Get Better Sleep for Health and Weight Loss

Sleeping disorders are fast becoming a major problem for the British population. One in twenty of us suffer from excessive daytime drowsiness caused by poor sleep that is believed to be responsible for 1 in 5 motorway accidents. One in 50 British adults are on prescribed medicine to help with sleep, and there are probably as many people self-prescribing over-the-counter remedies. This article will set about trying to explain why we are suffering from a lack of sleep and present some ways to combat sleep deprivation.

The reason we are tired is because we have a sleep debt. Think of your sleep debt as a bank overdraft; if you have a big overdraft you simply have to make monthly payments to meet the minimum requirements, plus pay off the interest, to pay off the debt. Similarly if you have a sleep debt you have to begin paying it off (getting adequate sleep) plus the interest (catch up on what you have missed).

Before the advent of the light bulb, it is safe to say that people got enough sleep. If you have ever been on holiday to a relatively poor country you would have seen this first hand as people rise (wake) and set (sleep) with the sun. Even the advent of fire thousands of years ago would not have produced enough light to interrupt our sleep rhythms and was probably used at night more for warmth and protection.

Our bodies are designed to be in a rhythm with the sun. As the sun rises in the morning, cortisol - an awakening hormone begins to rise. This cortisol rhythm peaks at around midday and begins to drop off in the afternoon. As the sun begins to set, the production of melatonin - a sleep hormone - begins to rise, making us sleepy. During the first few hours of sleep there is an increased production of growth and repair hormones, such as DHEA, testosterone and growth hormone. This fine balance in the hormonal system is what keeps our body in rhythm; however, modern lifestyles upset this finely tuned hormonal rhythm.

Stress is a big problem today, be it emotional, physical, chemical or electromagnetic. Any type of stress causes an increase in you stress hormones - cortisol being the major one. If your cortisol levels are artificially high in the evening when it should be dropping off, it will retard the production of melatonin, and will make getting to sleep a hard job. It will also disrupt the production of your growth and repair hormones which make it hard to recover from the rigours of everyday life, such as recovering from a work-out, a physical day at work or from an injury.

Another tendency today is to sit up till late in a brightly lit room watching television, surfing the net or doing other stimulating activities, then get up early for work the next day and hibernate on the weekends. The pineal gland, which produces melatonin (your sleep hormone) sits just behind the eyes and is very light sensitive. Any type of light stimulation in the evening suppresses melatonin, when it should be rising to make you sleepy, making getting to sleep hard work. This also includes sleeping in a room where there is light pollution from the street or the house.

There are many other factors that can disrupt the fine balance in your hormonal system that can impact on sleep, blood sugar control being one. Cortisol is also an important hormone in regulating blood sugar levels, for example, when your blood sugar is low, cortisol will be released to breakdown stored fats and protein for the liver to convert into sugars. Eating meals too late at night or eating too many simple sugars, such as desserts, sweets, chocolate etc...before bed, will cause blood sugar problems, and affect your sleep. A classic sign that this is happening is if you wake in the night for no apparent reason - the poor blood sugar regulation has caused cortisol to be released into your blood, waking you up. Similarly eating foods with toxins (pesticides, colourings, flavourings etc...) or stimulants (sugar, aspartame or caffeine) can also cause deregulation in the hormonal and immune system, making it hard to sleep.

The brain is an electrochemical organ, generating up to 10 watts of electricity. The brain has 4 categories of brain waves, all with different frequency and amplitude. As we wind down at night then go to sleep we pass down though the different brain waves and end up in delta brainwaves, which are of low frequency and promote sleeping and dreaming. Any type of electromagnetic field (EMF) in the bedroom can disrupt these brainwaves and prevent adequate sleep. Even electrical wiring in the walls gives off an EMF that can be picked up with the right equipment. An EMF detector can be purchased from price-pottenger.org for $20 US and can be used to detect any EMF in your bedroom. Once you know where the EMF's are, simply move your bed, or change your sleeping position so that your head is far away as possible from any EMF at night.

Any kind of electrical instrument in the bedroom that gives off an EMF could be disrupting your sleep, such as a TV, electric alarm clock, radio, electric blanket, mobile phone etc. and should be unplugged at the very least or removed all together from the bedroom, after all the bedroom is a place for sleep.

10 tips to get adequate sleep

1. Be in bed by 10 and asleep by 10:30pm and get up between 6 and 7 am everyday.

2. Eat well balanced meals throughout the day remove all stimulants, toxins and processed foods from your diet

3. Turn off the TV and computer by 8pm

4. Take a hot bath or do some breathing, meditation or stretches before bed

5. Light candles instead of using bright lights at night

6. Sleep in total darkness

7. Move all electrical items out of the bedroom

8. Don't exercise past 8pm as it elevates cortisol levels

9. Pay off your sleep debt by getting a few extra hours here and there (weekends, lunch time nap etc...)

10. Try this supplement protocol from Coach Poliquin

• Evening meal take 4 Uber Mag

• Evening snack take 4 Uber Mag

• Right before bed rub 2 pumps of Topical Mag behind each knee

Those with children can also use these tips to help them sleep adequately too. Young children require more sleep than adults so they would need to go to bed earlier than 10pm. You children would need much less magnesium.

Sleep Disorders and Cardiovasular Disease - A Close Link

"A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book." Irish Proverb

Human beings spend almost one third of their lives sleeping. Adequate sleep is necessary for an optimal daytime functioning and a healthy and productive life. This varies from 6 to 9 hours, the average being 6. 85 hours. Unfortunately Americans are getting less sleep today than ever before. In 2005, forty percent of adults reported sleeping less than 7 hours per night, much higher than the 15% in 1960. Lack of proper sleep often causes daytime tiredness, lack of energy, difficulty concentrating and irritability. A restful sleep allows the body to recover both physically and mentally from the rigors of the day. Author Chamfor may have rightly said, "Living is a disease from which sleep gives us relief eight hours a day."

"Sleep is the interest we have to pay on the capital which is called in at death; and the higher the rate of interest and the more regularly it is paid, the further the date of redemption is postponed." Arthur Schopenhauer (German Philosopher, 1788-1860). It is important to get adequate sleep every night, otherwise you may get sick or even die early. . Thomas Dekker, Renaissance dramatist, proclaimed, "Sleep is the golden chain that ties health and our bodies together." Sleep deprivation induces a myriad of abnormal physiologic changes. When sleep is disrupted short term there is decreased vigilance and reaction time with an increased risk of daytime accidents. People develop a depressed mood, decreased memory, high blood pressure, abnormal sugar control, dyslipidemia, metabolic syndrome and increased inflammation. Long-term health consequences include premature death, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. There are also detrimental mental effects, reduction in physical functioning, and a decline in the overall quality of life. Sleep deprivation is an independent risk factor for the development of obesity in children and adolescents.

