Welcome back to the Inspired
Living with Autoimmunity podcast.
I'm your host, Julie Michelson.
And today we're joined by Dr.
Saima Qureshi, board certified
pediatrician and IFM certified
functional medicine practitioner.
Dr.
Saima used functional and integrative
medicine to conquer narcolepsy
when conventional Western medicine
failed and her doctors told her
they had no other solutions for her.
She recovered completely, got off
stimulants and drugs that were
leaving her with severe side effects
to live the life of her purpose.
She now helps people with chronic illness
dispel the lie that they're stuck with
their diagnosis and medications, which
are only a band aid for their symptoms.
Dr.
Sima practices functional and
integrative medicine virtually all over
Florida at Rebalance Family Health,
where she specializes in narcolepsy,
mold illness, and autoimmunity.
In today's conversation, Dr.
Sima shares her approach to brain and
body transformation, and we discuss
addressing foundational basics like
stress management, sleep, diet,
detox, and movement to truly heal
from chronic health challenges,
including narcolepsy and autoimmunity.
Dr.
Saima, welcome to the podcast.
Thank you so much for
having me here today, Julie.
I'm so looking forward
to this conversation.
Um, I always love when we're, I
know we're going to hit on something
that listeners haven't heard before.
Um, we always get a different
spin on, on stuff and there's
definitely themes that repeat.
So I would love for you
to share your journey.
How did you go from practicing pediatrics
to transitioning to functional medicine?
That's a great question.
And yes, certainly a great way to start.
So, you know, I grew up in a very
traditional sort of Western kind of model.
I grew up in Pakistan, but my
parents followed, uh, doctors
there or took us to doctors there
that practice Western medicine.
Uh, so we got the same kind of, you know,
medications, antibiotics, uh, whatnot.
Growing up, never got exposed to
anything else, and then I went to
a medical school that was also,
again, the training was very Western.
In fact, our dean would come from the U.
S.
And I wanted to be a
doctor from a young age.
I remember in middle school,
I wanted to be a doctor.
So really this was, you know,
my purpose, uh, you know, I
had a big drive to be a doctor.
And when, when I started medical school,
um, at some point I realized that I wanted
to come to the U S for further training.
And pediatrics excited me and
I ended up in Michigan back in
1999 for my residency training.
And, um, you know, during medical
school, I started feeling fatigued
and, um, I lived in the same city
and I got a dorm room because I would
need to break my day with a nap.
So I would have lunch.
And run to my room, take a 15 minute
nap, run back for my clinicals.
And that was that, you know, I had some
gut symptoms, um, digestive issues,
not anything out of the ordinary.
Uh, you know, but some
medications here and there.
And as time went on, my fatigue grew.
I got through residency.
I did a residency in pediatrics.
I did a fellowship in toxicology,
learned all the conventional stuff that
I've learned to not believe anymore.
Uh, uh, so, you know, just that
training, it just trains you to believe
in things that may not always work or
make you feel better, uh, temporarily.
Um, and after I got done with my
residency, I, uh, worked in an
ER, you know, crazy lifestyle.
The, you know, midnights, uh, eating
on the go, you know, eating out of the
vending machine, all that kind of stuff.
And, um, I just got sicker and sicker, but
nothing that, uh, you know, decompensated
me or really made me stop to think,
okay, I need to do something about it.
So I had hormonal issues, I had
duct issues, I was feeling fatigued.
You know, I would go to my primary care
physician every now and then and Get
a workup and things would look kind of
fine.
Your labs look good.
The lab looks good.
You know, that usual story.
Yeah.
And so life went on.
I had kids and um, I was just tired.
You know, I was just having a hard
time overcoming that energy deficit.
And one of my daughters, you know,
she wrote down when she was in
elementary school and this little
thing that they write at school.
My mom loves taking naps.
No,
I needed naps to get by my day.
Um, and I ended up in, um, Florida
from Michigan, um, about 14 years ago.
Uh, you know, we were going
through some transitions.
My husband was starting a new job.
And at that point I decided that was
just too much for me to work as a doctor.
Um, it was, I was just not able to keep
it all together, you know, balance,
uh, my commitments, um, as a wife, as a
mom, uh, you know, take care of my kids.
And work as a physician.
And prior to that, I had
actually worked part time.
Once I got done with my training,
I just worked part time.
And I just got more and more fatigued.
You know, I did, I did stuff.
I volunteered whatnot, but I had fatigue.
I had sleepiness and my husband was
a sleep doctor, believe it or not.
And he
interesting?
telling me that I needed
to get a sleep study.
And finally, uh, about.
