Category: Sleep

Are you losing your memory or is it your lifestyle

13/4/2018

Image courtesy of http://healthhub.brighamandwomens.org/

We all forget things to do from time-to-time. For some of us, memory issues affect us more than others. Whilst it is perfectly natural to forget to do things, it can be frustrating if it is something that occurs on a regular basis. Yes, there is a growing concern about the usefulness of our memory, especially as we get older.

Let's discuss what causes memory loss, and from there we can move onto what can be done to help with this condition.

Firstly, like with most things, your lifestyle, diet, habits and career will all play a part in your overall health, including how healthy your memory is. Having a stressful job combined with a poor diet, lack of exercise and limited exposure to daylight will all contribute to long-term memory loss.

Many medical problems can cause memory loss or other dementia-like symptoms. Most of these conditions can be treated. Your doctor can screen you for conditions that cause reversible memory impairment.

Possible causes of reversible memory loss include [1]:

Medications. Certain medications or a combination of medications can cause forgetfulness or confusion.
Minor head trauma or injury. A head injury from a fall or accident, even if you don't lose consciousness, can cause memory problems.
Emotional disorders. Stress, anxiety or depression can cause forgetfulness, confusion, difficulty concentrating and other problems that disrupt daily activities.
Alcoholism. Chronic alcoholism can seriously impair mental abilities. Alcohol can also cause memory loss by interacting with medications.
Vitamin B-12 deficiency. Vitamin B-12 helps maintain healthy nerve cells and red blood cells. A vitamin B-12 deficiency, common in older adults, can cause memory problems.
Hypothyroidism. An underactive thyroid gland (hypothyroidism) can result in forgetfulness and other thinking problems.
Brain diseases. A tumor or infection in the brain can cause memory problems or other dementia-like symptoms.

Sleep apnea could also be a cause of memory loss. This common but treatable sleep disorder causes breathing to stop briefly and frequently throughout the night. It is linked to memory loss and dementia, according to Constantine Lyketsos, MD, director of the Memory and Alzheimer's Treatment Center at Johns Hopkins Medicine and professor and chair of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Bayview. You might have sleep apnea if you wake up with a headache and have daytime fatigue, or if your partner complains of loud snoring.

When not treated, sleep apnea affects spatial navigational memory, found a study published in The Journal of Neuroscience. This type of memory includes being able to remember directions or where you put things like your keys. The research suggests that deep sleep, also known as rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, plays an important role in memory.

One explanation is that for people with sleep apnea, oxygen delivery to the brain is interrupted several hundred times during the night, explains Dr. Lyketsos. “The brain is stressed, so people wake up,” he says. The injury sleep apnea causes can show up as a variety of memory loss symptoms, he adds [2].

Other causes of memory loss could be are not limited to the following:

Hypoglycemia (low-blood sugar)
Hypercalcemia (too much calcium)
Lead poisoning
Depression
General lack of sleep

As can be seen, there are a number of things that can cause memory loss. It could be a combination of some of the things mentioned above or one of those things that is severe enough to cause the memory loss on its own.

I’m not going to discuss Dementia or Alzheimer's in this article, as they are very complex topics that will be discussed in future articles and given the time and research they deserve.

So now we know what are the main causes of repairable memory loss, what can we do to reverse the process and have our memory as sharp as possible? Lets us list below:

