Eat Me: Great for men, reduces insomnia… Five reasons African walnut is for you

From thecable.ng

African walnut is an edible single seeded stone fruit mostly cultivated for its nuts which can be cooked or consumed as snacks.
In the Yoruba language, it is called Asala; Okwe in Edo and Ukpa by the Igbo.
The African walnut is a rich source of vitamins E, B6, B7, thiamin, folate, magnesium, proteins, fibre, healthy fats, and antioxidants.

Here are some of its amazing health benefits.

Aids weight management

It is rich in omega 3 fatty acids and fibre that creates satiety and makes you eat less,

Reduces insomnia

It contains melatonin, a hormone that induces and regulates sleep.

Fights stress

Walnut is a rich source of antioxidants and unsaturated fatty acids, particularly alpha linolenic acid, and omega-3 fatty acid that serve as stress relieving agents.

Reduces inflammation

The African walnut contains many plant chemicals, including tannin which helps to fight inflammation. Researchers have suggested that these chemicals may put the nut in position to help combat asthma and rheumatoid arthritis.

Immunity

African walnut is also said to have the "potential of combating nutritional insecurity in rural communities”. According to researchers from the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria, it can be used to prevent viral infections and diseases.

Great for men

Two studies assert that the African walnut improves the mood of young men and makes men more fertile.
A study conducted at the University of Delaware found that the consumption of walnut will ultimately improve sperm quality while a controlled randomised trial at the University of Mexico suggests that constant intake makes young men more gleeful.

https://lifestyle.thecable.ng/african-walnut-health-benefits/

Poor sleep may make you fat, raise diabetes risk

From indianexpress.com

The findings showed that people who were sleeping an average of six hours a night had a waist measurement that was 3 cm greater than individuals who were getting nine hours of sleep a night. People with shorter sleep were also heavier. The results strengthen the evidence that insufficient sleep could contribute to the development of metabolic diseases such as diabetes.

Are you deprived of proper sleep at night? Beware, you are more likely to be overweight and also at risk of developing diabetes, a new study has warned.
The findings showed that people who were sleeping an average of six hours a night had a waist measurement that was 3 cm greater than individuals who were getting nine hours of sleep a night. People with shorter sleep were also heavier.
The results strengthen the evidence that insufficient sleep could contribute to the development of metabolic diseases such as diabetes, the researchers said.
“The number of people with obesity worldwide has more than doubled since 1980. Obesity contributes to the development of many diseases, most notably Type 2 diabetes. Understanding why people gain weight has crucial implications for public health,” said Greg Potter from the University of Leeds, UK.
For the study, detailed in the journal PLOS ONE, the team involved 1,615 adults who reported how long they slept and kept records of food intake.
Further, people with shorter sleep duration also had a decrease in the levels of HDL cholesterol — also known as good cholesterol — which helps remove ‘bad’ fat from the circulation and protect against conditions such as heart disease.
“Because we found that adults who reported sleeping less than their peers were more likely to be overweight or obese, our findings highlight the importance of getting enough sleep. How much sleep we need differs between people, but the current consensus is that seven to nine hours is best for most adults,” said Laura Hardie, a reader at the varsity.

http://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/health/poor-sleep-may-make-you-fat-raise-diabetes-risk-4771610/

The Secret to a Good Night’s Sleep? Purpose.

From psychologytoday.com

Those who toss and turn at night or suffer from sleep disorders like apnea or restless leg syndrome may have a new drug-free solution.  A study published this month found that having a purpose in life results in fewer sleep disturbances and improved sleep quality. The researchers behind the study believe that helping people cultivate purpose in life—perhaps through mindfulness therapy—could be an effective strategy for minimizing sleep disorders and improving overall sleep quality.
The study was performed at Northwestern Medicine and Rush University Medical Centre. The 825 participants were older, between the ages of 60 and 100, but the results are likely to apply to people of all ages. More than half of the group was African-American.  At the start of the study and then one and two years later, each participant answered a series of questionnaires designed to assess sleep quality and symptoms of three sleep disorders (sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome (RLS), and REM Behaviour Disorder).
They also answered ten questions drawn from an assessment of psychological well-being that specifically measured purpose in life. What qualified as purpose in life? “It’s the idea of having a purpose for what you’re doing with your life, and feeling that your life specifically has meaning,” says neuropsychologist and lead author Arlener Turner. Participants had to rate their responses to questions like this one: “I feel good when I think of what I’ve done in the past and what I hope to do in the future.”

