Sleep Hygiene - The Healthy Habits of Good Sleep"

Good “hygiene” is anything that helps you to have a healthy life. The idea behind sleep hygiene is the same as dental hygiene. Dental hygiene helps you stay healthy by keeping your teeth and gums clean and strong. Sleep hygiene helps you stay healthy by keeping your mind and body rested and strong. Following these tips will help you sleep better and feel your best.

Dental hygiene can even be a part of your sleep hygiene. It is easier for you to fall asleep at night if you have bedtime “rituals.” These are things that you do every night just before going to bed. Brushing and flossing your teeth is a good example of this kind of ritual. Both your dentist and your doctor will approve if you do this every night.

Here are some tips for how you can improve your sleep hygiene:

1. Don’t go to bed unless you are sleepy.
   If you are not sleepy at bedtime, then do something else. Read a book, listen to soft music or browse through a magazine. Find something relaxing, but not stimulating, to take your mind off of worries about sleep. This will relax your body and distract your mind.



2. If you are not asleep after 20 minutes, then get out of the bed.
   Find something else to do that will make you feel relaxed. If you can, do this in another room. Your bedroom should be where you go to sleep. It is not a place to go when you are bored. Once you feel sleepy again, go back to bed.



3. Begin rituals that help you relax each night before bed.
   This can include such things as a warm bath, light snack or a few minutes of reading.



4. Get up at the same time every morning.
   Do this even on weekends and holidays.



5. Get a full night’s sleep on a regular basis.
   Get enough sleep so that you feel well-rested nearly every day.



6. Avoid taking naps if you can.
   If you must take a nap, try to keep it short (less than one hour). Never take a nap after 3 p.m.



7. Keep a regular schedule.
   Regular times for meals, medications, chores, and other activities help keep the inner body clock running smoothly.



8. Don’t read, write, eat, watch TV, talk on the phone, or play cards in bed.
   
   
9. Do not have any caffeine after lunch.
   
   
10. Do not have a beer, a glass of wine, or any other alcohol within six hours of your bedtime.
    
    
11. Do not have a cigarette or any other source of nicotine before bedtime.
    
    
12. Do not go to bed hungry, but don’t eat a big meal near bedtime either.
    
    
13. Avoid any tough exercise within six hours of your bedtime.
    You should exercise on a regular basis, but do it earlier in the day. (Talk to your doctor before you begin an exercise program.)



14. Avoid sleeping pills, or use them cautiously.
    Most doctors do not prescribe sleeping pills for periods of more than three weeks. Do not drink alcohol while taking sleeping pills.



15. Try to get rid of or deal with things that make you worry.
    If you are unable to do this, then find a time during the day to get all of your worries out of your system. Your bed is a place to rest, not a place to worry.



16. Make your bedroom quiet, dark, and a little bit cool.
    An easy way to remember this: it should remind you of a cave. While this may not sound romantic, it seems to work for bats. Bats are champion sleepers. They get about 16 hours of sleep each day. Maybe it’s because they sleep in dark, cool caves.

The Signs and Causes of Sleep Deprivation

Sleep deprivation and sleep disorders are becoming a standard way of 21st century life, with approximately 25% of US citizens taking sleeping pills or other sleep-inducing medication to help them nod off each night. We all know that even two hours less sleep a night makes a huge difference to the way we feel in the short term, but what about long term too?

Babies and teenagers need the longest night's sleep of all humans and the elderly need the least. There's a simple answer to why this is and it's directly linked to what sleep actually does for us. When we are unconscious our brain repairs itself and the nervous system too. Because babies and teenagers are going through a period of intense growth (especially babies whose nervous systems are still developing) they need to sleep a great deal and they even have different sleep patterns to adults.

Sadly for adults it's a baby's different sleeping patterns and different feeding routine that causes sleep deprivation, especially with infants under 6 months. Then again with teenagers, their reluctance to come home at the specified time means parents are awake and worrying until the unsightly hours of the morning. While this doesn't have such a devastating effect as it might on a young infant, sleep deprivation can cause depression and mood disorders in the short term and increased susceptibility to serious health conditions in the long term. /even our immune systems don't get a chance to recharge so we may find ourselves catching colds and stomach bugs more often.

