up gasping, or if you're nodding off behind the wheel, please see your physician first. Sleep apnea and other conditions need to be checked and treated.

Neurofeedback works alongside the care you already have. Keep your doctor in the loop. Nobody in this office will ever tell you to stop a medication. Every brain responds in its own way, and I won't promise you an outcome.

Find out if it fits

Start with our free brain health assessment and pick sleep as the area that concerns you most. It takes a few minutes, and your results come up on the screen when you finish: braincoreofelizabethton.com/assessment

Then come sit down with me. The consult is free, and I'll tell you straight whether I think it makes sense for you.

A few simple things help everybody this week, too. Get outside in the morning light. Keep the same wake-up time on the weekend. Put the phone down a while before bed.

Also here for you all

Gonstead chiropractic: before I adjust anything, I find the one level that's the problem with an instrument, my hands and a standing X-ray.

DRX9000® spinal decompression for low back pain and sciatica. It's FDA-cleared for chronic low back pain and sciatica caused by herniated discs, degenerative disc disease and posterior facet syndrome.

Pulse PEMF: a half hour or full hour of cellular exercise that promotes natural relaxation.

Whole food nutrition: Standard Process whole food supplements and MediHerb herbals, in the office or from our online store.

Foot Levelers custom orthotics: the foot scan is free, and through November 15 any custom orthotic is $249 (Single Pair Savings).

Give us a call at 423.542.3337 or text us at 423.380.0877 to schedule your free consult with Dr. Dennis.

Yours In Health,
Dr. Dennis & Your EC Team (Larry & Zak)