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Saturday, January 19, 2013

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.