Previous work, much of it by psychologist Eric Kim, now at Harvard University, had shown that having purpose in life can be protective against numerous negative health outcomes. The goal of this study was to bring together research on purpose in life and on not just overall sleep quality but specific sleep disorders. Turner conducted the study as a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of sleep researcher Jason Ong. They focused on older adults, not because they necessarily have higher purpose, but because they are more likely to have spent time thinking about the question. “When you’re at retirement age, that is a time when you take stock of your purpose in life,” says Turner.
The results were powerful. Those who began with higher purpose had moderately better sleep quality at the start of the study and showed improvement over time. People who felt their lives had meaning were 63 percent less likely to have sleep apnea and 52 percent less likely to have restless leg syndrome. And they had reduced symptoms at the one- and two-year follow-ups. Although Turner and her colleagues expected purpose in life to have some effect on sleep, they were surprised by how robust the findings were on sleep apnea and RLS.
“Individuals who have a higher purpose in life tend to be healthier in general and exhibit more healthy behaviours,” says Turner. “What we think is happening is that having these better health behaviours helps these individuals be at a lower risk for developing biological sleep disorders like sleep apnea and RLS. And it also helps them when it comes to their sleep quality.” It could be in part that those who find more meaning in their daily lives have lower levels of stress and anxiety.
As we age, our sleep patterns change. And certain sleep disorders are more common in older adults. An estimated 32-45% of older adults report some trouble sleeping, whether it’s falling or staying asleep, or disrupted sleep. And 40% of older adults suffer from a sleep disorder. African Americans have a higher prevalence of sleep disturbances than whites. This study marked the first time that purpose in life was linked to the risk of these common sleep disorders.
Turner also says that is it going to be important to better understand “how exactly purpose in life is enacting this impact on sleep.”  And next steps in the research include investigating whether mindfulness behaviour treatment can be helpful in treating the sleep disorders studied.
“Purpose in life is something we know can be cultivated and enhanced,” says Turner. “The tenet of mindfulness-based therapy is that your life has a purpose but you just haven’t thought about what that purpose might be,” says Turner. The therapy doesn’t necessarily provide you with a purpose, but it aims to help you focus on what that might be. Ong, the paper’s senior author, is an associate professor of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and has previously studied using mindfulness therapy to treat insomnia. Now he and Turner hope to apply that therapy to sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome. Says Turner, “one of the promising things is that we could very well have an avenue of treatment that does not include drugs.”
It seems having a reason to get up in the morning may be key to helping us sleep better at night.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/brain-waves/201707/the-secret-good-night-s-sleep-purpose

Can't sleep? Here's how you can calm your busy brain at bedtime

From mirror.co.uk

Our bodies may be tired at night but what often keeps us awake into the wee hours are our busy brains, whirring and worrying... Here’s how to slow your thoughts and calm your mind at bedtime, so it drifts into a deep slumber.

GO TO THE BEACH

Researchers at the University of Oxford found insomniacs who were told to visualise a “happy place” or a relaxing scene drifted off to sleep 20 minutes sooner than when they were instructed to think of “nothing” or to “count sheep”.

Other research has shown that insomniacs tend to have a higher percentage of unpleasant images in their mind when they try to sleep compared to good sleepers. So change your view and you might just change your sleep mindset.

USE YOUR FIVE SENSES

When you are visualising your happy place make it as vivid as possible.
“Experience it through what you see, hear, taste, touch and smell, moving through the scene on a journey for the senses,” says Dr Tania Ahern.
“By constantly cycling through all the senses, it leaves little room to get stuck and distracted back to worrying.”

THINK OF GOOD THINGS

Replay your day and count your blessings. Every night, write down three good things that went well and what caused them.
“This activity literally trains our brains to start noticing what’s right, not just what’s wrong,” says psychologist Vanessa King, author of 10 Keys to Happier Living (published by Headline). “Being in a grateful state of mind seems to help us get to sleep quicker, sleep longer and better.”

PLAY MIND GAMES

Give your brain a mental exercise to do to focus away from your worries.
“By actively directing our thoughts in a specific, controlled way, we can fall asleep quicker,” says it Alejandra Sarmiento.
“Count back from 100 – or 1,000 – in groups of three. The rhythmic pattern of counting is very soothing. It slows our breath and our attention is focused on the present.”

INTERRUPT THOUGHTS

“If your mind is being hijacked in bed by unproductive worries, try saying a neutral word like ‘the’ repeatedly every five seconds,” says Dr Ahern.
“Engaging the part of the brain called the Broca’s area helps disengage the area responsible for all that internal worry dialogue. Repeat the word until the worries are extinguished and you’ll be in a better frame of mind for sleep.”

SING A LULLABY

You may feel daft, but singing yourself a childhood lullaby that holds positive associations with dropping off to sleep can trigger the same relaxed and “safe” state of mind in you as an adult.
Added bonus? “Any stress and anxiety that may be stopping you from sleeping is often held in the jaw and neck – singing naturally encourages the jaw to loosen and may promote a more relaxed state,” says music therapist Daniel Thomas.

DO A BRAIN DUMP

You may already have heard the advice to dump down any worries that need to be addressed in a notebook at your bedside so you can give your mind permission to stop fretting over them and sleep peacefully.
But adding potential solutions to your problems in that notepad is probably a better tactic.
A study at Louisiana State University found that subjects asked to write down both their worries and how they might tackle them showed less “pre-sleep cognitive arousal” (repetitive worrying) than those who just jotted down their worries.

LOOK UP

Close your eyes and look up to your “third eye” – the point between your eyebrows. Research by meditation expert Jose Silva and psychiatrist Dr Herbert Spiegel found that when you roll your eyes upwards to an angle of around 20 degrees, it slows down your active (beta) brain waves to more relaxed (alpha) brain waves that induce sleep.
You can’t expect your body and mind to simply switch off if you’ve been rushing around before bedtime.
Spend 40 minutes if you can on a dimming-down routine that trains your mind into associating restful activities with sleep. “Reading a book, listening to relaxing music, or using essential oils, such as lavender, will help the brain to switch off,” says Silentnight’s sleep expert Dr Nerina Ramlakhan. Sprinkle a few drops of lavender oil under your pillow.

BREATHE 4-7-8

Dr Andrew Weil from the University of Arizona describes this technique as a natural tranquiliser.
Keeping the tongue behind the upper front teeth throughout, first exhale through your mouth making a “whoosh” sound. Then close your mouth and inhale through the nose for a count of four. Hold your breath for a count of seven, then “whoosh” out through the mouth for a count of eight. Repeat three times and you should be calm enough to nod off.

