Julian Center

The Relationship Between Your Brain and Sleep: Amazing Benefits of Sleep To Your Brain –

Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise. It’s true. Sleep is an essential part of your daily routine. Getting enough quality sleep that you need is as important as eating food and drinking water to survive.

Your brain cannot function without sleep. Getting a good night’s sleep is important to different brain functions. According to an article from the Science Daily, your brain is still awake and active even while you are sleeping. But how exactly does sleep affect your brain?

Here are five things that your brain does while you are getting some shuteye.

Consolidates Your Memories

While you are getting your much-needed rest, your brain is also creating and consolidating your memories.

As you reach REM and non-REM sleep, your brain starts to link your old memory with the most recent ones. As you sleep, your brain still remains awake and begins activities in the hippocampus. The memories you acquire while you are awake are stored in this part of the brain. From the hippocampus, these stored memories are transferred to your brain’s cortex and kept as long-term memories.

If you have an examination and you need to study or you have an early presentation the next day and you need to prepare, think twice before you stay awake the whole night. If you do not have enough sleep, your ability to learn new things can decrease by 40%.

Sleep is important in creating and linking your old memories to recent ones. It also helps you learn and remember new things.

Decreases Stress and Depression

Stress, depression, and sleep are always connected.

People who are subjected to stress and depression often have a hard time to fall and stay asleep. 60 to 90% of people with depression are suffering from insomnia while about 20% of patients with depression have sleep apnea or experience multiple pauses in breathing while sleeping.

As you sleep, your brain balances all the hormones that affect your emotions and mood. Getting a good night’s sleep improves your mental and emotional stability. Sleeping for seven to nine hours decreases your stress and depression.

Repairs Brain Damages

Sleep repairs the daily wear and tear that the brain accumulates.

During NREM sleep, your body relaxes and your blood pressure decreases. This is the stage of sleep where the muscles and tissues in your brain start to repair themselves. Sleep deprivation does not only kill your brain cells; it also shrinks the size of the brain which can increase the risk of early death.

Sleep produces proteins that are important in repairing the damage caused by free radicals and stress from your daily activities. It increases the reproduction of cells that form myelin. Myelin is the insulating material that can be found on nerve cell projections in your brain and spinal cord. It is also responsible for maintaining the proper function of the nervous system.

Sleep produces proteins that repair the damage made in the brain from day-to-day stress and activities.

Enhances Creativity

When you are in your unconscious resting stage, sleep increases your creativity. It acts as a powerful creativity booster.

Your brain is rich with imagery from the dreams you experience while on REM sleep. Dreams create a connection between things that do not seem connected before. It combines all the ideas and concepts in your mind.

A study made by researchers from the University of California at Davis used three groups of participants to conduct their study. One group was allowed to sleep and experience both REM and NREM sleep. Another one was permitted to reach NREM but not REM while the third group was able to take some rest but to sleep at all.

The scientists used a Remote Associates Test to check their increases in creativity. The group who did not sleep and those who only reached REM sleep did not increase their creativity while those who reached the stages of REM sleep and NREM sleep showed increased creativity.

While you are asleep, the brain sorts all the ideas floating in your neural network. Sleep helps the brain have the energy and focus on doing things that need to be sorted out.

Improves Focus

After getting seven to nine hours of sleep, you can feel more focused. Sleep can help you in remaining more alert throughout the day.

A good night’s sleep can make your everyday tasks easier and more manageable. A study showed that sleep helps the brain in solving even difficult and complicated problems. During your shuteye, the brain processes complex stimuli and uses this information in making decisions as you are awake. Complex stimuli control your brain in learning to pay attention to the things that you need to focus on, even on difficult activities. The brain can quickly automate complex chores. It can make fast decisions and put them into actions immediately.

Sleep increases your brain’s ability to evaluate situations, pursue your goals, and make plans.

You spend a third of your life sleeping. It is vital to your health and well-being. Sleep consolidates your memory, decreases stress and depression, increases your ability, and enhances your focus. It also clears the brain of toxins that may be critical to your health in the long run.

3 Ways Temperature Can Significantly Affect Your Sleep –

Temperature can make a big difference in your sleep. It can let you snooze for longer hours at night, or it can make you stay up all night.

The ideal temperature for optimal sleep is 60 to 67 degrees Fahrenheit. While you are lying in bed and trying to sleep, your body temperature decreases and adjusts to the room’s temperature. If your room is cool, it is easier for you to fall asleep at night. On the other hand, if it is warm, it can lead to restlessness which affects the quality of your sleep.

This article discusses the role of temperature in your sleep.

1. Temperature Initiates Sleep

The temperature around you can be a boon or bane to your sleep.

