Searching for Good Sleep? Here's What You're Doing Right - and Wrong

From consumer.healthday.com

MONDAY, Feb. 7, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Many Americans are working hard to get a good night's sleep, and feeling the effects when they miss the mark.

About 32% of people feel more tired these days than they did before the pandemic began, according to the results of a new HealthDay/Harris Poll survey. About 28% says they're getting less sleep than they did before the pandemic.

"During the peak of the pandemic with all these surges, people are at home -- appropriately trying to quarantine, trying to isolate," Dr. Raj Dasgupta, associate professor of clinical medicine at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine, said in a HealthDay Now interview.

"There just wasn't that structure in the day," Dasgupta continued. "The next thing you know, you're staying up at night and you're waking up later in the morning, because there wasn't that motivation to get out there."

These changes have caused Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome in many, in which their sleeping rhythms have been thrown off by disruptions in routine, Dasgupta explained.

The syndrome causes people to miss out on what Dasgupta calls the "Two Qs" -- quantity and quality of sleep.

"Can you get to those deeper stages? Can you get to REM sleep?" Dasgupta said. "Those deeper sleep stages and REM sleep stages help every single part of our body."

Insomnia is another common sleep disorder that can lead people to miss out on the Two Qs, Dasgupta said.

"It's not hard to diagnose insomnia, but it's really hard to manage," Dasgupta said. "It's hard to live with."

Insomnia is often fuelled by anxiety and depression, causing a "vicious cycle" where your inability to fall asleep heightens the feelings that are interfering with your sleep, Dasgupta explained.

Between 15 and 20 million Americans also suffer from obstructive sleep apnoea, although Dasgupta believes those estimates are low.

Sleep apnoea occurs most often when your tongue, soft palate or throat muscles relax during sleep, blocking your airway. You can't breathe, and wake up choking.

"You'll wake up because of these apnoea episodes, and it's almost like you're just stuck in those lighter stages" of sleep, Dasgupta said. "Even if you slept 7 or 8 hours per night, you still don't feel refreshed during the day."

Snoring is a key sign of sleep apnoea, Dasgupta said. Other signs include daytime sleepiness or fatigue, night sweats, frequent trips to the bathroom at night, and waking with a choking or gasping feeling.

Dasgupta said he prefers to treat chronic insomnia with cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), analysing a person's activities before bed and altering them to give the patient the best chance for a good night's sleep.

Meanwhile, the Harris Poll results indicate that people have been trying on their own to change their routine for better sleep:

• 36% have tried to reduce their stress
• 33% tried to manage their anxiety
• 20% eliminated or reduced caffeine
• 19% meditated before bed
• 18% have altered their sleeping environment by adding blackout curtains or a white noise machine
• 16% avoided screen time.

About 16% of people are currently taking over-the-counter sleeping pills on a regular basis, the survey also found.

But taking sleeping medications can be tricky, Dasgupta said. You have to schedule the dose to ease you to sleep at the right time, and the drug's half life will determine when sleep is initiated and whether sleep is maintained.

About 36% of survey respondents said when they drink alcohol they typically sleep better, but sleep experts warn against this approach.

"It may get you to sleep really fast, but it totally interferes with your sleep cycle. In fact, it disrupts REM sleep, your dream sleep," said HealthDay Medical Correspondent Dr. Robin Miller. "What will happen is, once it wears off halfway through the night, you get a rebound REM and so a lot of people will get nightmares and very vivid dreams if they've been drinking.

"If you're going to drink, keep it at two drinks and do it at least three hours before you sleep," said Miller, a practicing physician with Triune Integrative Medicine in Medford, Ore.

People suffering from sleep apnoea can be treated using a continuous positive airflow pressure (CPAP) device, in which the patient wears a mask that provides air pressure that keeps their breathing passages open during sleep, Dasgupta said.

Others also can be fitted with a dental device that helps keep their airway open, or you might try sleeping on your side rather than your back, Dasgupta added.

As far as folks who are just plain having trouble with sleep, there are a number of different tactics to help you get back to bed and sleep deep, Miller said.

For example, if you've been unsuccessfully trying to sleep for 20 to 25 minutes, don't keep beating your head against the Sandman's wall.

