Over the Counter Natural Cures by Shane Ellison Page A

corporate America can’t profit from healthy, natural sleep.
    My investigation into the science of sleep began ten years ago. As a fledgling graduate student, I was being escorted over new scientific terrain. I didn’t want to miss any of it. I spent long days in the lab and late nights in the library. I would average five or six hours of sleep per night.Sleep deprivation was done in an effort to make more time for research. I was attempting to selectively control the synthesis of three-dimensional, amino acid conformations. Don’t let the science jargon get you hazy.
    Most amino-acid chemistry synthesis resulted in a mishmash of right-and left-handed molecules. (Remember, we are in three-dimensions.) In medicinal chemistry, you can only use one. To reduce the excess junk, I wanted to design a process that would allow the production of one type, not both. My research would eventually be used in an area of chemistry known as peptide mimetics, which serves as a novel tool for modulating most any biological event like cancer, obesity, and even pain.
    Every discovery amplified my previous one. This kept me in the lab and out of my bed. For my chemistry work, I was named graduate student of the year at Northern Arizona University. I thought I could carry this work ethic into my professional life. But as time passed, I learned some hard lessons about sleep deprivation. My health began to tailspin.
    For me, working for Big Pharma was like living in permanent lockdown. You always had to be seen. If you weren’t present, people started asking questions. “Where were you when I came in this morning?” my peers would ask. “When did you get back from lunch?” my boss would enquire. “What time are you leaving?” my lab partners would wonder. “Would you mind typing up a report outlining your last six months of chemical reactions?” the CEO would request twice a year. Add to this the security and surveillance that comes from an insecure industry trying to hide dirty secrets, and you feel like you’re reporting to the state penitentiary. To play the game, I deprived myself of sleep. That seemed to be the only way I could keep up.
    My wake-up call came unexpectedly one day. First there was work, followed by a quick trip to the gym, and then all the usual family things—fixing dinner, taking care of kids, and putting them to bed.With this behind my wife and me, it was time to do what adults do, make love—or so I thought. The fast pace was leading to some embarrassing outcomes.
    My wife seductively motioned to the bedroom. I sat motionless in front of the television. I thought about it and then sighed, “I don’t know. Maybe you could rub up against me, and we’ll see what happens.” Insulted, she gasped. I was in trouble. But I was just too damn tired for sex. I had only been married a few years, and my sex drive had begun to evaporate.
    This wasn’t like my usual testosterone-fueled self. What happened to my sex drive? Had my testosterone plummeted to that of a thirteen-year-old girl? Nothing gets a man thinking faster than when he questions his testosterone levels. Upon reflection, I had whittled my slumber down too far. I was dragging ass, rather than getting some.
    This was so eye-opening that I vowed to get to the bottom of it all. I plunged deep into sleep-deprivation research. It didn’t take me long to learn that trimming hours off of my sleep schedule was costing me more than a few love-making sessions; it was bringing me closer to my expiration date.
    ARE YOU SUFFERING FROM HORMONAL IGNORANCE?
    I don’t study health at the “symptom level.” I start my research at the body’s most fundamental level, the cell. This gives me a vantage point by highlighting the biological mechanisms underlying the cause of symptoms before they develop. Monitoring cell function offers insight into our “health trajectory.” That’s far