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Good Night Tip's For Sleeping

Here are some Tips that may help.

Sleep is as important as food and air. Quantity and quality are very important. Most adults need between 7.5 to 8.5 hours of uninterrupted sleep. If you press the snooze button on the alarm in the morning you are not getting enough sleep. This could be due to not enough time in bed, external disturbances, or a sleep disorder. Keep regular hours. Try to go to bed at the same time and get up at the same time every day. Getting up at the same time is most important. Getting bright light, like the sun, when you get up will also help. Try to go to bed only when you are sleepy. Bright light in the morning at a regular time should help you feel sleepy at the same time every night. Keep a worry journal. Many times thoughts and thinking will keep us from relaxing and getting to sleep. Try keeping a small notebook next to you with a pen and when thinking or thoughts persist write them down using a book light or another source of dim light. Writing them down will help to forget about them and allow for a peaceful sleep onset. Frequent trips to bathroom. First, if you need to get up to use the bathroom avoid bright light. Keep mini flashlight next to your bed and use it to navigate your way to the bathroom. There are several things that can cause bathroom trips during sleep. Avoid fluids prior to and during the night. Sleep apnea is a disorder that causes frequent urination during the night and may need to be considered. Another possibility can be an enlarged prostrate. If you are avoiding fluids and still have the problem you should talk to your doctor. Dealing with noise . If you live near a busy street or have problems dealing with any type of noise consider a white noise generator. No need to spend a lot of money on a electronic system, an old fan puts out great white noise. White noise masks disruptive noises. Stay away from stimulants like caffeine. This will help you get deep sleep which is most refreshing. If you take any caffeine, take it in the morning. Avoid all stimulants in the evening, including chocolate, caffeinated sodas, and caffeinated teas. They will delay sleep and increase arousals during the night. Use the bed for sleeping. Avoid watching TV or using laptop computers. Know that reading in bed can be a problem if the material is very stimulation and you read with a bright light. If it helps to read before sleep make sure you use a very small wattage bulb to read. A 15 watt bulb should be enough. Bright light from these activities may inhibit sleep. Use the bed for sleeping Part 2. For many people sex should be avoided in the bed. Performance issues can cause anxiety and stress, one partner may be ready for sleep while the other feels neglected, etc. These experiences can create anxiety towards the bed. If you prefer having sex in the bed it should happen earlier in the day so it isn't connected to a relaxing preparation for sleep. Avoid bright light around the house before bed. Using dimmer switches in living rooms and bathrooms for a few hours before bed can be helpful. Dim light helps the brain produce melatonin. (Dimmer switches can be set to maximum brightness for morning routines.) Keep bedroom dark . Using Even a night light can disturb sleep. Use light blocking curtains on your windows to block outside light if needed. Don't stress if you feel you are not getting enough sleep. It will just make matters worse. Know you will sleep eventually. Avoid exercise near bedtime. No exercise at least 3 hours before bed. Don't go to bed hungry. Have a light non-spicy snack, avoid a heavy meal before bed. Bedtime routines are helpful for good sleep. Keep routines on your normal schedule. A cup of herbal tea an hour before bed can begin a routine. Avoid looking at the clock if you wake up in the middle of the night. It can cause anxiety. This is very difficult for most of us, so turn the clock away from your eyes so you would have to turn it to see the time. You may decide not to make the effort and go right back to sleep. If you can't get to sleep for over 30 minutes, get out of bed and do something boring in dim light till you are sleepy. Keep your bedroom at comfortable temperature. Not too warm and not too cold. Cooler is better than warmer. Know that the "night cap" has a price. Alcohol may help you to get to sleep but it will cause you to wake up throughout the night. You may not notice it. (It is worse if you have sleep apnea because the alcohol makes the apnea worse.) Sometimes people snore only if they have had some alcohol or may snore worse if they already snore.) If you have a sleeping partner, ask them if they notice any snoring, leg movements and/or pauses in breathing . Take this information and try the sleep test. You may have a sleep disorder or you may just need to increase your awareness about your own sleep need. If you have any concerns see your doctor.

Sweetened Drinks Linked to Depression Risk

Jan. 8, 2013 -- Drinking sweetened beverages -- either sugar-sweetened or diet -- may be linked with a slightly higher depression risk, while drinking coffee may slightly lower the risk.

That is the finding from a new study to be presented in March at the 65th annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in San Diego.

Do Sweetened Drinks Really Lead to Depression?

In the study, people who drank sweetened beverages -- including regular and diet sodas, fruit punch, and sweetened iced tea -- had a higher risk for depression.

Researchers say the findings suggest that cutting down on sweetened drinks or replacing them entirely with non-sweetened beverages may help lower depression risk.

But an expert who reviewed the findings says it failed to convince him that drinking sweetened beverages raises depression risk.

“There is much more evidence that people who are depressed crave sweet things than there is to suggest that sweetened beverages cause depression,” says neurologist Kenneth M. Heilman, MD.

Heilman is a professor of neurology at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Gainesville.