Eight years ago, in 2016, when, uh,
you know, when I hit rock bottom, so to
speak, when I couldn't take it anymore,
I was having a hard time driving, I
said, okay, let's get a sleep study, so
I got a sleep study, and the tech from
his office called him, uh, because I
had classical, you know, uh, so a sleep
study followed by what's called an MSLT,
classical textbook, MSLT, that's the
name of the test for narcolepsy, MSLT.
And I got started on stimulants.
I was seeing, you know, his associate
one stimulant after another.
It would work, it would work
for about three to six months,
give me a lot of side effects.
I would just be cranky and irritable
and, uh, you know, lack of appetite.
I would still crash in
the middle of the day.
Uh, with one of them, I couldn't
sleep till around midnight or one.
And then I would You know, I had
to be started on a medication
to put me to sleep at night.
So medication to wake me in the morning,
medication to put me to sleep at night.
I started developing high blood pressure.
And that's when, you know, I sort
of started connecting the dots.
Okay, is it the nighttime medication that
is giving me the high blood pressure?
And I stopped that and my
hypertension went away.
And during this time, I was, you
know, developing other things,
hormonal issues, gut issues.
Um, I had a fibroid, I had a
hysterectomy, so all these things are
going on and finally when I was on
my last, you know, my last medication
for narcolepsy called Xyrem, which
costs around almost 200, 000 a year,
Oh my gosh.
I lasted one week on it, I started
getting symptoms of Parkinson's
Oh my gosh.
Uh, so yeah, my face, you know,
became very mask like, I had
tremors, and that had to be stopped.
And that's when I knew I had to
look for answers outside of what
I was used to outside of this
conventional Western medicine.
So, and then, you know, one of
my friends, uh, introduced me to
cupping, um, and so that was my
first experience with something.
Out of what I was used to, you know,
I grew up with a family of doctors.
My brother's a doctor.
My husband has siblings that are doctors.
So I was just surrounded by this
culture of, uh, you know, pills and
procedures, so to speak, uh, that
traditional Western medicine, uh,
culture and never thought of anything.
And in fact, um, I was In many ways,
taught to look down upon other modalities
of treatment, uh, you know, even in
my training, I do remember functional
doctors being mentioned as quacks
right.
and During my toxicology training,
uh, so I, this was, this is not
something that I was, uh, you know,
taught to seek, um, taught to look
up to, uh, or taught to think that
this would actually help people.
And when things fell apart for me,
I started looking outside, you know,
I got cupping, I started reading
books, um, I started off with Dr.
Gundry's book.
Um, the plant paradox and, you
know, it introduced such radical
concepts to me at that time.
that's a, that I, I don't
know if I would recommend that
that be your first entry into
right.
Absolutely.
But for some reason it was.
And I mean I've grown a lot since then.
Uh, you know, after, and then,
um, I got introduced to functional
medicine by a friend who went to
the same medical school as me.
Ah, so then there was a little, uh,
there was that, uh, that link.
And she actually pushed me.
She, she asked me to Register for, you
know, the IF Institute of Functional
Medicine's first course and send a
picture to her of my registration.
Woo-hoo.
I was almost pushed into
this, and, you know, I did it,
and There's no looking back,
No, you can't, you can't unlearn
or, or you know, it, it's, there
is never any going going back.
totally, so yes, so you know the whole my
whole world changed and then, um, during,
you know, during my recovery and during
my health journey, um, I also discovered
that I have mold illness, uh, so mold was
a part of that eventual decompensation.
It's not the whole story,
but part of the story.
Um, so yes, so I learned
from mold experts, Dr.
Neil Nathan and Jill Krista.
Uh, so they're also a huge
part of my healing journey.
Um, yes.
So that's how I ended up
in functional medicine.
I love it.
And how is your health now?
Oh, totally different.
I, I feel that I am better.
Uh, I feel better than I've
felt in a few decades, honestly,
like going back to my teens.
I love it.
Oh, well, I'm Yeah, I know.
I, it's a, this is why we're
having these conversations.
So that, um, because I remember when I
found functional medicine, it was like,
well, how did I never hear about this?
Like, how did I not know this was.
It's an option, you know, um, and so
that's, it's one of the reasons why we,
we do the podcast so people can, can learn
that there are other, other approaches.
And I do believe, um, you know, to
have that Western training as, as a
background, I mean, it's, it's not
one way or another, you know, ideally
you're bringing those worlds together.
And, you know, because that that is
I think a problem these days is a lot
of people can just hang a functional
medicine shingle, but there's no medicine
and functional, you know, they're, they
just don't have the medical training.
absolutely.