PUT LEGS UP THE WALL
A Harvard University study found that insomniacs who practiced yoga every day for eight weeks improved their sleep quality.
“Yoga is a wonderful tool to use before bed as it calms the nervous system,” says Dr Ramlakhan. Lie on the floor with your legs and buttocks up against the wall. Hold for as long as is comfortable.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/health/cant-sleep-heres-how-you-10861930

Constant junk food cravings? Just get more sleep!

From health24.com

Do you often find yourself tossing and turning all night, ending up groggy and lethargic at work the next day? And the only thing that makes the workday bearable is a salty hamburger and chips, or a greasy doughnut?
The problem is that if this cycle of bad sleep and junk food continues, it can end up having a negative effect on your weight and overall health.
Besides several health problems caused by poor sleep, a recent study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology found that poor sleep is also to blame for junk food cravings. "We found that employees who have a stressful workday tend to bring their negative feelings from the workplace to the dinner table," said study co-author Chu-Hsiang (Daisy) Chang, of Michigan State University. That means they eat more than usual and opt for more junk food instead of healthy food, said Chang, an associate professor of psychology.

Link between poor sleep and poor diet
"However, another key finding showed how sleep helped people deal with their stressful eating after work," Chang noted. "When workers slept better the night before, they tended to eat better when they experienced stress the next day."
The findings stem from two studies involving a total of 235 men and women in China. Participants in one study were described as "information-technology employees" with demanding, high-stress jobs. The second study enlisted call-centre workers exposed to the continuous stress of serving demanding customers.
Stress also a culprit
In both cases, stress was linked to the onset of negative thinking. And that mindset was then found to be associated with a higher risk for unhealthy eating at night.
As to why, the researchers suggested that stress can undercut self-control while also increasing the desire to do something, such as eating, to relieve or avoid bad feelings. But those who slept well before heading to work were less likely to eat poorly at night, the researchers said.
"A good night's sleep can make workers replenished and feel vigorous again, which may make them better able to deal with stress at work the next day and less vulnerable to unhealthy eating," Chang said in a journal news release. She added that the findings should encourage employers to promote the benefits of routinely getting good sleep.
Sleep disorder might be to blame
If you have persistent sleeping trouble, you might have a sleep disorder. Insomnia, a common sleep disorder, is a frequent experience of inadequate or poor sleep and affects many adults. According to the South African Society of Sleep Medicine, about 30% to 40% of adults indicate some level of insomnia within any given year, and about 10% to 15% indicate that the insomnia is chronic and/or severe. The prevalence of insomnia increases with age and is more common in women. Symptoms include:
Difficulty falling asleep

Difficulty maintaining a full night's sleep

Lethargy and lack of concentration during the day

Treat the sleeping disorder
If you do suffer from a sleeping disorder, a good night's sleep tends to be well out of your reach. Besides from negative impacts on the body that can stem from a lack of sleep, the junk food you crave is also the scapegoat for a number of health problems. The solution? Treat the sleeping disorder first, then target your eating patterns.
If you suspect you suffer from a sleeping disorder and that it's affecting your diet, do the following:

• Get professional help if your sleeping trouble persists.
• Keep a sleep diary to try and identify patterns.
• Ban TVs and other screen devices from the bedroom.
• Avoid caffeine and/or nicotine two hours before bed. 
• Identify your cravings the following day and try to counteract them with a healthier alternative.

http://www.health24.com/Medical/Sleep/News/constant-junk-food-cravings-just-get-more-sleep-20170719

A Drug-Free Cure for Insomnia

From goop.com

It will surprise nobody to hear that poor quality sleep is one of our country’s biggest health problems. A full 10 percent of adults suffer from insomnia (meaning they’re not getting a complete night’s sleep at least three nights a week) and its associated behaviours (including anxiety, irritability, and difficulty learning and remembering), says Jennifer Felder, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in health psychology at UCSF. In recent studies, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) has emerged as a drug-free, therapy-based solution that’s effective for the majority of sufferers—and it’s accessible to everyone via web-based programs.
Insomnia is more prevalent in women than men, and according to Felder, it may be particularly problematic during pregnancy—her current work is focused on the effects of CBT on insomnia in pregnant women, and whether it might unlock some relief for postpartum depression. (Incidentally, if you’re pregnant, consider signing up for her REST study, which uses digital CBT and requires no in-person visits, so it’s open to women across the country.) Below, Felder’s suggestions for a better night’s sleep—pregnant or not.

A Q&A with Jennifer Felder, Ph.D.

Q

What are the most commonly used solutions for insomnia?

A

Insomnia is defined as experiencing difficulty falling or staying asleep, or waking earlier than intended, accompanied by significant distress or impairment. According to the diagnostic criteria, symptoms must be present for at least three nights per week for a minimum of three months. If you are in the 10 percent of adults who experience insomnia, take heart—there are effective treatment options. Natural or homeopathic products and prescribed and over-the-counter medications are the most common treatments for insomnia. But, the American College of Physicians recommends Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) as the first line of treatment because it is effective and associated with few side effects.

Q

Can you explain CBT—why is it effective?

A

CBT is an evidence-based therapy that is effective for a variety of mental health concerns. A CBT therapist helps clients identify and change the thoughts and behaviours that contribute to depression or anxiety, for example. CBT for insomnia is typically offered by a therapist over the course of six in-person sessions. There are five components to treatment, in which patients learn and implement several strategies to combat insomnia, including:

Stimulus Control

The below strategies teach the mind and body to associate the bed with sleep, instead of with lying awake anxiously pining for sleep to come.

