The world record of no sleep is 18 days, 21 hours, 40 minutes during a rocking chair marathon. The record holder reported hallucinations, paranoia, blurred vision, slurred speech and memory lapses. People can take cat naps with their eyes open (I have personally witnessed this and it is creepy), so without medical supervision it is really impossible to tell if someone is really awake or not. More Sleep Facts ..... Read more »
Pumpkin and Sleep
Tryptophan is an amino acid that aids the production of melatonin and serotonin which control our sleep/wake cycle. Pumpkins are rich in tryptophan which can help people fall asleep easy. Foods, like pumpkin, that have tryptophan must be eaten with high glycemic carbohydrates for better absorption. This is why you feel lethargic after you have had your Thanksgiving meal of turkey, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie. Mashed potatoes are high glycemic carbohydrates while turkey and pumpkin pie are loaded with tryptophan. Tryptophan works during the day to promote serotonin that helps with depression and anxiety, while at night it produces melatonin that causes us to feel sleepy. Read more »
Hotel Guests Lose Sleep
Since I travel a lot I get a bit picky about my hotel room. Not only is the size of the bed important for a good night sleep, the noise inside as well as outside the room is equally important. Location, location, location if the room is next to the elevator you will hear the mechanics all night. If the room is at the end of hall next to the stairwell you can imagine how many times you will hear the door slam in the morning. Having a room in the middle of the hallway you might be listening to children run up and down the hall all night. Then there is the lead foot that stays up all hours in the morning stomping overhead. So where is the best room location? I prefer to be a the end of the hall, away from the elevator, across from the stairwell on the top floor. If you are lucky enough to get an upgrade, such as with Hilton Honors or Priority Points, you might get a bigger room with some additional amenities with all the comforts of home, but in a bad location. So you have to make a decision, amenities or a little noise. Read more »
Cannot Sleep Ears Popping and Ringing
Cannot sleep ears popping and ringing could be a sign of tinnitus. WebMD.com defines tinnitus as a noise or ringing in the ears that is a symptom of an underlying condition, such as age-related hearing loss, ear injury or a circulatory system disorder. Tinnitus results in annoying sounds of hearing sounds including; ringing, buzzing, roaring, clicking, whistling and hissing when no external sounds are present. Also called phantom noises they vary in pitch and you may hear it in one or both ears. Tinnitus isn’t a sign of something serious, although, it may worsen with age and can be treated by identifying the underlying medical problem. Read more »
Sleepless in America Remembering 9/11
Today is the 10th anniversary when American Airlines flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City at 8:46 a.m. A moment of silence spread across America and around the world as we remember those that lost their lives. Obama read a psalm and family members began reading [...] Read more »
How Much Sleep Should a Teenager Get
How much sleep should a teenager get? According to MayoClinic.com most teens need about 9 1/4 hours of sleep a night and sometimes more to maintain optimal daytime alertness for their busy schedules. Due to school, homework, extracurricular activities, part-time jobs and social demands very few teenagers actually get that much sleep. A publication in the Journal of School Health reported that 90% of teens get less than the recommended hours of sleep and 10% of those teens surveyed are sleeping less than six hours a night. Accumulating a sleep debt of five to 10 hours by the end of the school week can have serious consequences. A tired teen can find it difficult to learn as well as finding it hard to fight afternoon sleepiness. Lack of sleep can also contribute to moodiness and behavioral problems. By the time the weekend rolls around many teens are not their usual selves and tend to sleep in to make up for their sleep debt. What can parents do to help with their teenagers and sleep? Read more »
High Blood Pressure Chocolate and Sleep
What causes high blood pressure? What is the connection between high blood pressure, chocolate and sleep? First we need to state the difference between primary and secondary hypertension. Primary hypertension accounts for 95% of all high blood pressure cases (roughly 72 million Americans) it is multifactorial, that means, there are multiple factors or causes that contribute to producing high blood pressure and is far more common than secondary hypertension that is caused by a specific abnormality. The basic causes are not always known but certain associations have been recognized in people that are prone to high blood pressure; like those that intake a lot of salt and are advancing in age, African Americans, obese, genetically predisposition and suffer from renal insufficiency. Read more »