And I think that is a
very important point.
Um, you know, I really, uh, would call
it more like functional and integrative
medicine where integrating the modality.
And I certainly do use some
pharmaceuticals, and they
are a part of my toolbox.
And you really can't, you know,
have one without the other.
So, It is a part that Western
training is a part of my journey.
It is a bit of what I still incorporate.
I mean, we do need to pull out
those things when we need them,
But you ask why you ask,
why is this happening?
Not just, you know, here's a
prescription as a band aid.
Yes.
To take care of your symptoms.
Yes.
You can, you may take care
of those symptoms, but.
You have to get to the root cause.
You have to address that because if you
don't, then those underlying problems
that are happening in the body, they're
just continuing and the damage is just
ongoing, which is what happened with me.
You know, I had those hormonal
issues way back in my teens.
And then I ended up having a fibroid
and a hysterectomy so that, you
know, the estrogen dominance, um, a
Yeah.
It takes a toll, right?
right, if you don't do anything about it.
And then the gut issues, um, chronic SIBO.
Uh, you know, we're just kind
of building up over time.
I want to circle back for, for listeners.
I want to talk a little bit about
the NAR, about narcolepsy because I
think it's common in the lay world.
When you hear narcolepsy,
you, you think, Oh.
Well, how would you not know you're
having, you know, weren't you falling
asleep while you were driving?
Or, you know, how could you not
be aware that you have narcolepsy?
So can we just kind of touch on
that a little bit and, and explain,
you know, how, how do you get a
narcolepsy diagnosis and not know
absolutely.
So, you know, in medical school, I learned
that narcolepsy is a condition where
you have excessive daytime sleepiness.
And you would have a person who would just
be, you know, falling asleep, dozing off.
And it does happen, but you know,
everything in life starts slow and it
progresses and you get to that point.
So Before you get to that
point, what do you have?
You have fatigue, you have sleepiness,
and people would compensate, you know,
people compensate for it with caffeine,
um, so, you know, coffee, multiple cups
of coffee in a day, that's how I was
compensating for it, or taking a nap,
and in my opinion, um, I think it's just
an underdiagnosed condition, and that
doesn't mean that, you know, the listener
is just Go and get tested for narcolepsy,
but it's just a manifestation of, um,
you know, the body not working really
well, the energy production system or,
you know, the awakening system in the
body, it's not working well because of
all these, um, you know, hindrances.
And, and sort of the biochemistry looking
at that level at the cellular level, your
cells are not functioning optimally and
your mitochondria, which are your, you
know, energy producing, um, organelles
in the cells, they're not functioning.
They're not generating the energy.
So just like the powerhouse, you know,
you've, you've got a power failure.
right.
Which is why it is so.
And again, because here I am now,
20 years ago, I might not have given
it a second thought, but, but to
think of, okay, somebody has fatigue
and sleepiness and the treatment,
and I'm using quotations for people
listening on audio is we're going to,
we're going to give you stimulants.
We're not going to wonder why
you can't make it through the day
without falling asleep like that.
It just seems insane now.
I know it didn't, but I wanted to touch
on that because a lot of listeners
and I'm sure listeners are kind of
leaning in because fatigue is such a
common across the board symptom with
autoimmunity, pretty much no matter,
you know, what diagnosis you have.
Um.
And, and, and even not in autoimmunity,
I mean, just, just when I think of the
typical inflamed adult, um, fatigue is,
is common or, and, or energy deficiency
in some, in some respects is common.
And we always, not always, often,
if the criteria is met, send
people for sleep studies, because.
With that thought of, are you, you
know, are you oxygenating at night?
Because if not, you're going
to be tired during the day.
Um, but I, I, this is kind of a
new world even for me to, to dig
in a little bit to, to narcolepsy.
And, and nobody's, I, I don't
know of anybody really going
that far with, with, The testing.
So I think that, yeah,
So generally the testing gets done
if, you know, you get a sleep study
and nothing comes up on it, like
you don't have a sleep apnea, or if
somebody's really thinking narcolepsy
because their overnight sleep study,
that doesn't pick narcolepsy, it's an
additional test that has to be done.
So the additional test would only get
done if your overnight sleep study
is negative, which is what the case
was with me, or You know, if somebody
really has an index of suspicion
Right.
of epilepsy.
So that's, that's a daytime.
That's, that stays done in the daytime.
Sure.
Well, that makes sense.
Yeah.
And that's, I just, I, I just am
like wondering how many people
have the negative sleep study.
So they're just told they don't
have apnea and Then, you know, this
doesn't get addressed, as you said,
until it progresses to a point.
