About Baby's Sleeping

Your baby only cares about one person, and that is himself. It is a basic survival instinct, and your baby's natural desire to feed will take precedence over everything in your life during this time. That is why whenever your baby finally starts to sleep all the way through the night for the first time, this is a huge relief for all parents. However, many parents are disturbed to find out that this does not always last. We have put together some tips keeping safety in mind to help you and your baby sleep happily and healthy. There are important factors to consider in your baby's sleeping environment. Baby's room, mattress and bedding for baby, how you should position your baby in bed and when to make the move from cot-to-bed. Read the tips below and help give your baby a safe and happy sleeping environment.

Your baby should lay flat on their back unless advised otherwise from a healthcare provider studies have shown this decreases the risk of SIDS, As an example, you may have your baby sleeping for seven or eight hours a night by the time she is four or five months old. However, there can be an interruption in her regular sleeping pattern, and she may start waking up in the middle of the night, or having problems going to sleep initially. your baby will most likely be practicing these new found skills in her crib, because she is so excited about them. This is why it is important to note that your baby's sleeping patterns are not always going to progress as you initially assumed.

This will just cause confusion for your baby, and help extend the interruption in her sleeping pattern. Trust the process and stick to your routines, if you want to get her back on a regular sleeping schedule again. The baby rubs the eyes, cries sometimes and has irregular movements. You must know that in that moment your child needs to sleep and you can help him fall asleep. There are cases when babies are very tired and fall asleep very hard, so if you did not make him sleep in half an hour, don't give up and insist. Do not forget that if it is customary to sleep in a different environment than the crib and his room he will have problems to rest properly. You can let him sleep when you are at a walk, but don't make from this a habit because it will be affect the sleep.

What's The Result Of Lack of Sleep ?

While you might think that you are simply cranky naturally, the problem could be from a total lack of sleep. Studies have shown that this also causes impatience and sudden mood swings as well. In some cases, you might find that it changes your overall personality.While most people will agree that a lack of sleep causes us to be tired the next day, many don't realize there are other effects on the body as well.When this happens, you might find that you are always hungry, even when you've just eaten. Your body is unable to determine what needs it actually has and soon you are consuming abnormal amounts of food that a little sleep could help to offset.That is the fact that sleeping right can help to curb both depression and anxiety as well. When you don't sleep enough, it can begin to wear down on your emotional state as we mentioned earlier.

Do you wake up in the middle of the night? Is this affecting your daily life and or day time activities? Sleep problems is on the rise! People who have difficulty in sleeping or not getting enough good quality sleep maybe suffering from Insomnia. This condition can slowly start effecting the performance or wellbeing during the daytime. No other ways to treat sleep apnea? No other alternatives to CPAP? Thank goodness for those of us who don't want nagging slow death sleep apnic medical conditions or love the idea of wearing an alien bomber co-pilot mask tethered to a noisy contraption every night. As well as a frequent topic of conversation at parties and events, that in this day and age it's impossible for anyone over 40 to get a good night's sleep? The symptoms include snoring, disruption of breathing while sleeping, feeling tired upon waking, aching head upon waking, daytime exhaustion and drowsiness, changes in disposition and attentiveness, and a decline in sex drive.

Their relationships suffer, their work output decreases and they feel unhealthy in general. It is a debilitating disorder that requires treatment. Untreated sleep apnea has been shown to be a contribution to many other serious problems, such as cardiovascular symptoms, which are prominent among middle-aged men.This is a multifaceted and personal question that should be discussed by you, your sleep doctor and your family doctor. The treatment should be chosen according to the type of apnea, the severity of the symptoms, and your other health considerations. One conservative treatment that has been proven to help is the application of various dental devices.The mandibular advancement device, referred to as MAD, is the most widely used instrument for treatment of sleep apnea. Its features are similar to a mouth guard, which forces the lower jaw downward and forward to maintain an open and unobstructed airway.

