Archive for the ‘Better Sleep’ Category

This interesting article addresses some of the key issues regarding healthy sleep habits. A careful reading of this material could make a big difference in how you think about healthy sleep habits to children. Healthy sleep habits for children are as significant as they are a necessary for health, proper growth and well-being.

Children, who get sufficient amount sleep every night function better throughout the day, are more alert, and their concentration, performance and memory are better than those who don’t sleep well. As well children with sleep problems are less likely to develop behavioral problems of any kind, moodiness, anxiety or depression.

The needs of sleep differ from child to child but school age children in general require in the area of nine to twelve hours of sleep per night. Consider these things if you are unsure whether or not your child is getting enough sleep every night.

If he/she wakes up easily in the morning that is a good sign
If he/she is wide awake, energetic and alert throughout the school day then the nighttime sleep is sufficient.
If a child can fall asleep within a period of fifteen minutes to a half an hour than he or she is getting enough sleep

It is significant to explain to your child why getting enough sleep every night is significant, not only in terms of his/her health but also for performance in school and other activities such as sports, music, playtime, etc.
Bedtime Routines
Above all else developing and following a routine before bedtime is the number one tip to encourage good sleep habits in your child is to. A routine is good for children because children like predictability and a bedtime routine makes it easier for a kid to calm down after their busy day, crawl into bed and drift off to sleep.

A typical bedtime routine for a child should look something like this- a light snack, a relaxing bath, dry off and put on pajamas, wash face and brush teeth, read a bedtime story and then it’s good night and lights out.
Same Bedtime
Stick to the same bedtime every night. An occasional change in the bedtime routine, such as when grandparents visit or during a holiday weekend is one thing, but for the most part, a consistent routine is best.
Children’s Bedroom
Always make sure that a child’s room is at a comfortable temperature and that it is peaceful and quiet. Also many children do not want to be left in the total darkness while they sleep so getting a nightlight is a worthwhile purchase to make.
Stress
Stress can cause sleepless nights for children so always encourage your son or daughter to talk with you about any concerns or worries he or she is having, whether they be family problems, school related problems and so on.

You may not consider everything you just read to be crucial information about healthy sleep habits for your children. But don’t be surprised if you find yourself recalling and using this very information in the next few days.
Cut-off Time for Entertainment
It is an excellent idea to devise a specific cut-off time for entertainment for your child, in terms of television, video games, and the computer and so on. It is not a good idea to have a television or a computer in a child’s bedroom, as they can be easily distracted or tempted to play after they are told, “Enough for today.”

It is an even better idea to cease television, computer or videos an hour before bedtime in order to make the preparation for sleep a calm and relaxing experience. A child does not need anything stimulating before bedtime.
Sleep Disorders for Children
Children can suffer from sleep disorders just like people of any age can. Sleep apnea, insomnia, enuresis (bed wetting), bruxism (teeth grinding), asthma that is nocturnal in nature and nightmares can all occur in children.

You make a visit to the doctor to decide upon a course of action, the better, if your child is having problems with sleep the sooner.
Educate Your Child about Sleep
Try to make the whole sleep experience as positive and uplifting as can be. Encourage your child to learn how to fall asleep on his/her own and not to need to rely on you.

Research has proven that a child sleeping in a parent’s bed runs a risk of them suffocating or being strangled and also fosters dependence to an unhealthy extent. None of these things are as likely to happen when the child is alone in their own bed.

It is the kid who can be alone and fall asleep by him/herself who learns better how to cope with moments when he or she is awakened during the night. The only time that you might want to stay with your child until they fall asleep is if they are sick or extremely fearful.

Take time to consider the points presented above. What you learn may help you overcome your hesitation to take action.

Nishanth Reddy
http://www.articlesbase.com/diseases-and-conditions-articles/creating-healthy-sleep-habits-for-your-children-62639.html

Getting the proper amount of sleep is very important to the human body. When you do not get the proper amount of sleep every day, you could suffer from a number of different problems, some severe.