The study included close to 264,000 people over the age of 50 enrolled in an AARP diet and health study.

When they entered the study, the participants were asked about their beverage-drinking habits as part of a detailed dietary survey. About 10 years later they were asked if they had been diagnosed with depression over the previous decade.

The analysis revealed that people who drank more than four cans or cups of diet soda a day had about a 30% higher risk of developing depression over the follow-up period than those who drank none. Those who drank regular soda had a 22% higher risk.

Coffee drinking, however, was associated with a 10% reduction in depression risk.

Drinking diet sweetened-beverages appeared to be associated with a slightly higher depression risk overall than drinking sugar-sweetened beverages.

More Research Needed, Expert Skeptical

The researchers noted that more research is needed to confirm the findings. They warn that people with depression should continue to take all medications prescribed by their doctors.

“While our findings are preliminary, and the underlying biological mechanisms are not known, they are intriguing and consistent with a small but growing body of evidence suggesting that artificially sweetened beverages may be associated with poor health outcomes,” says researcher Honglei Chen, MD, PhD, of the National Institutes of Health in Research Triangle Park, N.C.

Heilman, who is a member of the American Academy of Neurology, says the fact that carbonated and non-carbonated sweetened beverages appeared to increase depression risk, as did drinks sweetened with sugar and non-calorie sweeteners, leads him to question the findings.

He notes that there is evidence to suggest that people who are depressed or have a higher risk for depression seek out sweet foods and drinks as a way of self-soothing.

“The main point is that you can never show cause and effect in a study like this one,” he says. “By telling people to cut down on sugar-sweetened drinks you may be reducing depression risk or having no impact or having the opposite effect and making depression worse.”

The study was supported by the Intramural Research Programs of the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and the National Cancer Institute.

These findings will be presented at a medical conference. They should be considered preliminary as they have not yet undergone the "peer review" process, in which outside experts scrutinize the data prior to publication in a medical journal.

One in four teens admit to sexting, study finds

(CBS News) It may come as no surprise that teens who "sext" may be more likely to engage in sexual behaviors. However, new research is showing that teens who are asked to sext - regardless if they agree to or not - are more likely to have had sex. According to new research published in the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine in July 2012, one-fourth of teens admitted to having sent a sext. And, 76.2 percent of teens who were asked to send a sext, even if they don't agree to do it, admitted to having had sexual intercourse, compared to only 38.2 percent of teens who had not been propositioned.
Teens keen on sexting racy photos? What new studies show
"Given its prevalence and link to sexual behavior, pediatricians and other tween-focused and teen-focused health care providers may consider screening for sexting behaviors. Asking about sexting could provide insight into whether a teen is likely engaging in other sexual behaviors (for boys and girls) or risky sexual behaviors (for girls)," the authors wrote.

                                                              (Credit: iStockphoto)
Rates on the amount of teens who participate in sexting - which the study defines as the practice of electronically sending sexually explicit messages or images from one person to another - have
 ranged from 1 percent to 31 percent in various studies.
Researchers asked 948 teens - 55.9 percent of which were female - who were enrolled at seven public high schools in Texas and were between the ages of 14 to 19 if they ever sent naked pictures of themselves, if they had ever been asked to send a naked picture, if they asked someone to send a naked picture and how bothered they were by the request.
The results showed that over one-fourth of the teens admitted to sending a sext, but more girls (68.4 percent) were asked to send a sext more than boys (42.1 percent). Teens between the ages of 16 and 17 were more likely to be propositioned for a sext, and the requests declined in those 18 and older.
Boys were more than twice as likely to ask for a sext than girls, and girls were nine times more bothered by someone asking them for a sext than their male counterparts.
Overa;;. Ninety-three percent of girls and 90 percent of the boys said they had started dating, and 51.1 percent of girls and 54.6 percent of boys said they had sexual intercourse. Boys were slightly more likely to have sex with more than one partner in the last year than girls. In addition to the finding that those being propositioned were more likely to have sex, 95.7 percent of the sexually active teens were not bothered with being asked for a sext. About 77 percent of girls who reported having sent a sext also admitted to having sex, compared to 42 percent of girls who hadn't sexted. When it came to boys, 81.8 percent who had sexted said they had had sex, compared to 45.4 percent of boys who hadn't.
"Based on several informal conversations with counselors, teachers, parents, and students, I was actually surprised it wasn't a bit higher," Dr. Jeff R. Temple, a psychologist and assistant professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, told HealthDay.
He stopped short of making a judgment of whether or not sexting is bad for minors.
"Other than the potential for harassment when the pictures are disseminated or the potential for legal troubles, I don't think we have an answer," Temple said. "While we found that sexting may be a reliable indicator of sexual behavior, we cannot say if sexting preceded or followed sexual behavior, and we definitely cannot say it caused a teen couple to have sex."