Sleep disorders are common. Although there are over 100 sleep related disorders, insomnia, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, hypersomnia and restless leg syndrome are the top five. Insomnia affects about half the population. Insomnia is characterized by difficulty in falling asleep, difficulty in maintaining sleep, waking up too early in the morning or experiencing a non-refreshing sleep. Sleep apnea is of two types. Central sleep apnea, occurs when the brain fails to send the appropriate signals to the breathing muscles to initiate respiration. Obstructive sleep apnea is far more common and occurs when air cannot flow into or out of the person's nose or mouth even though efforts to breathe continue. It is typically associated with obesity and snoring. Narcolepsy is characterized by an overwhelming excessive daytime sleepiness , in spite of an adequate night time sleep. Excessive sleepiness may also be due to central nervous system diseases or medications. Implicated medicines include tranquilizers, antihistamines, antidepressants, antipsychotics, antihypertensives, and long-acting hypnotics, as well as withdrawal of stimulants. Patients with the restless leg syndrome experience involuntary twitching or jerking ovements of the legs during sleep with a strong urge to move them for relief.

Recent science as focused on the detrimental effects on the cardiovascular system from sleep disorders. A ten-year follow-up of the Nurses' Health Study demonstrated that short sleep time was associated with a higher risk of developing coronary heart disease. In the Japanese segment of the study, patients with a short sleep time ( about 5 hours per night) were found to have a 2- to 3-fold increased risk for heart attacks. Sleep deprivation is also harmful to the metabolic system. In a
report published in the April 25, 2005 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, sleep duration of six hours or less or nine hours or more was associated with increased prevalence of diabetes mellitus and impaired glucose tolerance. Qureshi studied 7884 persons older than age 31 years, and found that excessive sleep was associated with a 50% increase in stroke and an overall higher mortality. These findings were reported in the journal of Neurology in 1997. In a recent study, published in the April 17, 2007 edition of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, researchers from Toronto followed 164 patients with heart failure for more than seven years. They found that those with obstructive sleep apnea had double the death rate when compared to those patients who did not have sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is typically characterized by loud snoring. Epidemiological evidence has implicated snoring as an independent risk factor for the development of not only hypertension and ischemic heart disease, but also strokes. Anthony Burgess said, " Laugh and the world laughs with you, snore and you sleep alone. " And unfortunately, we have to add - and die early.

Health disorders can also prevent proper sleep. Conditions such as pain, Lung diseases, congestive heart failure and pregnancy can interfere with proper restful sleep. Depression and anxiety often causes
insomnia. Excessive coffee, cigarettes, or alcohol, especially teken late in the evening may cause or aggravate sleep problems. Aging also affects sleep patterns and elderly people may sleep much less at night.

" The best cure for insomnia is to get a lot of sleep." W. C. Fields quotes (American Comic and Actor, 1880-1946). Here are a few tips from the National Sleep Foundation to help you an adequate and refreshing sleep: ' Avoid caffeine, nicotine and alcohol in the late afternoon and evening. Establish a regular, relaxing bedtime routine that will allow you to unwind and send a "signal" to your brain that it's time to sleep. Avoiding exposure to bright light before bedtime. Taking a hot bath can help. Make your sleep environment as pleasant, comfortable, dark, and quiet as you can. Try not to nap during the day if you have trouble sleeping at night. Exercise regularly, but do so at least three hours before bedtime. Don't use your bed for anything other than sleep or sex. If you can't go to sleep after 30 minutes, don't stay in bed tossing and turning - involving yourself in a relaxing activity, such as listening to soothing music or reading, can help you to feel sleepy. Do not watch television or engage in other potentially stimulating activities immediately prior to sleep. '

Epidemiological studies show that 7-8 hours of sleep each night is associated with the lowest mortality and morbidity. " Sleep is the best meditation. " Dalai Lama quotes ( Spiritual Leader, 1989 Nobel
Peace Prize Winner). And sleep may also help relieve depression and anxiety, " The best bridge between despair and hope is a good night's sleep. " E. Joseph Cossman. So develop a good sleep discipline and hygiene. And as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said " Be thy sleep silent as night is, and as deep. " Have a good night!

Natural Sleep Aids - Getting Better Sleep Is Possible

In case you find yourself restless, and just tossing and turning in bed at night and having a tough time drifting off to sleep in that case you're one of the 30 percent of Americans who are affected by insomnia. So, do not be afraid as you are not alone! There are lots of sleep aids and sleep relaxation methods to assist you overcome insomnia.

Insomnia is a sleep disorder in which a person has trouble falling asleep or staying asleep during the night. Due to the lack of sleep, the body's biological clock is hammered. When one is sleeping, the body carries out its regular cellular maintenance. Yet when a person is deprived of a restful sleep then he will be subject to stress, sleepiness, tiredness, acidity, mild to severe headaches and being easily annoyed.

Anyone may experience 1 to 2 nights of sleepless nights in their life, yet if this comes about on a consistent basis then it may be induced by an underlying cause. Oftentimes, chronic insomnia is a signal of some other conditions such as depression, heart disease, sleep apnea, diabetes, lung disorders or hot flashes. Whenever you suffer regular insomnia, get medical assistance immediately.

Fighting insomnia is made quite a bit easier than before as there are many prescribed medicines that are recommended by doctors or those that can be obtained over-the-counter. On the other hand, some of these drugs have unfavorable secondary effects and can turn out to be an addiction.

Natural sleep aids are the key to cure insomnia. They help you sleep without causing addiction and dependency.

The usage of natural sleep aids could actually help you get some good relief from long-term insomnia.

Allow me to share some of the best natural remedies of which I have tested out that worked wonders for me.

Melatonin sleep aid is a natural remedy for sleep. It assists people drift off to sleep and improve healthy sleep pattern, especially to men and women who have had sleeping cycle interrupted like individuals who are doing work on graveyard shifts and those encountering jet lags. Melatonin is a hormone found in the body. Melatonin sleep aid ought to be taken 30 minutes ahead of bedtime. Individuals suffering from depressive disorders, schizophrenia, autoimmune diseases should not make use of this remedy.

Vitamin B complex is a different natural sleep remedy; this is a group of essential eight vitamins that are essential for a variety of metabolic processes. Vitamin B complex insufficiency may cause sleep problems. Taking Vitamin B complex is a healthy approach to get better sleep.

Calcium facilitates the brain produce melatonin. It's a tranquilizer. It reduces pain and rigidity, decrease leg cramps, alleviate restless legs and muscle spasms that a lot of persons experience at night time.

Magnesium is a nutrient which is deemed to be not only as a key weapon against illness yet also an antidote to stress, the best relaxation mineral which could help to improve sleep. Magnesium deficiency can cause muscle spasms, cramps, stress, irritability, sleeplessness, severe headaches, heart palpitations and constipation.

Yoga is a body-mind exercise which could be an awesome sleep relaxation ritual that gives a calming effect and assists promote sleep.

There are also various ways to eliminate insomnia including refraining from alcohol, caffeine containing drinks, smoking cigarettes, long afternoon naps, activities which could result in mental excitement and fast paced stimulating music before going to sleep. Take a warm bath, or drink a hot milk or tea, play a calming music and keep your room dark, quiet and cool. Free your mind from all the pressure from work.