Sleep well then you can eat well

　　
Sleep quality has a huge impact on daily life as a poor or restless sleep can affect your work, strength and the ability to interact with others. During sleep, the restoration takes place both physically and mentally so that you can feel fresh and alert in the morning.Sleep needs vary from one person to the average maximum is 7 to 9 hours. You can judge whether or not you have the right amount of how you feel the next day - too much or too little sleep leaves a person feeling tired and irritable. Because growth hormone is released during sleep, babies, children and teens need more sleep than adults.
Sleep scientists discount the common myth that older people need less sleep, but the amount of sleep as adults' needs remains fairly constant. With age, however, the nature of the changes in sleep and the incidence of sleep disorders increases. The degree of time in deep sleep often decreases with age, and a person is likely to awaken more frequently during the night.It is not yet fully understood, but scientists know that the circadian rhythm of a person is established shortly after birth and is then kept as a "biological clock". Certain natural chemicals in the body improves sleep and diet plays a role. Here are some things that are known to affect sleep:
Eating too much or too little can disrupt sleep. A light snack before bedtime may promote sleep, but the food in excess can cause digestive problems, which leads to enlightenment.
Caffeine can disturb sleep. Something to eat or drink with caffeine can disrupt sleep, even if it is not true for everyone. Research has shown that older adults with insomnia report higher consumption of caffeine. If you are sensitive to caffeine, avoid it in the afternoon and evening.
Forget the fat. If you eat a high fat meal in the evening or eat foods that you will find the cause indigestion and heartburn, sleep may be disturbed and agitated.
*Do not eat late at night. People who suffer from heartburn or acid reflux should avoid late meals, heavy delaying stomach emptying. Lying on a full stomach is placed on encouraging disadvantaged gravitational acid and stomach juices flow into the esophagus, causing heartburn discomfort will make it harder to sleep.
Drinking fluids too close to bedtime can cause problems. Avoid fluids after dinner reduces the need to go to the bathroom during the night.
If your worries keep you awake all night, facing another day. Spend about 30 minutes after dinner to write problems and possible solutions, and then try to leave out.If you can not sleep, do not stay in bed worrying for more than 15 minutes. Arise, go to another room and read or watch television until you are sleepy. Be sure to get up on time the next day.

The need for sleep

Everybody has a need for sleep. Some of us sleep for a long time, some of us don’t get more than a few hours and very few of us don’t sleep at all. With recent studies suggesting that a lack of sleep is bad for our health, it makes it more important than ever that we do try and get a good night’s sleep.

Realistically, the factors that can affect a good night's sleep can be broadly broken down into two distinct categories; environmental factors and physical factors. Environmental factors include things such as temperature, noise and light. Temperature maybe more important than you think, if you’re too hot, then the chances are you’ll toss and turn, pull the covers on and off and this will all result in a restless night. Noise can be a major annoyance when trying to sleep. The level of acceptable noise will vary from person to person but you can almost guarantee that no one is able to sleep through excessive loud noise. Light is also an important factor, some people need complete darkness where as some are not so sensitive to the light. Everyone is different with their environmental needs but the three factors mentioned above will all have some impact on the quality of sleep.

Physical factors that can affect sleep can basically be attributed to the bed and the mattress. The firmness of a mattress is usually the most important factor, some people like it firm and some like it soft. The bed itself is also very important. A quality wooden bed, metal bed or divan bed available from Beds Direct is an absolute must. A poor quality bed can lead to noise and instability which can reduce both the length and quality of sleep, something which we all need to avoid.

For Better Memory, Sleep On It

Researchers find that a good night’s rest enhances learning and recall.
To boost your learning and sharpen your memory, skip the brain teasers and string around your finger. Take a nap. You won’t merely be resting—your brain continues to learn while you’re asleep.
Researchers at Michigan State University completed a study suggesting that the ability to learn while asleep is a distinct form of memory, separate from other forms. The study also suggests that individual differences in “sleep memory” affect performance while awake.

Whether you’re trying to master a difficult piano or guitar piece, parsing irregular verbs, or organizing facts and figures for a presentation, you stand a better chance of doing well tomorrow if you get a solid night’s sleep tonight.
“When we sleep, we’re reinforcing learned memories, experiences and behaviors that occurred during the daytime,” said Dr. Wesley Fleming, medical director of Sleep Center Orange County.
In the Michigan State study, researchers showed 48 pairs of related words, such as forest/timber and blacksmith/metal, to 255 participants. In the “awake” group, participants studied the pairs of words at 9 a.m., and completed a recall test immediately afterward in which they were shown one word and asked to remember the second word in all 48 pairs. They took a second test on the words at 7 p.m., along with another test involving equations and letters.
In the “sleep” group, participants studied the word pairs and took the first test at 7 p.m., then were tested again at 9 the following morning, after a night’s sleep. They did significantly better on the second test than the awake group, reinforcing the idea that the brain continues to process information on an unconscious level during sleep.
In findings published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, the researchers also speculate that people with a greater ability to process and recall information while awake have an increased capacity for unconscious, or sleep memory. Study participants who recalled more word pairs immediately after they studied them also had higher scores, and increased recall, after they had slept. So, if you have a good memory to begin with, you might derive even more benefit from sleep.
A National Sleep Foundation survey reported that 43 percent of Americans say they rarely or never get a good night’s sleep during the week. Anyone who has felt befuddled during a test after an all-nighter or befogged during an early morning meeting knows that insufficient or poor quality rest affects performance.
Both the quality and quantity of sleep count, said Dr. Fleming. Even a long stretch in bed won’t do you much good if your sleep is fragmented by alcohol before bed, sleep apnea, low oxygen, restless legs or snoring (yours or a bedmate’s).