Eventually, it becomes clear if
somebody has narcolepsy, if it's
left untreated, you know, so, yeah,
And there's so many people
that take stimulants.
So provisional is a very
well known stimulant.
It's, it's, um, It's not like Adderall
or Ritalin or violence, but it is.
You know, it's, it's, it helps
you stay awake and there are many
people who take Provigil even
without a diagnosis of narcolepsy.
Yeah, my rheumatologist offered
provigil to me years ago, and I was
like, wait, that same boat, like
you're giving me stuff to sleep?
And now you want to give me, like, I'm
not a junkie, like, what is going on?
Why?
And that was kind of toward where I
was like, maybe there's a, you know,
I, I was holding it 10 prescriptions.
I didn't want the 11th prescription,
you know, but so I, I know
it's, it's used, it is used and
prescribed for, for people that have
that are feeling,
without, without a diagnosis for sure.
absolutely.
And, and I feel like, uh, you know,
it's, it's, it's a tough spot for doctors
because that's just how they're trained.
Like, you know, having a, my
husband being a sleep doctor.
That's just how he was trained.
And, you know, you, you invest all this
time going to medical school and residency
and training and fellowship and all that.
And then you sort of get on a hamster
wheel, you know, you've got bills to
pay, you've got, you know, your life,
your kids, your family, all that.
And, and then you're working in this
system where a lot of what you do
gets dictated by insurance companies.
Uh, so you really, you
know, your hands are tied.
Um, and a lot of times doctors,
you know, they're just so
kind of stuck in the system.
They don't have time to step out and
look at other, at other modalities.
And they're also taught to think
that those modalities don't work.
And there's no evidence behind
It's quackery.
Right.
It's black, green, all that, right?
And you're sort of
brainwashed, unfortunately.
And until,
decades and decades and, you know,
I always ask like, why going back,
like so many doctors that I've
interviewed, you know, your, even
though there were symptoms you
normalized when you were younger
medical school, it really became clear.
But it's like, why do we try to
kill doctors in medical, like
people who want to be doctors?
In medical school, like
you're, you're not sleeping.
You can't possibly be eating.
Well, the stress is through the roof.
Like all of the things that we know
now will lead to, to illness and
chronic illness is like, why, why
are we putting people through that?
And it doesn't, like you said,
it doesn't even matter what
country it's, that's, it's how the
structure of, of medical school is.
it's just a world, yeah, it's just a
worldwide sort of a phenomenon, right?
And so it gets accepted like, yeah.
That's fine.
Right.
I mean, the good news is, which is
unfortunate, it shouldn't be that
way, but this is how functional
medicine is growing, right?
It's because, unfortunately,
because people practicing strictly
in the Western model aren't
getting answers for themselves.
And so, you know, um,
we're grateful you're here,
Oh, thank you so much.
And that's what happens.
The patients that come to me, and I'm
sure that's what you're seeing too,
they've already been through so many
different kinds of providers, and you're
not getting the results that they're
looking for, or they're just getting
sicker and sicker, uh, and, you know, more
tired, more fatigued, all that, right?
Um, and they're looking for answers.
And then, you know, once you start fixing
those underlying problems, so, you know,
and it's, it's not just one thing in
functional medicine, we know that it's.
So many things, like, there's so
many, uh, leaks in the roof, as Dr.
Bredesen, uh, says, you know, for
dementia, like, and that applies, I feel
that applies to every single illness, like
for narcolepsy, it wasn't just one thing.
I did not have an adderall
deficiency or a bypass deficiency.
But I had multiple nutritional
deficiency and deficiencies.
And in addition, I had imbalances in my
gut and hormonal imbalances and toxins.
And, you know, so I had to work on
all those different things, uh, to
get rid of the narcolepsy symptoms
and address the root causes.
And I love that you, you brought that up.
So I happen to be Bredesen trained.
I'm a RICODE coach, which I
don't, I don't know that I've ever
mentioned on the podcast before.
And, and I love in case people are like,
wait, why are we talking about narcolepsy?
Isn't this an autoimmune podcast?
It's it's the same.
These, the leaks, the, we need to
be supporting, you know, nutrition,
hormones, reducing, like all of the
things, whether you have an autoimmune
diagnosis, you have dementia or
Alzheimer's, you have, you know, can't
pick something, anything chronic.
Including narcolepsy, we, we need
to be, you know, taking away those
blocks from healing because our body
is designed to heal and supporting.
And so I love that you brought that up
because it is, it's, I know when I first
got into functional medicine, I, you
know, we hear root cause medicine and
I, I thought singular, like root cause,
like what is the cause of ha ha ha.