Keep in mind that these natural cures help decrease sleep problems gradually. It is usually ideal to seek advice from a health practitioner prior to using these natural sleep aids.

Methods You Can Apply To Boost Your Sleep Quality

It goes without saying that we need to sleep in order to function at optimal levels. Sleeping well improves your appearance, brainpower, memory and other vital body functions. It also reduces your risk of gaining weight, feeling fatigued or developing chronic health conditions. Both adults and children need 6 or more hours of sleep every night for optimal health. However, just because you're getting the recommended hours of sleep each day does not mean that your body is getting the rest that it needs. A lot of people toss and turn all night, don't feel like getting out of bed in the morning and drink plenty of coffee to avoid drowsiness during the day. If you're suffering from such sleep problems, then you need to improve the quality of your sleep. Here are a few top tips on how to boost your sleep quality.

1 - Sleep in a Cool, Dark & Quiet Room

Sleeping with the lights on is one of the major causes of sleep deprivation. When your eyes are exposed to light, neurons are aroused and this disrupts your sleep. Research has also shown that light exposure before sleep suppresses the production of melatonin - the hormone that controls your sleep and wake cycles. A reduction in this hormone at night normally leads to varying levels of sleeplessness. To avoid sleep disruption due to nighttime exposure to light, always sleep with all the lights off. This includes the light emitted from electronic devices, so make sure your computer, phone, tablet and other light producing equipment are either turned off or stored outside the bedroom.

Too much heat can also disrupt your sleep quality. To keep cool while you sleep, make sure you keep the window open and ensure the room is well ventilated. If you still find that you're too warm after doing this, go to bed wearing lighter clothing and consider investing in a lighter duvet or even sleeping on top of the covers.

Noise is yet another thing that can have a detrimental impact on the quality of your sleep. To minimize the amount of noise in your room, make sure there's nothing in the bedroom that could potentially make noises while you sleep. If it's noisy outside your bedroom, try sleeping with earplugs.

2 - Avoid Caffeine In The Evening

As you probably know, coffee is a rich source of caffeine. This chemical changes the brain's chemistry by binding with sleeping inducing receptors known as adenosine in order to keep you awake. The stimulating effects of caffeine can wreak havoc on your sleep because they take hours to wear off. Therefore, if you are an avid coffee drinker, you might want to avoid your favorite beverage a few hours before going to bed.

3 - Get Comfortable Before You Sleep

There are many ways to get comfortable before going to bed and these can improve the quality of your sleep. For instance, taking a hot shower raises your core body temperature and this helps to improve sleep. Alternatively, having a hot bath can relax your muscles and help you to have a soothing night of sleep.

4 - Try Essential Oils

Essential oils such as cedar wood, roman chamomile, sandalwood, valerian or lavender oil are all natural relaxants and can help you have an amazing night's sleep. There are lots of ways you can use essential oils to enhance your sleep quality. If you're having a bath before bed, try putting a few drops of your favorite essential oils from above into the bath and then allow the aroma's to work their magic. Alternatively, you can add a few drops of these essential oils to a diffuser, place it in your bedroom and let the relaxing scents slowly spread around the room while you sleep.

5 - Unwind Before Bed

One final way to maximize your sleep quality is to start unwinding and getting ready for bed a few hours before you sleep. You can do this by disconnecting from the Internet, switching off the TV and your other electronic devices and then spending the last few hour of the day doing a relaxing activity. Then for the last 30 minutes of the day, stop everything, empty your mind and focus fully on getting ready for sleep.

Summary

If you've been struggling to get a good night's sleep, I hope the advice in this article helps to enhance your sleep quality. These 5 tips are very simple to implement but surprisingly effective. So give them a try today and start enjoying the best sleep of your life.

Sleep - Tips For Getting the Best Rest of Your Life

Sleep is one of the most basic and universal activities in which we all engage. Yet, getting to sleep, staying asleep, and waking refreshed can be highly elusive to most of us some of the time, and to many of us all of the time. We spend one-third of our lives under the covers, but sleeping well is one of the most a highly underestimated factors in feeling well and performing at our best. This article explores techniques you can implement tonight, to achieve restful, rejuvenating sleep.

Sleep deprivation can be life threatening to you and those around you. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that more than 100,000 car accidents a year -- and 1,500 deaths -- are the direct result of people driving while sleepy. The nuclear reactor explosion at Chernobyl, poisoning thousands of square miles with radioactive particles and causing death and serious medical illnesses, was found to be the result of human error by overworked shift workers who had been on duty for more than 18 hours. The explosion of the space shuttle Challenger has also been suggested to be caused in part by engineers and supervisors who had been awake for 50 hours continuously prior to launch and overlooked warnings about possible mechanical failure. Errors in judgment caused by sleepiness was also cited as a contributing factor in the Exxon Valdez tanker accident.

The quality and quantity of sleep has a direct relation to the quality and quantity of life. Dr. Kripke from University of California has found that most people need at least 6 to 7 hours of sleep in order to perform at their physical and mental best. The same study also found that taking prescription sleeping medication every day increases the risk of death by 25%.

Additionally, a sleep debt can rob us of our quality of life. Over time, insufficient sleep accumulates. Slowly but surely, a sleep debt deteriorates our physical and cognitive acuity slowly until we are overwhelmed by powerful and sudden sleepiness. The nationwide sleep debt, resulting in fatigue, has been reported to cost the American economy about $120 million annually in both health expenditures, lost worker productivity, and property destruction. The personal costs of sleep debt can include:

Mood changes: irritability, depression, and anxiety are the three most common mood disturbances caused by lack of sleep.
Impaired nervous system function: manifesting as decreased cognitive and motor performance, such as inattention, memory difficulties, and delayed reaction time:
Weight gain: when we don't sleep, we gain weight. This is not only due to hormones that relate to both sleep and weight, but to the tendency for us to reach for a sugary, carbohydrate-laden snack to keep us awake when we are drowsy.
Impaired immune function: a lack of sleep undermines the immune system's capacity to ward off invasion by bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites.

Difficulties with achieving a refreshing sleep, along with sleep dysfunction, play a key role in a wide variety of human disorders. Stroke and asthma attacks tend to occur more frequently during the night and early morning, which some experts suggest to be due to changes in hormones, heart rate, and other characteristics associated with sleep. Dream-state sleep also has been found to be critical in preventing seizures and other neurological disorders. Sleeping problems occur in almost all people afflicted with mental conditions such as depression and schizophrenia. Sleeping problems are common in age-related diseases including Alzheimer's, stroke, and cancer.

In your search for refreshing sleep, you will be well served by establishing good habits for sleep and creating an inviting environment appropriate for sleep. Collectively, these improvements form good "sleep hygiene," a personalized regimen that is your gateway to refreshing sleep. In short, to achieve restorative sleep, it is critical to create a sleep haven.

