Apnea: A sleep disorder
Apnea is a sleep disorder that can have a serious effect on the body because it not only prevents sufferers from getting a good night’s sleep. Apnea can also mean that the body cannot get the much needed oxygen and this can have a bad effect in the long-term. What happens with apnea is that the sufferer actually stops breathing intermittently throughout the night, effectively being asphyxiated minutes at a time.
If you or your loved ones have apnea you should go and see a sleep specialist who can help cure this sleeping disorder and finally make you sleep peacefully again.
Field of Dreams
A famous person once wrote that there is sleep enough in the grave. But, come on! Let’s face it. Everybody needs to sleep. Everybody needs to rest. Sleeping is as natural as working or walking down the street. A good night’s sleep can renew our vitality. It can prepare us for the challenges & rewards that await us. It can calm us down. It can make us more attentive.
Traditional Chinese Medicine for sleep disorder is becoming more & more common nowadays, from acupuncture to meditation to herbal medicine. It is an entirely different orientation that adds a whole new dimension to the idea of rest or replenishment.
The demands or ordeals of daily life can deplete the flow of Qi into or out of our body. This is where Traditional Chinese Medicine for sleep disorder can step in. It is not only concerned with the physiological functions that make us work or tick but it is also a part of a theory or philosophy that makes us whole again.
Nagging thoughts of anxiety or futility will disappear. Experts will tell us how to channel our energy in more constructive ways with the help of herbs like the powdered barks of a Mimosa tree & Reishi mushroom. We will regain the rhythm or momentum of working for ourselves & the people we love while returning home for some time-out & recreation.
Poor Sleep Habits – Higher Diabetes Risk
Recent studies are showing that poor sleep habits raises the risk of contracting Type-2 diabetes in adults due to the strain faced by the organs who need the re-generative state of sleep for them to rebuild and refresh yourself. Sleep allows the body to repair itself and do some chores such as the rejuvenation of cells without the use of energy during physical activity. The ability of the liver to regulate blood sugar levels is highly decreased when poor sleeping habits affect’s the body and prevents it from resting properly or even inadequately. During periods of insufficient or induced lack of sleep, the study shows that the natural insulin levels in the blood decreases resulting in almost a 23% increase in blood sugars that are present in the blood of their test subjects. This co-relation between sleep or should we say the lack thereof is said to increase as a person ages due to the fact that as you get older, you tend to sleep less and less.
Sleep Deprivation and Jet Lag
Flight attendants are shown to suffer from more illnesses that can be attributed to the frequent disruptions in the body’s natural sleep cycle. Flight crews regularly engage in sleep busting activities such as long-haul flights that go on non-stop for several hours disrupting the sleep and waking cycle known to be controlled by the biological clock. High incidence of stress, back pains, memory loss and hearing loss. These problems all point to the inability of the brain to get the required amount of sleep due to interruptions in the normal sleep cycle more commonly known as jet lag.
Children and Sleep
Children who are forever active as parents know need their sleep and this is more of a health fact rather than a tall tale. Studies show that children who do not get enough sleep have a higher risk of becoming obese where they increase their food intake (usually with junk food and other unhealthy food) to fuel their small, tired bodies to last through the day. They are also found to be more likely involved in accidents in their preschool years. Children being in the developmental stage of their mental and physiological facilities need to develop healthy sleep hygiene which they will carry on till adulthood. Children should get enough sleep which is normally more than adults need and napping should be allowed. Napping should not however be allowed to interrupt proper sleep cycles at night.
Outpatient Procedure helps treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea – Part 2
Continued from the last post)
Some people have been observed to have elongated or large flaps of tissue within the mouth structure which if lessened can indeed treat and prevent further occurrences. Removing these chronic nasal obstructions thought the use of low power radiofrequency energy to lessen them in several outpatient procedures. Patients are first assessed by getting them to record their sleep which is then used to asses the extent of the problem. Results are dramatic, reducing the degree and frequency of nasal obstructions by more than 80% and patients have also reported that breathing is improved by 100%. Technologies and developments like these are already on the market helping millions of sufferers and improving their lives forever with restful sleep invigorating them for another day.
Outpatient Procedure helps treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea – Part 1
People who suffer from noisy sleeping disorders are not only disturbing the sleep of family and other members of the household but may be signs of other underlying medical problems that can even be life-threatning. Traditional treatments have intranasal sprays and medication which was taken prior to sleeping that relaxed the muscles of the throat and mouth to prevent and alleviate some of the symptoms. Sadly these products had dangerous side effects that could have long lasting effects. Somnoplasty is an outpatient procedure which helps alleviate snoring by reducing the volume of tissue within the mouth to prevent them from creating noise. (Continued on the next Post)
Parent-Child Co-Sleeping Bad for Sleep Hygiene
Studies are showing that the sleep hygiene between parents and their children are so related that any unhealthy habits are carried onto their later life. Co-sleeping is a common practice for children who have gotten used to sleeping besides their parents are getting to develop higher incidences of poor sleep patterns. Children who are often fed right after a waking episode are also more likely to develop bad habits such as nightmares and other such sleep disorders that they seldom go back to sleep. Children usually sleep for around 10 hours during the night, any shorter and it could be early signs of a sleeping disorder. Co-sleeping forces the baby or child to develop a sleep habit which necessitates a parent be present for sleep to commence. The sleeping habits of parents who often sleep late can also be carried or passed onto children so if you want kids who have healthy sleep habits, practice good hygiene yourself which benefits both of you.
DNA’s relationship with sleep
Recent studies by genetic researches have shown that there is a noticeable link between sleep and the way your DNA takes shape. During the daytime when people are awake, DNA or the so-called building blocks of life are tightly coiled while at night, they are loosely wound. This gives credence to the existence of a biological clock that is encoded somewhere in our genes and is controlled and manipulated by activities such as sleep and other bodily functions. This might explain the ability of the body to loose control such as when traveling and shifting through time zones disrupting the biological clock which is highly dependent on the day and night cycle. The link may be in our genes and the Genome project has already found surprising details on how the genes that make up our DNA influence and can be changed by our habits.
Sleep Hygiene
Yep, there is such a thing as sleep hygiene, and no it has nothing to do with dirt on any part of your body. This form of treatment is given for sufferers of mild sleep disorders as a natural treatment. It is proven to solve some of the problems associated with sleep though none is effective against Narcolepsy which is more akin to drug treatment. There are also treatments that are considered to be natural meaning to drug is used in the treatment phase.
Sleep hygiene tackles mundane tasks such as waking at the same time even during weekends. Getting enough sun in the morning which doesn�t necessarily mean having to go outside but a few open windows can be enough to tell your biological clock that it is time to reset. Watching TV before bed can leave some people over-stimulated even if they don’t admit it. Steering away from caffeine and caffeinated drinks can also help get you fast to sleep. Exercise, just as long as it�s not before a few hours of sleeping time also wears out the unspent energy that might be remaining in the body. Research has proven these simple tips to be worth a try before undergoing medication so as to minimize side effects and help maintain your natural sleep abundant life.