The average person spends one third of their life sleeping. If you do not get enough sleep, concentration levels and response times may suffer.

Sleep disorders are very common, and can develop in anyone at any time. They can be caused by many different reasons, however all forms of sleeping disorders can be treated. It is important that you get a diagnosis from a medical professional.

When a person suffers from a sleep disorder, it affects their everyday life. There are many causes as to why we have sleeping problems, which contribute to the severity. Believe it or not, when you sleep in a dirty room, it is difficult to get a good night sleep. Whether it is dusty or just smelly try cleaning up and see if you sleep better.

Another contributor to sleep disorders is caffeine. If you drink coffee or soda late at night, you can develop irregular sleep patterns.

The symptoms of sleep disorders are relatively easy to recognize. If you feel like you need to take a nap halfway through the day or your response time slows down, you may not be getting enough sleep. Another symptom that indicates that you have a sleep disorder is that you are irritable.

Seeking medical attention is the only way that you will know for sure that you have a disorder. The doctor will take into consideration your symptoms, gender, lifestyle and psychological history. These all play an important part in diagnosing sleep disorders. Your physician may recommend that you keep a record of your day to day habits, including diet, and sleep schedule.

There are methods of treating sleeping disorders that have been around for decades. If you know what your sleep cycle is you are more likely to get the proper amount of sleep.

Set a reasonable bedtime and stick to it every night. Do not drink anything including water after a certain time each night. Avoid drinking caffeinated beverages at night as these are stimulants and will keep you awake.

Try to do some light exercises or taking a walk in the evening, this will assist in eliminating built up stress and tire you out quicker so you will be able to sleep. If you suffer from these disorders, it is important that you understand that you are not alone. Millions of people around the world share the same disorder to some degree. There are support groups to help those who are afflicted to deal with their sleep disorders. They share with the group what works for them and what does not.

Summary:

Sleep disorders can affect every aspect of your life. It is important that you talk to your physician before taking any medications to come up with a strategy to help you get a good night sleep. Speaking to your doctor will also give you the peace of mind knowing that your disorder can be treated.

Brooke Hayles
http://www.articlesbase.com/non-fiction-articles/how-to-identify-the-signs-and-symptoms-of-a-sleep-disorder-73503.html

Sleep apnea is a common disorder that is characterized by very shallow breathing while sleeping. The most common type of sleep apnea is obstructive sleep apnea.

When sleep is upset throughout the night the next day can be one of fatigue and sleepiness. A person with sleep apnea does not get restful sleep because:

•Brief episodes of increased airway resistance and breathing pauses occur many times throughout the night
•You may experience many brief drops in the oxygen levels in your blood
•Poor sleep quality occurs because you move out of deep sleep and into light sleep several times during the night.
Loud snoring is often a characteristic common to people who have sleep apnea. Not everyone who snores has sleep apnea and there are people with sleep apnea that do not know they snore.

Sleep apnea happen more often in people who are overweight, however thin people can also have the condition. The majority of people with sleep apnea do not know they have it, and they do not know they are having problems breathing while they are asleep. A family member and/or bed partner may notice the signs of sleep apnea first.

An increase in the chance of having blood pressure which can lead to heart attack or stroke is one of the consequences of untreated sleep apnea. Sleep apnea left untreated can also increase the risk of diabetes and the risk for work-related accidents and driving accidents.

There is an estimation of over 12 million American who have obstructive sleep apnea. More than half of these people are overweight and most of them “snore” heavily. Sleep apnea is more common in men, and is more common in African Americans, Hispanics, and Pacific Islanders than in Caucasians. It tends to run in families as well. It can also occur in children. If your child snores, you should discuss it with your doctor or health care provider.