Sleep-Friendly Habits

Establish how much sleep you really, and realistically, need: Approximate the amount of time your body considers requisite to enable your best daytime functioning by going to sleep and arising without the help of an alarm clock. Once you know how many hours of sleep you need, modify your daily routine so that you take care of personal and professional responsibilities well before the three to four hours prior to bedtime, when you should be starting a pre-sleep routine of quiet relaxation
Set a regular schedule, particularly for the time at which you get up everyday: an irregular or inconsistent sleep-wake schedule sets the biological stage for poor sleep.
Avoid the stimulants caffeine and nicotine for six hours before bedtime, longer if you know these substances give you trouble sleeping. Also avoid hidden sources of caffeine, such as chocolate and some over-the-counter pain and cold remedies.
Avoid alcohol after dinnertime: while it may help you fall asleep, it will probably cause you to awaken in the middle of the night.
Get regular exercise:
Exercise promotes faster time to sleep and improves progress through the stages of sleep. Moderate aerobic exercise three days a week has been found to promote sound sleep.
Strength training exercise (including weightlifting) prompts the release of Human Growth Hormone (HGH), rising levels of which at night coincide with sleep.
Exercise strengthens bones and joints, thereby helping to alleviate pain that can be bothersome in falling or staying asleep

NOTE: It is best to avoid exercising within the 2-4 hours before bedtime because of the hormone-releasing (and thus possibly stimulating) effect.

Eat for sleep:
For dinner or a light nighttime snack, choose foods containing the amino acid tryptophan, from which the body makes serotonin and melatonin, key biochemicals that trigger sleep. Dairy products, beans, poultry, and green leafy vegetables are good sources of tryptophan.
Sex may help to promote sleep by releasing neurochemicals that are sedating.
If you are on any prescription or over-the-counter medications, ask your doctor if any of them could be keeping you awake or causing you not to get a refreshing sleep.
Upon awakening, open the curtains and greet the sunlight: morning bright light promotes sleep onset later in the day. For older folks, exposure to bright light at the low point of core body temperature can delay the sleep-wake cycle so that they start feeling sleepy later

The Sleep Environment

Keep the sleeping room cool: lowering the temperature helps your body cool down, which can help to trigger sleep onset
Keep the sleeping room dark: light is the most powerful time cue for humans; even low ambient light (such as that of a nightlight) alter the sleep-wake cycle by way of the pineal, which is a light-sensitive organ that detects light even if the eyes are closed.
Keep the sleeping room quiet. If you cannot keep sound to an absolute minimum, use a fan, air cleaner, or other source of "white noise" to drown out discernable noise.
Limit the bed for engaging in two activities only -- sleep and sex. If you cannot get to sleep after quietly lying in bed for 30 minutes, get out of the bed and engage in a quiet activity like reading or listening to soothing music; avoid television as that is more of a stimulus than a relaxing activity. Once you start feeling tired, return to the bed and try to fall asleep again.
Is the bed to blame? It is not merely a home furnishing, it is an integral part of your sleep environment:
If you share a bed, both of you may sleep best in a king-size bed, particularly if your bed partner is prone to tossing and turning or has restless leg syndrome. Two adults in a double- or queen- size bed have as much horizontal space as a baby does in a crib!
Your mattress should be a smooth, intact comfortable surface. It should not feel bumpy and the coils should not be protruding out.
A properly selected and maintained mattress provides positive resistance to the sleeper's body weight. Goldilocks was right:
A mattress that is too firm will not provide even body support, tending instead to support only at the body's heaviest parts (shoulders and hips). This causes increased pressure that reduces blood circulation, causing the sleeper to toss and turn.
A mattress that is too soft will not keep the spine in proper alignment with the rest of the body. As a result, your muscles will work throughout the night to straighten the spine, leading to aches and pains in the morning. Sags or imprints in your mattress indicate that your mattress is not right for you.
The foundation part of the bed, also called the box spring, extends the life of the mattress. It absorbs the major portion of the stress and weight placed on the sleep surface, working like a shock absorber to eliminate stress in the mattress. A worn-out foundation can shorten the life of a mattress by 50% and thus compromise your sleep.
De-technologize your sleeping room. Specifically, reduce sources of electromagnetic fields (EMFs), waves of electric and magnetic energies that are produced by electronic and electrical equipment. EMFs represent one of the most common and fastest growing environmental influences on health today, and scientists have found they can affect brainwaves so as to alter mental acuity and change mood and sleep patterns. EMFs are produced by:
Electric clocks and clock radios
Televisions and computers
Cellular phones and cordless phones
Lamps
Ionization--type smoke and carbon monoxide detectors
Reduce chemical irritants that may cause breathing difficulties that can interfere with getting to sleep or getting a continuous night's sleep:
Remove home furnishings made with synthetics or that are chemically treated (carpeting, furniture, draperies)
Freshly dry cleaned clothes are high in vapors of the solvents used in the cleaning process. Do not bring into the sleeping room until aired out in a separate room for several days. Close the closet door before sleeping.
Use natural, non-treated cotton or silk sheets. Avoid "permanent press" sheets as these are treated with chemicals (most notably, formaldehyde).
If you have pets, do not allow them into the sleeping room. A study by Dr. Shepard of the Mayo Clinic Sleep Disorders Center (Minnesota, USA) reported that 53% of pet owners permitting the animal in the sleeping room had disrupted sleep every night. Pet allergies can also contribute to problems breathing during sleep.
Address sources of allergies: pets, plants, and knick-knacks are best left out of the sleeping room.
A few drops of jasmine or lavender essential oil on a tissue placed near the bed can promote relaxation upon inhalation. Dr. Raudenbush and colleagues from Wheeling Jesuit University (West Virginia USA) found that people who slept in rooms infused with jasmine slept more peacefully and reported higher afternoon alertness than those in a room with no added smell. Similar results were demonstrated for lavender, but Dr. Raudenbush's team found the benefits to be less pronounced as those seen with jasmine.

Improving Sleep To Help Performance

Following on from a recent Facebook post I made a few people contacted me regarding improving their sleep.

I felt by expanding a little on the subject I could convey my thoughts on the importance sleep places in the pursuit of any health or fitness goals, and in turn help people improve on an often over looked essential part of their lives.

No matter how good your nutrition or training is, if you do not adequately rest and recover you are blunting your efforts.

A lot of people can argue the point that they survive on only a few hours sleep and of course they are correct, but who wants to just survive?

I have to think what is their potential if sleep was placed higher on the priority list and what are the long term effects to having a sleep deficiency?

I say deficiency because no matter who we are or where we come from we basically all have the same hardware. There are variations, but we all are typically made of the same stuff and work pretty similar, meaning we need to have proper quantity and of course quantity of sleep to optimally perform.

Performance covers daily life, work commitments, and of course sporting and fitness motives.

On average people sleep 5-7 hours per night.

This figure is a very general statement as a lot of factors will influence the average persons nightly sleep. Varying factors influence different people so generally 5-7 hours seems a fair statement for the average night.

I'm sure many of you reading this can relate and probably average out somewhere between this figure.