Your body’s temperature follows a natural pattern of lows and highs in a 24-hour period. It reaches its peak temperature in the late afternoon while its minimum is in the morning at around 5 AM.

The body works to self-regulate when the external temperature of the room is not optimal. When the external temperature is not ideal, the body switches back and forth between shivering as a warming mechanism and sweating as a cooling mechanism.

In other words, if the room is too hot, the body produces sweat. Because of sweat, you can end up feeling sticky, uncomfortable, and demotivated to sleep. Also, when the body switches back and forth, it disturbs the healthy sleep cycle, thus preventing you to sleep. On the contrary, if the room is too cold, your body can feel chilly and stiff.

This mechanism makes it difficult to fall or stay asleep.

2. Temperature Affects Your Sleep Quality

Temperature can dramatically affect the quality of your sleep. The sleep cycle is initiated when the temperature of your body drops. When the temperature of your room is too cold or too hot, it can affect the quality of your sleep.

The length of your sleep depends on the balance of the room temperature. Since the body wants the perfect temperature to fall asleep, the brain teases the body to wake up if it is not getting the right temperature. If the temperature around you is balanced, the brain signals the body to fall asleep.

When your body is not trying to regulate itself, you can fall into a deeper and more restorative sleep. An article published by the University of South Australia also showed that sleeping in a cooler environment can help decrease your risks of insomnia. The body needs to drop its core temperature to be able to sleep normally. Those who are suffering from insomnia have a warmer core body temperature, which limits them from getting proper sleep at night. Maintaining a low temperature in the room can help induce sleep.

Temperature helps you sleep faster and better at night. It gives you a more restorative sleep, decreasing your risks of getting insomnia.

3. Temperature Makes You Feel Calmer

Taking a warm shower before you go to bed helps decrease the body’s temperature and release stress, making you feel calmer. The temperature from the warm shower helps normalize your body’s circulation. It makes oxygen flow freely throughout your body and releases muscle tension.

When the body feels tired and calm, it starts to enter a gradual progression stage. This stage keeps you from moving at a pace that makes you feel lazy and sleepy.

The temperature from external factors, such as taking a warm shower before going to bed, helps your body release stress hormones, making you feel calmer and sleepier.

Tips to Keep the Ideal Room Temperature

Having an ideal sleeping room temperature is one of the most effective sleep aids. Having the right temperature helps you sleep faster and improve your sleep. Here are some tips on how you can keep the ideal temperature of your room:

• Turn off the lights and turn on the air conditioner at least an hour before you go to bed. The ideal AC temperature is between 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. If you do not use an air conditioner, encourage airflow by using a fan. Keep your bedroom door open and place the fan in the corner of the room where it can face the bed.
• Take a warm shower before you head to bed.
• Place a bottle of iced water on your nightstand. Taking a few sips can help cool you down.
• If you sleep together with your partner in the same bed and your partner prefers a different temperature, make sure that the temperature does not fall below 65 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Invest in blackout curtains that can block lights. These curtains can also reduce heat by up to 33%.

The temperature around you helps you sleep. If the temperature is balanced, it makes your body feel comfortable and motivated to sleep. It also signals your brain that it is time to end the day. Temperature helps you feel calmer, too.

Turn off the lights and turn on the air conditioner or fan for at least an hour before bedtime. Take a warm shower and place a bottle of ice water on your nightstand to cool you down. Using blackout curtains can also reduce the heat in your room, making you fall asleep faster and better at night.

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Snoring Remedies: How You Can Have a More Peaceful Night –

A good night’s sleep is important both for your mental and physical health. If you share a bed or a room with someone who snores, it can deprive you of getting that much-needed sleep.

Snoring occurs when the airflow from your nose or mouth to your lungs makes your airway’s tissue vibrate. Snoring is usually caused by an obstruction or narrowing of your mouth, nose, or throat.

If snoring keeps you from getting the sleep that you need, is there a way for you to stop it? This article talks about how you can control snoring.

Slim Down

Your weight plays a role in your snoring.

Losing weight can decrease the number of tissues in your throat that causes snoring. A study conducted on 20 men who snore heavily concluded that losing weight is one of the ways to reduce snoring.

You can lose weight by decreasing your overall calorie intake. Eat smaller portions and more healthy food. Practice regular exercise as well.

Slimming down is one of the ways you can control snoring. Eliminate fats and you may eliminate snoring.

Switch Positions

Changing your position can help stop your snoring. Sleeping on your side can reduce acid reflux, neck pain, back pain, and snoring.

Sleeping on your back can increase the tendency for your soft palate and tongue to fall back into the throat. This can cause the narrowing of the airway and breathing abnormalities, triggering a vibrating sound or snoring while you sleep.