"What's best for many people is to get up and do something calming," Miller said. "You can meditate. You can read under a low yellow light -- not a blue light. You can find different ways to relax. The key is to get yourself sleepy."

People dealing with changes in their routine during the pandemic should make sure that they limit their bed to just sleeping or sex only, Miller said.

"Even if you have to work in your bedroom, do not use your bed for work," Miller said.

If you're tempted to use a screen in bed -- and most of us do it -- you might want to make it a bit more challenging for yourself, Miller added.

"Maybe what you should do is do it standing. That way you'll get tired and you'll finally lie down," Miller said.

Exercise can help sleep, but only if you give your body time to wind down afterward. Miller suggests people exercise at least four hours before going to sleep, and no sooner.

You also should avoid caffeine after 2 p.m., Miller said.

More information

Harvard Medical School has tips for good sleep.

https://consumer.healthday.com/2-7-what-you-re-doing-right-and-wrong-searching-for-good-sleep-2656559858.html 

What foods act as a sedative against insomnia?

From sivtelegram.media

Approximately 90 million Brazilians suffer from sleep difficulties. The data is from the World Health Organization (WHO) and lights up an alert for individualized care. Insomnia, whether it is mild or moderate, is a condition that causes many negative effects on citizens.

Poor sleep at night increases stress levels and the secretion of hormones that negatively affect the body. A person feels more tired and moody, in addition, he is more susceptible to cardiovascular diseases and mental disorders. That’s why we’ve separated some of the foods that can directly help improve sleep quality.

Organized eating can help you sleep better

First, know that insomnia can reach a chronic degree and should be monitored by a professional. However, it often appears as a side effect of a bad day. Anxiety, sadness, and stress prevent the body from relaxing properly.

Some people suffer from staying up late at night due to insomnia. The problem is that sleep is vital to humans and needs quality. A good night’s sleep can alleviate a number of problems. So start applying the following eating techniques today to improve your health.

Check out some natural sedatives that can help eliminate insomnia

1 – Nuts and seeds

Nuts and seeds are high in tryptophan. This substance stimulates the production of serotonin, which is directly responsible for regulating sleep. In addition, it increases a good mood and a sense of well-being. These foods also contain magnesium, which reduces the burden of stress.

2 – Whole grains

They are rich in more complex carbohydrates, which can help with diets. In addition, it contains fibre, vitamins, and minerals that are highly indicated for improving the body’s absorption of tryptophan.

3 – Oats

Oatmeal is an excellent source of melatonin, which is nothing more than the famous sleep hormone. It greatly helps the body relax and acts as a great natural sedative.

https://sivtelegram.media/what-foods-act-as-a-sedative-against-insomnia/ 

Can Medieval Sleeping Habits Fix America’s Insomnia?

From theatlantic.com

By Derek Thompson

The history of “first sleep” and “second sleep” holds surprising lessons about preindustrial life, 21st-century anxiety, and the problem with digging for utopia in the past 

At 3 a.m. i’m jolted awake. The room is dark and still. I grab my phone and scan sports scores and Twitter. Still awake. A faceless physician whispers in my mind: To overcome middle-of-the-night insomnia, experts say you ought to get out of bed … I get out of bed. I pour a glass of water and drink it. I go back to bed. Still awake. Perhaps you know the feeling. Like millions of Americans and hundreds of millions of people around the world, I suffer from so-called mid-sleep awakenings that can keep me up for hours.

One day, I was researching my nocturnal issues when I discovered a cottage industry of writers and sleep hackers who claim that sleep is a nightmare because of the industrial revolution, of all things. Essays in The Guardian, CNN, The New York Times, and The New York Times Magazine recommended an old fix for restlessness called “segmented sleep.” In premodern Europe, and perhaps centuries earlier, people routinely went to sleep around nightfall and woke up around midnight—only to go back to sleep a few hours later, until morning. They slept sort of like I do, but they were Zen about it. Then, the hackers claim, modernity came along and ruined everything by pressuring everybody to sleep in one big chunk.