When you compare that average or your own normal sleep hours with the recommend 7-9 hours per night, you can see how this deficiency isn't just representing those of us working on less than 5 hours per night, it's nearly all of us.

For me a good night sleep is the best preparation for anything, if I am rested and recovered my training is better, food choices are improved and everything seems to just flow properly.

People put a lot of emphasis on pre-workout drinks to give them that boost before a session, and if they work for those people that's fine, but for people not getting enough sleep and buying expensive supplements to help their performance just sounds insane to me.

Getting good sleep is not as easy as it sounds however. It takes practice and training and habit. It's not just simply a case of going to bed early tonight and you're on track.

Your body adapts to anything you put it through and your wake/sleep cycle will have forced your body to adapt to your current routine. It will take time and effort to correct it back to an optimal cycle.

Even though your body has adapted and you don't feel exhausted or lethargic on a daily basis you must understand that you are under performing!

Changing this cycle will require attention to all or at least most of the following points on how to get a great nights sleep.

Sleeping At The Proper Times

Going to bed at bedtime! Simple but crazy effective, we are creatures that have adapted to our environment. We are programmed to sleep when it gets dark. There are chrypotchromes below the skin and in the eyes that detect sunlight, so if it is bright or not your body knows and wants to respond accordingly.

If you are altering this reaction of your body by forcing yourself to battle to be awake or sleep, you are causing a hormonal imbalance that will have negative health implications.

Getting Your Nutrition Helping

As kids we were all told not to eat sweets or drink fizzy drinks at night and it hasn't changed since we have grown up. High sugar content in our system is not what resting bodies need to relax and recover from the day's activities.

Equally sugar sources from other high carbohydrate containing foods can have an impact on our rest as well. Foods like fruits, breads, pasta, and pizza will put your body through an ordeal when it should be relaxing.

I am a fan however of eating my carbohydrates late at night to aid recovery and when my body is more insulin sensitive to use the carbs better, but I know what works for me nutritionally will not work for everybody.

So listening to your body and knowing what will aid a good nights rest should be exactly what you eat prior to sleeping, take an active approach to improve this aspect of your own life.

Get An Awesome Bed

If we go by recommended averages then the 8 hour sleep time is the one that most of us will be familiar with. This is 1/3 of each 24 hour day that we should spend asleep.

If we are actually alive for our life expectancy of 78-81 years (for the Irish population), this leads to the assumption we will spend on average about 27 years of our lives asleep.

For some bizarre reason people are sleeping on uncomfortable beds and mattresses leading to poor quality sleep and even injures from lack of support.

For 1/3 of your life I feel your bed should be one of the most valuable and comfortable things you own. Buy a decent bed, mattress and bedding and see how the quality of your sleep impacts everything else in your life. Any other purchase can and should wait.

Electronics

Not having the blue light from electronics bombarding your brain before bed is always a way to improve sleep. 95% of Americans struggling with poor sleep, have reported using some type of electronics at least a few nights a week within the hour before bed.

It's a pointless habit that a lot of people won't easily be able to stop.

Research has demonstrated that night time light exposure suppresses the production of melatonin, the major hormone secreted by the pineal gland that controls sleep and wake cycles It is also well established that short-wavelength or blue light from phones or laptops is the most melatonin-suppressive light.

Therefore, a reduction in melatonin at night is associated with levels of sleeplessness and insomnia.

But melatonin suppression has far worse implications than simply poor sleep. It has also been shown to increase the risk of cancer, disrupt immune system function, and possibly lead to other illness such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.

"With serious consequences like these, preventing melatonin suppression should be a top priority in anyone's healthy lifestyle" Chris Kresser practitioner of integrative medicine. http://chriskresser.com

My Sleep

Personally some of the best ways and little tips I found to help me sleep were to darken the room as much as possible. I sleep so much better with a pitch black room and blackout curtains have always been a good purchase.

Equally if the room is really cold I conk out. From living in Darwin even though it was crazy hot outside, my bedroom was always 19 degrees, I was always asleep after a few minutes due to the icy temperature.

Also from sharing a room with a Darth Vader like breathing machine who will remain nameless, I began sleeping with earplugs, a practice I still do to this day, the peaceful silence aids my falling asleep better than anything else.

One trick that I would do ever before making conscious decisions on how to sleep and recover better was to write before I slept.

Not only was I not on a computer, watching TV or on a phone which helped in itself, but the process of deloading my mind eased the dreaded "over thinking before sleeping" when you can't switch off. By writing out a list of all I had to do the following day I was free to let my mind drift knowing that all I needed to do was laid out ahead of me.

Conclusion

Above all tips and tricks to sleep better, it's very clear you can't beat a routine. By almost forcing a good sleeping pattern on yourself you will soon adapt and early mornings won't be a chore and you will find yourself tired at night and getting adequate rest.

The best way to begin is to get up early, expose yourself to sunlight and be active. Easier said than done but it's all about creating habits in your daily life. Soon this will not be an effort but something you look forward to!

If you get yourself into a good sleeping pattern you will rest better, lose weight quicker, build muscle faster, be more productive and generally feel and perform better.

Everybody has the same amount of time per day and I can guarantee you that the people who seem to get more things done, achieve more and perform better are the ones who sleep and rest better too.

We Really Do Need Our Beauty Sleep After All

Eat right, get enough exercise, get the right beauty products, take the right vitamins and your health your weight and your appearance will be what you want them to be. That sums up the common wisdom on this subject. However, this formula leaves out a very important piece of the good health puzzle. Believe it or not that piece is sleep.

Sleep disorder contributes to and can even be the cause of health problems. It can be a major factor in someone becoming obese or in a person's failure to lose weight. Sleeplessness, or poor quality sleep also contributes to skin problems.

Adequate sleep plays a major role in our health and general well-being. This is not open for debate. We have known for a time that good sleep was important, but now we know why. Scientists and researchers have demonstrated in various studies several different ways that poor sleep affects our health.

Sleep deprivation affects the metabolism and the body's ability to process glucose. Sleep deprived persons from one study needed to produce thirty percent more insulin in order to properly absorb the glucose into their bodies. It was demonstrated that it was possible to develop Type II Diabetes as a result of inadequate sleep alone.

Poor sleep contributes to obesity.

First, Leptin levels are affected by inadequate sleep. Leptin is a regulatory hormone that helps control appetite. So guess what? Yes, you are right.

When sleeplessness leads to unbalanced Leptin levels over eating follows which leads to, or prevents our successfully fighting, obesity.

A second way in which sleep deprivation can contribute to obesity is because the body experiences sleeplessness as a form of stress. In fact your body perceives poor sleep the same way that it perceives hunger.

What do you do when you are hungry? You eat; many people do the same thing when over tired. This connection between poor sleep and obesity was confirmed by one recent study. Commissioned by Estee Lauder, that showed 23% of the participants who slept well were obese. Forty four percent of those study participants who were sleep deprived fell into the obese category.

Inadequate sleep causes skin problems.

