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Secret Sleep Stealers

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If you’re pregnant or having menopausal symptoms you know how hard it is to fall asleep easy at night. But there are other reasons that you should consider if you’re having trouble getting the sleep you need. No matter how old you are you could be suffering from one of these sleep stealers. Read more »

Causes of Insomnia Part 10 Sleep Doesn’t Come Easy with ObamaCare RFID Chip

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Ok, I know that the ObamaCare RFID chip doesn't cause insomnia, but worrying about being micro-chipped and what is going to happen with my health insurance in 2014 can cause many sleepless nights. Is human micro-chipping Fact or Science Fiction? According to my research the new Obama 2012 healthcare plan has a hidden law that allows an RFID chip or what is known as the VeriChip to be imbedded in those on overnment programs (including Medicare individuals) to scan identification data and medical records. Besides the religious implications those individuals that are micro-chipped will be controlled by the government without their consent. The VeriChip consists of three connectors which activate the device with radio controlled frequency waves which can read, control and transfer information within one’s body and mind by satellite and computer network files. If the government can monitor every aspect of your life they can eventually control you! Read more »

Sleep Easy with Dr. Oz Lettuce Opium

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Dr Oz as I have touted about natural alternatives to prescription and over –the-counter (OTC) sleep aids. Why? We see in the news about celebrity deaths due to prescription drug abuse and recent news articles like the one from The Washington Post that described a study that suggest people who take sleeping pills as Ambien, Lunesta, Retoril and Sonata were more likely to die 2 ½ years earlier than those that do not use these drugs, with the risk rising along with the amount of medicine taken. People prescribed 18 or fewer sleeping pills a year have are 3.6 times as likely to die as those didn’t take these drugs. Also people taking high doses were 35% more likely to develop a major cancer, not including melanoma during that period. Studies show that 6 to 10 percent of Americans take sleep aids! Read more »

Causes of Insomnia Part 9 Sleep Better with COPD

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COPD definition is a chronic obstructive lung disease associated with chronic bronchitis (long-term wet cough) and emphysema (breakdown of lungs over time) causing the lungs airways to narrow. This leads to a limitation of the flow of air to and from the lungs resulting in shortness of breath (dyspnea). This limitation is nonreversible and usually worsens over time. If you suffer from COPD sleeping is difficult and other health conditions like acid reflux, sleep apnea and even pregnancy can worsen the condition. Symptoms of COPD such as coughing, wheezing, chest pain or tightness make it hard to fall asleep easy and stay asleep during the night which results in insomnia. Read more »

Causes of Insomnia Part 7 Perimenopause or Pre Menopause Symptoms

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Perimenopause, or pre menopause is the time in a women’s life when her ovaries start to produce less estrogen. Pre menopause lasts until menopause when the ovaries stop releasing eggs. In the last one or two years of pre menopause the decline of estrogen increases and many women experience menopausal symptoms. When does pre menopause start? It usually starts in a women’s 40, but can start as early as a women’s 30’s. How long does pre menopause last? It varies with each individual. The average is four year, but for some it may last a few months or continue for 10 years. Pre menopause officially ends after the first year a women has gone without having her period. Menopause on average occurs when women are 50-51 years of age, so the duration of pre menopause depends on when a women starts showing signs or menopausal symptoms. Read more »

Causes of Insomnia Part 6 Obstructive Sleep Apnea OSA

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Keeping up with today’s schedules, workloads and family life there seems to be little time to relax and take care of the most important person in your life…YOU. We tend to stay up too late at night to get all of our to-dos done before the next day. We lay in bed tossing and turning each night wondering if we haven’t forgotten anything we have to do. As time ticks by we get less and less sleep and many of us resort to some kind of sleep aid in an effort to avoid insomnia. Causes of insomnia can vary from the mild to the extreme, but there is one cause that gets overlooked and that is obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Why, because we tend to ignore the symptoms of OSA such as snoring and excessive daytime sleepiness because we don’t realize the connection between the two and/or the impact OSA has on one’s health. Also, OSA has joined type 2 diabetes as a condition largely associated with the national epidemic of obesity. Read more »