And like you said, is it never.
Just one thing
It's never, right, and even
with autoimmunity, like, so I
have, so Hashimoto's, that's
also a part of my story.
So I,
Now we're talking
right.
And to be honest, I don't know if,
you know, the narcolepsy, like the
sleepiness, if part of that is also,
uh, you know, autoimmune and I suspect
that it is, there just hasn't been,
you know, nobody's done the research.
Well, and I'm guessing if you had been
diagnosed, I'm guessing you had were not
diagnosed with Hashimoto's first Because
if you were they probably would have
totally discounted the fatigue as part
of your autoimmune condition, right?
Like oh, yeah, it's like telling you
know a mom who knows she's not tired
fatigued And the doctor says, well,
of course, cause you have little kids.
Like, no, it's not.
Um, so that is interesting.
I, I, that you, uh, thank you for
sharing that, you know, you also
have an autoimmune diagnosis and
I love, you know, like me, you
don't identify by your diagnoses.
It's like, Oh yeah.
And I have that, you know, they
said I had so addressing these
roots, addressing these foundations.
It improves, it doesn't matter the
list of, of diagnoses or, you know,
kind of what the, I really am firm, a
firm believer in, and I'm not saying
again, you don't ever need medication
or, you know, I always say there's
this framework and it's, we prioritize.
You know, like, if you've got mold
exposure and you're living in a
moldy house, like, we know, like,
we have to prioritize according to,
to need for the individual, but,
but we need that foundation strong.
Absolutely.
And yes, and you know, and there are
many pieces to the foundation as well,
and you have to work on all of them.
And, you know, starting with the basics.
Yeah.
Where, where, what are your basics?
So my basics are diet and,
you know, diet and lifestyle.
So sleep, exercise, stress,
those are, those are my basics.
And what I've found in my own journey
is that until you work on those, you,
you could be pouring supplements.
Or other functional treatments, but until
you work on the food that is going in
the body or, you know, removing the food
that your body is going to react to,
like with autoimmunity in an autoimmune
paleo diet, which is what I've follow.
Um, and working on the stress means stress
just takes such a toll on the body and
stress can be the cause, the actual, or
rather the trigger, that finally broke
the camel's back, so to speak, or that
triggered someone's Hashimoto's or other
autoimmune condition, like, you know,
MS, for instance, or anything else.
All right.
Like stress can be a huge trigger, right?
Well, and I don't know about you.
I've seen, you know, I'm, I'm an
audio autoimmune paleo coach as well.
And so, you know, I've seen people come
in with the appropriate diet for them.
I've never had anybody come in where
I say your stress management routine.
So great.
We're not touching it.
We just, especially, and I think diet's
not static either, but especially we
may have a routine that works for us.
You know, really well in certain
time periods, and then we're
going to need to up level.
We just are always need to be
working on stress management.
I think it's, it's, it's that one.
Not everybody has a toxin issue.
Everybody has too many toxins,
but for sure, chronic stress is.
I think number one.
It is.
I agree.
You know, we're living in
a very stressed society.
Our just, our daily routines, uh, you
know, as adults and also children.
I mean, the routines
have become so stressful.
There's so much demand on people
to, uh, you know, to do things.
And we're just constantly busy.
Um, the
not a, it's not a badge of honor or
it shouldn't be a badge of honor.
You know, I'm so busy, you
know, out busying each other.
it shouldn't be.
And, you know, to be honest,
I was one of those people.
Sure.
Busy all the time.
Yeah.
You know, the funny thing is,
um, this is a comment that my
grandfather made when I was a kid.
I don't, I think I was a teenager, he said
I wouldn't even have time to die . So,
because it was just a part of my nature
Right.
to be busy all the time.
Um, so yeah.
Uh, and you know, I didn't grow up in
the us I grew up in a very large city.
Um.
In the developing in a developing
country, but it was a large city.
And yes, this life is stressful.
Um, so stress does take a toll.
And, you know, you get to
the point where you tip over.
right.
Yeah.
It's any of these things, you know, we
talk about that tipping point with toxins
all the time, but it, it is the same.
And, and I love that you said, and we
have to work on all of it because, you
know, if you're not working on stress,
well, I don't care how good your diet is.
You're not absorbing.
Your nutrients, you're not going
to be sleeping well, you know,
you're probably over exercising and,
and that, you know, so it's, you
have to be working on all of them.
Um, and so I love that you highlighted
that because it's really, I've had people
come in and I know it's so frustrating,
you know, so many of us start with a
book or a podcast episode or a something.
And, and I say that was, I had the throw
spaghetti at the wall approach to healing.