• Use your bed only for sleep (and sex); keep all other activities out of the bedroom (watching TV, reading, talking on the phone).


• The bed should be the only place where sleep occurs; try to avoid dozing on the couch.


• Keep regular sleep and wake times—including on the weekend.


• If you find yourself lying in bed awake for 20 minutes or longer, get out of bed to do something relaxing. Once you feel sleepy, get back in bed. At first, you may need to do this several times per night. Plan in advance what relaxing activity you will do (e.g., listen to soothing music, try a meditation practice—but no TV, computer, or phone!); these strategies take discipline and consistency.

Sleep Restriction

This is an incredibly powerful technique to have deeper, more consolidated sleep. People with insomnia often spend much more time in bed than they do sleeping. A person who spends ten hours lying in bed, but only six hours sleeping, has a sleep efficiency score of 60 percent. Sleep restriction aims to get sleep efficiency up to 90 percent. During sleep restriction, a therapist will help the client determine their “time in bed prescription.” Reducing the time in bed causes sleep deprivation in the short-term, thereby increasing the drive for sleep, leading to deeper, higher quality sleep. It may seem counterintuitive to reduce the amount of time you spend in bed, and it’s often miserable for the first few weeks, but those who stick with it will likely experience profound improvements in sleep. As sleep efficiency improves, a therapist increases the amount of time allowed in bed.

Cognitive Therapy

Patients learn to identify maladaptive beliefs about sleep, such as, “I must get eight hours of sleep to function at work the next day.” A therapist helps challenge such beliefs, for example, by reviewing times when the client functioned just fine at work after getting less than eight hours of sleep. For those who are kept awake by worries, a therapist might suggest a constructive worrying technique. For a free example, see Dr. Colleen Carney’s worksheets.

Relaxation Techniques

To promote relaxation, therapists teach patients progressive muscle relaxation or mindfulness practices. In progressive muscle relaxation, the patient alternates tensing (5-10 seconds) and relaxing (10-20 seconds) muscle groups throughout the body.

Sleep Hygiene

Changing daytime behaviours can promote better sleep. A therapist may recommend limiting the consumption of caffeine, especially in the afternoon or evening, or alcohol, which can cause drowsiness, but also causes sleep to be more broken and disturbed. A therapist may also recommend regular, moderate exercise, but not immediately before bedtime. Minor modifications to the bedroom can also make a big difference. Noise and even dim light can disrupt sleep, so ear plugs and blackout shades (or an eye mask) may help. The temperature should be cool; ideally below 75 degrees.
CBT takes longer to work than medication, but it produces long-lasting effects. It’s effective because clients learn skills that directly address the behaviours and thoughts that perpetuate insomnia, rather than masking its symptoms.

Q

What makes CBT well-suited to online therapy, and are there some products that are better than others?

A

There is a shortage of clinicians who are trained to provide CBT for insomnia, so in order to increase access to this effective therapy, researchers developed digital versions. There are several options on the market: Sleepio and SHUTi have undergone rigorous investigation and have been shown to outperform control conditions. In fact, clients using these programs show improvements in sleep that are comparable to standard, in-person CBT (though these digital CBT programs have not been directly tested against in-person CBT).

Q

Are there risks of doing CBT online vs. with a therapist in-person?

A

Although many digital CBT programs tailor feedback based on client progress, it’s not the same level of personalization that you get from in-person therapy. And—as is the case for all digital therapy programs—many people find that there is less accountability than meeting with a real person.
That said, digital CBT gives the client increased flexibility and convenience, since sessions can be completed whenever and wherever. For those who don’t have a schedule that allows for in-person CBT, digital CBT is an excellent option.

Q

What is the state of research on CBT?

A

There is a large and growing body of evidence to suggest that CBT is effective for insomnia. To me, a crucial next step is figuring out how to get CBT into the hands of the people who need it—whether through self-help books, digital programs, integrating CBT within primary care, or training more clinicians.
It’s important to note that CBT does not work for everyone—approximately 40 percent of clients do not respond to this treatment. In light of this, another approach I’m excited about is mindfulness-based therapy for insomnia.

Q

What are the potential implications of CBT for pregnant women?

A

This is an area I am especially excited about. Insomnia is highly prevalent during pregnancy. Estimates vary depending on how insomnia is measured, with some as high as 50 percent. Research suggests that poor sleep quality during pregnancy is associated with depressive symptoms, suicidal thoughts, gestational diabetes, and preterm birth, so it is important to intervene when a pregnant woman is experiencing insomnia.
However, there are a few important obstacles to overcome. First, I believe that insomnia is often dismissed during pregnancy. I’ve heard doctors say, “All pregnant women sleep poorly, there’s nothing you can do!” Second, we need more research on how to best treat insomnia during pregnancy. Not surprisingly, pregnant women prefer non-medication treatments (like CBT) for insomnia. Preliminary data from a small trial of CBT were promising, and larger-scale investigations are currently underway, including at my lab at the University of California, San Francisco.

Q

Does CBT have implications for postpartum depression, or depression more generally?

A

There is ample evidence that CBT for depression is effective for pregnant and postpartum women. It’s too soon to know whether CBT for insomnia will also help depression during pregnancy and postpartum, but my hypothesis is that it will. Research in non-pregnant patients suggests that CBT for insomnia is associated with improvement in depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation, but more research is needed.

Q

What tips do you have for people (pregnant or otherwise) who have trouble sleeping, but aren’t ready to commit to the full therapy?