Sleep Better with a Memory Foam Futon Mattress vs a Traditional and Innerspring Futon Mattresses
Today you can pick up a futon for as little as $150.00 at your local Wal-Mart or Target store and that includes the futon frame and the mattress. A futon is great for a smaller guest bedroom, basement or den. It still provides an option for a bed and a sofa and today’s futons are much more stylish and comfortable. I purchased a futon in 1994 for $300.00 and the mattress was very hard to sleep on. You have a choice of futon mattresses today; the traditional foam and cotton, the innerspring and the memory foam mattress. Read more »
Sleep Apnea vs Depression
For many years I had felt exhausted, suffering from poor sleep and was told I was a loud snorer. See: Why do I snore for more information. As I got older I began to gain weight because I was always too busy to exercise. Putting on 50 lbs in 10 years I no longer had any energy for an active life. Caffeine became my friend as I drank coffee and tea constantly to stay awake, but eventually that stopped working. In addition to my declining health I developed hyperhidrosis a condition where you constantly sweat. My family life began to suffer because all I wanted to do was sleep which is a symptom of depression. I had a hard time falling asleep easy, but once I did I wanted sleep nine or more hours. Read more »
Back to School Sleep Schedule
With a new school year starting for many this month, your kids are now used to staying up late as well as sleeping in during their summer break; they would have a tough time waking up if school were to start tomorrow. It is NOW time to start their back-to-school sleep schedule, so they are getting enough sleep to feel refreshed and well rested for their first day. Keeping up with school work and after school activities is hard enough without fighting afternoon sleepiness caused by not getting enough sleep at night. Lack of sleep can cause your child to develop learning difficulties, lack of focus and delayed physical reactions in addition to showing signs of ADD (attention deficit disorder) and weight gain. Your child needs to ease into this sleep schedule gradually at least two weeks before school starts so they can fall asleep easy by the time school starts. Keeping healthy sleep habits throughout the school year and even on the weekends will help them wake up with the amount of sleep they need for their age. According to the National Sleep Foundation, children between the ages of five and 11 require 10 to 11 hours of sleep. Since children older than age five usually don't nap at school, this means that they need 10 to 11 hours of sleep at night. Children ages 13 to 18 generally require 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep, just a little more than required by those 19 and older. See How Many Hours of Sleep do Teenagers Need for more information. Read more »
Marriage Sleep Positions and What They Mean
A National Sleep Foundation 2005 poll discovered that 61% of married couples spend nearly one-third of their lives sleeping together. Before we reveal what body experts have found out about certain marriage sleep positions and what they mean let’s talk about the 39% who can’t sleep well together. Why do couples sleep together? Dr. Beth Malow, a sleep specialist from the University of Michigan believes that couples who cuddle in their sleep find comfort, emotional intimacy and generally have a healthier marriage. Many married couples have problems sleeping together because their full bed is too small for comfort or a snoring spouse causes you to stay wake and wakes you up periodically during the night. In order for you to fall asleep easy you kick him/her out or leave yourself to find a quiet spare bedroom. The National Sleep Foundation found that sleep deprivation impacts marital satisfaction. 47% of those with less marital satisfaction are sleeping less today and many will develop a sleep problem. Read more »
Co-Sleeping – Is it Wrong to Sleep with Your Mother and Father
Co-sleeping, bed-sharing and sleep-sharing are all terms associated with parents sleeping with their babies. Co-sleeping, is it wrong to sleep with your mother and father? According to askdrsears.com many parents believe that a baby shares more than bed space, they share an interaction that is both safe and healthy. Your child trusts you to be with him during the night as you are during the day and accepting your baby’s needs can help you realize you are not spoiling but nurturing when you welcome them into your bed. Studies have found that co-sleeping brings about synchronous arousals between the child and the parents. When the parent stirs, the baby also changes position without waking. When the parent breathes deeply in sound sleep, the baby also breathes deeply. They also shared the same stages of sleep; fell asleep easy and slept longer between feedings. If they are breast fed, they could breastfeed more often, but fall back to sleep easily because they felt safe and secure. Many mothers (myself included) did not report awakening more frequently. Read more »