The romanticisation of preindustrial sleep fascinated me. It also snapped into a popular template of contemporary internet analysis: If you experience a moment’s unpleasantness, first blame modern capitalism. So I reached out to Roger Ekirch, the historian whose work broke open the field of segmented sleep more than 20 years ago.

In the 1980s, Ekirch was researching a book about night-time before the industrial revolution. One day in London, wading through public records, he stumbled on references to “first sleep” and “second sleep” in a crime report from the 1600s. He had never seen the phrases before. When he broadened his search, he found mentions of first sleep in Italian (primo sonno), French (premier sommeil), and even Latin (primo somno); he found documentation in Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and Latin America.

When sleep was divided into a two-act play, people were creative with how they spent the intermission. They didn’t have anxious conversations with imaginary doctors; they actually did something. During this dorveille, or “wake-sleep,” people got up to pee, hung out by the fire, had sex, or prayed. They reflected on their dreams and commingled with the spiritual realm, both the divine and the diabolical. In the 1540s, Martin Luther wrote of his strategies to ward off the devil: “Almost every night when I wake up … I instantly chase him away with a fart.”

Today’s sleep writers often wield Ekirch’s research to suggest that segmented sleep (or, as Ekirch calls it, biphasic—two-phase—sleep) is old, and one-sleep is new, and therefore today’s sleepers are doing it wrong. But that’s not the full story, he told me.

                                  Hulton Archive / Getty

Preindustrial sleep was nothing to romanticise. Death stalked our slumber for centuries. Late-night crime was rampant, and the home itself was a death trap, as slapdash construction left houses vulnerable to fire, leaking roofs, terrible heat or cold, and what Ekirch calls “the trifecta of early modern entomology: fleas, lice, and bedbugs.” As for that romantic French dorveille, it was functionally a second workday for many women, who rose at midnight to finish domestic chores. And ancient soporifics—such as poisonous leaves and various opiate concoctions—were roughly as likely to kill you as they were to induce REM.

Beginning in the 1700s, the industrial revolution—its light, its caffeine, its clocks, and above all, its work schedules—took Europe’s biphasic sleep in its hairy arms and mushed the two phases together. A surging economy made a virtue of productivity and instilled “an increasing sense of time consciousness” in the West, Ekirch told me. By the mid-1800s, “Early Rising” movements had taken off in England and America. New artificial lights delayed bedtimes, while new factory schedules required early waking. The lit world altered our internal clocks too. “Every time we turn on a light, we are inadvertently taking a drug that affects how we will sleep,” Charles Czeisler, a Harvard sleep scientist, has said. When a 1990s study at the National Institute of Mental Health deprived a cohort of male subjects of light at night, their sleep became segmented after a few weeks.

This makes it sound like segmented sleep is humanity’s natural habit, and that the industrial revolution and modern capitalism despoiled our perfect rest.

But humans have never had a universal method of slumber. A 2015 study of hunter-gatherer societies in Tanzania, Namibia, and Bolivia found that most foragers enjoyed one long sleep. Two years later, another study found that a rural society in Madagascar practiced segmented sleep. Two years after that, a study found that the indigenous residents of Tanna, in the South Pacific, largely had one uninterrupted sleep.

Even within preindustrial Europe, sleep contained multitudes. Reviewing the diaries of European writers such as Samuel Pepys and James Boswell, Ekirch found several allusions to unified sleep. Summarizing this complicated literature, he told me that “patterns of sleep in non-Western cultures appear to have been much more diverse” than those in Europe, but that they were truly diverse everywhere.

There is no evidence that sleep was universally segmented, and there is also little evidence that segmented sleep is better. A 2021 meta-analysis of studies on biphasic sleep schedules found that segmented-sleeping subjects actually reported “lower sleep quality … and spent more time in lighter stages of sleep.” One reasonable takeaway is that biphasic sleep is like anarchical foraging: Both might have well served some ancient populations some of the time, but neither of them offers a clear solution to modern problems.