Switching your position and lying on your side can prevent snoring. However, it can be difficult to maintain since you move around as you sleep. Using a full-length body pillow can support your entire body and prevent it from moving around.

Switching your position can control your snoring. It reduces the tendency for your soft palate and tongue from falling back into your throat which leads to snoring.

Reduce Drinking

Drinking alcohol before you sleep can help put you to sleep but you have to deal with the snoring issues that come with it.

Consuming alcohol before you go to sleep makes the muscles at the back of your throat relax. Once these muscles relax, they start to fall back and block your airways which leads to snoring.

According to an article in Science Daily, alcohol may provide deeper sleep from the start but can result in poorer breathing and snoring after.

If you are not a regular snorer but snore after drinking alcohol before you head to bed, it is a sure sign that alcohol is the cause of snoring. Instead of drinking alcohol to make you fall asleep, consider drinking milk or Chamomile tea to make you feel relaxed and calm.

Clear Your Nasal Passages

Clearing your nasal passages machine every time you sleep at night can control your snoring.

If snoring starts in your nose, keeping your airway passages open can help. If your nose is clogged or narrowed due to a cold or another blockage, air that passes through it can cause snoring.

Taking a hot shower before you go to bed can help open your nasal passages. Rinsing your nose using salt water in the shower can help open up the passages and reduce snoring.

Snoring can prevent you or your partner from getting enough sleep. These simple practices such as slimming down, switching your bed position, reducing drinking alcohol, and clearing your nasal passages can make a huge difference in reducing snoring.

How to Stop Snoring: 11 Treatments Available –

Snoring is a common problem for people of all ages and gender. According to the National Sleep Foundation, it affects approximately 90 million American adults, with 37 million snoring on a regular basis.

Most people who are at risk are overweight individuals. Snoring can also become a serious problem as you age. It can cause disruptions to your sleep and can lead to fragmented and unrefreshing sleep.

To prevent further complications, treating snoring is a must. What are the snoring remedies that work? Let’s discuss the several options to treat and end snoring.

Lifestyle Changes

It is possible to treat snoring by making changes in your lifestyle. It is usually advised as the first step to treat snoring. These lifestyle changes involve avoiding alcohol and smoking, losing weight, and practicing good sleep hygiene.

Avoiding alcohol and smoking

Drinking alcohol makes you and your body relax. Alcohol reduces the muscles’ resting tone in the back of your throat, making it more likely for you to snore. Once your throat relaxes too much, the airway starts to become smaller, resulting in getting less air while you sleep. The air that you get is being pushed in and out, hard enough that can make things vibrate causing snoring.

If you are a smoker and snorer at the same time, quitting or laying off smoking can help. Smoking is another cause of snoring. The smoke that you inhale can irritate everything that it touches. These irritations can cause the airway to become smaller.

Eliminating alcohol and smoking can stop your throat from relaxing and help prevent irritating your nose and throat.

Losing weight

Losing weight is one of the best things to do. If you are overweight or obese, there can be extra fat in your neck that is putting pressure on your airway. This extra fat can squeeze the internal diameter of the throat, making it collapse during sleep and triggering snoring. Losing weight can get rid of this extra fat that causes snoring.

Practicing good sleep hygiene

Maintaining poor sleep hygiene can have the same effects as drinking alcohol and smoking. When you work long hours without enough sleep and you finally hit the sack, you are already overtired, resulting in hard and deep sleep. This can cause your muscles to become floppier, creating snoring. Getting a consistent sleep schedule can help to keep you from snoring.

Anti-Snoring Devices

If changing your lifestyle does not help, anti-snoring devices can help prevent snoring. These devices are mainly oral appliances made by a dentist experienced in treating snoring.

Nasal devices

Nasal dilators or nasal strips can benefit you if your snoring is coming from the nose.

A nasal dilator is a device made of plastic or metal that looks like a nose ring. This is placed inside the nose before going to sleep. It pushes the nostrils apart as you sleep.

Meanwhile, a nasal strip is a small piece of adhesive tape that looks like a sticking plaster. A nasal strip is placed outside the nose before you go to sleep. This strip pulls your nostrils apart, helping them to stop narrowing as you sleep.

Oral devices

A chin strip or vestibular shield is used if your snoring is coming from your mouth.

A vestibular shield is an anti-snore plastic device resembling the appearance of a gum shield. It can fit inside your mouth to block the flow of air. It also forces you to breathe through the nose as you sleep to prevent you from opening your mouth and snoring.

A chin strip is a strip of tape placed under the chin to stop your mouth from falling open as you sleep.

Mandibular Advancement Devices (MAD)

If your snoring comes from the base of your tongue that is vibrating, a mandibular advancement device may be recommended by your doctor.

