Sleeping better can increase your physical and mental performance regardless of your age. It can also put you in a better mood and even boost your immune system.

Here are several actions you can take to improve your night’s sleep:

• Make sleep a priority. It’s so easy to get caught up playing bridge on your computer to all hours of the night or watching all the programs you recorded on TiVo. Schedule a time for your bedtime and wake-up time and reduce or cut back on any stimulating activities at least 30 minutes before that going to bed time.

• Create a good sleeping environment where the temperature is comfortable, and there are no distractions of light and sounds.

• If you have allergies, remove plants and humidifiers (a possible source of mold) and don’t let pets into your bedroom. Use allergy barrier covers on your mattress, box spring, blankets and pillows.

• Follow a bedtime routine 20 to 60 minutes before bedtime. Find activities that will help you relax such as drinking hot chocolate or reading from your kindle.

• Cut back on your caffeine if you think you drink too much and avoid it altogether for several hours before bed.

• Exercise on a regular basis but do it in the morning or afternoon  or at least 3 hours before bedtime. If you exercise any later than that you’ll be energized making it more difficult to fall asleep.

• Don’t sleep on a full stomach. This increases your chances of reflux and could promote weight gain.

• Don’t drink alcohol within 2 hours of bedtime.

• Be comfortable. Despite all the ads about special mattresses and fine bedding, just make sure the mattress and pillow are comfortable for you.

• Manage your medicines. Some medications, including antihistamines and antidepressants, can keep you up at night. Check with your doctor or pharmacist to learn whether your medicines are causing you sleep problems.

• Figure how much sleep you need. Most people need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep. Keep a sleep log that records how much sleep you get and how you feel during the day to find out how much sleep you need.

These are all rather simple, common sense suggestions that your older sister probably recommended to you. They are certainly worth a try and the rewards could be a good night’s sleep.

Perchance to Dream
Ruthan

Ruthan Brodsky
Health Writer Michigan
Business Writer Oakland County
Content Creator

Sleep allows for mental and physical restoration. Although our bodies can rest and restore its energy levels, sleep is actually an active state that affects our physical and mental well being. In other words, adequate restful sleep, just like good nutrition and exercise, is important to for good health.

We’ve all heard the horror war stories where soldiers were sleep deprived so they would confess military secrets. The fact is sleep deprivation of just 2-3 days can lead to serious lapses in mental function and judgment. Sleep deprivation of 4 to 5 days can cause psychosis and a week or more without sleep may be fatal for some.

Previous research shoed that there were biological signs of accelerated aging in healthy young men after less than a week in which they slept four hours a night. They also found that by reversing the loss through 12 hours of bed rest for several consecutive nights, the psychological patterns to aging was also reversed.

Other research indicates a direct link between sleep and memory. The report shows that performance of a newly acquired skill doesn’t improve until the person has  had more than 6, and preferably 8, hours of sleep.

Several years ago the University of Chicago researchers reported that  4 hours of sleep for several nights in a row causes your blood sugar (glucose) to spike higher after breakfast than it would if you had 9 hours of sleep. To make matters worse, the rate at which glucose cleared the bloodstream was 40% slower with only 4 hours of sleep which again could cause physiological signs of aging. This study led some to conclude that a chronic lack of sleep of just a couple of hours a night may make you body more vulnerable to certain disorders of blood sugar such as diabetes.

The problem is that although sleep needs don’t decline with age, changes in sleep time and patterns do. For instance, the average total sleep time of most people increases after age 65. However, it also seems to take more time to fall asleep and hours of sleep are often more fragmented.

Before you take another medication to improve your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep keep in mind these medical conditions that may disrupt your sleep. These may be the source of your problem:

• PAIN , one of the most common problems in middle age and older people.
• HEART FAILURE often causes breathing problems that disturb sleep
• Rapid heartbeat and PALPITATIONS can interrupt sleep
• Breathing problems from HEART DISEASE, certain NEUROLOGICAL problems and EMPHYSEMA
• Frequent need to urinate and other URINARY problems
• People with Parkinson disease
• GERD or heart burn
• CONSTIPATION
• ALLERGIES, SINUS problems, congestion can disrupt sleep
• ITCHY SKIN problems

In my next post I’ll describe ways you can have a good night’s sleep without medication.

To a good night’s rest,

Ruthan

Ruthan Brodsky
Health writer, Oakland County Michigan
Business Writer
Content Creator

I have many friends who tell me they have sleeping problems. Some of them have been to sleeping clinics and a few were diagnosed with sleep apnea. Most  of those with sleeping problems, however, say they get up in the middle of night and can’t go back to sleep. Another frequent one is it takes too long to go to sleep so they take a sleeping pill or supplement to speed up the process.