Eat right: The foods you eat and don't eat, play a crucial role in your memory. Fresh vegetables are essential, as are healthy fats and avoiding sugar and grain carbohydrates. For instance, curry, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, and walnuts contain antioxidants and other compounds that protect your brain health and may even stimulate the production of new brain cells [3].
Have a brain workout: By the time you’ve reached adulthood, your brain has developed millions of neural pathways that help you process and recall information quickly, solve familiar problems, and execute familiar tasks with a minimum of mental effort. But if you always stick to these well-worn paths, you aren’t giving your brain the stimulation it needs to keep growing and developing. You have to shake things up from time to time! Memory, like muscular strength, requires you to “use it or lose it.” The more you work out your brain, the better you’ll be able to process and remember information. But not all activities are equal. The best brain exercises break your routine and challenge you to use and develop new brain pathways [4].
Do physical exercise: While mental exercise is important for brain health, that doesn’t mean you never need to break a sweat. Physical exercise helps your brain stay sharp. It increases oxygen to your brain and reduces the risk for disorders that lead to memory loss, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Exercise also enhances the effects of helpful brain chemicals and reduces stress hormones. Perhaps most importantly, exercise plays an important role in neuroplasticity by boosting growth factors and stimulating new neuronal connections [4].
Stay hydrated: It isn’t just what you eat that affects your memory, it’s also what and how much you drink. Water might just be the best brain tonic. Your brain is 73% water and it takes only 2% dehydration to diminish your memory, attention, and other cognitive skills. To illustrate how easily this can happen, you can lose 10% of your body’s water after a strenuous physical workout. Mild dehydration causes measurable brain shrinkage with adverse effects on concentration, alertness, and short-term memory [5].
Drink alcohol moderately: Red wine has a reputation for being the healthiest alcoholic beverage. It’s a top source of resveratrol, a potent antioxidant isolated and sold as a memory supplement that protects against age-related mental decline. But it may surprise you that moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages in general — wine, beer, champagne or spirits, can positively impact memory. Drinking moderately throughout adulthood protects your memory later in life and significantly decreases your risk of dementia or Alzheimer’s. It seems that what you drink isn’t as important as how much you drink [5].
Write things down: This is an 8-by-10 notebook with a calendar that will help you plan the minutiae of your life. Fill it with your to-do lists for the day, week, and month. Your notebook can become a portable filing cabinet for phone numbers, addresses, birthdays, medical information, phone messages, inspirational thoughts, bridge-playing strategies -- you name it. Carry it with you, or carry a small notepad to jot down information that you later transfer into your notebook. The act of writing something down reinforces it in your memory. And make sure to look at your notebook several times a day [6].
Focus on attention: Attention is one of the major components of memory. In order for information to move from your short-term memory into your long-term memory, you need to actively attend to this information. Try to study in a place free of distractions such as television, music, and other diversions. Getting rid of distractions might be a challenge, especially if you are surrounded by boisterous roommates or noisy children. One thing you can do is to set aside a short period of time to be alone. Ask your roommates to give you some space or ask your partner to take the kids for an hour so you can focus on your work [7].
Read out loud: Research suggests that reading materials out loud significantly improves your memory of the material. Educators and psychologists have also discovered that having students actually teach new concepts to others enhances understanding and recall. You can use this approach in your own studies by teaching new concepts and information to a friend or study partner [7].
Get some sleep: Researchers have long known that sleep is important for memory and learning. Research has shown that taking a nap after you learn something new can actually help you learn faster and remember better. In fact, one study found that sleeping after learning something new actually leads to physical changes in the brain. Sleep-deprived mice experienced less dendritic growth following a learning task than well-rested mice. So the next time you're struggling to learn new information, consider getting a good night's sleep after you study [7].
Get still: “Meditation improves your concentration and focus, which benefits memory,” says Dharma Singh Khalsa, the medical director and the president of the Alzheimer’s Research & Prevention Foundation, in Tucson. In addition, meditation has been shown to reduce stress, which can do a number on memory. “When we’re under stress, our body and brain release hormones such as cortisol, adrenaline, and CRH [corticotropin-releasing hormone], which in short bursts can help us fight or flee danger,” says Tallie Z. Baram, a professor of neurological sciences at the University of California, Irvine. But when you’re stressed-out over long periods of time, these hormones change the structure of the hippocampus, destroying nerve endings involved in information flow. A study released last year showed that subjects who performed a 12-minute chanting meditation once a day for eight weeks saw marked improvement in their memory and increased blood flow in the areas of the brain used in a variety of memory tasks [8].

As can be seen from the list above, by making sensible food and lifestyle changes, you can improve your memory. By making the time and effort to look after your body now, it’ll serve you wonders in the future. Like with most things, consumption or use in moderation is always a sensible approach to undertake.