Common signs and symptoms of sleep apnea include:

•Loud snoring
•Choking or gasping during sleep
•Fighting sleepiness during the day (even at work or while driving)
•Morning headaches
•Memory or learning problems
•Feeling irritable
•Not being able to concentrate on your work
•Mood swings or personality changes
•Feelings of depression
•Dry throat upon awakening
•Frequent urination at night

Treatment of sleep apnea:

The goal of treatment is to restore regular nighttime breathing and relieve symptoms such as very loud snoring and daytime sleepiness. Appropriate treatment will also help the associated problems of high blood pressure and reduce risk for heart attack and stroke.

Tips of self-help for sleep apnea include:

•Avoid alcohol, smoking and or medicines that can make you sleepy.
•Lose weight if you are overweight
•Try sleeping on your side instead of your back.

One of the most common treatments for sleep apnea is continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). This treatment is wearing a mask over your nose during sleep.

If you snore, treating sleep apnea may help stop snoring, however, this does not mean you no longer have sleep apnea or that you should stop using CPAP. If CPAP is stopped or not used correctly, sleep apnea will return.
Possible side effects of CPAP include:

•Dry or stuffy nose
•Irritation of the skin on your face
•Bloating of your stomach
•Sore eyes
•Headaches

For people who have side effects working with sleep medicine specialists and technicians can help reduce the side effects. Some things that can be done include:

•Use a nasal spray to relieve a dry, stuffy, or runny nose
•Adjust the CPAP settings
•Adjust the size/fit of the mask
•Add moisture to the air as it flows through the mask
•Use a CPAP machine that can automatically adjust the amount of air pressure to the level that is required to keep the airway open
•Use a CPAP machine that will start with low air pressure and slowly increase the air pressure as you fall asleep.

People with severe sleep apnea symptoms usually feel better once they begin treatment with CPAP. It is important to follow-up with your doctor and to discuss any side effects with your doctor.

Other sleep apnea treatments include:

•Mouthpiece (oral appliance) for people with mild sleep apnea
•Surgery: The type of surgery depends upon the cause of the sleep apnea.

Types of surgery include:

•Surgery to remove tonsils and adenoids if they block the airway, this is especially helpful for children
•Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty
•Laser-assisted uvulopalatoplasty
•Tracheostomy
•Rebuilding the lower jaw
•Surgery on the nose
•Surgery to treat obesity.

Source: The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute

Disclaimer: *This article is not meant to diagnose, treat or cure any kind of a health problem. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Always consult with your health care provider about any kind of a health problem and especially before beginning any kind of an exercise routine.

This article is FREE to publish with the resource box. Article written 4-2007.

Connie Limon
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/sleep-apnea-a-common-disorder-139141.html

It always troubles me to hear that there are parents using sleep medications for getting baby to sleep. Not just for baby’s welfare but for the parents as well. Sleeping pills can be deadly for infants and small children for the following reasons:

Your child could be in for a lifetime of sleeping pill addiction. As he grows up he may not be able to develop a proper sleep routine.

There is no sleeping pill that has ever been tested on babies or young children. Some over-the-counter medications, for example Sominex or Nytol, can have the opposite effect and they can actually act as a stimulant. Getting baby to sleep with these medications is virtually impossible.

It’s easy to criticize these parents, but we should also sympathize with them as they’re probably at the end of their rope. Parents everywhere are searching the some new undiscovered technique that just may work. Millions of dollars are spent each year with just the one aim – getting baby to sleep.

The main problems are:

- Baby naps all day and is wide awake at night.
- Baby goes to sleep quite easily, but wakes up frequently.
- Baby screams when put to bed each night and becomes very distraught.

Stay at home mums can cope – just! – because they can grab some sleep during the day. For those who work full time outside the home however, it can be very difficult.

If you’re one of these parents, this was written just for you. There are ways out of this trap, so don’t despair, you may find it less traumatic than you expected.

Try these techniques, they really do work…

Crying it out – This one’s not for the faint hearted! It involves leaving your baby to cry for a set amount of time before going in to see to him. Then gradually increase the time between visits. Tough love indeed, but it does work! Sooner or later baby will realize that crying isn’t working so he may as well just go to sleep.

