Archive for the 'Sleep' Category
Say NO to feeling tired and irritable! If you are regularly experiencing sleepless nights it is time to take action. Try these easy steps to help fall asleep and call me in the morning to let me know how your sleep was!
- Choose Your Beverages Carefully - A warm drink at night is a soothing choice. We need to ensure our warm beverages do not contain stimulants that will make it harder to go to sleep. Try tea or warm milk.
- Make a List, Check It Twice - Having a notepad and pen close to your bed is a great alternative to worrying about the concerns of the day or the next day when you lay your head to rest. By placing them on paper, visualize emptying your mind so eventually there is nothing left to worry about except falling asleep.
- Slow Down the Body - You cannot expect to put on the emergency brake at the end of a busy day and have your body fall to sleep the minute you lay your head down. Take time to unwind - perhaps by reading a book or listening to music with our pillow designed for a comfortable night’s sleep.
We are working together to ensure a better night’s sleep and quality of life in your waking hours.
I am sure it comes as no surprise to read encouragement to stay active. Physical activity is important for each of us to maintain a strong heart and lungs and to minimize the effect of viruses on our immune systems. There are numerous activities a person can do to stay active but the important point is to “just do it” as our famous Nike commercials remind us!
I am here to let you know that while maintaining an active lifestyle it is very important to give your body adequate sleep. This allows time for the body to regenerate and repair itself from the stresses of training. The immune system is enhanced and the risk of contracting serious diseases is greatly reduced.
While an active lifestyle will benefit your health it will also allow you to fall asleep faster, have a deeper sleep and feel less tired and more alert during the daytime.
These two seem to fit together like a hand in a glove, why not try them on for size?
The many roles that women have today can make anyone tired just reading them! Wife, mother, maid, taxi driver, party organizer, secretary, cheerleader, income earner, counsellor, etc. In all these things one area overlooked is the care and maintenance of the body of a woman! Research indicates that lack of sleep effects women most when it comes to risk of heart disease.
A healthy heart is directly related to how long we sleep, according to a growing body of evidence. It is estimated that Americans are getting an average of 6.7 hours of sleep during the week. Based on research, those who sleep less than 5 hours a night, are more susceptible to cardiovascular disease compared to those who get a full 8 hour rest.
In a world where access to what we need, when we need it, is so common place, it becomes increasingly difficult to turn our minds and bodies to the ‘OFF’ position. This produces a vicious cycle for us as we become busier, we get less sleep, then we become more stressed, leading to problems falling asleep, then we reap the rewards - impaired work performance, questionable judgment, increased risk to auto accidents as we fall asleep at the wheel.
Do not let ‘tired’ be the new normal for you. For your heart’s sake women, and the safety of those around you, try hitting the snooze button and get a bit more sleep.
Insomnia affects all people of all ages. While women often deal with lack of sleep more than men, even children are not immune to insomnia.
We tend to be timid to mention this concern to our family doctor. There could be an underlying fear of receiving a prescription of sleeping pills. There are some home remedies that can be considered and yes, they even may be suggested by your doctor. We’ ve included some tips below if you still wish to avoid that visit to the family doctor!
Here are some actions to achieve healthy sleep:
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View your bed as a place for sleeping, not for reading or watching a movie or doing work on. Take the time and money necessary to ensure you have a good quality mattress and pillow.
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Keep your sleeping area quiet, a comfortable temperature and coverings on the windows.
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Maintain a regular sleeping routine, even on holidays!
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Avoid caffeine, nicotine, sugar and alcohol before bedtime.
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Allow 3 hours after eating a large meal before going to bed as well as limiting liquid intake.
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Enjoy a quiet activity an hour before bed such as reading.
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Avoid taking naps during the day.
Working towards healthy sleep habits will allow you to rest and recharge both physically and mentally to be ready for each day.
Middle aged and elderly men need to be mindful of the newest research on sleep apnea. Sleep apnea, in its simplest definition, is a disorder which causes loss of breath or shallow breathing while you sleep. The loss of breath may last only a few seconds or up to a few minutes, anywhere from 5-30 times an hour, three or more nights of the week.
Sleep apnea occurs in approximately one in four men and one in ten women. Generally those suffering from sleep apnea also have high blood pressure and/or cardiovascular disease.
Sleep apnea is often revealed by a person snoring, having interrupted breathing or disrupted sleep. The newest research revealed that sleep apnea can close to double the risk of chronic disease and early death in the male gender! Even a mild sleep apnea can cause a 17% increased death risk compared to those who sleep soundly at night with no breathing problems.
Sleep apnea, is difficult to diagnose
in a doctor’s visit and there are no blood tests which can confirm a diagnosis. You many need to rely on your spouse who may know your sleeping pattern better than you do! If any of the above symptoms reflect your night’s sleep you may want to do some research into solutions. The solution may be as easy as a new pillow!
Isn’t it amazing how yawning can be contagious! How many times have you found yourself sitting next to someone, they let out a yawn and before you know it - you are yawning also. Now while I’m not sure why yawns are contagious, I can help you understand why the first fellow may be yawning - he or she may be lacking sleep!