This area of science and cognitive psychology is certainly not one that's been neglected. Studies have linked low levels of sleep with high risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. Then again, our stress levels have been rising on the whole and this affects CHD, diabetes and high blood pressure too. Is there a link? Most probably! While parents and primary caregivers might suffer from sleep deprivation they may benefit from a calmer and less demanding lifestyle, compared to business managers who are constantly struggling against deadlines and keeping disgruntled employees happy. Couple going home and lying in bed awake worrying about a meeting in the morning with a poor diet of fast food and takeaways to save time and you have a recipe for disaster in later life.

It makes sense to conclude that while sleep deprivation is less than ideal, it has also been proven to not hurt a great deal. A study of over one million US citizens showed that those who got 6 or 7 hours sleep a night rather than 8 actually had a longer life span. So if we're losing a couple of hours sleep every night we should try and make sure it's for the right reasons. Of course, the ironic thing is that lying in bed worrying about not getting enough sleep is still the worst thing to do. Our advice is to get up, read a book and snack on a healthy banana until you drop off naturally.

Exercises to Stop Snoring

Most people snore when they are in deep sleep. Snoring is believed to be basically as part of sleep so it is just an accepted as it is. However, medical studies have shown some concern that snoring, especially snoring too heavily during sleep may be harmful to a person’s health. In lieu of this condition, snoring exercises have been recommended to prevent or at least lessen snoring during sleep.

Snoring happens due to some obstruction in the air passage while asleep. The heavy breathing during sleep causes the soft palate in the mouth to make the snoring sound. In addition to this, the tongue adds more to the snoring sound when it naturally rolls back a little towards the air passage. The other obstructions may be due to a stuffy nose, tensed throat and the incorrect position of the jaw while asleep.

There are practical exercises recommended to stop snoring or at least lessen it.

• Pretend that you are chewing a gum. The chewing exercises your mouth, tongue and jaws. Do this for about a minute and as daily as you can.

• Try to protrude the lower jaw over the upper jaw with your teeth showing while in this protruding position. Make a count of ten and try to do this exercise 5-10 times a day.

• Open the mouth as wide as you can for a few seconds then close making sure the lips are tightly closed together.

• Bring your lips together as if blowing a kiss and hold this position for about 5 seconds then relax. Repeat at least 5 times on a daily basis.

• Make an exaggerated smile with your mouth and hold this position for about 5 seconds then relax.

• Pretend that you are sipping some juice as this is also a good exercise for the jaw.

• Do this in front of the mirror to properly do it. Put your tongue out and stretch as far as you can, make sure that it stays straight. Then move the tongue left and right touching the corners of the lips.

• With your hand on the jaw, open the mouth wide and put enough pressure on the lower jaw that you can handle. Hold for a count of 5 then relax. Try this exercise as many times as you can.

Doctors have recommended some more mouth and tongue exercises that would be helpful to prevent snoring.

• The tongue is exercised by saying this phrase at least 10-20 times before going to sleep. "The lips, the teeth, the tip of the tongue" saying it over and over like a tongue twister.

• Say the surprise expressions of "ah-oh" or "ahh" with some exaggeration of being surprised.

Coupled with the above snoring exercises is the practice of eating healthy and observing a healthy life style. Snoring is also heavily attributed to being overweight, too much drinking of alcohol, smoking and stress-related activities.

Also, for further information to prevent snoring, it would be better if you sleep on your stomach or make it a habit to sleep sideways. Propping up your neck with 2 or 3 pillows would help stop snoring.

How to Cure Snoring and Snorting

Snoring and snorting are often the common problems which anyone can have while asleep. These are usually caused by blockage in the air passage in the throat. This condition poses a problem to the health of a person if left untreated. Most medical practitioners have come up with different methods to prevent and cure these sleep problems.

• One of the highly recommended ways is to lose weight by having a well balanced diet combined with regular exercise. Avoiding smoking and too much alcohol is also advised.

• Making a habit of eating a light dinner would help prevent snoring as well. There are also stop snoring exercises and herbal diets which are effective to prevent and cure snoring.

• There are products to prevent snoring and these are considered as temporary cures until the snoring is fully stopped. Doctors may recommend the use of nasal sprays or nasal strips and other nasal breathing products to prevent snoring. These products help the person breath through the nose and not through the mouth. Thus, making snorting sounds from heavy snoring would be prevented.