Causes of Insomnia Part 5 De-Stress to Rest

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Some of the causes of insomnia for a majority of the population is primarily stress and/or a sleep disruptors like uncontrollable noise, adjusting to a new babies sleep schedule, jet lag, night shift work that affect a person’s sleep sleep/wake cycle. If a person suffers from insomnia more than a month the symptoms become more serious see Causes of Insomnia Part 4 Symptoms of Major Depression for more information. However, short term insomnia's (under a month) number one cause is stress and not being able to sleep only makes your stress worse. Secondly, you need to look at your diet as many foods like those that contain caffeine such as tea, coffee, sodas and chocolate can contribute to the feeling of stress and sleepless nights. Changes in your diet can help you to overcome anxiety that will help you sleep better and is the first step to successful weight loss. Read more »

Causes of Insomnia Part 4 Major Depression Symptoms

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What is depression? Depression is a medical illness that involves both the mind and body. Depression can be called major depressive disorder, clinical depression and major depression as it affects how we act, think and feel. Depression can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems that can affect your daily lives or be severe enough to feel that life just isn’t worth living. From time to time many of us suffer from feelings of melancholy but we usually snap out of it and move on with our lives. Depression is a chronic illness that requires long-term medical treatment involving medication and counseling. What are the major depression symptoms? Read more »

Causes of Insomnia Part 3 New Year’s Resolution

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Getting through the holiday season can be stressful with office parties, family dinners, dealing with crowded stores and finding those perfect gifts. Have you ever asked yourself how the holiday season is affecting your sleep? Stress is the number one nonmedical reason people suffer from insomnia. Now is the time of year many people make a New Year’s Resolution. How many of you have decided this year is the year I will drop a few pounds? STOP the stress about dieting and losing weight and make your New Year’s Resolution GET MORE SLEEP! Here are some reasons getting a good night’s sleep is essential for your mind and body. Read more »

Causes of Insomnia Part 2 Clinophobia The Fear of Going to Bed

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Clinophobia (derived from the Greek “klinein” as to bend, slope or incline during sleep and “phobos” meaning fear) is an abnormal and persistent fear of going to bed. Unlike somniphobia the fear of going to sleep that is a symptom of an anxiety disorder usually caused by an apprehension about not being able to wake up or frightened of not being aware of what goes on around them as they sleep. Even though clinophobia sufferers realize that going to bed is normal and is not a threat to their well-being, they worry about having uncontrollable nightmares, not being able to fall asleep easy or wetting the bed. If they do fall asleep, they wake often and overtime this phobia causes insomnia. Read more »

Causes of Insomnia Part 1 Grief Cycle

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Last Monday I had to lay my father to rest. Dad was 82 and even though some consider that he lived a full life no one understands the pain of losing a parent. 12 million Americans lose a parent annually and adult children often feel abandonment and panic when caught by a sudden death which can lead to depression and insomnia. We may live many years, but we will always be a child in relation to our parents. Our lives are full with our careers, family, friends but we naturally expect our parents to be there for us. When they die our world becomes a different place. No matter what age or how their death happened, the pain for the surviving adult children can be very hard. Read more »

Insomnia Meaning and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy CBT

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Insomnia meaning, according to WebMD, is a sleep disorder characterized by the difficulty falling asleep easy, staying asleep during the night, waking up too early in the morning and not feeling refreshed in the morning. There are two types of insomnia; primary insomnia is not caused by another health condition and secondary insomnia is having sleep problems due to other psychological or physical disorders such as asthma, depression, arthritis, cancer, alcohol abuse or chronic pain. Insomnia also varies in how long it lasts and how often it occurs. Acute insomnia can last from one night to a few weeks, while chronic insomnia lasts at least three nights or longer. Read more »