                                                                                                       source:WEBMD.com

Flirting Body Language  Whether we realise it or not we are communicating all the time. Irrespective of what our mouths are saying, our body language transmits our thoughts and feelings like a primal beacon. These signals are never more on display than when it comes to flirting! Social gatherings are fascinating for watching body language -particularly when people are flirting with each other. It 's no surprise to learn that women are the masters of interpreting this secret code and can often be aware of a budding relationship long before her male counterparts have even realised the couple in question even know each other. In the early stages, your proximity to another person is a good indication of your feelings towards them. Moving into the intimate territory of someone of the opposite sex is commonly referred to as the advance. If the advance into the intimate zone is rejected, the other person will step backwards to maintain the zone distance. If it is accepted the other person will maintain the zone distance. Assuming you have ‘intimate zone’ status what other gestures ensure the message hits home? The Strutting Peacock: The human male does not believe in subtlety when it comes to making his feelings known around a woman. His behaviour is similar to that of a peacock embarking on a mating dance the way he struts around puffing his chest out. As the female approaches the typical male will begin to exhibit preening behaviour. His upright pose and improved muscle tone is all part of an automatic physiological change which occurs when a man sees something he likes the look of. In addition he will probably straighten his tie, smooth his collar or brush imaginary specks of dust from his shoulder. Generally speaking any signs of preening behaviour can all indicate that this man is interested. If the chap you are having a conversation with is using the thumbs in belt gesture then watch out, because this guy has got one thing on his mind. This is a sexually charged male who is unwittingly highlighting his genitals by framing them with his hands on either side. Men also use this to show this is their territory and that they are not afraid to defend their ground. If you end up talking with a chap that uses this body language it suggests 'I am virile I can dominate you.' .... yes ....quite! Feminine Charms: When it comes to women showing an interest they have more of a repertoire at their disposal. While she uses the same basic preening techniques including touching her hair, and smoothing her clothing, she has one or two other moves up her sleeve. A typical flirty female uses the head toss where the head is flicked to toss hair back over the shoulders or away from the face. Even women with short hair use this gesture. An interested female will gradually expose the smooth soft skin of her wrists to a potential partner. The wrist area has long been considered one of the highly erotic areas of the body. The palms are made visible to the male while she is speaking, whether she is holding her glass up to her mouth or a cigarette in mid air, the female is trying to get her point across! Fondling a cylindrical object- cigarettes, the stem of a wine glass, a finger or any long thin object is also an unconscious indication of what may be on the mind. Remember the film Basic Instinct? Well we're not quite talking that level of outrageous flirting but whether seated or standing in the company of a member of the opposite sex, the legs are open wider than they would be normally. Women use three basic leg positions to communicate a courtship attitude: with a knee point, one leg tucked under the other and points to the person whom she finds interesting. This is a very relaxed position which takes the formality out of conversation and gives the opportunity for a fleeting exposure to the thighs. The shoe fondle also indicates a relaxed attitude and has the phallic effect of thrusting the foot in and out of the shoe which can drive some men wild. However, most men agree that the leg twine is the most appealing sitting position a woman can take. It is a gesture that women unconsciously use to attract attention. One leg is pressed firmly against the other to give the appearance of high muscle tone, and as we have already established, heightened muscle definition signals she may be in the mood for love. Other signals include crossing and uncrossing the legs slowly in front of the man and gently stroking the thighs with her hand, indicating a desire to be touched. This is often accompanied by speaking in a low voice. Perhaps the most famous of the ‘come ons’ is the sexy walk across a room. The hips have an accentuated roll which accentuates the pelvic region. Combine this with a sideways glance, slightly open, wet lips - and you will be sure to light the fire of most men. The lips can be made to appear wet either by the use of saliva or cosmetics i.e. lipstick and lip gloss. Both give the woman the appearance of sexual invitation. The eyes have it - Beauty & Glamour: When someone is excited their pupils dilate up to four times their normal size. Women use eye make-up to emphasise their eye display. Fluttering eye lashes and come-to-be eyes are often a sign of sexual interest. It is an interesting fact that intimate encounters are often arranged in dimly lit places, this lack of light of course, causes the pupils to dilate. If you find yourself looking longingly into someone’s eyes, you are unconsciously looking for pupil dilation, each becomes excited by the eyes of another. If you are ‘eyeing’ someone up or they are giving you the once over, the intimate gaze will probably be in evidence. The gaze falls across the eyes and below the chin to other parts of the persons body. It is the triangular area between the eyes and the chest or breast and from a distance in the eye or the crotch. Men and women use this gaze to show interest in each other and those who are interested will return the gaze, however if you want to play hard to get - avoid that look. There’s no doubt that reading body language is an art in itself, and learning the lingo could get you ahead in the romance stakes. Successful flirting is directly related with your ability to send and receive courtship signals - how you respond to them is up to you! Have fun …… If you would like to learn more about flirting body language, eye contact, personal zones etc, why not take a look at the DVD series "Secrets of Master Communicators" Courtesy of Yvonne McRae, Natural Health Well-being Magazine and Robert Phipps Don't Say A Word Check out the free ebook  'Body Language for Power and Love' in our shop