If you feel you could benefit from guidance on foods to help improve your memory and concentration or require general guidance on nutritional support and how to live a balanced lifestyle please contact me at habs@urbanplatehealth.com or visit my website by going to www.urbanplatehealth.com

References

Memory loss: When to seek help - https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alzheimers-disease/in-depth/memory-loss/art-20046326?pg=2
5 Surprising Causes of Memory Loss - https://www.everydayhealth.com/news/5-surprising-causes-memory-loss/
7 Tricks to Improve Your Memory - https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/04/24/memory-improvement-tricks.aspx
How to Improve Your Memory - https://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-living/how-to-improve-your-memory.htm
36 Proven Ways to Improve Your Memory - https://bebrainfit.com/improve-memory/
Tips for a better memory - https://www.webmd.com/balance/features/tips-for-better-memory
A Look at 11 Methods for Improving Your Memory - https://www.verywellmind.com/great-ways-to-improve-your-memory-2795356
How to Improve Your Memory - https://www.realsimple.com/health/mind-mood/memory/how-to-improve-memory

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Are you feeling tired all the time?

2/12/2017

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Image courtesy of https://multiplesclerosisnewstoday.com

With winter well and truly under way and it being early December, most of us are counting down until the festive season can begin. For most of us, this is a particularly busy and tiring time of year. There seems to be so much to do to ensure deadlines are delivered at work, Christmas parties are planned, presents are bought and the Christmas meal is just perfect. For most, this can be a particularly energy draining time of year.

Just ask anyone you know, they’ll bring up that they are tired. Partly, it's due to the short days and lack of daylight. The other factor is the diet and lifestyle that most are living. With a lack of nutrients in the food being consumed, alcohol consumption going up in December and sleep going down due to late night partying, this all leads to tiredness. But these aren’t the only reason for being tired. Let us explore other reasons that could contribute to tiredness.

Anemia: The fatigue caused by anemia is the result of a lack of red blood cells, which bring oxygen from your lungs to your tissues and cells. You may feel weak and short of breath. Anemia may be caused by an iron or vitamin deficiency, blood loss, internal bleeding, or a chronic disease such as rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, or kidney failure. Women of childbearing age are especially susceptible to iron-deficiency anemia because of blood loss during menstruation and the body's need for extra iron during pregnancy and breastfeeding [1].
Thyroid issues: Hypothyroidism, or low levels of thyroid hormone, can also wreak havoc on your energy levels. This condition may be due to an autoimmune disease in which your immune system attacks your thyroid. While it’s more common in women, it can occur in men and become severe if early symptoms are ignored. Interestingly, low levels of thyroid hormone can lead to low levels of testosterone, linking the two problems and the possibility for experiencing fatigue. Treating low thyroid hormone may improve fatigue as well as other symptoms. Treatment may also help prevent complications like goiter, heart disease, and neuropathy. Hyperthyroidism, or an overactive thyroid, can also cause fatigue due to a racing heart and an overtaxed system [2].
Sleep difficulties: Your fatigue may be due to a lack of sleep or poor sleep quality. You may feel tired if you don’t have good sleep habits, work at night and sleep during the day, or simply skip sleep altogether to get more done. However, you may suffer from a sleep disorder that prevents quality sleep even if you allow enough time for it. Sleep-disordered breathing and sleep apnea can rob you of quality sleep by constantly disrupting your breath. Restless leg syndrome is another disorder that can negatively affect sleep [2].
B12 deficiency: Vitamin B12 is essential for the formation of red blood cells, optimal functioning of nerve tissue, and absorption of folic acid, among other benefits. A deficiency of vitamin B12 typically develops gradually over years, and initial symptoms may be subtle. When someone does not get enough B12, production of red blood cells declines and will eventually result in anemia, if not treated, once the red blood cell count drops too low. Vitamin B12 deficiency may also result in pernicious anemia, a blood disorder in which individuals cannot make enough intrinsic factor (IF) in the stomach. Possible causes of B12 deficiency include Crohn’s disease, short bowel syndrome, atrophic gastritis, weight loss surgery, intestinal parasites, lupus, Graves’ disease, pernicious anemia, following a vegan diet, and chronic alcoholism. Risk of deficiency also increases with age [3].
Addison’s disease: Former US President John F. Kennedy was known to have Addison’s Disease. The youngest US president elected was a symbol of strength, vibrancy and youth. Little did the world know at that time, that he suffered greatly from this disease. Your adrenals are a pair of endocrine glands riding on top of each kidney. They’re responsible for the production of the adrenal hormones, cortisol and aldosterone. Addison’s Disease is an adrenal condition which leads to an insufficient production of adrenal hormones. The most common cause of this disease is an autoimmune response where your immune system attacks your adorable adrenals and renders them incapable of producing enough adrenal hormones. Being tired most of the time is just one of the many symptoms you can experience with this disease [4].
Food hypersensitivities: People who have food hypersensitivities or food intolerance have difficulty digesting certain foods. Food hypersensitivity differs from food allergy, which triggers the immune system and a histamine response, while food hypersensitivity does not. Foods most often associated with food intolerance include grains that contain gluten (e.g., wheat, rye, barley), dairy products, and items that can cause intestinal gas accumulation such as cabbage and beans. Individuals with a food hypersensitivity usually are not bothered by eating tiny amounts of the offending foods, while those who have a food allergy typically respond immediately to even minute amounts [3].
Stress: There’s a difference between feeling physically tired at the end of the day because you worked out at the gym or you have a physically demanding job, and feeling exhausted because of mental stress. Mental exhaustion from stress can be caused by worrying about situations in your life, such as financial worries, relationship problems, or job issues. Chronic stress becomes a way of life, and so does being tired all the time, even when you get an adequate amount of sleep and rest [3].
Other underlying diseases: Numerous underlying diseases or conditions are associated with tiredness or fatigue. If you do not believe any of the aforementioned conditions are the reason for your feeling so tired or exhausted, then you may have an underlying condition. Some of those conditions include but are not limited to asthma, cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Cushing’s disease, diabetes, flu, heart disease, hepatitis, HIV, kidney disease, liver disease, lupus, mononucleosis, pneumonia, rheumatoid arthritis, and urinary tract infection. Lingering tiredness or fatigue should be checked by a healthcare professional [3].