I asked Ekirch this question: As the historian most associated with biphasic sleep, had his research encouraged him, a spouse, or a friend, to become a biphasic sleeper? “Not at all,” he said. “At no time in history have conditions for human slumber been better than today.” Compared with 99 percent of our ancient ancestors, we have better beds, better blankets, better houses, and fewer late-night pests. If the purpose of sleep is mental and physical well-being, “there is very good reason to believe that uninterrupted sleep at night best achieves that outcome,” Ekirch told me.

The upshot of sleep’s pre-industrial and post-industrial history is a simple, short, and consistent message: Sleep is adaptable, but it improves with routine. Different tricks work for different tribes, but in the end, we are a diverse species united by a common circadian rhythm that craves consistency. “Sleep is very flexible, when you look cross-culturally,” says Dorothy Bruck, of Australia’s Sleep Health Foundation. “Your body really does like routine. Find what works for you, and keep that routine going.”

I have spent countless hours obsessing over my sleep, tracking my sleep quality on sophisticated devices, and reading (and reading and reading) about the thing I cannot do well. Sleep optimization can backfire by creating an in-the-moment pressure to solve the problem of wakefulness as if one is trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube against the clock. As every insomniac knows, “trying” to fall asleep is a self-defeating paradox. Insomnia is a beast that feasts on its own self-generated anxiety.

When I reached out to Ekirch, coming off a bad night’s rest, I hoped that the historian might have a practical tip. He didn’t. History is not a self-help book. But it has its own strange comforts, and our correspondence was deeply helpful in another way.

Ekirch told me that he’s heard from many people that simply knowing about the history of segmented sleep is its own relief. “Happily, there is mounting testimony from North America, Western Europe, and Australia that knowledge of this pattern has actually helped to alleviate anxiety, permitting some individuals to fall back to sleep more readily,” he said. Rather than see the legacy of premodern rest as an operating manual, I see it as a balm. My 3-a.m. awakenings aren’t an unnatural disorder, but an ancestral echo. Maybe that’s something to tell myself in the middle of the night, instead of fighting the sleep doctor in my head: It’ll be all right. We’ve been here before.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/01/medieval-sleeping-habits-insomnia-segmented-biphasic/621372/

Grounded mood, insomnia, anxiety and irritability could be caused by this bad habit that we should avoid

From d1softballnews.com

We live in a world where we are constantly connected to each other and smartphones are an effective part of our daily life. In the morning, afternoon, evening, in some cases even at night, we allow ourselves a few minutes of relaxation by surfing the net or reading the news that interest us most. Apparently normal habits but which in the long run could affect our daily life. Sometimes it can happen that you go to bed and not be able to fall asleep right away. Especially after having lived a hectic and busy day, finding yourself in bed tossing and turning waiting to fall asleep is not the best.

In general, we should sleep 7 to 8 hours a night. Lack of sleep could cause chronic fatigue, low attention, low mood, anxiety and irritability. In this sense it could have a decisive influence on the normal and regular course of our days.

A slowly evolving phenomenon

How many times do we go to bed and stay for endless minutes staring at the ceiling?

When we find ourselves in a similar situation, we may mistakenly decide to kill time, tiring the sight, with our smartphone.

A slowly evolving phenomenon that would affect the quality of sleep is vamping. A harmful habit that mainly affects young people but could also closely affect many of us. The excess of technology during the night could expose us more to the blue light of electronic devices, significantly worsening the quality of sleep. Often, when we struggle to fall asleep, maybe we may decide to comfortably arrange the pillow and have a quick game with the smartphone. Or again, we could kill time by surfing the net and scrolling through news, chat and social networks. These habits could be deleterious in the long run.

Grounded mood, insomnia, anxiety and irritability could be caused by this bad habit that we should avoid

Therefore, night-time exposure to blue light from smartphones could cause harm to health. In fact, the close-up viewing of a mobile phone screen, if prolonged over time, could cause disturbances in ocular coordination. Furthermore, we could enter a vicious circle in which insomnia induced by backlit screens is combined with the desire and curiosity to surf the net while staying awake.