This is because one of the purposes of sleep is for our growth hormone to increase. Its job is to repair and replace damaged cells. Another function of good sleep is that Cortisol levels go down. Cortisol is a steroid hormone which is associated with the adrenal gland.

The growth hormone, along with its cellular duties, is supposed to help keep the Cortisol levels down. The result of this imbalance is that our collagen, the structural level of the skin, is weakened. This leads to all sorts of skin problems including wrinkles, slow healing wounds, and even in some cases skin cancer.

We know that we need adequate rest, but what is it? How should someone feel if they are well rested? What are some of the causes of sleep deprivation?

Our sleep is sufficient if we feel well rested the next morning. That may sound simplistic, but the truth is the exact amount of time that we need to sleep in order to achieve that goal of restfulness will vary.

The consensus among experts seems to be that adults need seven or eight hours of sleep each night. That will still vary from person to person. If you sleep without waking for eight hours yet continually wake each morning without energy, you may need nine hours of sleep each night.

Use the recommended amounts as a guideline, but judge the adequacy of your sleep by how you feel the next day.

Sleep deprivation problems can be placed in two different categories.

First there are the problems which arise from our own life choices.

These could be positive choices in their own right. For instance we might be trying to accomplish a goal like excelling in school or earning a degree.

We may have been pressured by circumstances of life to take work that requires long hours. If our children are very young we may very well experience sleeplessness for a time.

Some of the choices that lead to sleep deprivation may not be so positive. If we are choosing to stay up to watch television, or go on the internet, or go out with friends, we can't really blame anyone, but ourselves now can we?

The second category of sleep deprivation is insomnia.

We generally think of insomnia as the inability to fall asleep, it includes that, certainly, but it is more useful to think of insomnia as the inability to get the quality of the sleep we need.

You might not lie awake staring at the ceiling for hours at a time, like we often picture the typical insomniac, but you might wake every hour or two and never be able to get into the deep sleep your mind and body need.

We often think of insomnia as being caused by anxiousness and worry. That can certainly be true. It brings to mind an old proverb, 'only a fool lies awake worrying about all his problems because in the morning the problems are still there and he's exhausted besides.

If you are suffering from insomnia or other sleep problems the solution will depend on the cause. For example, if You only get five hours of sleep each night because of Your job You might consider developing a plan that will allow You to get the training You need to qualify for a job which will fit in better with the rest of Your life.

Maybe it means taking work with less pay and giving up something to make it work. We are driven, desperate people who work for driven desperate people and things like adequate sleep are often sacrificed to this cultural phenomenon.

Lifestyle changes can sometimes go a long way to increasing the quality of your sleep. We have already discussed not consuming caffeine or nicotine too late in the day. Late naps are also to be avoided. In fact naps in general should be avoided, as they will throw the body's natural cycles off track. If you must nap do it before the afternoon has progressed too far and limit it to a half hour or less.

Some issues may require outside help. If you suspect you have sleep apnea, you certainly need to consult a professional. If you wake frequently to go to the bathroom you may have a health problem which needs attention. If you continually worry so much you can't sleep some type of counseling may be called for.

There are some other tricks and approaches that can help you get adequate sleep. For example, make sure your room is not too bright or hot. If you work at night wear sunglasses on your way home, and make sure you have dark shades in your room to help your body accept this is sleeping time.

If you wake up in the middle of the night don't lie there, get up and do something and then go back to sleep.

Another strategy is to try, as much as possible, to keep your sleep time on schedule. When it's time to get up do so and when it's time to go to bed, do so. Your body and mind should eventually get the idea that this time is for sleeping.

Sleep, nutrition, and exercise are each legs on the three legged stool of good physical health and mental well-being. The three are interrelated in ways we are only just beginning to understand. Just as sleep can affect the other two, poor nutrition and lack of exercise can contribute to poor sleep.

Be a doer, not just a reader. You know that sleep is important. You know that getting sufficient sleep should not be a treat that we reward ourselves with once or twice a week.

You know it is important to our appearance, our health, and our relationships with others. Don't just absorb that knowledge, do something about it.

Take the time to take stock of your sleep habits. Are you getting the rest you need? If so fine, but if you need to make changes in your life to get the sleep you need, make them. Don't put it off another night.

The Importance of Sleeping Well

Sleep is often given the least priority in our day-to-day hectic lifestyle. While we juggle between family, household chores, and official deadlines, little do we realize the important role of sleep in our daily functioning and how sleep deprivation can affect us, both physically and mentally. It, therefore, goes without saying that a good sleep is very essential for our overall good health and well-being.

The Goodness of Sleep

A good night's sleep or a midday nap can benefit us more than we think.

· A good sleep increases memory and learning ability. A process called memory consolidation happens at sleep. This is the process through which a newly acquired knowledge or skill gets registered into one's memory. Studies have revealed that people who have had enough sleep performed better on memory tasks than others. A good sleep also increases concentration and helps one think faster. It also clears the memory of unneeded or unimportant experiences. With clarity of thought, one's decision making skills also get better.

· Several important body processes occur during sleep. Studies have revealed that there is increased production of body cells and decreased breakdown of protein while sleeping. Sleep also induces the release of growth hormones. These hormones boost growth in children and muscles in young adults. Hormones that aid in maturation and reproductive processes are also released during sleep. A good sleep repairs the body cells from damages caused by stress and UV rays.

How Sleep Deprivation Can Affect You

1. Lack of sleep alters immune function. It reduces the body's ability to ward off infections. Hence, it makes you more prone to various diseases.

2. Sleep deprivation can affect heart health. Insufficient sleep causes high blood pressure, release of stress hormones, and irregular heart beat. These can, in turn, trigger a host of heart problems, including heart attack.

3. Children who sleep less can have troubles with hyperactivity and decreased attention. This directly impacts their performance in school.

4. Irritability, moodiness, and lack of concentration are other outcomes of sleep deprivation.

5. Lack of sleep affects your biological clock (or circadian rhythm). This internal body clock makes us sleep during the night and keeps us awake during the day. A disturbance in the circadian rhythm can cause sleep disorders like inability to fall asleep and stay asleep during the night. This results in extreme drowsiness during the day and can cause road accidents while driving. It also impacts one's performance at work.

6. Reduced sleep leads to increased appetite, and this eventually results in weight gain.

7. Chronic sleep debt can cause anxiety and push a person into depression.

Considering the above factors, it is quite evident that sleep plays a major role in our day-today functioning. Therefore, it is essential that we establish a good sleep routine and do all that is required to get a good night's sleep.

These Are the Best Songs to Help You Sleep, According to Science

Music can make you laugh, make you cry, give you chills, shake your booty, or—as anyone who has ever attended an evening performance at the symphony knows too well—put you to sleep. Emerging research from sleep scientists around the world says that there’s a good reason for this, and now you can exploit it to make your own bedtime even cozier.