So what can be done to get your energy levels up to an optimum level for you? Well firstly, if you have been feeling a lack of energy and it’s a sudden change, go see your GP or a medical professional. You’ll most likely need a blood test or another medical test to confirm that your basic tests results are normal for you. If they do, then you need to look into other options such as your diet or lifestyle. Let us explore this a little more [5]:

Control your stress: Stress-induced emotions consume huge amounts of energy. Talking with a friend or relative, joining a support group, or seeing a psychotherapist can all help diffuse stress. Relaxation therapies like meditation, self-hypnosis, yoga, and tai chi are also effective tools for reducing stress.
Lighten your load: One of the main reasons for fatigue is overwork. Overwork can include professional, family, and social obligations. Try to streamline your list of "must-do" activities. Set your priorities in terms of the most important tasks. Pare down those that are less important. Consider asking for extra help at work, if necessary.
Exercise: Exercise almost guarantees that you'll sleep more soundly. It also gives your cells more energy to burn and circulates oxygen. And exercising causes your body to release epinephrine and norepinephrine, stress hormones that in modest amounts can make you feel energised. Even a brisk walk is a good start.
Eat for energy: Eating foods with a low glycemic index, whose sugars are absorbed slowly, may help you avoid the lag in energy that typically occurs after eating quickly absorbed sugars or refined starches. Foods with a low glycemic index include whole grains, high-fiber vegetables, nuts, and healthy oils such as olive oil. In general, high-carbohydrate foods have the highest glycemic indexes. Proteins and fats have glycemic indexes that are close to zero.
Limit alcohol: One of the best hedges against the mid-afternoon slump is to avoid drinking alcohol at lunch. The sedative effect of alcohol is especially strong at midday. Similarly, avoid a five o'clock cocktail if you want to have energy in the evening. If you're going to drink, do so in moderation at a time when you don't mind having your energy wind down.
Drink water: What's the only nutrient that has been shown to enhance performance for all but the most demanding endurance activities? It's not some pricey sports drink. It's water. If your body is short of fluids, one of the first signs is a feeling of fatigue.
Don’t skip on sleep: It’s easy to stay up late at night watching tv, talking on the phone, working or socialising. Try and be sensible with your late night and during the festive season save them for the social gatherings you want to attend. Ideally try and get 7-8 hours of sleep at least 5 days of the week during the festive season, more if you can. When you sleep your body does its healing and resting. A lack of sleep over time will not only cause those eye bags to flare up and ruin your instagram pics, but also cause long term tiredness.