When I decided to look for
another way, um, outside of the
rheumatology office, I was trying.
I would read, learn, try, listen, try.
I would, you know, and it was like, I did
a lot of really good things, but it wasn't
until I did some of them in concert.
That I started to heal.
And so this is why, you know,
again, we have these conversations.
That's why I do what I do.
It took me years to reduce my inflammation
and symptoms and have my doctors.
I always say my doctors
took me off my medication.
I didn't because I didn't need it anymore.
Don't ever tell people to stop their meds.
Um, but it doesn't need to take years.
It's not going to take a week, but
it doesn't need to take, you know,
six years to start to feel better.
That's for sure.
Yeah.
That's very true.
And yes, working on the stress is, you
know, calming the nervous system down.
That's key, right?
Like calming the body, deep
breathing, um, that progressive
muscle, muscle relaxation.
You really don't need it.
You know, you don't need to go out
and buy anything for that, but you
need to set aside time for that.
To really sort of consciously
work on that relaxation.
And sometimes you can be doing it even
while you're, you know, doing some
chores, just sort of being mindful about
the breathing and the belly breathing.
Um, so that's really important and that's
in conversation, like people don't
know, you know, I did, um, right.
I guess it had to have been 2020 right
in the, you know, heart of the lockdown.
Um, I did a, a big training for
hospital based doctors in Pakistan.
And that was their homework
was as they change patients.
To take three or seven breaths
just to reset that nervous system,
you know, cause they're in that.
And then, you know, add COVID on
top of already a high stress job.
Um, but one of the things I love
about some of the just natural,
we're built to use those tools.
Um, so I always say, you know,
you, you can't grab the tool if
you don't have it in the toolbox.
right.
it's in the toolbox, you know, if
something is driving that you're having
a stressful conversation, you can
be breathing during it and not even
go to that place of stress response.
That's so true.
Absolutely.
Yeah, I love it.
Do you use that?
You know, I, I know sleep
is one of the pillars.
Um, where do you start with people?
Like what, what are things people
can do around improving sleep?
So sleep hygiene, you know, that's.
Something so basic.
Um, everybody's on their phones and
you have blue light coming from phones.
So consciously, uh, you know, not
using your phone at least 2 to 3
hours before bedtime and then moving
that bedtime to around 10 to 10 30 p.
m.
That should really be.
The latest, anyone should go to sleep
if they really want to reset their
body and help it heal naturally.
I mean, you really can't heal the
body by, um, you know, pushing
those circadian rhythms out of
what they're supposed to be doing.
So our bodies have something
called circadian rhythms based on
the cortisol, uh, so the natural,
you know, one of the hormones.
And, uh, If we stay up till too
late, then it just puts that
whole system out of balance.
So to rebalance the body, you need
to move that bedtime to 10 to 10.
30 and wake up early, you know, with the
sun in so in many parts of the country.
Uh, so, you know, by If you get good
7 to 9 hours of sleep, um, that should
be the goal, but your 7 to 9 hours
should not begin at 1 in the morning
or 2 in the morning, or even midnight.
They should begin sooner.
I love that you, that you say that
because it is so important and
people do tend to, you know, we,
the, I think 10 years ago, if you ask
people, what do they know about sleep?
You know, they know, okay,
somewhere around eight hours, right?
But it really does make a
difference when you're sleeping.
What time
Right.
And again, this should not be a
badge of honor that, you know,
hours is I've met.
I've met so many people who
say they're a super sleeper.
You know, and they don't need, and there
are the very rare super sleepers who
don't need that seven to nine hours.
Everybody so far that I've met
that told me they were a super
sleeper is not, they're not.
They're not, they're going to,
they're running on, they're
running on fumes and adrenaline.
Yeah.
and it's going to catch up at some
time, like I know people personally who
claim that they're super sleepers, but
they've had a big health setback, you
they don't connect the dots, right?
you know, it could be a cancer, it
could be an autoimmune condition, it
could be a heart attack or something,
Well, and you mentioned, you know, brain
health and Bredesen protocol, right?
Like our brain is detoxing while we sleep.
If you're not giving your, that your
body that time, that's when we're
healing and detoxing and cleaning
out and, you know, rebuilding.
So,
And that's, you know, and that's
one of those concepts that's not
there in conventional medicine.
That's probably just coming around.
Uh, the concept of glymphatics.
Uh, so, and even the whole lymphatic
system is not something that, uh,
conventional medicine really teaches.
You don't, I didn't think about it until I
got into functional medicine and cupping.
Um, so our toxins are, uh, removed from
From the brain through the glymphatic.