Obviously for these disorders there are remedies to be adopted. To safeguard our sleep hours, we should use the bedroom only and only for rest and sleep. So the ideal would be to leave possible technological distractions outside the door. During the night hours, we should avoid behaving like net vampires. We should disconnect from our electronic devices and disconnect from screens at least an hour before going to bed. In addition, we could create a relaxing atmosphere in the bedroom. Therefore, it is better to change our daily routine, as low mood, insomnia, anxiety and irritability could be caused by this bad habit that we should avoid.

https://d1softballnews.com/grounded-mood-insomnia-anxiety-and-irritability-could-be-caused-by-this-bad-habit-that-we-should-avoid/

How to use the military sleep method trending on TikTok to fall asleep faster

From tomsguide.com

The military sleep method is designed to help you fall asleep in two minutes, and this is how it works 

The military sleep method isn’t a new technique, but its trending on TikTok again after fitness expert Justin Agustin recently shared a short clip about his experience using it. Before that, it was shared by Doctor Jess and continues to be popular with people who have trouble falling asleep.

“This technique was developed in the military to allow soldiers to fall asleep at any time, any place,” Agustin says in the video. “According to my research, this was developed mainly for fighter pilots who need 100% of their reflexes and focus, which we all know decreases with lack of sleep.”

Here’s what you need to know about the military sleep technique and how to use it to fall asleep quickly tonight… 

                                  (Image credit: Getty)

How to use the military sleep method

1. Relax your jaw and facial muscles, including your tongue.

2. Drop your shoulders down as far as they’ll go to release the tension.

3. Keep your arms loose by your sides, relax your fingers and hands.

3. Exhale deeply to relax your chest, then relax the muscles in your legs and feet.

4. Imagine a calming, warm sensation flowing from your head down to your toes.

5. Inhale and exhale deeply, clearing your mind of thoughts and stresses.

6. Now think about one of the following two images:

• You’re lying on your back in a canoe on a placid, calm lake with nothing but a crystal clear sky above you.
• You’re lying in a black velvet hammock in a pitch black room.

If your mind wanders, repeat the words, ‘don’t think, don’t think, don’t think’ over and over for about 10 seconds, then return to the visualisation until you fall asleep. Hopefully it shouldn't take long.

Who created the military sleep method?

This US army sleep technique was first documented in Lloyd Bud Winter’s 1981 book Relax and Win: Championship Performance. Winter described it as an effective method to help you drift off in two minutes or less and it’s been hugely popular ever since.

The technique was designed to help soldiers fall asleep fast in any situation by focusing on relaxation and alleviating muscle tension. In turn, this activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which oversees rest.

Sounds good, right? Yes, but there’s a caveat: the military sleep method rarely (if ever) helps you fall asleep in two minutes the very first time you try it. Don’t get us wrong, it’s hugely relaxing from the get-go, and we definitely fall asleep faster than normal when using it, but two minutes is a bit of a stretch at first. 

Within six weeks though it’s said to be effective for around 96% of people. So you’ll need to practice this every night for it to be truly effective.

Does it really help you fall asleep faster?

Most people have success with the military sleep technique, but like all sleep methods, its effectiveness depends on how often you practice it.

How come? Well, some sleep techniques are like a muscle that needs building up over time to get as strong as possible, and the military method is no exception.

Learning how to fall asleep faster is definitely possible, and it’s of huge benefit to anyone learning how to sleep with anxiety where worries and intrusive thoughts can affect your ability to drift off.

On Justin Agustin’s TikTok, commenters said: “I’m a military brat and was taught this. I also had a veteran as a psychology teacher in college who taught this. It works.’

While another said: ‘My doctor taught me this technique with slight variations when I had insomnia due to PTSD. Trust me it works 100% once you get it down.’

                                                   (Image credit: Getty)

Over on Reddit, a user said: ‘I've done essentially this for years. It doesn't always work, but usually does, and it always helps. The key is relaxing your body and relaxing your mind with light meditation.’

The military sleep method is free, fast and easy to use, so you have nothing to lose by trying it for yourself. If you continue to have issues falling asleep, speak to your doctor or a sleep expert to see if you have a form of insomnia and how that could be managed. CBT-I (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia) is usually a good place to start.