A MAD is another snoring device similar to a vestibular shield. However, it is designed to push the tongue and jaw forward. This can increase the space at the back of your throat and can reduce the narrowing of the airway that causes the tongue to vibrate, resulting in snoring.

Anti-snoring devices are used if lifestyle modifications did not work. These devices can provide relief for snorers by separating the vibrating parts of the nose, mouth, and throat.

Surgery

When lifestyle changes and using oral devices don’t work, the next snoring treatment is surgery. Surgery is usually the last resort when all the other treatment options have not worked.

The key to snoring surgery is to know what is causing the snoring. There are different types of surgical treatments that can be made to correct snoring.

Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP)

Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty is a surgical procedure used if the soft tissues in your mouth (excluding the tongue) are responsible for your snoring.

During UPPP, the uvula (the piece of tissue that hangs from the roof of the mouth), some of your soft palate, and some of the excess tissue around the base of the throat are removed. In some cases, the tonsils and adenoids can also be removed.

UPPP is performed under general anesthesia so you will be asleep during the surgery and you will be unable to feel the pain or discomfort but can cause considerable pain after the surgery.

Uvulopalatoplasty (UP)

Uvulopalatoplasty or laser-assisted uvulopalatoplasty procedure (LAUP) is used as an alternative to UPPP due to its lower risk. This procedure is performed under local anesthesia without sedation. It involves the combination of tissue removal and tightening.

The aim of UP is to increase the airway size without compromising your normal functions like breathing, speaking, and swallowing. The research Efficacy of Laser-assisted Uvulopalatoplasty concluded that LAUP is an effective method when treating non-apneic snoring but does not provide sufficient resolution when it comes to obstructive sleep apnea.

Soft palate implants

If your snoring does not cause breathing difficulties and the soft palate is causing it, soft palate implants can be performed.

This procedure involves a local anesthetic to numb the roof of the mouth. Several synthetic implants are injected into the palate to stiffen it. This can help in preventing the soft palate from vibrating as you sleep.

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA)

An alternative treatment for soft palate implants is radiofrequency ablation (RFA). This procedure is used to treat cases when the soft palate vibrations are responsible for snoring. It also aims to stiffen the soft palate.

The roof of the mouth is numbed using a local anesthetic and an electrode is implanted in the soft palate tissue. This electrode delivers high-energy radio waves that can shrink and Harden the soft palate tissue, making it less likely to vibrate as you snooze.

Tonsillectomy

Tonsillectomy or adenoidectomy is another surgery performed to treat snoring. The common cause of snoring, particularly in children, is enlarged tonsils and adenoids. Tonsillectomy in children is a common procedure suggested by doctors. If the enlarged tonsils block the airway during sleep and cause snoring, tonsillectomy can be suggested.

In this procedure, outpatient surgery is performed under general anesthesia to remove the tonsils and adenoids. It is utilized to remove the chronically infected tonsils and enlarged tonsils causing snoring.

There are several options available to treat snoring. A careful procedure is important for the success of these options. Talk to a medical professional, like a dentist specializing in sleep disorders to get an evaluation and treatment analysis that can work best for you.

7 Common Causes of Bedwetting in Adults –

Bedwetting in children is fairly normal. However, bedwetting in adults is uncommon. According to the National Association for Continence, at least 2% of adults lose control and wet their beds at night.

For adults, bedwetting is not only an embarrassing condition. It can also be a sign of another medical trouble. Bedwetting or Nocturnal Enuresis (NE) can be hard for adult patients to talk about at the doctor’s office, especially those who had this problem since childhood.

What causes bed wetting? Here are several causes of bedwetting in adults.

Low Antidiuretic Hormone

A low antidiuretic hormone can cause adults to wet their beds. This happens when your brain does not produce enough antidiuretic hormones that tell your body that it is time to go to the bathroom. As a result, your bladder overflows.

Smaller Functional Bladder

This is the opposite of low antidiuretic hormone. A smaller functional bladder can cause bedwetting for adults. It occurs when the brain sends signals to your body that your bladder is already full and to release when it is not actually full yet.

Deep Sleeping

Being a deep sleeper can cause you to wet your bed. If you are already in the phase of deep non-REM sleep, it can be difficult for you to wake up and go to the toilet to urinate.

Constipation

Constipation is another cause of bedwetting in adults. Having too much stool in the rectum reduces the capacity of the bladder. The stool left in the rectum causes it to expand. It pushes against the bladder, making it hard for the bladder to hold the urine.

Diabetes

Diabetes can cause adult bedwetting. High blood sugar pulls water out of your blood, which causes more frequent urination.