The latest scientific research also shows that long term effects of having low energy, that is also one of the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) has detrimental effects on the immune system. One study has shown that CFS that leads to a compromised immune system is a contributing factor to major diseases such as cancer [6].

Caffeine intake should be managed sensibly and you should be avoiding caffeine after 4pm. I would also suggest that you avoid lots of sugar, as you’ll get energy spikes that will throw your body out of balance. I’ll be writing a timely blog on sugar at some point in January 2018!

Other things you can do to improve your energy levels are to ensure you don’t work yourself up over small things, which tends to happen around the festive season. Nothing is ever perfect in life, and if things don’t go to plan it’s not the end of the world. Use the holiday season to recharge and reflect on the year, spend time with friends and family, have fun at parties if that’s your thing, avoid shopping and the stress that comes with it (unless you enjoy it) and be grateful for what you have. Always keep things in perspective, you’ll live a much happier life :-)

If you feel you could benefit from a consultation on boosting your energy levels or require general guidance on nutritional support and how to live a balanced lifestyle please contact me at habs@urbanplatehealth.com or visit my website by going to www.urbanplatehealth.com

References

6 Reasons You're Tired All The Time - https://www.prevention.com/health/why-you-are-always-tired
What Causes Low Energy in Men? - https://www.healthline.com/health/mens-health/what-causes-low-energy-men
16 Reasons Why Your Energy is Low or Depleted - http://naturallysavvy.com/care/16-reasons-why-your-energy-is-low-or-depleted
Feeling tired? Common Causes of Low Energy Levels - http://www.return2health.net/articles/common-causes-low-energy-levels/
9 Tips to Boost Your Energy - https://www.health.harvard.edu/energy-and-fatigue/9-tips-to-boost-your-energy-naturally
More clues link immune system imbalance with chronic fatigue syndrome - http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/07/more-clues-link-immune-system-imbalance-chronic-fatigue-syndrome

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Sleep for a longer life

4/11/2017

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Image courtesy of http://metrifit.com/

Over the years there has been much debate on sleep and how important it is for us all. Why is it that some people can have 4 hours sleep and function normally, whereas I myself need a good 8 hours to function at my best. The answer is simple, we are all unique and our bodies need different amounts of everything. What works for one person, won’t work for everyone else. So next time someone is bragging that they can get by on 4 hours sleep, don’t feel like they are superior to you. You may have other things your body is superior at, such as better skin, more focus, more muscles or a faster metabolism to name a few things.

Why is sleep so important for us? Well, let us discuss what sleep is, what it does for us and why we need it.

Sleep (or at least a physiological period of quiescence) is a highly conserved behavior that occurs in animals ranging from fruit flies to humans. This prevalence notwithstanding, why we sleep is not well understood. Since animals are particularly vulnerable while sleeping, there must be advantages that outweigh this considerable disadvantage. Shakespeare characterized sleep as “nature's soft nurse,” noting the restorative nature of sleep. From a perspective of energy conservation, one function of sleep is to replenish brain glycogen levels, which fall during the waking hours. In keeping with this idea, humans and many other animals sleep at night. Since it is generally colder at night, more energy would have to be expended to keep warm, were we nocturnally active. Furthermore, body temperature has a 24-hour cycle, reaching a minimum at night and thus reducing heat loss. As might be expected, human metabolism measured by oxygen consumption decreases during sleep [1].

Sleep helps your brain work properly. While you're sleeping, your brain is preparing for the next day. It's forming new pathways to help you learn and remember information. Studies show that a good night's sleep improves learning. Whether you're learning math, how to play the piano, how to perfect your golf swing, or how to drive a car, sleep helps enhance your learning and problem-solving skills. Sleep also helps you pay attention, make decisions, and be creative. Sleep plays an important role in your physical health. For example, sleep is involved in healing and repair of your heart and blood vessels. Sleep helps maintain a healthy balance of the hormones that make you feel hungry (ghrelin) or full (leptin). When you don't get enough sleep, your level of ghrelin goes up and your level of leptin goes down. This makes you feel hungrier than when you're well-rested [2].