• There are also mouth pieces that prevent the tongue from blocking the air passage in the mouth and throat. These are usually recommended by dentists who would do some medical check-up on the person.

• Then, there are the prescribed medicines which would help prevent snoring. These prescribed medicines are Nasonex and Loratadine 10 mg which are both good to open up nasal air passages to stop snoring and snorting while asleep.

• The sleeping habits of the person should also be changed for the better if these habits are causes of the snoring and snorting problems. A supportive pillow can be used to properly position the neck for a good sleeping position. It would also be better if the person makes it a habit to sleep sideways as well as sleeping on the stomach to prevent snoring.

• Some doctors recommend doing some steaming before sleeping. Steaming helps clear the nasal and throat passages so the breathing pattern is just right enough to prevent snoring.

• The use of a humidifier especially during the hot season is recommended to have enough moisture in the bedroom. The moisture would eventually make a relaxing way to sleep and prevent snoring as well.

People with more severe cases of snoring and snorting may as well have a full medical check-up with the doctor. A severe case is usually known as sleep apnea which can be a danger to one’s health. This condition is often described as snoring heavily with some gasping for breath in between or normal breathing stops for a few seconds, but then breathing goes normal again due to the person suddenly awaking due to snorting sounds made or sudden movements in the sleeping position.

The last resort to eventually cure snoring and snorting is thru some medical procedures where excess tissue in the throat would have to be taken out. This can be done through medical surgery or laser surgery.

Can Food Really Cause You to Lose Sleep?

There may be some show of concern about some foods that affect sleep. Good food – a well balanced diet and sleep are both needed to maintain a healthy life style. If a person is not getting the proper sleep that the body needs, it is natural to find out the reasons why such problem exists. If a health problem such as illness is ruled out, then the focus has to be on the food that the person eats.

It has been often said that moderation is the key to a healthy body. It has been proven that coffee or foods which contain caffeine should be avoided as much as possible. Too much of it is bad to your health. The same foods such as chocolate, tea, sodas or some medications that contain caffeine or some addictive additives contribute to loss of sleep.

Maybe it would be wise to remember some other foods that can affect sleep. One is eating meat – beef or pork which takes harder to digest especially if these are eaten a few hours before sleeping. Foods highly rich in fats, starches, oil and sweets like pizza, pasta, corn, bread, hamburger and fries should be avoided or at least eaten in moderation, because these can affect the digestive process. Foods heavy in sugar like pies, cookies and cakes also have negative effects to the digestive system of the body. If the digestive process does not function properly it would lead to constipation, gas, bloating or indigestion. Then because of this condition, the person would eventually experience loss of sleep.

We normally have to watch out what we eat, because the food that we take in can affect the liver and the colon which are two important internal organs of the body. These internal parts of the body if not functioning properly would cause sleep loss.

The practice of improper diet makes the person overweight; thus the person who is overweight has problems of sleep loss because of health conditions brought about by the excess weight.

It would be wise not to go to bed hungry. Just eat a light meal and be sure that the time of eating is not too near to the sleeping hours you have in mind. Remember to avoid big and heavy meals during night time. It takes time for foods to digest, so be always conscious of the eating time and the amounts of food that you eat.

There are certain foods that lead to loss of sleep. All we need to do is to remember most of them so we don’t have to encounter problems in our sleeping habits. Just always think of a well-balanced diet of fresh fruits and vegetables, fish and some white meat like chicken, and you’ll be fine. Drink more water instead of coffee, tea or sodas. Choosing healthy foods can be good as it contributes to good sleep.

Routine as a Natural Sleep Aid

There are hundreds, probably even thousands of different natural sleep aids available, marketed as being safe and genuine. The problem with these is that they are unregulated by the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) and we can never be sure whether they will do us more harm than good. Luckily, we can implement routine into our lives as a way of inducing sleep, without ever needing to swallow or smell any particular herbal substances.