Urinary Tract Infection

Urinary tract infection (UTI) can cause bedwetting in adults. Bedwetting caused by UTI is not regular but rather occasional, especially for women. The bacteria in the bladder can irritate your bladder wall which causes the need for frequent and immediate urination, even if the person is sleeping. It can be difficult for a person to hold his urine while asleep and the rest of the body is shut off, resulting in bedwetting.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)

Obstructive sleep apnea can cause adult bedwetting by decreasing the body’s arousal response while increasing the intra-abdominal pressure when an apnea event occurs. This places more pressure on your bladder, resulting in a bedwetting episode. OSA can cause frequent nocturnal enuresis in adults.

Conclusion

Bedwetting can happen not only in children but also in adults. You may feel embarrassed after waking up and seeing your sheets wet, but it is not your fault. Bedwetting can be due to a problem with your bladder or a medical condition. If the problem is caused by obstructive sleep apnea, seek advice by going to a medical expert specializing in sleep disorders not only to get a diagnosis but also to know the effective treatment for your problems.

4 Awesome Ways Healthy Diet Promotes Sleep

You are what you eat. In addition, you might be able to sleep with what you eat too. A research conducted by Grandner, Jackson, Gerstner, and Knutson show that what you eat is associated with how you sleep. People who consumed the most calories were able to sleep a fewer than five hours a night while those who consumed the least calories slept for nine hours or more.

Is maintaining a healthy diet important to sleep? Here are positive ways diet affects your sleep.

Reduces Time Needed to Fall Sleep

A healthy diet can make you sleep faster. A study entitled High-glycemic-index Carbohydrate Meals Shorten Sleep Onset 1,2,3 showed that eating a carb-rich dinner that includes jasmine rice at least four hours before bedtime can help you sleep faster. The research concluded that the high glycemic index meal triggered a greater insulin response.

The National Sleep Foundation also mentioned that eating food rich in carbohydrates can make it easier for the sleep-inducing amino acid, tryptophan, to reach your brain. Eating the meal at least 4 hours before bedtime also influenced the quality of sleep.

Promotes Better Mood

A lot of herbs are useful in inducing sleep. Chamomile and peppermint in the form of tea improve your mood and helps you fall asleep. A research conducted by Chang and Chen to postpartum women showed that chamomile tea could be a supplementary approach to help alleviate depression and other sleep quality problems.

According to another research conducted by Tufts University scientists, peppermint tea is a digestive aid that may have antiallergenic potential that can help the drinker sleep faster and calmer.

Enhances Sleep Quality

A high fiber and low-fat diet may improve the quality of your sleep.

Institute of Human Nutrition at Columbia University Medical Center researchers investigated the link between diet and sleep. The study revealed that consuming more fiber may contribute to deeper and better sleep. On the other hand, consuming more saturated fat may cause poor sleep.

Even though the study was conducted on a small sample, it indicates how a healthy diet can be instrumental in enhancing quality and quantity of sleep.

Reduces Sleep Apnea Risks

Maintaining a healthy diet is vital in keeping a normal weight. Being overweight or obese can increase your risk of developing sleep disorders like sleep apnea. As you gain weight, the tissues around your neck thicken, causing breathing problems when you sleep.

Breathing problems can hinder you from getting a good night’s sleep. Once you wake up, you will feel tired and groggy. You can also experience daytime sleepiness.

Maintaining a healthy diet can help improve not only your health but also your sleep and your quality of life. If you have troubles with your sleep or you are experiencing sleep disorders because of your diet, consider talking to a sleep specialist like a dentist to help and guide you.

How Insufficient Sleep Affects the Cognitive Abilities in All Ages –

Different reasons may disrupt a person’s quality of life. One essential but often overlooked cause is sleep deprivation. If not immediately addressed, sleep deprivation can impair your cognitive skills. You experience difficulties storing information, formulating quick decisions, and paying attention if you lack sleep. These cognitive deficiencies due to lack of sleep have been observed in children, teens, and adults.

In this article, we explore the negative effects of insufficient sleep on cognitive functioning and skills.

Children

There were numerous studies demonstrating the effects of sleep on children’s basic cognitive skills. Sleep deprivation, poor sleep quality, and sleep disturbances were linked to mood swings, memory, and performance deficits, and compromised cognitive function in kids.

Weak School Performance

Sleep loss plays a role in limiting a child’s ability to perform at school. A study from the Department of Sleepand Cognition in Netherlands revealed that shorter hours of sleep had negative effects on children’s cognitive functions. Children with the least number of sleep showed poor academic performance.

Lower Nonverbal Intelligence

Sleep problems hamper the development of a child’s nonverbal intelligence. A study in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology explored the connection between sleep and language, attention, and memory development of young children. Frequent awakenings are linked with lower nonverbal intelligence. In other words, children’s nonverbal intelligence suffers if they wake up repeatedly at night.