I’m beginning to think that sleep disturbances are a common part of getting older but I’m not sure that it’s a natural  change.  There are so many other factors that are evident in someone over 60 or over 70 that can contribute to their sleep problem.  For instance medications have all sorts of side effects and can impede a good night’s sleep. Changes in activity, social life or the death of a spouse are bound to have an impact.

The problem is that sleep disorders impact the quality of life whether you’re old or young but especially if you’re older by causing daytime fatigue and lack of energy. It may even lead to being confused, or having difficulty concentrating  and not performing tasks very well.

As we age we become less efficient sleepers often because our pattern of sleeping changes. For instance, normal sleep has different stages that cycle throughout the night. These are classified as rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and non-REM sleep. REM sleep is the stage in which muscles relax the most and dreaming takes place during REM. Non-REM sleep is divided into 4 stages. Stages 1 and 2 represent light sleep  and stages 3 and 4 are called deep sleep. Deeper sleeping is usually more refreshing.

The problem is that the length of REM sleep decreases as we get older. In fact stages 3 and 4 both decrease in most people, especially men. In people 90 years old or more stages 3 and 4 may disappear altogether. I’ve been told that in the US, insomnia is the third most common reason for seeing a doctor behind headaches and the common cold. Close to 2 percent of Americans receive a prescription for a sleeping medicine and close to another 1 percent purchase nonprescription sleep aids. Fifty million Americans occasionally take some form of sleep medication.

More on sleep and sleep problems as we age in my next post.
My best to you for a good night’s sleep.
Ruthan

Ruthan Brodsky
Health Writer
Business Writer
Content Creator

Sleep apnea is considered a common sleep disorder in which you have one or more pauses in breathing or shallow breaths while you sleep. For some sleep apnea is a serious, potentially life-threatening condition.

Breathing pauses can last from a few seconds to minutes and often occur 5 to 30 times during an hour.  Breathing then starts again, sometimes with a loud snort or choking sound. Often times the breathing pauses are accompanied by snoring between apnea episodes although not everyone who snores has this condition.  The frequent interruptions of deep, restorative sleep often lead to early morning headaches and excessive daytime sleepiness.

Sleep apnea often goes undiagnosed. Doctors can’t detect the condition during routine office visits and there are no blood tests for the condition. Many people who have it have no idea.

The most common type of sleep apnea is obstructive sleep apnea where the airway has collapsed or is block during sleep. When you try to breathe the air that squeezes past the blockage sounds like snoring.

Obstructive sleep apnea is more common in men and people who are overweight. Symptoms include:

• Snoring or gasping during sleep;
• Sleepiness during the day
• Morning headaches
• Not being able to concentrate
• Memory or learning problems
• Urination at night
• A dry throat.

A sleep study is the more accurate test for diagnosing sleep apnea. It records what happens with your breathing while you sleep.  A polysomnogram or PSG are often done at sleep centers or sleep labs. The test records:

• Brain activity
• Eye movement and other muscle activity
• Breathing, heart rate and blood pressure
• How much air moves in and out of your lungs while you’re sleeping?
• The amount of oxygen in you blood.

It is a painless procedure. You go to sleep wearing sensors on your scalp, face, chest, limbs and finger. A sleep specialist reviews the results. Your doctor may recommend a home-based portable monitor.

Treatment includes lifestyle changes, mouthpieces, breathing devices and surgery. Medicine are not typically used. The goals of treating sleep apnea are to restore regular breathing during sleep and to relieve symptoms such as snoring and sleepiness during the day.

Lifestyle changes are commended for those with mild sleep apnea include:

• Avoiding alcohol and medicines that make you sleepy.
• Losing weight if you’re obese.
• Sleep on your side instead of your back to keep your throat open.
• Use nasal spray at night to keep you nasal pass
• Quit smoking.

Because of the serious disturbances in their normal sleep patterns, people with sleep apnea often feel very sleepy  during the day. The consequences of sleep apnea range from annoying to life-threatening. They include depression, irritability, sexual dysfunction, learning and memory problems, and falling asleep at work or while driving.

If you suspect you have symptoms see your physician and at least discuss your issues.

To your success at a good night’s sleep.
Ruthan

Resources
American Academy of Sleep Medicine
NIH Center on Sleep Disorders Research

Ruthan Brodsky
Content Creator
Business Writer
Upside of Aging

How much you sleep and how much you don’t sleep are now associated with a higher risk of heart attacks and death from all causes. That was the conclusion of a study in the February 2010 issue of the journal SLEEP.

Historically, that is before electric lights and computers and smart phones, most Americans slept more than 9 hours a night. That’s an hour or two more than the recommended 7 or 8 hours that experts recommend. Studies show that most Americans get less than 7 hours a night. That number especially decreases as we get older.

First and foremost, sleep is necessary and an integral state that permits mental and physical restoration. Although the body rests and restores its energy levels, sleep is nevertheless an active state that affects our physical and mental well-being. Adequate sleep, like diet and exercise, is critical to good health. Insufficient restful sleep may result in mental and physical health problems.