Healthy Sleep Tips

　　The following ten tips can help you achieve sleep and the benefits it provides. These tips are intended for "typical" adults, but not necessarily for children or persons experiencing medical problems.
Finally, if you have trouble falling asleep, maintaining sleep, awaken earlier than you wish, feel unrefreshed after sleep or suffer from excessive sleepiness during the day or when you wish to be alert, you should also consult your physician. Be sure to tell him/her if you have already tried these tips and for how long. To check for possible sleep problems, go to our checklist, "How's Your Sleep?"

1. Maintain a regular bed and wake time schedule including weekends.
2. Establish a regular, relaxing bedtime routine such as soaking in a hot bath or hot tub and then reading a book or listening to soothing music.
3. Create a sleep-conducive environment that is dark, quiet, comfortable and cool.
4. Sleep on a comfortable mattress and pillows.
5. Use your bedroom only for sleep and sex.
6. Finish eating at least 2-3 hours before your regular bedtime.
Eating or drinking too much may make you less comfortable when settling down for bed. It is best to avoid a heavy meal too close to bedtime. Also, spicy foods may cause heartburn, which leads to difficulty falling asleep and discomfort during the night. Try to restrict fluids close to bedtime to prevent nighttime awakenings to go to the bathroom, though some people find milk or herbal, non-caffeinated teas to be soothing and a helpful part of a bedtime routine.
7. Exercise regularly. It is best to complete your workout at least a few hours before bedtime.
In general, exercising regularly makes it easier to fall asleep and contributes to sounder sleep. However, exercising sporadically or right before going to bed will make falling asleep more difficult. In addition to making us more alert, our body temperature rises during exercise, and takes as much as 6 hours to begin to drop. A cooler body temperature is associated with sleep onset... Finish your exercise at least 3 hours before bedtime. Late afternoon exercise is the perfect way to help you fall asleep at night.
8. Avoid caffeine (e.g. coffee, tea, soft drinks, chocolate) close to bedtime. It can keep you awake.
Caffeine is a stimulant, which means it can produce an alerting effect. Caffeine products, such as coffee, tea, colas and chocolate, remain in the body on average from 3 to 5 hours, but they can affect some people up to 12 hours later. Even if you do not think caffeine affects you, it may be disrupting and changing the quality of your sleep. Avoiding caffeine within 6-8 hours of going to bed can help improve sleep quality.
9. Avoid nicotine (e.g. cigarettes, tobacco products). Used close to bedtime, it can lead to poor sleep.
Nicotine is also a stimulant. Smoking before bed makes it more difficult to fall asleep. When smokers go to sleep, they experience withdrawal symptoms from nicotine, which also cause sleep problems. Nicotine can cause difficulty falling asleep, problems waking in the morning, and may also cause nightmares. Difficulty sleeping is just one more reason to quit smoking. And never smoke in bed or when sleepy!
10. Avoid alcohol close to bedtime.
Although many people think of alcohol as a sedative, it actually disrupts sleep, causing nighttime awakenings. Consuming alcohol leads to a night of less restful sleep.
If you have sleep problems...
Use a sleep diary and talk to your doctor. Note what type of sleep problem is affecting your sleep or if you are sleepy when you wish to be awake and alert. Try these tips and record your sleep and sleep-related activities in a sleep diary. If problems continue, discuss the sleep diary with your doctor. There may be an underlying cause and you will want to be properly diagnosed. Your doctor will help treat the problem or may refer you to a sleep specialist.

Sleep report opens eyes

　　Sleep deprivation is costing the United States hundreds of billions of dollars each year. So say the experts behind a report that highlights this burgeoning and oft-ignored health problem.
Round-the-clock television and lengthening work days mean that many people spend less time in bed. Although everyone is aware that not getting enough sleep can have ill effects, doctors and researchers are just beginning to realize the toll on our health.