Poor Memory

Shortened or disturbed sleeping interferes with the development of the brain. It makes daytime studying and learning more difficult. It also disrupts the consolidation of learning into long-term memory, which happens during sleep.

Delayed Verbal Intelligence Development

Sleep is also connected to kids’ verbal intelligence.

An experiment conducted in the Coventry University measured the children’s motor, language, and visual skills. Using equipment to measure the child’s breathing while sleeping, the study proved that oxygen level plays a key role in a child’s development. Children with the lowest oxygen level while sleeping had the poorest expressive language skill. Also, they had difficulties expressing their ideas thru words and sentences.

Teens

Adequate quality sleep is associated with better physical and cognitive development. By contrast, poor or disturbed sleep is related to the decline of cognitive functions in teenagers.

Lower Academic Performance

A study from the College of the Holy Cross and Brown Medical School revealed that students who slept late on school nights had lower GPAs than students who reported sleeping longer on school nights. Moreover, the group that slept late reported having difficulties concentrating. They also lack enthusiasm when it comes to studying. Because of their irregular sleeping habits, there is an increase in the number of sick days because of tiredness. These factors have contributed to their poor academic performance.

Poor Memory

A clinical review conducted by the University Medical Center in Germany shows that sleep facilitates the working memory of teenagers. The performance in abstract and complex tasks involving higher functions of the brain declines significantly when a teenager is sleep deprived. As a result, the teen’s ability to process simple memory tasks suffers.

Adults

Due to increasing working hours, adults tend to stretch their capacity to work at the expense of their sleep. Difficulty staying asleep, short sleep duration, and poor sleep quality are considered as potential risk factors for cognitive impairment in adults.

Poor Emotional Control

Adults with insufficient sleep suffer from poor emotional control. The amygdala, also known as the emotional center of the brain, is 50% more active when adults don’t get adequate sleep.

When you are sleep deprived, your amygdala detaches from the frontal lobe. Without the frontal lobe to regulate the emotional center, activity in the amygdala accelerates, making it difficult to suppress emotions.

Reduced Creativity

Sleep deprivation affects your creativity. A literature review by Killogre revealed that sleep loss degrades creative and innovative areas of cognition. His study also suggests that the effects remain even if you use countermeasures to perk up the brain such as tea or coffee.

Impaired Attention

One night of insufficient sleep is enough to impair attention. A study by Bocca, et al. found that attention levels decline after a night of sleep deprivation. The inability to sustain attention may lead to the reduction in productivity and learning.

Expedited Cognitive Decline

Cognitive impairment due to sleep disturbances is common for older adults. A study from the University of California showed that sleep disturbances contribute to the development of cognitive impairment.

Poor sleep quality and quantity are associated with cognitive decline as well. A study by Chen-Edinboro, et al. discovered that insufficient sleep is linked to cognitive decline. Sleep loss damages neurons which could facilitate cognitive decline in adults.

9 Ways to Reduce Stress and Improve Sleep

Stress affects you physically, emotionally, and behaviorally. The 2014 Stress in America survey shows that stress affects half of all Americans. Additionally, 42% of adults think they can’t effectively manage their stress; 40% say they cannot sleep because of stress.

Stress makes it difficult for you to relax before and during sleep. Having a few techniques can be helpful under stress. Here are 9 simple ways to relieve stress and improve sleep.

Listen to Music

Have you noticed how music can make you feel relaxed? Music helps you calm down and fight stress. A study shows that music can be an effective muscle relaxation technique for anxiety and insomnia relief. A group of college students also found out that listening to classical music at night can help decrease depression and improve sleep.

When choosing music to help you relax at home, pick instrumentals with calming pace. Include light jazz, classical, and nature soundtracks too. Focus on the beat and melody of the music while laying back with the lights turned off.

Relax Before You Go to Bed

Decrease stimulation as much as possible during the evening. Dim the lights and take things slower. Do things that you find relaxing like reading, practicing a gentle yoga or talking about your day with your friend or your partner. Make relaxation the theme of your evening. If there are tasks that you really need to finish, practice doing them in a moderate and relaxed manner.

Take a Warm Bath

Once you’re done for the day, a warm bath before going to bed will help you relax. It will also adjust your body’s temperature and signal your brain that it is already time for sleep.

Take a relaxation bath by combining 1/2 cup Epsom salts with a few drops of essential oil in hot water. Your skin will absorb the magnesium in the Epsom salts and will promote the feeling of relaxation.

Eliminate Caffeine

Caffeine can stay in your body for 8 to 14 hours after consumption. The effects of caffeine vary from person to person. It has different effects on the body even within minutes after it’s consumed. It can result in short-term benefits like increase alertness and concentration which will help in dealing with stress. However, too much caffeine can result in anxiety, irritability, tremors, and insomnia.