A

I’d recommend a “stepped” approach. You might start by trying the recommendations described above, plus the following additional pregnancy-specific suggestions (if applicable):

• Drink plenty of water during the day, but cut back a couple hours before bedtime to reduce frequent trips to the bathroom.
• Use supportive pillows to improve comfort and relieve pressure.
• Avoid foods that may cause heartburn or reflux (citrus, rich/fatty foods).
  You might also try using a self-help CBT workbook (there are many great ones, but I’m partial to this one). If those don’t work, or you need a bit more structure, try a digital program.

http://goop.com/a-drug-free-cure-for-insomnia/

People having Goals in their Life have Less Insomnia than others

From timegazette.com

Insomnia is the biggest health problem faced by today’s generation due to their busy lifestyle. They find an ultimate way to solve the problem of insomnia that is the use of sleeping pills. According to the recent research, people who have a good purpose in their lives are likely to have less insomnia than others. These people usually take a good quality of sleep and have a tendency to wake up early in the morning.
A neurologist, Jason Ong suggested that people should be fortified to have some resolutions in their life that could enhance them to have a healthy and quality sleep. The research conducted interviewed people having age between 60 to 100. They were interviewed for their purpose of life, what all goals they have in their lives and how peacefully they sleep.
They were asked to solve the set of questionnaires given to them. The study concluded saying people who had some motivations and goals in their life were likely to have less insomnia or restless leg syndrome. While on the other hand, people who did not know the meaning of their life had major sleep issues. Insomnia is considerably seen in old age community.
According to Ong, motivating people to develop some meaning to their life could reduce the use of drugs and sleeping pills and could progress the sleep excellency. Some of the researchers in UK advice individuals to hit their bed early so that they could wake up early.
Here are some tips you could follow to avoid the issues related to your sleep.
You should set up a proper schedule for their entire day along with avoiding the use of coffee and tea that can keep awake.
Avoiding a heavy meal before going to bed at night.
Intake of alcohol, drugs, and nicotine should also be avoided.
Detach yourselves from the use of computer or TV before going to sleep.
Avoiding exercise in the evening time.

http://timegazette.com/2017/07/people-having-goals-in-their-life-have-less-insomnia-than-others/

Motivated people sleep better, study claims

From dailymail.co.uk

Researchers in Illinois surveyed more than 800 people aged 60-100 for 2 years

Those who said they'd found a purpose in life slept better than those that felt lost

It is the first long-term study to assess how a life purpose affects sleep patterns 

The research said it is applicable to all ages, and could be a drug-free alternative

Motivated people sleep better at night, a new study claims.

Researchers at Northwestern University found people are more likely to suffer sleep apnea or restless leg syndrome if they don't know what to do with their lives. 

Experts say the findings could offer a drug-free alternative for people who suffer from sleep disorders: finding a purpose instead of popping pills. 

'Helping people cultivate a purpose in life could be an effective drug-free strategy to improve sleep quality, particularly for a population that is facing more insomnia,' said senior author Dr Jason Ong, an associate professor of neurology at Northwestern.

'Purpose in life is something that can be cultivated and enhanced through mindfulness therapies.'

The report is the first study to show the direct impact of a life purpose has on sleep disturbances and sleep quality and over an extended period of time.

Previous studies have shown long-term goals generally help to improve sleeping patterns, but this had only been measured in isolated incidents.

While this study focused on older people, aged 60 to 100 years old, Dr Ong insists it is clearly applicable to all ages. 

Individuals have more sleep disturbances and insomnia as they get older.  

Poor sleep quality is related to having trouble falling asleep, staying asleep and feeling sleepy during the day. 

Sleep apnea is a common disorder that increases with age in which a person has shallow breathing or pauses in breathing during sleep several times per hour. 

This disruption often makes a person feel unrefreshed upon waking up and excessively sleepy during the day.

Restless leg syndrome causes uncomfortable sensations in the legs and an irresistible urge to move them. 

Symptoms commonly occur in the late afternoon or evening hours and are often most severe at night when a person is resting, such as sitting or lying in bed.

The American College of Physicians recommends drug-free treatment as the first option for insomnia, such as mindfulness and yoga.

To assess the impacts of such an approach, Dr Ong's team tracked the sleeping patterns of 823 people for two years.

The participants - healthy people with an average age of 79 - were from two groups at Rush University Medical Centre. More than half were African American and 77 percent were female.

People who felt their lives had meaning were 63 percent less likely to have sleep apnea and 52 percent less likely to have restless leg syndrome. 

They also had moderately better sleep quality, a global measure of sleep disturbance.

The participants answered a 10-question survey on purpose in life and a 32-question survey on sleep. 

They were asked to rate their response to such statements as, 'I feel good when I think of what I've done in the past and what I hope to do in the future.'

The next step in the research should be to study the use of mindfulness-based therapies to target purpose in life and resulting sleep quality, said Arlener Turner, the study's first author.  

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4676240/Motivated-people-sleep-better-study-claims.html

Prevent Night Anxiety with These Tips for Better Sleep

From shape.com

Insomnia, restless sleep, or waking in the middle of the night are all common and unfortunate effects of night-time anxiety. Here's how to deal with it when it happens—and how to avoid it altogether.

Why is it that your brain loves to spew fake news once your head hits the pillow? The IRS is going to audit me. My boss won't like my presentation. My BFF didn't text me back yet—she must be mad about something. Those headaches I keep getting are probably something serious.