So it's the lymphatic system off the
brain and the time when it's doing
its detoxing is when we're sleeping.
So just imagine the more, uh, you sleep
like, you know, the But in those seven
to nine hours, the more your brain
gets to detox, and brain disorders,
brain fog, Alzheimer's, all those
things, that's also a detox issue.
And my personal theory is that, you
know, narcolepsy is also a toxin
issue, and a brain Detox issue because
I mean, I know mold was a piece of
my story when I got some specialized
testing done, which you really don't
have to do for specific toxins.
But I was sort of trying to learn.
I mean, I didn't have a lot
of other toxins on board.
Um, so.
So, getting rid of those toxins from the
brain is important, and I feel like it's
just the body's signal of trying to detox,
like, you know, you're just tired and
sleepy because your brain needs to detox.
To detox.
I, I love that you said that.
That's so, it's so brilliant.
And it, it, it just reinforces
what you said also about the
time of night, your sleep.
Cause it's not just sleep.
We, we need, you know, we need
REM and we need deep sleep.
This is, those are the stages
where the good stuff is happening.
And so that's what we're missing,
even if we think we're getting enough.
Sleep, but we're going to bed at two
in the morning, like you're not getting
that restorative sleep that you need,
Right.
And it's unfortunate that a lot of
that, those behaviors start when, you
know, kids are little or in high school
or in college and somehow, and I mean,
I don't, you know, I feel like, you
know, some of the, uh, sort of the
writings or the data that's out there.
I mean, people talk about
teenagers, uh, neat having to
have that altered, uh, rhythm and
circadian rhythm is different.
Yeah.
I'm not sure if that's, that's
really true, to be honest.
Um, again, you know, I don't know
if it's just like that conventional
Western kind of a concept.
Um, but I really feel that our bodies
are designed to work a certain way
Well, the sun,
Yeah,
the earth and the sun are not changing
just because you're a teenager, right?
So the sun, now that I never really
gave it much thought when I, when
my kids were teenagers, I did wish
that high school started later.
Um, but.
But I see what you're saying, and
logically it wouldn't make sense.
Why would our circadian rhythm, if it's
set, you know, if it's connected to
the cycles of nature, why would it be
different at a certain period of growth?
It doesn't make sense.
right.
I mean, I feel like the circadian
rhythm needs to be there.
Maybe kids need more sleep at that
time because that's just a time of
their life and they're growing and
growing exponentially, sure,
the metabolic needs are more.
So, uh,
yeah,
need to sleep more, but the
timing doesn't need to shift
yeah,
to later at night.
right,
And you see that everywhere,
unfortunately, like you see it in the U.
S.
You see it outside.
I mean, it's just.
Sort of become like a worldwide culture,
um, you know, wherever you have, you
know, artificial light and phones and
well, and that's these days, I mean,
teenagers are on screens, you know,
phones, tablets, laptops, video games.
I mean, you name it and, and,
you know, it's all day and all
night, they're getting bombarded.
So
Absolutely.
I love that.
See, I, I, cause back then,
see, that's another thing I
get to shift perspective on it.
It doesn't make sense.
I mean, it doesn't make sense at all.
It doesn't make sense.
And, you know, and all
those things catch up.
Like I was a night owl, um, through high
school, I mean, starting in high school.
Uh, so if you don't pay attention to
all those things, and if you don't sort
of train, You know, your families, your
children, which is hard, you know, being
a mom of two, uh, teens and a, and a
young adult, a young adult and teen, uh,
those things are hard because, you know,
your children are also surrounded by this
culture, but those things do catch up.
Like, I know they caught up with me.
Well, and, and they'll, you know, I
know, I remember, I have three also
that are close together and it was
different when they were teenagers.
They've all had their own kind of
chronic health stuff to, to navigate.
And now that they're all in their
20s, like none of them stay up late
intentionally, you know, like if they're,
they're regular schedules are, Which is
still unusual in their age group, right?
But they're like, nope, peace
out, um, I need to get my rest.
Because they know if they're chasing
that other kind of lifestyle,
they're going to get sick.
Because They just, they're, they've
worked too hard to get inflammation down.
Um, so, you know, eventually, it's
always that, it's, it's a great moment
when, you know, the kids get old enough
to then, the things you've modeled and
taught, you know, I, I think it's nature.
They should, they rebel against it
a little bit, and then, it's, it's
just a beautiful thing when they're
older and they're like, oh, they
may not even say it out loud, but
if they just, it's just a start.
Showing you that they're,
you know, they're eating.
Well, they're sleeping.
Well, it's like, oh,
And you know, yes, that
that's a great point.