If you are having trouble sleeping, try completely eliminating caffeine for a month. See how your sleep improves.

Have a Healthy Meal for Dinner

Eating healthy helps reduce stress and improve the quality of your sleep. To enjoy better health, consider eliminating certain items from your diet. Consume soda, caffeine, sugar, and coffee lightly. Instead, eat foods containing nutrients such as melatonin, tryptophan, and magnesium that help promote sleep. Healthy eating combats stress and helps relieve tension.

During dinner, eat a combination of complex carbohydrates and high-quality protein. Carbs earned a bad reputation because of some popular diet fads, but it is essential in your diet. It helps boost your serotonin levels which can reduce stress and improve your mood. Choose complex carbohydrates like whole wheat pasta, whole grains, sweet potatoes, and oatmeal to keep stress at bay.

Avoid Alcohol and Cigarettes

People who abuse cigarettes and alcohol often have sleeping disorders. They probably think alcohol aids in falling asleep fast. Unfortunately, it does not guarantee quality sleep. Drinking alcohol before sleeping results in less restful sleep as well as more frequent awakenings in the middle of the night.

Similar to alcohol, cigarettes lessen the quality of sleep too. It contains nicotine, a stimulant known to cause anxiety and alertness in the brain. A study at the School of Medicine of Johnson Hopkins University shows that compared to non-smokers, smokers are more likely to complain about not feeling well rested even after a full night’s sleep. Avoiding alcohol and cigarettes increases your body’s melatonin production. Melatonin helps in making you feel sleepy at night, sleep better, and regulates the body rhythm.

Clear Your Mind

Thinking too much about your problems and difficulties in life may cause stress. You need to clear your mind before going to bed. If you worry, it may be difficult sleep well. A study shows that writing down your negative thoughts and throwing all of them away can help clear your mind and release stress.

Clearing your mind in the middle of difficulties and challenges may sound difficult, but it is not impossible. Allow your mind to rest. Whatever concerns you have u can wait until the morning when you feel more energized and fresh.

Focus on the positive too. When you are lying in bed, it helps to turn to more positive thoughts. Focus on good memories and happy events.

Take Deep Breaths

Breathing is an autonomic function. Often, it is easy to overlook its role when it comes to relaxation. The pace and depth of breathing can affect your heart rate and blood pressure. Deeper, slower breaths can induce relaxation too. It is a powerful way to clear your body of stress and tension. It is also a great way to relax as a part of your nightly transition to sleep.

Changing the way you breathe can change the way you feel and how the body will react to what is going on around you. A study shows that when musicians practice breathing techniques 30 minutes before performing, it leaves a positive impact on their heart rate and leaves them feeling less anxious and tense.

The 4-7-8 breath developed by Andrew Weil based on yoga breathing principles helps induce sleep and relaxation. Begin by placing the tip of your tongue behind your upper teeth. Take full exhales through the mouth while making a “whooshing” sound. Close your mouth then inhale to a count of four through your nose. Hold your breath for seven counts then exhale again through your mouth while making the “whooshing” sound. Repeat the steps three times.

Slow and deep breathing helps the body override the sympathetic system which controls your flight response and ability to relax. When you practice deep breathing, you are giving your body the permission to quit being on high alert and to relax instead.

Exercise

Another way to reduce stress and to achieve better health is through exercise. A good exercise routine can help you sleep well. A study conducted by the researchers from Northwestern University found out that a person who does aerobic exercise four times a week was able to improve the quality of sleep from poor to good.

You do not have to be a powerlifter to get the full benefits of exercise. Spend at least 30 minutes a day of moderate exercise can help your body produce endorphins and improve well-being and relaxation.

5 Ways How Exercise Affects Your Sleep –

Want to fall asleep better and feel more rested? Start moving. In the United States, about 35 to 40% of the adult population has problems with falling asleep or experiencing daytime sleepiness, according to an article published by Oregon State University.

Experts say that sleeping, along with proper nutrition and a good exercise routine, is important in maintaining good health. Experts say that low physical activity levels contribute to poor sleep.

In this article, we explore how exercise contributes to sleep quality and quantity.

Increases the Quantity of Sleep

Exercise can help you increase the duration of your sleep. Being physically active requires you to expend your energy. It helps you to feel more tired and ready to rest before the day ends, increasing the duration of your sleep at night.

Improves the Quality of Sleep

Regular exercise does not only help to improve the quantity but also the quality of your sleep. The Sleep in America poll of the National Sleep Foundation found that people who regularly exercise slept better compared with people who are not physically active even if they sleep the same amount every night. With regular exercise, you might get to enjoy the pleasure of sleeping like a baby.