If this sounds like something you struggle with on a nightly basis, you probably have what many dub "night anxiety." While the term might not be an official mental health diagnosis, experts agree that it's pretty common for worries to wake you up at night and interfere with your slumber. "There are several reasons for this," says Julie Pike, Ph.D., a licensed psychologist and anxiety disorder specialist in Durham, NC. "First, it's when you're less likely to have structured activities to focus on. During the day, you're typically problem solving and are actively engaged in the tasks of your daily life, but at night, it seems like all there is is time to worry."
The good news is that there are ways to deal when your mind is too wired to be tired. Below, experts share their best insider advice.

Screw counting sheep.

When you're lying in the dark, wide-eyed and worried, it's common to try and cope with the anxiety by attempting to solve the problem that's plaguing you. If you're stressing over potentially losing your job, you may stalk online job listings or pull up the last email from your boss to see if there was anything subliminal behind what she said. Instead, try this: Sum up your worry in 10 words or less, and then repeat it over and over again, says Pike. What if I lose my job? What if I lose my job? What if I lose my job? As you continue to say it, the words start to lose their power and your brain gets bored, she adds. Asleep in 3, 2...

Acknowledge the absurd.

When you suddenly start to stress about wrecking your car on the way to work tomorrow—because at midnight that suddenly seems like a very real possibility—keep telling yourself that it's just a story, says Pike. When you label it that way in your mind, your brain processes the information as something that isn't real. When the scenario doesn't feel like reality, it allows your body to relax, your heart rate to slow, and for you to doze off.

Know your thing.

You need a strategy that will help you zen out from your pillow problems. "Different things work for different people, so you may need to try a few things until you discover what works for you," says David Yusko, Psy.D., a staff psychologist at the Centre for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine. "It could be breathing exercises, meditation, stretching—whatever works to distract you from your thoughts and quiet down your body."

Stop trying to force sleep.

But it's all you want, dammit! You need to forget that it's 4 a.m. because the longer you lie in bed cursing the clock, the more frustrated you're going to be. Instead of pounding your face in the pillow and demanding your eyes shut right now, give yourself permission to get up. Avoid looking at your phone or flicking on the TV—the blue light emitted from these screens disrupts the hormones that help you sleep. Instead, read a book or do some journaling. It helps to calm and distract your mind and is way more effective than trying to argue with your insomnia.

Get your room right.

If your problem is less about falling asleep and more about waking up and then being unable to drift back off because your mind starts racing, your environment could be to blame. By making sure your room is dark and at a comfortable sleeping temperature, you hopefully won't give your brain a chance to go bonkers in the middle of the night. Cut out any noise that could disturb your ability to snooze, too.

http://www.shape.com/lifestyle/mind-and-body/prevent-night-anxiety-these-tips-better-sleep

‘Snooze: The Lost Art of Sleep’: a delightful eye-opener

From seattletimes.com

Michael McGirr’s new book deals with all things sleep-related: dreams, nightmares, sedatives, stimulants, narcolepsy, insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder and even homelessness.

“Snooze: The Lost Art of Sleep”

by Michael McGirr

Pegasus Books, 306 pp., $26.95

“There’s more to sleep than meets the eye.”
So says Australian author Michael McGirr after his doctor diagnoses him with obstructive sleep apnea, a condition in which sleepers’ throats close up, depriving them of oxygen and raising the CO2 levels in their blood to hazardous levels. “The loud spluttering, strangling, gargling noise that passes as snoring is actually your attempt to push the palate and tonsils out of the way, open the throat, and clear the airway,” McGirr explains. “The noise sounds desperate, and it is. You are struggling for life and you don’t even know.”

McGirr uses his own ailment as the launchpad for this eclectic study of all things sleep-related, bringing his own curious personal history into it while he’s at it. A former Jesuit priest who left the order to marry and have children, McGirr is a man of letters who has a wild and woolly way with his erudition. Plato, Virgil, Shakespeare, Benjamin Franklin, Charles Dickens, Florence Nightingale, Thomas Edison, Margaret Thatcher and others all turn up in his wide-ranging study.
His loving account of life with his family — including the years of sleep deprivation he and his wife dealt with when raising young children — gives “Snooze: The Lost Art of Sleep” its big heart.
Dreams, nightmares, sedatives, stimulants, narcolepsy, insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder and even homelessness all come under his gaze. (“One of the basic signs of a coherent life,” he points out, “is the knowledge of where you are going to sleep.”) He compares how humans sleep to how animals sleep. He notes how other societies cope with that post-lunch lull we all feel: “The cultural practice of the siesta originates less in a need to escape hot weather and more in a willingness to honour what the body wants to do anyway.”
And what does the body do?

Outwardly observed, it’s a process involving “dry throat, unconscious scratching, dribble, rumbling stomachs, frequent flatulence, strange utterances, various kinds of nocturnal emission, and occasional incontinence.” Sleep’s deeper purposes, however, are still in contention.
“If you ask an anthropologist, human sleep evolved to keep our ancestors safely in their caves at night away from nocturnal predators,” McGirr says. “If you ask a developmental physiologist, sleep … could be a hangover of circuit-testing in the foetus when dreams and dreamlike activity are important for helping a brain discover what it can do.”
The neurochemical replenishment of the brain and the repair of body tissue are part of the picture, too. Psychiatrists argue that sleep — especially REM sleep when we dream — is “all about memory consolidation and the reprocessing of information.”
Bad things can happen if we don’t get enough sleep.

“Fatigue,” McGirr observes, “narrows the moral vision of people and clouds their humanity.”
The book’s prose can be both enjoyably fanciful (“A horse at sleep is a statue of itself”) and soberly poetic.
“Sleep has a cavernous memory,” McGirr writes in a passage on sleep disturbances in PTSD sufferers. “It holds on to things that, rationally, we may prefer to let go. This is what a nightmare does.”