To estimate the size of society's sleep problem, and find ways to solve it, a group of sleep-research organizations asked the Institute of Medicine to study the issue. Its 14-person panel released their report yesterday1.
The panel says that the impact of poor sleep is "shocking" even to experts in the field. They say that some 50 million to 70 million Americans are suffering from a sleep disorder and countless more from sleep deprivation.
Many sleep specialists say that a good night's kip is just as important for health as diet and exercise. The problem "is underappreciated and probably underestimated", says Harvey Colten of Columbia University in New York City, who chaired the panel.
Sleeping killer
Most people are thought to need seven to nine hours' slumber each night, and anything less than that starts to cause mental and physical slip-ups. But many fail to heed this advice. "People take it very lightly," says Charles Czeisler of Harvard Medical School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and head of the Sleep Research Society.
At the more severe end of the spectrum are disorders with clear clinical definitions, such as chronic insomnia, narcolepsy and sleep apnea, a common condition in which sufferers temporarily stop breathing at night.
The results can be serious. Some 20% of serious car-crash injuries are linked to sleepy drivers. And a growing number of studies link poor sleep to an increased risk of major killers such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease, though the reasons for this link are so far unclear. "What's being appreciated now is that sleep is integrated with many other fields of medicine," Czeisler says.
It is difficult to tot up the true costs of these problems. According to one estimate listed in the report, US businesses lose roughly $150 billion a year because tired employees skip work, have accidents or are less productive. On top of this are the costs of increased medical visits and accidents.

Good-sleep report - Think Healthy

　　Jasmine: just what the doctor ordered People who slept in jasmine-scented rooms slumbered more soundly and awoke feeling less anxious than people who slept in unscented rooms, a study at Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia found. The sweet smell of this tropical flower also proved more conducive to sleep than did lavender, an aroma long considered relaxing.
Ramin Ganeshram
Best naps for grownups If you're going to take a daytime snooze, make it a catnap. "Ten minutes of sleep in the midafternoon provides immediate benefits in terms of improved alertness and performance that appear to last for at least two hours," says Amber Tietzel, of Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia. Five-minute naps were too short, and 20- or 30-minute nappers awoke groggy.
K.D.
Win a free "sleep kit" If you still haven't found a way to get enough shut-eye, consider this: The older you get, the more sleep-deprived you're likely to become. Rather than getting depressed by these findings, use them to create good sleep habits now, particularly from March 31 through April 6 (National Sleep Awareness Week, sponsored by the National Sleep Foundation). For help, log on to www.sleepfoundation.orq or unisom.com; Unisom is sponsoring a sleep challenge and offering the first 1,000 registrants a free "Sleep Easy America" kit with sleep tips, a T-shirt and more.

Sleep paralysis

　　What is sleep paralysis?
Sleep paralysis consists of a period of inability to perform voluntary movements either at sleep onset (called hypnogogic or predormital form) or upon awakening (called hypnopompic or postdormtal form).
Sleep paralysis may also be referred to as isolated sleep paralysis, familial sleep paralysis, hynogogic or hypnopompic paralysis, predormital or postdormital paralysis
What are the symptoms?
A complaint of inability to move the trunk or limbs at sleep onset or upon awakening
Presence of brief episodes of partial or complete skeletal muscle paralysis
Episodes can be associated with hypnagogic hallucinations or dream-like mentation (act or use of the brain)
Polysomnography (a sleep recording) shows at least one of the following:
suppression of skeletal muscle tone
a sleep onset REM period
dissociated REM sleep
Is it harmful?
Sleep paralysis is most often associated with narcolepsy, a neurological condition in which the person has uncontrollable naps. However, there are many people who experience sleep paralysis without having signs of narcolepsy. Sometimes it runs in families. There is no known explanation why some people experience this paralysis. It is not harmful, although most people report feeling very afraid because they do not know what is happening, and within minutes they gradually or abruptly are able to move again; the episode is often terminated by a sound or a touch on the body.
In some cases, when hypnogogic hallucinations are present, people feel that someone is in the room with them, some experience the feeling that someone or something is sitting on their chest and they feel impending death and suffocation. That has been called the “Hag Phenomena” and has been happening to people over the centuries. These things cause people much anxiety and terror, but there is no physical harm.
What else can you tell me about sleep paralysis?
Some people with disrupted sleep schedules or circadian rhythm disturbances experience sleep paralysis
A study found that 35% of subjects with isolated sleep paralysis also reported a history of wake panic attacks unrelated to the experience of paralysis
Sixteen percent of these persons with isolated sleep paralysis met the criteria for panic disorder
How can I stop the sleep paralysis?
In severe cases, where episodes take place at least once a week for 6 months, medication may be used.
You may be able to minimize the episodes by following good sleep hygiene:
getting enough sleep
reduce stress
exercise regularly (but not too close to bedtime)
keep a regular sleep schedule