A new study from the researchers at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) has found evidence that there is a link between sleep and the immune system. Lack of sleep not only causes lack of concentration and moodiness, it can also reduce the effectiveness of vaccines. Their study’s link between the amount of sleep you get and the immune response to vaccines was analyzed by middle-aged participants in a sleep clinic who were monitored on a nightly basis to determine their sleep patterns than administered a three dose hepatitis B vaccine to see how strong their immune system responded. 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 »
Side Effects of Melatonin Supplement
Melatonin is not U.S. FDA regulated, its primary medical role is an over-the-counter supplement that treats insomnia. Insomnia is when a person can't fall asleep easy, finds it difficult to stay asleep during the night, wakes up too early and has trouble staying awake during the day. Melatonin Definition: Melatonin is a natural hormone secreted by the pineal gland. It plays an important role in regulating the circadian sleep-wake cycle, but has also been reported as a powerful antioxidant. Researchers believe that this hormone has the capability to restore a healthy immune system. Studies have revealed that people who are consistently exposed to artificial light, especially if they work the late shift, usually do not get enough sleep therefore they can compromise their immune system. Other studies reveal that cancer especially breast cancer was associated with low levels of melatonin. What are the possible drug interactions and side effects of melatonin supplement? 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 »
Relieve Night Sweats and Sleep Easy
Nights sweats are caused by medical conditions other than menopause. Night sweats are a prominent symptom of tuberculosis and lymphoma and an important diagnostic factor with those suffering from HIV, acid reflux, mono, an infection, OSA (obstructive sleep apnea), hyperthyroidism, hypoglycemia and even drug or alcohol abuse. The cause for night sweats can be determined by a number of tests such as: HIV test, complete blood count, thyroid-stimulating hormone test, chest and abdominal scans and a bone marrow biopsy. Night sweats has been defined as drenching sweats that require the patient to get up during the night and change bedclothes. A person’s medical history and a complete physical exam along with medical tests will narrow the “why” for night sweats as there are many diagnostic results. In turn, once established, the diagnosis will determine the proper treatment and lifestyle changes required, or the “how”, to relieve night sweats and sleep easy. Read more »
Stay Healthy by Getting Enough Sleep
If you consider yourself a normal, healthy adult and have noticed in the last few years you are always getting sick there may be a connection between poor sleep and your health. Working long hours, eating a poor diet, trying to keep up with family activities and not exercising can cause you to become sleep deprived and lower your immune system. Strangely enough, even if you are healthy, eat well and exercise, sleep deprivation can still lead to health problems. Stay healthy by getting enough sleep can greatly affect how your body fights off infection. We know that when we are sick we tend to sleep easy because our body needs increased NREM to get healthy again. According to researchers the reduced activity of NREM sleep provides the opportunity for many brain cells to repair themselves. During NREM sleep, the lower metabolic rate and lower core temperature that occurs allows our body to deal with the free radical damage done during our waking cycle. Read more »
Dr Oz Show $5 Friday Stress Sleep and Weight Loss Tips
Dr. Oz Show called $5 Friday gave tips for stress, sleep and weight loss which include a Pool Noodle Massage, Rene Barbier Mediterranean Wine, Crackling Fire Sound Effect, Liquid Melatonin Extract, a Salad Blaster Bowl, Psyllium and Pure Coconut Water. What got a lot of the quests excited is that Dr Oz is doing a Cash Giveaway. He gave everyone in his audience a $5 bill and those who got a $5 bill with Dr. Oz’s face in it got to go to the cash machine. Each had 10 seconds to grab as many $5 bills as they could get a hold of. As with any cash machine, you are only allowed to grab the money in the air and not on the ground. Rules also included that they grab a colored bill as well. The first lady grabbed $155, the second $85 and the third $75. Dr. Oz added a zero to the end of each winning amount then totaled the numbers to equal $3150. What does this mean? Three lucky home viewers have a chance to win $3150 on Monday at 3pm! Read more »
Melatonin Can Cause Easy Sleeping
I have talked generally about how melatonin can cause easy sleeping, but now I’d like to be more specific on what melatonin actually is and how it may benefit those that can’t sleep. Melatonin is a hormone secreted naturally in the pineal gland of our brain and it helps to regulate other hormones and the body’s circadian rhythm. The circadian rhythm is our internal 24 hour clock that plays a critical role with our sleep/wake cycle. During the day our melatonin production decreases and at night we produce more melatonin. Its highest production level is between 2am and 4am. Our body has the amazing ability to adjust hormones by how much or how little light we receive. When we receive too much light at night is disrupts our sleep/wake cycle because we are not producing enough melatonin. Shift work, night work and jet lag can cause you to produce less melatonin. You also produce less melatonin naturally as you age and that may be the reason older adults sleep less or develop chronic insomnia. Read more »
Drinks for an Easy Sleep a Drank Review
There are drinks for an easy sleep on the store shelves today like iChill, RelaxZen, Slow Cow and Dream Water which have been called the “anti-Red Bulls” marketed to help those who have trouble falling asleep, fall a sleep easy. These drinks are gaining popularity like energy drinks with sales of $20 million a year, but experts have warned that sleep-inducing melatonin is unsafe in drinks. Drank has 2 milligrams of melatonin which is 20 times the body’s natural amount. Dr. Charles Czeisler, a sleep expert from Harvard medical school claims that hormones shouldn’t be added to beverages since the amount is not controlled due to people drink for thirst and taste rather than only taking a sleep aid supplement when needed. Read more »
List of Foods that Induce Sleep
Eat sleeper foods full of tryptophan to build relaxing neurotransmitters that will help calm your mind. If you eat waking foods that are high in proteins and sugars make sure you combine them with carbohydrates to deter energizing your mind. Missing out on eating the sleep-inducing effects of tryptophan will set off a roller coaster effect of raising and plummeting blood sugar followed by a release of stress hormones that will definitely keep you from falling asleep easy. Read more »
Sleep Easy
7 (seven) tips and techniques to sleep easy: Read more »
How To Go Asleep
According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine women suffer twice as likely from the sleep disorder insomnia than men. Insomnia can cause other health problems just like not eating a proper diet or lack of exercise. Many people take prescription sleeping pills such as Ambiem which is a popular sleep aid in the United States. Michael Jackson and Tiger Woods have taken this medication according to news reports. Before you decide to take a prescription sleep aid let’s consider some theories about how to go asleep. Read more »