“Snooze” may wander in focus, but its blend of memoir, science history, mythological lore and cultural commentary is a constant delight.

http://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/books/snooze-the-lost-art-of-sleep-a-delightful-eye-opener/

Is My Insomnia Caused By Anxiety Or Is It The Other Way Around?

From thedebrief.co.uk

You’re in bed, giving lying on your back one more time after having tried to nod off on your front, on your side, doing the starfish and curling up in the foetal position about seven or eight times. But who are you kidding, you’re not going to fall asleep regardless but you switch positions one more time, just in case. 

You’re not quite sure what time it is and don’t want to risk pushing yourself further from sleep by waking up your phone, but your gut tells you that it’s probably sometime between about 1 AM and 4 AM. Those torturous three hours when frustration grows to an anxiety driven bed-bound breakdown. You stop being angry at the seemingly non-existent concept of sleep and instead find yourself agonising over why you don’t possess the really simple god-given ability to close your damn eyes and keep them closed until morning. 
How do you solve a problem like insomnia? It’s the question that countless people have, and are still desperately trying to solve. I’ve visited various GPs. I’ve spoken with specialists. I’ve tried the teas, lit the candles and taken every herbal or prescription sleeping tablet at my disposal with a glass of warm milk even though warm milk makes me gag. It hasn't worked. But if there’s anything I’ve learned through my own battle with slumber over the years, it’s that for some people, sleep is anything but simple. And accepting that is a huge part of the battle with the anxiety that ensues before and after.
If you’re not familiar with the condition, it’s really not anywhere near as frivolous as Craig David describes it in his late-noughties chart scraper. The National Sleep Foundation describes insomnia as ‘difficultly falling asleep or staying asleep, even when a person has the chance to do so’. Chronic insomnia, though, is when this happens three or more times a week for three months. In general terms, insomnia is often linked to anxiety and is actually one of the defining criteria of a number of anxiety disorders. But the specifics as for whether or not it’s your existing anxiety that’s causing you trouble sleeping or the lack of shut eye that’s putting a strain on your mental health isn’t always as straightforward to work out.
Hope Bastine is the resident sleep psychologist at Simba Sleep and she explains that anxiety and insomnia work in a cyclical sort of way. ‘Your mental health can impact your sleep and sleep issues can actually cause mental health issues, so it’s completely synergic’, she says. This idea of going around and around, stuck in a vicious circle of not being in a great headspace, not sleeping, getting worked up because you’re not sleeping, continuing to not be able to sleep and so on, is all too familiar to so many of us but Hope says that our fixation on compartmentalising the issues – i.e. sleep vs anxiety – might actually be stopping us from finding solutions.
‘This is the problem with the western mentality of separatism and thinking that if they fix one thing it’s going to fix everything else and I think you’ve got to be willing to yes, try different things and yes, it will have a knock-on effect, but recognise that perhaps it's having a back and forth effect', she says. 
How well we sleep has a huge effect on how we feel the next day. When we looked at how depression and insomnia affect each other on The Debrief we found out that there’s some evidence to suggest that only a couple of hours of sleep are needed for physical recovery and the rest is for our psychological and mental recovery from the day. Hope shares a similar sentiment and explains that ‘if you’ve got a worry that’s an undercurrent in your self-conscious causing you to stay up late at night or not settle down and unwind, then of course that lack of deep sleep – the healing sleep – is then going to be causing you to be really low, depressed or anxious in the morning’.
It’s hard to pinpoint the cause and effect when you’re stuck in this sleep anxiety cycle though. The Sleep School explains that insomnia is actually a ‘Hyper-Arousal Syndrome’, which basically means that it triggers that fight or flight response that releases cortisol and adrenaline. This will explain that really unhelpful feeling of mentally pleading for sleep when your body doesn’t seem to have gotten the bedtime memo and is as alert as it probably should be in the day. And let's not forget that anxiety releases similar stress hormones too, so the two issues really are deeply intertwined. So it might be worth looking into addressing the problem of sleep anxiety as a whole, rather than trying to just fix your insomnia, or just your anxiety in hopes that they'll, in turn, be a solution to the other. ‘It’s really about doing things like sleep rituals (creating a legitimate pre-bed routine that will trigger your brain to understand that it’s almost time to turn off) to enhance your sleep. Even that act of self-care is psychologically healing for you’, explains Hope.
Sleep anxiety a huge issue that, despite being really familiar with the facts and figures these days, I’m always surprised to realise affects so many of us. Because when you’re lying awake in the middle of the night, increasingly working yourself up as each second, minute, hour passes by, it’s easy to feel really alienated from the rest of the world who manage to slip into sleep the moment they hit the pillow. But in actuality, insomnia regularly affects around one in every three people in the UK. Last year it was reported that four in every 100 people in the UK have an anxiety disorder. And I’m sure we don’t need to be reminded of how much of these things are often attached to merely existing as a millennial.
So, then, how do we fix our relationship with sleep? How do we, a generation often defined by anxiety who are as obsessed with sleep as we are resentful of it, rest easier? Well, there was definitely something in that sudden fascination with adult colouring books and mindful origami a year or two ago. 'My favourite thing is journal writing', says Hope. 'It’s a really lovely activity and in a way, you feel like you’re accomplishing something but you’re doing it in a non-analytical way. It’s not "what I did today", it’s your feelings. It’s also a really useful way to get stuff out that’s maybe going around in your head. It’s probably why it’s so effective. I actually prescribe some of my client’s journal writing as part of their therapy'.
The idea is that you do something like colouring or journal writing (i.e. not sitting on your phone or with your laptop with a load of blue light glaring over your face) about an hour before you want to go to bed as what Hope describes as the 'Mind Stage' of your sleep ritual. Then there's the 'Body Stage' which involves about 20 minutes of something like having a warm bath, massage or moisturising or maybe some light stretchy yoga. (Hope also says that orgasm is the greatest antidote to insomnia though, so, you know...). And then, just before sleep you want to enter the 'Zen Stage' which I feel is a particularly important one to think about if sleep anxiety is your thing.
The 'Zen Stage' focuses on meditation which, before your roll your eyes, Hope agrees can be a pretty intimidating word if you're not familiar with it or are just plain sceptical of the whole thing. But when you get down to it, it's just about intentionally focusing your mind and quieting the things that normally whizz around and keep you awake. I know, easier said than done. But Hope has a really helpful, not-awkward online meditation guide which might be a good place to start. And I think the main thing is this idea of consciously turning sleep into an experience that we actively prepare and go through rather than a by-product of the day. Something like insomnia, whether you feel like it's driven by or a symptom of anxiety (literally) isn't going to go away overnight. But the most common form of insomnia, like a sleep ritual, is a learnt process that your brain becomes accustomed to. So, who knows. Maybe by redefining the process that our brains are concentrating on - enjoying the process of going to sleep rather than anticipating an awful night - perhaps some of us will eventually look forward to getting into bed.