One natural sleep aid to consider should be improving sleep hygiene. This doesn't mean washing your bedsheets once and months and wearing clean pajamas (although this might help a little), but rather that you regulate the time that you go to bed, make sure you don't have a television on in the bedroom, a laptop running or pets coming in and out to disturb you. Sleep hygiene incorporates things like never working in your bedroom as you'll be in a working state of mind as you try and sleep. Also, try to have a constant supply of fresh air and remove any allergens. Quite simply your bedroom should be associated with sleep, comfort and sex if you are active, but never work or anything stressful as this will keep you awake. Routine is a vital part of sleep hygiene too, as small cues that it's 'time for bed' trick your brain into producing melatonin; the hormone that induces sleep. One of the best things to do here is have a warm bath, followed by a mug of warm milk or hot chocolate whilst reading a book. Baths cause our core temperature to rise, but then drop dramatically about an hour after getting out, to the temperature that makes us feel sleepy. Warm milky drinks then also make us feel calm and tired, whilst reading a book takes our mind off daily stresses. It makes sense in this way that you should avoid activities you normally do as part of your morning routine, such as having a shower, walking the dog or drinking coffee.

While exercise is generally frowned upon right before bed as it wakes you up, sex is a far better option that will keep you fit and help you get a good night's sleep. Clinical studies have proven that when both men and women orgasm, their brains produce endorphins (hormones) which make you both happy and sleepy. The effects of these hormones may be very temporary, but they're often strong enough to induce sleep quite quickly so that the 'waiting to fall asleep' period is considerably shorter.

If you are living without routine then it makes sense that your body never knows when it should be sleeping. Humans are built to sleep best when it is dark and be most active when it's light, with one short period of sleepiness during the day (the circadian dip, at around 2 pm, lasting around 40 minutes). For this reason it's a good idea to follow this pattern, but if you have problems sleeping at night try not to nap during the day. If you still experience insomnia then you should visit your doctor for further advice.

Is the Common Cold Easy to Catch?

Here we look at some frequently asked questions, such as "Is the common cold easy to catch?" and "What is the best common cold diet?" The news today said that the cold and flu season has arrived. Teachers are already beginning to see absences due to colds. It is estimated that 22 million school days are lost every year to the common cold.

Is the common cold easy to catch?

The short answer is "yes". Hundreds of different viruses can cause common cold symptoms. One of them, the rhinovirus, can remain active on skin and other surfaces for as long as three hours. The virus is present in the nasal secretions of infected people, so when that person sneezes, coughs or wipes their nose, the viruses enter the air, land on surfaces and get picked up by other people. Hand washing removes the viruses and if you wash your hands before you touch your face, mouth or eyes, then you are less likely to become infected with them. You can still inhale them, if you are around a sick person, who does not cover their mouth when sneezing or coughing, but in most cases, we probably get them on our hands and then transfer them to our noses.

What is the best common cold diet?

Foods that make you feel better, like warm soups and herbal teas. You should increase fluid intake during a cold. Fruit juices may be helpful, because levels of vitamin C in the bloodstream decrease significantly during an infection. The immune system needs adequate amounts of vitamin C to fight infection. Good nutrition is always important, but people who do not get there recommended daily allowance of vitamins, minerals and trace elements typically do not recover as quickly from minor infections like the common cold and may develop complications like sinus and ear infections. There is no medical evidence that the old saying that you should "feed a cold" is true, so it is not necessary to force the kids to eat, if they don't feel like it. Do encourage them to drink whatever fluids they can, tempt them with warm cocoa or chicken soup.

Is there a common cold diet for prevention?

Good nutrition obviously plays a role in overall good health. The best common cold diet is the same diet that you would follow year round. The American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association recommends a diet that is rich in fruits and vegetables, low in fats, oils and sugars. Treat meat like a side dish and choose beans and other vegetables that are high in protein, low in fat. Eat oatmeal and other whole grains. Read the ingredients in processed foods to be sure what you are eating. Take a daily multi-vitamin as insurance, not instead of eating a healthy diet.

Is the common cold easy to catch because of the weather?

There is no evidence that cold weather causes more colds. People who live in cold climates do not have more colds than those who do not.

Is the common cold easy to catch if you have other medical conditions?

Asthmatics are particularly susceptible to colds and scientists are investigating the reason for this. Recently it was learned that those people who suffer from asthma produce less anti-viral proteins than normal. These anti-viral proteins are produced by the immune system, thus natural products that increase or improve immune system responses may help.