Memory Foam

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!

As people age, they become more susceptible to common aches and pains. Years of manual labor can take a hard toll on the lower back, and costly pills and ointments aren’t always the best solution. Heat therapy is one cheap, easy way to relieve back pain. Just take a hot water bottle or a special heat pouch filled with rice and heat up the contents. Then apply it at the site of the soreness, allowing the soothing heat to relax tense back muscles and disrupt pain signals on their way to the brain.

You might also try to nip lower-back pain in the bud by keeping a back support pillow at home and at the office. These pillows keep the spine aligned properly and offer a modicum of support where it’s most needed. Slouching and other manifestations of poor posture only serve to aggravate bad backs, so you should take every step possible to keep the pain from returning.

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:

• Trouble keeping eyes open
• Blinking frequently
• Head begins to nod
• Drifting vehicle within the lane or into the oncoming lane
• Repetitive yawning or rubbing of eyes
• Unable to remember last few miles

It’s simple, if you are sleepy while driving - pull over!  It may save a life!

The definition of a sleep disorder is any condition that causes an ongoing loss of sleep, causes poor quality sleep or is a defect in the sleep-wake system.  Some sleep disorders can be characterized by odd behaviours such as sleepwalking.

We need to realize that all poor sleep is not necessarily caused by sleep disorders.  If you believe you may be suffering from chronic sleep deprivation and want to determine the disorder, a doctor should be consulted.

You can do some small steps which may help yourself determine if you should pursue medical help.  Start by logging your sleep patterns for at least two weeks, and up to four weeks.

Here are some behaviours to consider recording.  Do you:

• snore
• wake up several times during the night
• become restless/anxious
• have nightmares
• wake up tired
• wake up with a headache

Your doctor will greatly appreciate as much detail as you can provide in your basic sleep diary.

It may seem tedious work but our goal is to give you back a healthy body and mind!  Don’t deny your body what it requires - SLEEP! Sometimes the answers may be simple, other times the answers may take time to discover, but I think you will enjoy knowing and having a good night’s rest.  It’s worth the work!

For those of you who suffer from chronic sleep deprivation I am sure you do not want to hear more bad news but sorry here goes!

You may notice the following if you are sleep deprived:

• Faster aging
• Higher susceptibility to colds, flu and other infections.
• Increased risk of accidents
• Experience more emotional problems, such as depression and anxiety
• Irritable and mood swings
• Forgetful
• No tolerance to handle stress
• Increase risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes and death
• Poor judgment, concentration and inability to make decisions.

Sleepiness during the day could pose a real danger for you and those around you.  You may be an accident waiting to happen!

Waste no more time in seeking to stop these effects on your body.   The answer may be as simple as choosing a pillow to promote better sleep or changing things in your environment to promote longer sleeping hours.  Life does not have to pass you by quicker than you want it to!

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!
 

Do you wish you had: 

•  a higher energy level
•  great concentration and good decision-making skills
•  better memory
•  ability to manage stress
•  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!

Insomnia is no laughing matter, especially when you’ve got a big day coming up the following morning. Ever since I was a teenager, I’ve suffered from that affliction and spent countless nights tossing and turning fitfully in an effort to get comfortable. Then I decided to get proactive in my approach to getting better sleep. In fact, I took a two-pronged tactic to address the problem.

In order to stop my mind from racing as soon as my head hit the pillow, I tried diffusing some aromatherapy oils in the bedroom. I’ve found the lavender scent to be particularly soothing. Once the mental aspect was taken care of, I just needed to maximize my physical comfort. That’s when I bought memory contour pillows online. It fits snugly to the form of my body, providing just enough support and comfort to send me peacefully into a slumberous state.