And I hope my kids get there.
will
It's almost like an elimination diet.
You know, when you take those
things out of your diet, and
you bring to introduce them,
write.
your body feels it.
So once you've reset your
circadian rhythm, and you're
sleeping, you know, 1010 30.
And you have that odd day when you
don't, then you feel it the next day.
So, um,
and it's I'm going to throw my
throw my partner under the bus here.
I always thought he was a night owl.
He always thought he was a night owl.
And when he moved in, I, there was
no question, I'm not going to even
pretend or try to be a night owl.
And I'd say, you know, I'm going to bed.
Oh, I'll go too.
I'm like, no, you don't have
to, you know, because I really
did think he was a night owl.
He would go to bed between 12 and 2.
And I'm telling you, he
falls asleep before I do.
It doesn't matter how early I head in.
He was never a night owl.
He just, it was that habitual, you know,
busy, busy, busy until like I just can't.
And then I'm going to sleep.
And he's a doctor, you
know, but now he knows.
But so it's, you know, we tell ourselves
stories because we have habits and
patterns and it's not necessarily
because our nature is driving that,
it's that we've trained our bodies.
Absolutely.
And sometimes, you know, the way we
grew up or, you know, our families, how
everybody else was, uh, was, uh, so all
that plays a role, friends, all that.
Yeah.
I love it.
Amazing.
So we've already covered so much,
but here's your opportunity to
either pull something new or
highlight whatever you want.
What is one step that listeners can take
starting today to improve their health?
So they can start by moving their bodies.
Uh, movement is not one of those things
that I grew up with, unfortunately.
And like I said, you
know, everything adds up.
Um, I was never into sports.
And, um, walk, you know, exercising.
So it's not one of those things
that I did on a regular basis.
Um, and movement.
One, it releases endorphins,
you know, your brain chemicals
that make you feel better.
And the second thing is that
it helps with detox also.
So your lymphatics, they move.
Your lymphatics don't have the ability
to sort of pump the lymph naturally.
So movement helps, uh, the lymph
they work.
You
how they work.
Start small, you know, if you're really
sick and fatigued and you have a lot
of pain, then, uh, you know, it, it
could just be moving around the house.
Right.
Do what you can, but start moving.
Uh, and I mean, these are just
some basic things that you can
do to start getting better.
Um, and baby steps, you know, you
don't have to Just don't jump and do
everything, you know in one day or one
week, but start where you can that's
Yeah.
And don't overdo it because
that's not going to support you.
It'll drive inflammation.
So I love, I love that your language
is, is the same as mine, that you say
movement, you know, because a lot of
people, when you say exercise, We all
hold a different, whatever the picture
is that flies, you know, so we're not
talking about CrossFit or, you know,
a high intensity, anything or a rope.
It's just moving.
And, and like you said, it can
be just moving around the house.
I have to remind people all the time,
like, you know, There's so much that
we either enjoy that that includes
movement and we don't think of it that
way, um, or that we're doing in our day.
Um, and if we did a little more
than we're increasing our movement.
So I love that.
Yay.
So, before we wrap up, where is for
people listening on the go, where's
the best place for them to find you.
So my practice is in Florida so
currently I can see Patients in Florida.
So you have to be physically
present in Florida for your
first with it Otherwise, I have a
Who doesn't want to go to Florida?
Come on.
And I'm in the Orlando area, so,
and my areas of interest, obviously,
narcolepsy, um, mold illness, which is
a part of my personal journey, so I do
specialize in mold, and then autoimmunity,
so all those, um, are conditions
that I, uh, treat and specialize in.
And, um, I have a virtual practice, uh,
it's called Rebalance Family Health.
My website is going through some updates
right now, uh, but there is a link, uh,
to schedule the call if you're in Florida.
Awesome.
I love it.
Wonderful.
Well,
so, so much.
You have given us amazing gold today
and I'm really glad we got to explore
a whole new topic on the show and learn
more about narcolepsy and find out that
yet again, this is another thing that by
addressing foundations, we get to heal.
So
absolutely.
And there is an autoimmune
connection in all likelihood.
A pre, yeah, and hopefully we'll, we'll
learn more, you know, as, as research
advances and thinking shifts, we'll,
we'll connect some more of those dots,
but it, it kind of doesn't matter
because, you know, from experience
and practice that we can heal.
Yes, absolutely.
Dr.
Syma, thank you so very much
Thank you too, Julie.
for everyone listening, remember
you can get the transcripts and show
notes by visiting inspiredliving.
show.
I hope you had a great time and
enjoyed this episode as much as I did.
See you next week.