How Many Hours of Sleep do Teenagers Need
Why is sleep important? The National Sleep Foundation recognizes that sleep is food for the brain. During sleep, important body functions and brain activity occur. Lack of sleep can be the reason you to look bad, make you feel moody and perform poorly. A brain that is hungry for sleep will cause your teenager to have daytime drowsiness which can affect job or school performance and even be deadly if they fall asleep easy behind the wheel. When you do not get enough sleep, you are more likely to have an accident, injury and/or illness. How many hours of sleep do teenagers need? Read more »
Sleep Easy Mattress
Every since I was in my twenties I have had a lower back disorder causing me to have a sleeping problem. Without correct support of my back I wasn’t able to fall asleep easy and get a full night’s rest. I would wake up during the night with pain until I bought a memory foam mattress topper. With this great invention all pressure points with my body were supported. Read more »
Afternoon Sleepiness
Benzodiazepines are a class of drugs used for their highly sedating properties varying in strengths and weaknesses. Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the most prevalent inhibitory neurotransmitter found in the brain. GABA works by reducing the action potential of a cell which prevents it from firing. Drugs that work on GABA are barbiturates, benzodiazepines, baclofen and many more. Clonzaepam (Klonopin) is a benzodiazepine that is used as a sleeping agent and also a treatment for anxiety, seizures and muscle spasms. In general, benzodiazepines are very effective in helping people to fall asleep easy, but they are used cautiously because they often are known to cause dependency, tolerance, withdrawal and rebound insomnia if used on a nightly basis for a long period of time. Read more »
Dr Oz Sleep Positions
Back pain can affect how soundly you sleep and certain sleep positions can add harm to your back and to your overall health. The Dr Oz sleep positions for better sleep are broken down as side sleepers, back sleepers and stomach sleepers. Which of these sleep positions are the healthiest? What does your sleeping position say about you as a person? Read more »
Sleep and Melatonin
Every once in a while I suffer from bouts of insomnia and for those times I take melatonin. What’s the connection between sleep and melatonin? Melatonin occurs naturally in the pineal gland causing drowsiness and a decrease in core temperature. Levels of melatonin rise during the evening and peak in the middle of the night, if your bedroom is dark enough. 100 lux of light in your room can suppress melatonin production, that’s why sleep specialist recommend for those that suffer from insomnia, no light of any kind, not even from your alarm clock. Research proposes that melatonin will help you to fall asleep easy while maintaining your internal sleep/wake cycle. But that is not all research has found. Even though its main use is a supplement for insomnia, melatonin is also a powerful antioxidant that has shown to fight certain cancers and an immunity booster to aid in weight loss. Read more »
You are Fat and Cannot Sleep a Book Review: The Sleep Doctor’s Diet Plan: Lose Weight through Better Sleep
So, you are fat and cannot sleep. Did you know when you cannot sleep it triggers a hormonal imbalance that causes you to eat more (especially at night) and you are less likely to burn off calories? Sleep deprivation changes your glucose metabolism that results in hoarding the calories by storing them as fat instead of burning them off as energy, in turn; you will produce more of the stress-hormone cortisol which is known to cause hunger. Research has shown even if you lose weight you will lose less fat if you do not get enough sleep. Not getting enough sleep robs you of the valuable REM sleep cycle that burns calories. Read more »
Sleep and Marriage Sleep and Marriage Go Together Like a
According to a study by the Sleep 2011, 25th anniversary meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies in Minneapolis, if your wife can’t fall asleep easy you are more likely to have marital problems. The research measured 35 healthy, married couple’s ability to fall asleep and the total each slept over a 10 day period. Couples kept a diary and recorded positive and negative reactions with their spouse. It was concluded that wives who have sleep difficulties affected the way they communicated to their spouse the next day. There are several studies that show sleep deprivation causes irritability and when you are irritated you are most likely to take it out on your spouse/partner. Sleep is found to be very important in the detriment of marriage quality. Read more »
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