Health Articles on: insomnia

Showing posts with label insomnia. Show all posts

“Getting hit with insomnia is a lot like having your heart broken,” write Doctors Paul Glovinsky and Arthur Spielman in The Insomnia Answer. “You feel betrayed and sapped of vitality; what used to flow naturally and effortlessly is now agonizing.” There’s no real secret to a great night’s sleep, they say, but cultivating good habits will have you catching zzzs in no time.

Get Up

Sound counterproductive? Sleeping until noon because you’ve tossed and turned all night might feel good in the moment, but you’ll be paying for it later. Set at alarm and get up at the same time every day, you’ll soon train your body onto a more regular schedule. This goes for naps too: zonking out on the couch after work will do you no favours come midnight.

Go Easy on the Chemicals

Insomnia isn’t a disease; it’s a symptom. Don’t dream that a sleeping pill will somehow fix the problem—though it may work for a short time, you risk long-term chemical dependency. Instead of putting more things in your body, look at what you’re already ingesting: Have you had eight cups of coffee today? A big meal of pasta before bed? Two glasses of wine with dinner? All can cause or irritate insomnia, so pay attention.

Get Moving

It’s a common misconception that exercise before bed will energize you. In fact, a study of highly active young men found that prolonged, vigorous exercise 30 minutes before bedtime had little effect on sleep. Edward R. Laskowski, M.D., says “Exercise initially increases such stress hormones. But several hours after a workout, a rebound effect occurs.” Yep, you know what that means: less stress is more sleep.

The Physical Necessities

It’s not all mental practice; some tricks are as easy as going to the drugstore. Warm milk or herbal tea (without caffeine of course) are for many people very effective. A small snack could also help. A good firm mattress—or a soft one, if you like that better—and air-conditioning is a good investment, as are thick curtains, earplugs, a sleep mask, and a clock without a torturous illuminated screen.

Visualize, Visualize, Visualize

Forget counting sheep, new sleep techniques are much more effective. Try progressive relaxation: start at the feet, feel their weight and let them relax and sink into the bed. Move to ankles, repeat. By the time you make your way to your head, you’ll be in la la land. Or if this doesn’t work, there’s always the old backwards-count. Start at a thousand, and count one number between breaths. Good night and good luck.

steroids research

Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland and has an significant role in circadian rhythms. The daily rhythm of melatonin secretion is controlled by a built-in, free-running pacemaker, the suprachiasmatic nucleus , and is synthesized from the amino acid tryptophan. Melatonin synthesis is controlled by contact with cycles of light and dark, and occurs independently of sleep.

Melatonin promotes sleep and its secretion increases when takes place the onset of darkness, helping to keep us asleep at night. Melatonin production usually peaks between midnight and 2am, then starts to fall and is low during the day. It also helps decrease core body temperature, which helps induce sleep. However, sleep is possible even when melatonin levels are low. People who have their pineal gland removed have only negligible disruption in sleep.

Laboratory experiments have shown that melatonin has antioxidant effects and suppresses the growth of some cancer cells. Laboratory researches also show it has anti-inflammatory effects. When melatonin is administered as a drug it has been proved to decrease levels of the female hormones progesterone and estradiol. It also enhances the secretion of prolactin (hormone produced by the pituitary gland). Melatonin may decrease the sensitivity of the body to insulin, which can raise blood sugar levels.
Healthy Sleep

Copious amounts of sleep may cause lethargy, but nevertheless sleep is still a man’s most important friend when it comes to reducing stroke and risk of heart disorders However, over 25% of population experience some sort of insomnia and all of us experience troubled nights at some point in our lives.

Out of several different activities tested in a research, cycling at 75% of your maximum heart rate, for 20 minutes, four times a week was found to be the most successful way of bringing your sleeping habits under control.