Sleep also affects how your body reacts to insulin, the hormone that controls your blood glucose (sugar) level. Sleep deficiency results in a higher than normal blood sugar level, which may increase your risk for diabetes. Sleep also supports healthy growth and development. Deep sleep triggers the body to release the hormone that promotes normal growth in children and teens. This hormone also boosts muscle mass and helps repair cells and tissues in children, teens, and adults. Sleep also plays a role in puberty and fertility. Your immune system relies on sleep to stay healthy. This system defends your body against foreign or harmful substances [2].
Before I go through the specific advantages of sleep, I want to outline how the sleep cycle works, as it's important to know this.

While you sleep, you go through cycles of sleep states. The first state in a sleep cycle is light sleep (NREM), followed by deep sleep and a dream state referred to as REM-sleep. NREM stands for Non Rapid Eye Movement and REM stands for Rapid Eye Movement. A full sleep cycle lasts about 90 minutes and is normally repeated several times each night. Let's go through these cycles in detail [3]:

Stage 1 NREM: This stage occurs after you have decided to sleep and your eyes are closed. During this stage—which typically lasts between 1 and 10 minutes—you are lightly asleep, and you can quickly return to being fully awake.

Defining features:

Although you are asleep, you may wake up feeling like you didn’t sleep at all.

Your body’s muscles are not inhibited yet: your eyes roll a little bit and you may slightly open your eyelids.
Your breathing slows down and your heartbeat becomes regular.
Your blood pressure and brain temperature decrease.
The hypnic jerk we sometimes experience when falling asleep, accompanied or not by the sensation of falling down, happens during this stage. Some say it is a vestigial reflex humans developed during the evolutionary process to prevent them from falling off the trees they slept in.

Stage 2 NREM: When NREM Stage 2 sleep kicks in, things get serious!
Defining features:

Stage 2 sleep, which usually lasts about 20 minutes, is characterized by a slowing heart rate and a decrease in body temperature. Your body reduces its activity to prepare you to go into a deep sleep.

It becomes harder to wake you up.
Your brain starts to emit larger waves.
Your blood pressure also decreases, and other metabolic functions slow down too.
The 2 first stages of NREM Sleep together are often referred to as light sleep.

Stage 3 NREM: This sleep stage refers to the combined stages of what was previously separated into Stage 3 & 4 sleep.
Defining features

This stage typically starts 35-45 minutes after falling asleep.
As electroencephalograms show, our brain waves slow down and become larger.
At this point, you sleep through most potential sleep disturbances (noises and movements) without showing any reaction.
If you actually wake up during NREM Stage sleep, there’s a high probability you are going to feel disoriented for the first few minutes.

Stage 4 REM: This is the final stage of a standard sleep cycle. The first Rapid Eye Movement sleep stage lasts around 10 minutes and usually happens after having been asleep at least 90 minutes.
Defining features:

As its name indicates, your eyes move rapidly in all directions during Rapid Eye Movement sleep.
It is during this stage of sleep (the deepest) that powerful dreams usually happen. Same goes for sleepwalking and bedwetting episodes.
This stage is also characterized by an increase of the heart and respiration rates, and their rhythms may become irregular.
REM stages typically get longer and longer as the night goes by, and the last REM stage can last an hour.

REM sleep is also known as “paradoxical sleep.” This is because the brain waves emitted during this stage seem contradictory to sleep: Although you are sleeping, your brain waves look at lot like what can be recorded when you are fully awake. Another aspect of this paradox is the fact that even though your brain shows heightened activity, most of your muscles are paralyzed.

Now that we have seen what sleep actually is and the processes your body goes through on an average sleep cycle, let us see the many benefits of a good night's sleep [4]:

Improved memory: Your mind is surprisingly busy while you snooze. During sleep you can strengthen memories or "practice" skills learned while you were awake (it’s a process called consolidation). "If you are trying to learn something, whether it’s physical or mental, you learn it to a certain point with practice," says Dr. Rapoport, who is an associate professor at NYU Langone Medical Center. "But something happens while you sleep that makes you learn it better."
Live longer: Too much or too little sleep is associated with a shorter lifespan—although it’s not clear if it’s a cause or effect. (Illnesses may affect sleep patterns too.) Sleep also affects quality of life. "Many things that we take for granted are affected by sleep," says Raymonde Jean, MD, director of sleep medicine and associate director of critical care at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City. "If you sleep better, you can certainly live better. It’s pretty clear."
Curb inflammation: Inflammation is linked to heart disease, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, and premature aging. Research indicates that people who get less sleep—six or fewer hours a night—have higher blood levels of inflammatory proteins than those who get more. A 2010 study found that C-reactive protein, which is associated with heart attack risk, was higher in people who got six or fewer hours of sleep a night. People who have sleep apnea or insomnia can have an improvement in blood pressure and inflammation with treatment of the sleep disorders.
Spur creativity: Get a good night’s sleep before getting out the easel and paintbrushes or the pen and paper. In addition to consolidating memories, or making them stronger, your brain appears to reorganize and restructure them, which may result in more creativity as well. Researchers at Harvard University and Boston College found that people seem to strengthen the emotional components of a memory during sleep, which may help spur the creative process.
Winning: If you’re an athlete, there may be one simple way to improve your performance: sleep. A Stanford University study found that college football players who tried to sleep at least 10 hours a night for seven to eight weeks improved their average sprint time and had less daytime fatigue and more stamina. The results of this study reflect previous findings seen in tennis players and swimmers.
Sharper attention: A lack of sleep can result in ADHD-like symptoms in kids, Dr. Rapoport says. "Kids don’t react the same way to sleep deprivation as adults do," he adds. "Whereas adults get sleepy, kids tend to get hyperactive. ”A 2009 study in the journal Pediatrics found that children ages seven and eight who got less than about eight hours of sleep a night were more likely to be hyperactive, inattentive, and impulsive. "We diagnose and measure sleep by measuring electrical changes in the brain," Dr. Rapoport says. "So not surprisingly how we sleep affects the brain."
Weight management: If you are thinking about going on a diet, you might want to plan an earlier bedtime too. Researchers at the University of Chicago found that dieters who were well rested lost more fat—56% of their weight loss—than those who were sleep deprived, who lost more muscle mass. (They shed similar amounts of total weight regardless of sleep.) Dieters in the study also felt more hungry when they got less sleep. "Sleep and metabolism are controlled by the same sectors of the brain," Dr. Rapoport says. "When you are sleepy, certain hormones go up in your blood, and those same hormones drive appetite."
Avoid accidents: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported in 2009 that being tired accounted for the highest number of fatal single-car run-off-the-road crashes due to the driver’s performance—even more than alcohol! "Sleepiness is grossly underrated as a problem by most people, but the cost to society is enormous," Dr. Rapoport says. "Sleeplessness affects reaction time and decision making." Insufficient sleep for just one night can be as detrimental to your driving ability as having an alcoholic drink.

It is clear that sleep is very important for us all. I for one love sleeping! With the weather getting cooler and the nights getting longer, there is nothing better than getting into a comfortable bed and getting some shut eye. Especially for those of us who exercise during the week (which should be all of us :-)), sleep is important for muscle recovery and growth.

A lack of sleep is more damaging to one's health then is accepted or acknowledged. Sleep seems to be missed off most diagnostics and is something which is commonly accepted as ok if one does not get enough sleep. By having a good nights sleep, we can tackle the day with a burst fullness of energy and determination.

Here are the long term effects of not getting enough sleep [5]:
Without enough sleep, your brain and body systems won’t function normally. It can also dramatically lower your quality of life. A review of 16 studies found that sleeping for less than 6 to 8 hours a night increases the risk of early death by about 12 percent. The obvious signs of sleep deprivation are:

excessive sleepiness

yawning
irritability
daytime fatigue

Stimulants like caffeine aren’t enough to override your body’s profound need for sleep. Behind the scenes, chronic sleep deprivation can interfere with your body’s internal systems and cause more than just the initial signs and symptoms listed above.

Everyone’s experienced the fatigue, short temper and lack of focus that often follow a poor night’s sleep. An occasional night without sleep makes you feel tired and irritable the next day, but it won’t harm your health. After several sleepless nights, the mental effects become more serious. Your brain will fog, making it difficult to concentrate and make decisions. You’ll start to feel down, and may fall asleep during the day. If it continues, lack of sleep can affect your overall health and make you prone to serious medical conditions, such as obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes [6].