Grief Depression and Insomnia

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Hundreds of mourners gathered Monday, August, 15, 2012, at the Indiana State Fairgrounds to remember five people killed when high winds caused an outdoor stage to collapse onto an audience awaiting the start of a country music concert. Four of the victims died at the scene: Alina Bigjohny, 23, of Fort Wayne; Christina Santiago, 29, of Chicago; Tammy Vandam, 42, of Wanatah; and 49-year-old Glenn Goodrich of Indianapolis. Nathan Byrd, a 51-year-old stagehand from Indianapolis who was atop the rigging when it fell, died overnight. Read more »

Symptom of Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome (CRPS/RSD) Insomnia

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Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is also known as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome (RSD) which is a chronic neurological disease causing a malfunction of part of the nervous system and the immune system as it responds to tissue damage resulting from trauma due to an accidental injury or medical procedure. It is estimated that 1.5 to 6 million Americans are affected by this disease. The large gap in the estimate is a result of a reported misdiagnosis or unreported cases. The International Association for the Study of Pain has defined two types of CRPS. CRPS Type I (RSD) is defined by the presence of an initiating event or injury with a continuous pain resulting from stimuli that normally doesn’t cause pain, such as a light breeze or clothing. Signs of CRPS Type I include swelling, change in blood flow, variations in skin color, higher skin temperature and abnormal sweating around the area of pain. CRPS Type II (Causalgia) is the presence of continued pain like CRPS Type I but also associated with pain due to hyperalgesia after nerve injury. Symptoms of both are pain, muscle spasm, loss of motion, swelling, circulatory changes and skin changes. As result of these symptoms the person makes lifestyle changes which cause an additional symptom of reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome (CRPS/RSD) insomnia. Read more »

Symptoms of Insomnia in Teenagers

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Did you know that one in four teenagers show symptoms of insomnia every day for a month? A study published in the journal Sleep examined adolescents between the ages of 11 to 17 for the following symptoms of insomnia; non-restorative sleep, trouble falling asleep easy, nighttime waking and having trouble falling back to sleep and early morning awakenings. The result found symptoms of insomnia in teenagers is common among those with mood and anxiety disorders, as well as substance abuse. Read more »

No Sleep Too Excited to see Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

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It’s not too often we get too excited about going to the movies, but this year there are a couple I am anxious to see, one being Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides opening this Friday at 12:01am. Definitely a movie a lot of people will see and possibly stand in line for at such an early hour. Last night after watching one of its prequels; Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, I found myself tossing about and couldn’t fall asleep easy because my mind is racing about the upcoming sequel. No matter what causes you to have high levels of anxiousness, whether it’s just a silly movie or a life changing situation like; having a baby or getting a new job, the inability to fall asleep or getting little to no sleep can lead to insomnia. Read more »

Book Overview – I Can Make You Sleep by Paul McKenna

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Paul McKenna, Ph.D., the author of I Can Make You Sleep states that he has a twenty year background studying insomnia. He has a one of a kind approach to improve your quality of sleep by using easy exercises and lifestyle changes. The book comes along with a hypnosis CD that restores your body’s natural sleep/wake cycle using both your conscious and unconscious mind that will enable you to fall asleep easy, sleep deep and have the energy you need to improve your daily life. Read more »

Body Clock Secrets to Sleep Easy

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A new study released in Scotland shows that by unlocking your body clock secrets to sleep easy will treat other conditions like jet lag and illnesses such as diabetes. Scientist now understand that the body clock works in all forms of life and this new knowledge will help treat health related issues for individuals with out-of-sync internal clocks similar to those suffering from insomnia due to split-shift or night-shift work. Experts believe that jet lag causes metabolic disorders like diabetes, mental health problems and even cancer. Studies have concluded that we share the same 24-hour clock or circadian rhythm with all other forms of living organisms and it dates back to early life on Earth. Read more »

How do you know if you are sleep deprived Take this quiz to find out

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How do you know if you are sleep deprived? Your body will send you plenty of signals, but some of us are so used to being sleep deprived we don’t even notice. Sleep deprivation is just like a habit we have to unlearn and be conscious of in order to correct our sleep/wake cycle and get our sleep schedule on track. Take this quiz to find out if you are sleep deprived. Read more »