Think about it: governments use sleep deprivation techniques as a form of torture.

There are dozens of studies reported each year about sleep: how much is enough? Does it lead to higher risks of diabetes? Heart disease? Loss of memory?  Then there are those studies, much fewer in number, which demonstrate the amount of sleep we get and need is based on the individual – some need more, some need less.

My opinion: those of us who don’t get enough sleep probably don’t get enough sleep but we may not need the amount of sleep recommended across the board.

In this post I will describe some of the mental and physical tolls of inadequate sleep as reported by the research. For example, without adequate sleep:

• Your mental and physical performance can be impaired as much as 2 alcoholic drinks.
• Your ability to learn, problem-solve, to speak and write all decline.
• Your reaction time declines.
• Your more likely to become tense and moody.
• Your immune system may be weakened.
• You are at increase risk of developing insulin resistance, a condition which predisposes diabetes;
• You are more likely to gain weight;
• You are more likely to lose muscle mass.

In the study reported in the SLEEP journal, based on following 3,000 adults in China over 16 years, the researchers concluded that the cues from this study showed that we may need to readjust our values and slow down our lifestyles if we want good health as we age.

I’m writing this post because one my readers asked should he be worked because he snores at night. Snoring can be a sign of sleep apnea in which the throat temporarily closes which causes your breathing to stop. That not only disturbs sleep but also increases your risk of hypertension, heart attack and stroke.

If you snore heavily and loudly enough to disturb you or you’re always feeling fatigued, talk to your physician so you can be checked for sleep apnea at an accredited sleep center.

More on sleep apnea on my next post. If you have any questions in the mean time send them via the comment box so I can answer them in my next posts.

To your successful sleep.

Ruthan

Resources
National Institutes of Health National Center on Sleep Disorders Research
American Academy of Sleep Medicine

Ruthan Brodsky
Business Writer
Copywriter & Content Creator
Upside of Aging

Foods that reduce arthritic pain

The research says more people are living with arthritic pain and supplements aren’t helping. Everyone who hoped they were doing the right thing by taking glucosamine and chondroitin were recently informed that neither of them or the two of them in combination result in a relevant reduction of joint pain. There was no clinically significant improvement in joint pain compared to a placebo in the research trials.

This conclusion was made by a report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Interestingly, seven trials funded by supplement makers did show greater benefits in pain relief than the three trials without industry funding. Keep that in mind when you purchase supplements.

The report does state that the first thing you can do to reduce arthritic pain is to lose weight. That means staying physically active and eating right. According to the Arthritis Foundation dietary changes are being regarded as possible new approaches to treating arthritis.

For instance, dietary fiber, which helps protect your heart, may also reduce inflammation. The less inflammation you have the more your joints benefit. Interestingly, the positive results were more pronounced in thinner people who saw their C-creative protein (CRP) numbers increase.

People who ate about 28 grams of fiber daily either from food or supplements reduced their CPR levels.  The same was true in another study in which men increased their servings of fruits and vegetables from two to eight daily and lowered their measured their CPR numbers.

Eating Strawberries was also linked to lowering CPR levels.

The famous Framingham Heart Study also found that people who consumed twice the recommended amount of vitamin C were able to slow the progression of osteoarthritis. Part of the reason could be that Vitamin C is necessary to produce collagen and proteoglycans, the major components of cartilage which acts as a cushion in our joints. Secondly vitamin C can fight off free radicals in the cartilage. Several studies also report that Vitamin C can help people with rheumatoid arthritis.

The same Framingham study also found vitamin D to be important. Those who had a low intake of Vitamin D were at four times the risk for arthritic progression than those who consumed the recommended amount. Vitamin D is necessary for proper calcium absorption which is critical to bone structure.

Most of you already know about eating the healthy omega-3 fatty acids found in fish. This is another compound which researchers find may be responsible for switching off the over active immune system in certain types of arthritis such as lupus and psoriatic arthritis.

Olive oil, which is high in mono-unsaturated fatty acids and lower in omega-6s than other vegetable oils, may actually combat inflammation the same way that NSAID painkillers do. Apparently there’s a compound in olive oil that blocks the production of inflammation. The only problem is you would need to consume about 3 ½ tablespoons of olive oil (400 calories) to get the anti-inflammatory benefit of an ibuprofen pill.

Finally cooking low and slow such as steaming, braising and poaching may help combat inflammation in addition to reducing your risk of heart disease and diabetes.

In other words it’s all about maintaining a healthy lifestyle, eating fresh fruits and vegetables, plus low fat dairy products, smaller portions of lean meat, more fish, and less food in general. Nothing very newsworthy here. Merely HUGE support about what we already know about living a healthy lifestyle.

To your success at a healthy lifestyle,

Ruthan

Ruthan Brodsky
Copywriter & Content Creator
Business Writer
Upside of Aging