So what can be done to have what I call good ‘sleep hygiene’ for a good night's sleep? There are a few quick wins that can be easily done to help ensure you get a restful night’s sleep. Here is my quick win guide:

Have a comfortable bed with comfortable pillows. There is nothing worse than a bed that is not comfortable, pillows that are too high or low for your neck to spine alignment and bed sheets that itch! If any of these are an issue, get a new mattress or bed for that matter! With Christmas coming up there will be lots of sales online and in stores so go treat yourself to a good bed. Your body and mind will thank you for it.
Ensure you have a good, clean and natural sleep environment. By this what I mean is try and shut off all electronic items from the main power sockets. Turn off your wifi and house cordless phone from the mains before bed. Your laptops/computers, smartphones and tablets should all be turned off (or in flight mode if turning off not possible) and be a minimum of 3 feet away from you when you sleep. Electrosmog will interfere with your hormones and affect how your cells regenerate during sleep, so best turn off as many electrical items as possible before going to bed.
Avoid electrical devices an hour before sleep. Most smart devices now have night mode on them. Turn these on! What this does is turn off the blue light on the screens from sunset to sunrise. Blue light affects your melatonin production (your sleep hormone) and by turning this off your body can ‘get ready’ for sleep when it is due. An hour before sleeping, meditate, read, turn off lights and light some candles, stretch and just lay in bed reflecting, spend quality time with your other half or kids are some the activities that you can do instead of having your eyes getting artificial light from televisions, computers and smartphones. Melatonin is a precursor to Serotonin (our happy hormone). So if our Melatonin is compromised, long-term this could lead to depression.
Avoid caffeine and other stimulants before bedtime. Coffee is a wonderful drink for those that love it. Just don’t have it after 4pm! Caffeine has a half-life of approximately 5-6 hours. Meaning if you have any caffeine after 4pm, potentially your body will not get rid of that until 10pm! So avoid caffeine after 4pm from coffee, teas and sports energy drinks.
Stay clear or heavy or disruptive foods in the evening. Heavy or rich foods, fatty or fried meals, spicy dishes, citrus fruits, and carbonated drinks can trigger indigestion for some people. When this occurs close to bedtime, it can lead to painful heartburn that disrupts sleep. So have a light meal for dinner, ideally at least 3 hours before bedtime.
Exercise during the day. As little as 10 minutes of aerobic exercise, such as walking or cycling, can drastically improve nighttime sleep quality. For the best night’s sleep, most people should avoid strenuous workouts close to bedtime. However, the effect of intense nighttime exercise on sleep differs from person to person, so find out what works best for you. I certainly find on the days I have a hard training session, those nights I sleep very very well.
Exposure to daylight. This one is very common mainly in cities. Ensure you spend enough time outdoors so your body can differentiate between daytime and night-time. Shift workers, doctors and office workers who mainly are in artificial light and then go home to more artificial light will find it harder to sleep due to their body being confused with the time frames of the day. Go for a walk in daylight, even if it's for 10 minutes.
Avoid difficult conversations before going to bed. Having ‘that’ conversation with your partner just before bedtime is not advised. If you have something that will cause drama, tension or even awkwardness, it’s best to have these conversations during the late morning to afternoons statistically speaking. Research shows that women tend to bring up complicated issues at night, whereas men at night-time prefer to unwind and relax more than women. A recipe for disaster! Speak to your other half and agree on having difficult conversations when it's a good time for both of you. As the saying goes, never go to bed angry!

Frequent sleep disturbances and daytime sleepiness are the most telling signs of poor sleep hygiene. In addition, if you're taking too long to fall asleep, you should consider evaluating your sleep routine and revising your bedtime habits. Just a few simple changes can make the difference between a good night’s sleep and night spent tossing and turning [7].

As can be seen, by having a good sleep routine, with sensible diet choices and exercise will help you have a good night sleep. When we have a good nights sleep, we make sensible eating choices the next day, have more energy and generally feel better.

If you feel you require support with your sleep issues or require general guidance on nutritional support and how to live a balanced lifestyle please contact me at habs@urbanplatehealth.com or visit my website by going to www.urbanplatehealth.com

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