Music has been used in healing ceremonies for thousands of years and across cultures—but let’s talk about a surprising new study out of Hong Kong. Researchers found that study participants who listened to music for 30 to 45 minutes before bed every night for three months fell asleep more quickly, slept more deeply, and felt better the next morning. The catch: The songs they listened to were all set at tempos between 60 and 80 beats per minute—our approximate heart rate when falling asleep. (Here are more secrets for a deeper sleep.)

That’s right: You can literally trick your body into relaxing by syncing your heart rate with peaceful music. In this way, listening to music becomes a form of meditation; by mindfully listening to your surroundings, your heart rate slows, your blood pressure lowers, your anxiety abates, and life becomes a peaceful song. (You can also try this 15-minute mindfulness meditation for sleep.)

Of course, the same is true of energetic music: The Royal Automobile Club Foundation for Motoring ranked Wagner’s “Ride of The Valkyries” as the world’s most dangerous song for motorists, thanks to a frenzied tempo (nearly 100 bpm) that challenges drivers’ normal sense of speed. (Saying “Sorry, officer, I was just Wagner-ing” probably is not a magic phrase to get you out of a speeding ticket.)

Armed with findings about the irresistible link between backbeat and heartbeat, sleep therapists have even begun collaborating with musicians to create what could become known to history as the chillest music ever. In 2011, the English trio known as Marconi Union worked with the British Academy of Sound Therapy to create an eight-minute instrumental track called “Weightless,” designed to lull the listener into relaxation through proven heart-rate-lowering sounds and tempos (beginning at 60 bpm, and stealthily slowing to 50 bpm by the end.)

And it worked, too. In a recent UK study, participants challenged with solving difficult puzzles while listening to various types of music showed a whopping 65 per cent reduction in anxiety (and therefore an improvement in performance) while listening to “Weightless.” (That pretty much makes “Weightless” the anti-Valkyrie.) As an addendum, study moderator Dr. David Lewis-Hodgson of Mindlab International even said: “I would advise against driving while listening to the song because it could be dangerous.”

How to Overcome Sleep Problem

Sleep problems can interrupt your regular sleeping patterns and cause sleeping disorders like insomnia. While sleep doctors can help you overcome any sleeping problems, there are various ways to improve the quality of your sleep on your own.

First, identify your sleep patterns and symptoms.

Difficulty falling or staying asleep means you have insomnia. Individuals with insomnia may wake up frequently in the middle of the night and find it hard to go back to sleep. You may also wake up too early in the morning or sleep too late at night, leading to inadequate and poor quality.

Other people may only sleep before morning and wake up at noon. This is called delayed phase disorder. The condition is more of an acquired pattern rather than a true disorder.

Self-help for insomnia and other sleep problems

Simple changes in your lifestyle can improve the quality of your sleep.

Exercise regularly. It is known that stress and fatigue affects a person's quality of sleep. Working out regularly de-stresses the body and improves blood circulation, leading to a more restful sleep. By exercising habitually, you can alter your sleeping patterns leading to a more regular and peaceful night sleep.

Cut off from caffeine. Caffeinated drinks like coffee, soda, chocolate, and even tea can cause sleep problem. If you can't cut off the caffeine entirely, reduce intake throughout the day. Avoid intake of caffeinated drinks at night as well.

Avoid too much light exposure two to three hours before bedtime. Light-emitting appliances and devices like television, computer monitors, and mobile phones activate your brain's mechanism and interrupt your circadian rhythm or biological clock. This in turn leads to poor sleep and even changes your patterns.

Keep your room cool, dark, and quiet. Darkness triggers your biological clock and informs your brain to rest. This happens naturally every night, as less light also affects the circadian rhythm. Also keep your room comfortably cool as extreme temperature can cause discomfort, which can then lead to poor sleep quality. Environmental noise should also be blocked as it can interfere with the restful sleep.

Maintain a regular schedule. Most people require at least seven hours of sleep every night to wake up refreshed and productive in the morning. If you work at night, make sure that regularly and peacefully in the morning. Alteration of your regular schedule can affect your pattern and lead to insomnia.

Avoid taking medications like sleeping pills. While sleeping pills can solve a problem, it must be taken only under a doctor's supervision. Pills are only temporary solution to insomnia and do not cure the problem altogether. In addition, taking pills regularly can cause dependence where you cannot without medications. Pills should also be taken only if you have enough time to sleep. Otherwise, you can get up with a headache and feel drowsy next day.

If you only have insomnia and do not have other sleeping disorder, following these simple lifestyle changes tips can help you to get a good night sleep. However, if you are suffering from sleep disorders like narcolepsy and sleep apnea, consult with your doctor immediately.

Bedtime social media use may be harming UK teenagers, study says

Teenagers in Britain may be putting their health and education at risk by spending too much time on social media at bedtime, according to a major study into adolescent sleep habits.

More than a third of teenagers spent at least three hours a day on social media, with a fifth devoting at least five hours to the activity, researchers found. Those who were on social media for three hours or more daily were most likely to get to sleep late.

Going to sleep late on school nights was a particular concern, researchers said, because it put teenagers at risk of “poorer academic and emotional outcomes”. Insufficient sleep in adolescence has been linked to a range of mental health problems, obesity and poor performance at school.

According to the study, the heaviest social media users also woke most in the night, a problem that may be driven, or exacerbated, by teenagers’ sleep being disturbed by notifications and the temptation to continue online conversations into the early hours.

Scientists at the University of Glasgow released the findings in a preliminary report that has yet to be peer reviewed and published in a journal. The report calls for support for young people to help them find a balance between social media and a good night’s rest, particularly on school nights.

“With the majority of adolescents reporting insufficient sleep to function properly or to meet recommended guidelines, there is growing concern that social media may be a contributing factor for today’s teenagers,” the researchers write.

Heather Woods, a psychologist at Glasgow, analysed data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study, a nationally representative survey that aims to explore the impact of home life on child and adolescent development. The study focused on data from nearly 12,000 children aged 13 to 15 from across the UK.

According to the report, the average teenager spent one to three hours on social media every day. A third, mostly boys, spent less than an hour a day on the sites. Social media use was classed as “high” for 14% who were on for three to five hours, and “very high” for 21% who were on for five or more hours. Girls were far more likely than boys to be heavy users, with 28% in the five hours plus group compared with only 14% of boys.

The study does not blame social media for sleep deprivation in teenagers, but those in the “high” and “very high” use categories were 17% and 68% respectively more likely to fall asleep after 11pm on school nights than similar teenagers in the “average” category. Both groups were more prone to rising late, after 8am, on school days.

Those who hardly used social media were least likely to fall asleep late or oversleep in the morning, suggesting that minimal use was best for a good night’s rest.

Social media was also linked to poorer sleep quality, with the most avid users waking more in the night. Teenagers in the high and very high use groups were 7% and 28% more likely to report being awake at least “a good bit of the time” compared with average users. However, the study cannot rule out that broken sleep drives night-time social media use rather than the other way around.

Similarly, the trend for the heaviest social media users to go to sleep late may be down to teenagers who naturally fall asleep late using social media in bed until they feel tired. But the activity may also drive sleep loss, particularly on school nights, when it has to be crammed into night-time hours, and when routine tasks such as homework get done later because people are busy checking social media.