We’d also recommend investing in the best mattress for your sleep and body, as well as a comfy pillow  – the more supported and comfortable you feel in bed, the higher your chances of drifting off sooner. 

https://www.tomsguide.com/news/how-to-use-the-military-sleep-method-trending-on-tiktok-to-fall-asleep-faster

3 strong teas that will end the difficulty of falling asleep

From catholictranscript.org

With the daily rush and demands of the labour market, tension, and Insomnia and anxiety It is increasingly present in the lives and routines of people around the world. Check out the following tips that, if incorporated into the daily routine, can relieve these symptoms and provide you with a good night’s sleep. 

Let’s face it, a bad night’s sleep has a tremendous power to disrupt the entire day, right? It is very important that you sleep well in order for the body to function optimally the next day. To improve the quality of life, get acquainted with some of the teas that, if taken before bed, can improve the night even more and bring a lot of calm.

lavender tea

In addition to the success of the scent, lavender is also a great choice for a good sleep. It can lower the heart rate, and help people with anxiety or stress.

Preparing this tea is very simple. You will need 2 tablespoons of fresh or dried lavender leaves and 1 litre of boiling water. After the water boils, add the leaves and turn off the heat. Wait 5 to 10 minutes, then strain and drink.

chamomile tea

Many people think of chamomile when they associate tea and a quiet night. It is a natural sedative and also a great choice for people who suffer from insomnia.

To prepare this tea, you will need a handful of fresh chamomile flowers and 250 ml of boiling water. Wash the flowers well and put them in boiling water, wait 5 to 10 minutes. Finally, strain and drink.

lemon balm tea

It is very easy to find lemon balm and it is a great option for people who suffer from insomnia.

To make the tea, add one tablespoon of the dried herb to a cup of very hot water. Wait for 10 minutes. Then filter and drink.

Enjoy these great tea options to sleep well and eliminate insomnia problems. If symptoms persist, see a medical professional for help in another way.

https://www.catholictranscript.org/3-strong-teas-that-will-end-the-difficulty-of-falling-asleep/

To combat insomnia by reducing the risk of hypertension and protect the heart, here is an evening dish with radicchio

From d1softballnews.com

The quality of life becomes more and more important and precious every year. This happens because people sometimes live in places threatened by pollution and traffic, but also with a lack of public services and job opportunities. Fortunately, this does not happen everywhere. Each year, in fact, a list of the most liveable cities is drawn up on the basis of the quality of life. If this is satisfactory, it benefits the person and society as a whole. Otherwise, for the factors mentioned or for physiological reasons and related to age or bad habits, you may have problems falling asleep.

To combat insomnia by reducing the risk of hypertension and protect the heart, here is an evening dish with radicchio.

Experts say that sleeping poorly and insufficiently would increase the risk of hypertension, affecting the quality and duration of life and lowering the immune system. A healthy lifestyle and proper nutrition can positively influence sleep, while also protecting the heart. In the evening, the intake of chocolate, pepper, paprika, chips, coffee, alcohol and other foods should be avoided. Among the recommended foods, however, we find pasta, rice, various vegetables and fresh cheeses. The following recipe is a first course that can also be eaten in the evening and which contains ingredients that promote relaxation and sleep.

Risotto with red radicchio

Ingredients for 4 people

• 400 g of rice;
• a red radicchio;
• an onion;
• 200 ml of white wine;
• extra virgin olive oil;
• 50 g of butter;
• 100 g of shelled walnuts;
• hard cheese;
• salt;
• a litre of vegetable broth.

Prepare the vegetable broth with carrots, celery, onions and other vegetables to taste or buy a ready-made one and keep it warm. Clean and wash the red radicchio, dry it and then cut it. In a pan, sauté a small onion in a little oil. When it starts to turn golden, add the rice and after a few minutes the radicchio. Pour in the wine and then start adding the broth from time to time. Halfway through cooking, season with a pinch of salt and the chopped walnuts. Finally, stir in the butter and a little grated cheese, parmesan or parmesan.