http://www.thedebrief.co.uk/things-to-do/home/sleep-anxiety-insomnia-20170667561

Health Risks of Sleeping in on Weekends

From worldhealth.net

What is “social jet lag”? That occurs when you purposely go to bed later and wake up later on the weekends compared with during the week. It has been found to be associated with increased sleepiness, fatigue, being in a worse mood, and poorer health consequences. Every hour is also associated with an 11 percent increase in the possibility of heart disease. These effects are independent of sleep duration and symptoms of insomnia, which are related to both social jet lag and health.

Study Research
Social jet lag was studied by a research team headed by Michael A. Grandner, PhD, MTR, the Sleep and Health Research Program director and the senior author of the study. Data was utilized from the Sleep and Healthy Activity, Diet, Environment, and Socialization (SHADES) study, which analysed the responses given by 984 adults who were between 22 and 60 years old.

The Sleep Timing Questionnaire subtracted weekday from weekend sleep. Overall health used a standardized scale and was self-reported. Survey questions assessed sleep duration, sleepiness, fatigue, insomnia, cardiovascular disease, and more.

Recommendations

To promote optimal health, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) strongly suggests that adults sleep seven or more hours each night on a regular basis. Healthy sleep also requires good quality and appropriate timing. AASM promotes high quality, patient-centred care through its membership of 10,000 accredited member sleep centres, physicians, scientists, other health care professionals, and individual members.

Presentation

The research abstract was presented on June 5 in Boston at SLEEP 2017, the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC 's 31st Annual Meeting, a joint venture of the Sleep Research Society and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

Conclusion

Sierra B. Forbush, an undergraduate research assistant in the University of Arizona's Sleep and Health Research Program and the study's lead author, states that the study results suggest that an inexpensive, simple, and preventative treatment for heart disease and other health problems is a regular sleep schedule. Sleep regularity plays a significant role in our over-all health.

http://www.worldhealth.net/news/sleeping-weekends-may-not-be-worth-health-risks/

Bed partners may unintentionally contribute to the perpetuation of insomnia

From medicalxpress.com

Preliminary results from a new study show that partners of people who have insomnia may try to be supportive by engaging in a range of behaviours that unintentionally contradict treatment recommendations.
Results show that 74 percent of partners encouraged an early bedtime or late wake time, which is in direct conflict with the principles of cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBTI). Forty-two percent also encouraged doing other things in bed, such as reading or watching TV, and 35 percent encouraged naps, caffeine or reduced daytime activities.
"It is possible that partners are unwittingly perpetuating insomnia symptoms in the patient with insomnia," said lead author Alix Mellor, PhD, postdoctoral research fellow and coordinator of the Researching Effective Sleep Treatments (REST) project in the School of Psychological Sciences at Monash University in Victoria, Australia. "It is therefore important for more data to be collected to determine whether insomnia treatments may better benefit patients and their partners by proactively assessing and addressing bed partner behaviours in treatment programs."

The research team was led by Mellor and chief investigator Sean P. A. Drummond, PhD, professor of clinical neuroscience at the Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences. They studied 31 partners, including 14 women, of individuals seeking treatment for insomnia as part of a randomized, controlled trial investigating partner-assisted interventions for insomnia. Partners completed several questionnaires at baseline: the Family Accommodation Scale, Beck Anxiety Inventory, and Dyadic Adjustment Scale. The insomnia patients also completed baseline questionnaires, including the Insomnia Severity Index, and kept a sleep diary for one week prior to starting treatment.

Results also show that bed partners made accommodations that affected their own functioning, including their sleep and life outside of work. This may explain why partners who attempted to be helpful experienced more anxiety, even though the insomnia patients perceived the relationship to be more satisfying.
"Our preliminary results suggest that while some of these behaviours make the patient feel supported, their partner may be experiencing more anxiety," said Mellor.
The research abstract was published recently in an online supplement of the journal Sleep and will be presented Sunday, June 4, in Boston at SLEEP 2017, the 31st Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC (APSS), which is a joint venture of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-06-bed-partners-unintentionally-contribute-perpetuation.html