Holly Scott of the University of Glasgow, first author of the study, said: “We found that teenagers who spent more time using social media were more likely to fall asleep late on school nights. Although they also tended to wake up later, school start times meant they still were unlikely to get the hours of sleep they need on school nights.”

Other experts also raised concerns. “Given that on school days, young people tend to wake up by 8am, those who fall asleep later are more likely to have experienced fewer hours of sleep, and there is clear evidence that lack of sleep is related to physical and psychological issues,” said Bob Patton, a lecturer in clinical psychology at the University of Surrey. “The disturbed sleep experienced by those using social media for five or more hours a day will compound this further.”

But Andrew Przybylski, director of research at the Oxford Internet Institute, said the findings did not justify new restrictions on social media use. “The effects aren’t huge. A kid who is on Instagram for eight hours a day gets about half an hour less sleep than one who’s not using it,” he said. “This research is really good raw material for scientists to consider when we design studies, but it is not sufficient to change course.”

We Really Do Need Our Beauty Sleep After All

Eat right, get enough exercise, get the right beauty products, take the right vitamins and your health your weight and your appearance will be what you want them to be. That sums up the common wisdom on this subject. However, this formula leaves out a very important piece of the good health puzzle. Believe it or not that piece is sleep.

Sleep disorder contributes to and can even be the cause of health problems. It can be a major factor in someone becoming obese or in a person's failure to lose weight. Sleeplessness, or poor quality sleep also contributes to skin problems.

Adequate sleep plays a major role in our health and general well-being. This is not open for debate. We have known for a time that good sleep was important, but now we know why. Scientists and researchers have demonstrated in various studies several different ways that poor sleep affects our health.

Sleep deprivation affects the metabolism and the body's ability to process glucose. Sleep deprived persons from one study needed to produce thirty percent more insulin in order to properly absorb the glucose into their bodies. It was demonstrated that it was possible to develop Type II Diabetes as a result of inadequate sleep alone.

Poor sleep contributes to obesity.

First, Leptin levels are affected by inadequate sleep. Leptin is a regulatory hormone that helps control appetite. So guess what? Yes, you are right.

When sleeplessness leads to unbalanced Leptin levels over eating follows which leads to, or prevents our successfully fighting, obesity.

A second way in which sleep deprivation can contribute to obesity is because the body experiences sleeplessness as a form of stress. In fact your body perceives poor sleep the same way that it perceives hunger.

What do you do when you are hungry? You eat; many people do the same thing when over tired. This connection between poor sleep and obesity was confirmed by one recent study. Commissioned by Estee Lauder, that showed 23% of the participants who slept well were obese. Forty four percent of those study participants who were sleep deprived fell into the obese category.

Inadequate sleep causes skin problems.

This is because one of the purposes of sleep is for our growth hormone to increase. Its job is to repair and replace damaged cells. Another function of good sleep is that Cortisol levels go down. Cortisol is a steroid hormone which is associated with the adrenal gland.

The growth hormone, along with its cellular duties, is supposed to help keep the Cortisol levels down. The result of this imbalance is that our collagen, the structural level of the skin, is weakened. This leads to all sorts of skin problems including wrinkles, slow healing wounds, and even in some cases skin cancer.

We know that we need adequate rest, but what is it? How should someone feel if they are well rested? What are some of the causes of sleep deprivation?

Our sleep is sufficient if we feel well rested the next morning. That may sound simplistic, but the truth is the exact amount of time that we need to sleep in order to achieve that goal of restfulness will vary.

The consensus among experts seems to be that adults need seven or eight hours of sleep each night. That will still vary from person to person. If you sleep without waking for eight hours yet continually wake each morning without energy, you may need nine hours of sleep each night.

Use the recommended amounts as a guideline, but judge the adequacy of your sleep by how you feel the next day.

Sleep deprivation problems can be placed in two different categories.

First there are the problems which arise from our own life choices.

These could be positive choices in their own right. For instance we might be trying to accomplish a goal like excelling in school or earning a degree.

We may have been pressured by circumstances of life to take work that requires long hours. If our children are very young we may very well experience sleeplessness for a time.

Some of the choices that lead to sleep deprivation may not be so positive. If we are choosing to stay up to watch television, or go on the internet, or go out with friends, we can't really blame anyone, but ourselves now can we?

The second category of sleep deprivation is insomnia.

We generally think of insomnia as the inability to fall asleep, it includes that, certainly, but it is more useful to think of insomnia as the inability to get the quality of the sleep we need.

You might not lie awake staring at the ceiling for hours at a time, like we often picture the typical insomniac, but you might wake every hour or two and never be able to get into the deep sleep your mind and body need.

We often think of insomnia as being caused by anxiousness and worry. That can certainly be true. It brings to mind an old proverb, 'only a fool lies awake worrying about all his problems because in the morning the problems are still there and he's exhausted besides.

If you are suffering from insomnia or other sleep problems the solution will depend on the cause. For example, if You only get five hours of sleep each night because of Your job You might consider developing a plan that will allow You to get the training You need to qualify for a job which will fit in better with the rest of Your life.

Maybe it means taking work with less pay and giving up something to make it work. We are driven, desperate people who work for driven desperate people and things like adequate sleep are often sacrificed to this cultural phenomenon.

Lifestyle changes can sometimes go a long way to increasing the quality of your sleep. We have already discussed not consuming caffeine or nicotine too late in the day. Late naps are also to be avoided. In fact naps in general should be avoided, as they will throw the body's natural cycles off track. If you must nap do it before the afternoon has progressed too far and limit it to a half hour or less.

Some issues may require outside help. If you suspect you have sleep apnea, you certainly need to consult a professional. If you wake frequently to go to the bathroom you may have a health problem which needs attention. If you continually worry so much you can't sleep some type of counseling may be called for.

There are some other tricks and approaches that can help you get adequate sleep. For example, make sure your room is not too bright or hot. If you work at night wear sunglasses on your way home, and make sure you have dark shades in your room to help your body accept this is sleeping time.

If you wake up in the middle of the night don't lie there, get up and do something and then go back to sleep.

Another strategy is to try, as much as possible, to keep your sleep time on schedule. When it's time to get up do so and when it's time to go to bed, do so. Your body and mind should eventually get the idea that this time is for sleeping.

Sleep, nutrition, and exercise are each legs on the three legged stool of good physical health and mental well-being. The three are interrelated in ways we are only just beginning to understand. Just as sleep can affect the other two, poor nutrition and lack of exercise can contribute to poor sleep.

Be a doer, not just a reader. You know that sleep is important. You know that getting sufficient sleep should not be a treat that we reward ourselves with once or twice a week.

You know it is important to our appearance, our health, and our relationships with others. Don't just absorb that knowledge, do something about it.

Take the time to take stock of your sleep habits. Are you getting the rest you need? If so fine, but if you need to make changes in your life to get the sleep you need, make them. Don't put it off another night.