In conclusion, to combat insomnia by reducing the risk of hypertension and protect the heart, here is an evening dish with red radicchio and walnuts, appetizing and simple. The recipe, enriched with some freshly browned speck, is also a good idea for a winter lunch.

https://d1softballnews.com/to-combat-insomnia-by-reducing-the-risk-of-hypertension-and-protect-the-heart-here-is-an-evening-dish-with-radicchio/ 

The Five Things You Need To Know About Sleep

From americadailypost.com

Sleep is a natural way to help your body and your mind feel better. Getting the right amount of sleep improves your mood, focus and level of energy. Without enough sleep, you won’t function as well. Your concentration will drop and your bodily functions, such as immune response, digestion and cell repair can be affected by inadequate sleep. Most people don’t think too much about sleep, but it’s clear when they don’t get enough. There’s much more to sleep than finding the right mattress, getting soft sheets and counting sheep after you get into bed. Keep reading to learn more about how sleep works and why it’s important.

1. Insomnia Leads to Weight Gain and Loss Of Bone Mass

If you have insomnia or don’t get the recommended seven to eight hours of nightly sleep for adults, your metabolism will drop. A slower metabolism leads to weight gain. Weight gain happens over time, at the rate of a couple of pounds per year, even if you keep exercising and don’t overeat. 

A lack of sleep also causes more cravings for sugar and simple carbohydrates. A recent published study demonstrated that insufficient sleep may cause osteoporosis. This is a condition that results in thinning and weakening of your bones. When you don’t rest enough, you get less oxygen and experience more inflammation. Lack of sleep may also increase your risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, dementia, anxiety, depression and other chronic conditions.

2. How Much Sleep You Need

A lot of people want to know how much sleep they really need to get every night. The general medical guidelines are eight hours of sleep for adults. However, it depends somewhat on each individual. Some people do well with seven hours of sleep, and others need nine. Sleep requirements vary with age, health status, medications, and a few other factors. 

In general, all adults need a minimum of six hours of sleep each night. It’s best to have at least five of those hours without interruption. No adult should need more than 11 hours of sleep. If you do, you may have an undiagnosed sleep disorder. Too much sleep can make you as groggy as not getting enough sleep.

3. More Exercise Leads to Better Sleep

Exercising every day helps regulate your sleep pattern. When you exercise, you get more sleep and more uninterrupted sleep. Just 15 minutes per day of moderate to intense exercise burns calories, builds muscle and promotes good sleep at night.  

Aim for a 20-minute walk each morning. It increases your daytime body temperature. As night comes, your temperature will drop, which signals to your brain that it’s time to wind down and fall asleep. Do this every day, and you’ll notice a big change in a few weeks. You could also do some yoga stretches or meditation about one hour before bed. These relaxing movements calm you and help you sleep more deeply.

4. Short Naps Are Good for You

Cat naps have that name because cats fall asleep quickly for short bursts of time. During these naps, they’re attuned to noises in their environment that are suggestive of nearby prey or predators.

 Humans can also take cat naps. This is a nap that lasts for 20 minutes or less. It can help you restore calm and relax if you’re experiencing stress. You might be able to fit one in during your lunch break. Avoid taking a nap that is more than 30 minutes in duration as you could wake up feeling groggier than you did before you rested. Long naps also interfere with night-time sleep.

5. Look For Signs Of A Sleep Disorder

Insomnia is the most common sleep disorder. It involves difficulty with falling asleep and difficulty with staying asleep. This chronic condition lasts for at least two weeks, and some people suffer from it for years. 

When you have insomnia, your symptoms are much more than morning grogginess. Your short-term memory is impacted, so you’ll feel more forgetful. You may experience headaches. Your reaction time will drop, as will your level of concentration or focus. Insomnia increases your risk of being in a workplace or auto accident. People with chronic sleep deprivation are more likely to develop serious mental health effects, including anxiety and depression. It’s also important to note that anxiety and depression are known causes of insomnia.

There’s more to sleep than what a lot of people recognize. Good sleep hygiene practices and setting a daily sleep schedule will help. If you’re still having trouble getting enough sleep, don’t hesitate to reach out to your general practitioner or primary care doctor. Many health conditions and medications interfere with sleep. If you’re up late worrying, consider making an appointment with a counsellor or therapist. They can help you with healthy coping mechanisms to help you sleep better.

https://www.americadailypost.com/the-five-things-you-need-to-know-about-sleep/