When our bodies are receiving their required rest, all our body parts and brain receive all the necessary oxygen and blood flow required. In an individual where there is a lack of sleep, this can play a part in the necessity to yawn. Oxygen deprivation is the real cause of yawning. Our breathing becomes quite shallow when we are fatigued because we simply do not have the energy to draw deep full breaths. As this shallow breathing continues, over a period of time, it will take away the available oxygen. Soon our brain is sending out an S-O-S call indicating oxygen is needed NOW! The body’s response is to yawn a BIG yawn. This deep breath pulls a lot of oxygen into your lungs quickly. Your brain can relax once again and thanks you for yawning so hard.
Another good reason to give your body it’s required rest - to keep oxygen flowing throughout our system!
There has been a lot of work towards raising the awareness of drunk drivers which has been a very worthwhile cause. It would seem we have another group of “silent” dangerous drivers who are involved in as many accidents as drunk drivers. They are sleepy drivers.
Take a look at these statistics from the National Sleep Foundation on Sleepy Drivers:
- Sleepy drivers are the cause of 1550 deaths per year
- Sleepy drivers cause 71,000 injuries per year
- Sleepy drivers cause $12.5 billion in property losses and lost productivity per year
Another fact from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports 1 million accidents are caused every year by driver inattention. Two factors contributing to this are sleep deprivation and fatigue. Even the drunkest driver has some sort of ability to react and respond to an emergency situation, albeit impaired, but a sleeping driver is totally unaware so he does not react.
We need to stop placing ourselves, our passengers, other drivers and their passengers plus pedestrians at risk by being sleepy drivers. 100,000 traffic accidents could be prevented every year if everyone made sure they had enough sleep before operating any type of a motor vehicle.
Our brains do give us warning signs that we are in need of sleep:
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Trouble keeping eyes open
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Blinking frequently
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Head begins to nod
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Drifting vehicle within the lane or into the oncoming lane
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Repetitive yawning or rubbing of eyes
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Unable to remember last few miles
It’s simple, if you are sleepy while driving - pull over! It may save a life!
Yes, believe it or not, there are those rare people out there who indeed can survive on 4-5 hours of sleep every night. They show no signs of sleepiness or problems in their day-to-day functioning.
It does seem that the people who think they are this “rare exception” to the rule are really just sleep deprived and in denial. Indicators of who these “fooled” people may be:
- bumping into poles during the day
- muttering to themselves
- falling asleep while sitting in a dark place or
- wandering around looking for their car in the parking lot!
It may be you’ve just convinced yourself you are a “short sleeper” but it is only because you’ve been trying to survive on 4-5 hours a night for years. It would be best to assume you need more hours of sleep and try to gain those every night and see how your body’s health measures up. You may be surprised!
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a higher energy level
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great concentration and good decision-making skills
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better memory
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ability to manage stress
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stronger immune system
If you’d only listen to your brain and body, you may be able to achieve this!
While we recognize that each of us are unique individuals, numerous studies suggest a minimum of seven hours for most people allows them to experience optimum health. The healthiest people around sleep 7-8 hours a night.
When life’s demands seem to come at us full force, sleep usually is the first thing we’ll cut back on, right? One day you wake up wondering why you are snapping at your spouse and children, making poor decisions at work, forgetting meetings, or worse yet waking up wrapped around a telephone pole because you fell asleep at the wheel!
We cannot change our need for sleep any more than we can change the number of arms we have! Our bodies and brain require a daily rest period.
Proper rest allows our brain and body to recharge. We remain healthy and function at our peak.
As you can see, 7-8 hours of sleep is not a suggestion - it’s a physical requirement!
We’ve talked about this before but I don’t think we can hear it often enough, sleep is important to our health! It can help ward off heart attacks, high blood pressure, obesity, stroke and mental impairment. It can aid in the occurrence of injuries due to lack of mental alertness. These injuries may be in the home, work place or, more dangerous yet, while driving where innocent people may be affected. Receiving less than 6 hours of sleep a night affects coordination, reaction time and judgment, achieving the same effects as being drunk!
Play it safe and follow these recommendations for a better night’s sleep:
- Maintain regular sleep hours.
- Avoid naps during the day if you are prone to having difficulty sleeping at night.
- Moving to another bedroom or location when you aren’t able to sleep stops the mental block to a particular environment that seems to keep you awake.
- Avoid the added stimulus to your body encouraged by watching television in bed or listening to music.
- Exercise during the daytime but avoid it late in the evening.
- Keep your bedroom for sleep, not watching television or working on the computer, etc.
- Stretching is a good idea before going to bed as a form of relaxation.
- Keep a notepad and pen or pencil by your bed to write down concerns that come to your mind while trying to sleep.
- If you are eating a heavy meal, allow 2 or more hours before you retire to bed for the digestion to occur.
- Make sure you have a comfortable mattress and pillow that encourages proper body alignment.