Helps Chronic Insomnia

Chronic insomnia is having difficulty initiating or maintaining your sleep. It is a common sleep disorder in adults. You either wake up too early in the morning or have a non-restorative sleep.

A study published in 2010 conducted an experiment for 16 weeks with a small group of women and one man who received diagnoses of insomnia. Because of exercise routines, people with insomnia slept more soundly. Doing physical activities may help people suffering from chronic insomnia to experience improved sleep.

Reduces Stress and Anxiety

Having a regular exercise routine can help reduce the levels of your stress and anxiety. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America survey, seven out of ten adults in the United States say that they are experiencing stress and anxiety every day.

Stress is a common cause of sleep problems which include sleeping restlessly and trouble falling asleep during the night. Mind and body exercises like yoga can help quiet the parasympathetic nervous system which makes you feel more relaxed. A study shows that yoga helps to lower your cortisol level. Exercising helps reduce your blood pressure and brings positive effects on your mood that can possibly alleviate anxiety.

Decreases Sleep Apnea Risk

Being physically active is important in maintaining your weight. If you are overweight or obese, it increases your risk of developing chronic diseases such as sleep apnea. Sleep apnea poses a long-term negative impact on anyone’s health. It is a common disorder that involves dysfunction of breathing while you sleep. The breathing pauses can prevent you from getting restorative sleep and may make you feel tired even if you had 7 – 9 hours of sleep.

If you have sleep apnea, losing a few pounds by doing physical activities can help improve your sleep. Activities such as swimming and aerobics can be cures for sleep apnea without CPAP as they help increase your lung capacity and improve your breathing.

How much exercise do you need? There is no right answer to this. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute recommends doing at least 150 minutes of exercise a week. That means being physically active for at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week.

Go out for a jog or hit the gym to do cardio sessions or some weight training. Every bit of exercise that you do can help you feel better during the day and sleep better at night.

3 Ways Sleep Problems Trigger Diabetes –

You may already know that diabetes can increase your risk of acquiring more serious health problems such as stroke, heart disease, obesity, peripheral neuropathy, and eye complications. However, what you may not know is that having a bad night’s sleep because of sleep disorders can result in diabetes.

Sleep can affect your blood sugar levels. Your blood glucose control can also affect your sleep. Sleep and diabetes often go hand in hand, so it is important to understand what are the causes of sleep disorders that affect your diabetes.

Raises Blood Sugar Levels

Sleep apnea can trigger diabetes by raising your blood sugar levels. During a sleep apnea episode, when your body struggles for air, it releases stress hormones that can raise blood glucose levels. A study by the European Lung Foundation showed that people who have sleep apnea have higher levels of HbA1c or the level of plasma glucose concentration in the body. It increases blood sugar levels and the risk of diabetic issues.

Sleep apnea increases your blood sugar level and the risk of diabetes. High blood sugar levels will decrease your fat metabolism during the night, which will negatively effect your sleep.

Reduces Insulin

Sleep apnea also reduces insulin which increases the risk of getting diabetes. Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas to allow your body to use sugar from carbohydrates as energy. It also keeps your blood sugar level from getting too high or too low.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services revealed that insulin resistance could lead to a person developing pre-diabetes or Type 2 diabetes. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) obstructs the airway in your body, making it more difficult to breathe properly during sleep. The lapse in breathing shortchanges the bloodstream of the oxygen that it needs to deliver to the rest of your body. When the blood runs low on oxygen, your body will experience hypoxia. Once the brain detects hypoxia, it will send chemical messages to your body to urge the diaphragm and the lungs to breathe.

Once OSA prevents your other organs to breathe, the brain will send a flood of stress hormones into the bloodstream to wake you up consciously and take a breath. Once you undergo multiple awakenings during the night, your insulin sensitivity will be impaired.

Increases Food Cravings

When you regularly lack sleep, it makes you feel more tired throughout the day, and you are more likely to eat comfort foods that can cause diabetes. Sleep deprivation can lead to impaired activity in the brain’s frontal lobe which manages the decision-making of your body. Whenever you are low on sleep, the deeper brain reward center of the brain will tell you to eat savory, sweet, high calories and unhealthy foods.

If you lack sleep, the levels of leptin, the hormones responsible for signaling satiety, will drop. Lack of sleep can make it difficult for your body to sense that you are already full, causing you to consume more calories than what is needed. This can cause long-term health consequences in the form of type 2 diabetes.

Lack of sleep can make you crave foods high in sugar, calories, and carbohydrates to satisfy yourself but can eventually result in diabetes.

If you are feeling the symptoms of sleep problems, go to an expert like a dentist to address your sleep problems immediately. Diabetes is worse when combined with sleep disorders. Seeking medical advice is the best step to avoid further complications.