Now this is probably not for everyone. However balance this with the fact that, in the long term, you’re setting baby up with good sleep habits.

A sleep routine – Keep it as simple as possible. A bath, a bedtime story and a cuddle make a good simple routine. It’s best not to include any games or stimulating activities in the sleep routine and be sure to do it every night in the same order.

Natural remedies – This one is a boon for busy parents. Herbal and homeopathic remedies are a far better and safer option to drugs for getting baby to sleep.

Wendy Owen
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/trouble-getting-baby-to-sleep-heres-what-not-to-do-732299.html

Most of us simply take sleep for granted. We assume we need our “rest” without ever thinking much about it. But the most important function of sleep is to allow our bodies to regenerate themselves. If we engage in physical exercise or muscle-taxing work during the day, our muscles, ligaments, skin, cartilege and other working parts of our body are worn down in the process. The body needs a time of rest to rebuild these damaged parts. That is what happens during sleep.

In other words, the body engages in a restorative process during sleep. And this restorative process uses energy to rebuild both lean muscle mass and other kinds of body tissue. That is worth repeating — the rebuilding processes that take place during sleep use energy. And if the restorative processes are running smoothly and efficiently, the required energy comes from the places in our body where energy is stored — from our fat cells.

So while we sleep the body repairs and rebuilds organ tissue, ligaments, tendons and lean muscle by burning the calories we take in as food during the day. And if that is not enough, it will burn excess fat.

Several things about this process are worth noting. They have an important bearing on how efficiently it works.

Collagen is very important to the body repair process

Collagen is the most common protein found in our bodies. It is the main component of our skin, nails, bones, cartilage, and connective tissue and is found in all of the body organs. Cartilage is the cushion and shock absorber between joints, and the reason we stay flexible and mobile. But cartilage and other soft body tissues are the very things that break down during our normal daily activities. So healthy cartilage and other soft tissue is constantly being regenerated by the body naturally and this process which depends on a steady source of collagen contributes to keeping us youthful and flexible.

Unfortunately, as we age our bodies lose the ability to produce collagen at sufficient levels needed to support the restorative processes that our bodies are designed to perform. This can be a major contributor leading to a premature aged appearance and can seriously affect our flexibility and mobility.

Therefore it stands to reason that a collagen supplement combined with other natural ingredients can have a dramatic impact on the deep restorative processes that take place during sleep. This in turn can allow the body to experience more energy, build more lean muscle, and burn more fat.

Amino acids enhance the regeneration process

The rebuilding process is also dependent on the production of a unique amino acid combination found in collagen. As part of the restoration process, these collagen based special amino acids help maintain lean muscle mass and allow the body to more readily consume fat for energy during the deep restorative sleep cycles. This natural metabolic function directly contributes to weight loss and our ability to maintain our “proper weight”.

But again, as we age, our body’s production of collagen and its unique amino acids is reduced. The natural ingredient L-Carnitine, when properly combined with collagen in a natural supplement, can significantly enhance the body’s natural function of converting excess fat into readily available energy. During deep sleep, this special amino acid conbination works like a natural “turbo charger” to help your body repair, preserve and build lean muscle while burning stored excess fat to supply the needed energy.

Not eating before sleeping is important

Since the body uses deep sleep for the restoration process, it is important when using a collagen supplement not to eat approximately three hours before going asleep. This is because we don’t want nutrient competitiion between undigested food and the collagen supplement’s special nutrient formula. If the body has to concern itself with digestion it will not absorb the collagen formula properly. Therefore your body will not be performing its natural restorative process while you sleep, but rather will be concerned with undigested foods and will actually be storing fat from the continuing digestive process rather than burning fat as the energy for the deep sleep restorative process.

This tends to put us into a “diet circle of frustration”. The less time your body spends in deep restful sleep (without competing digestion), the less time it has to restore its natural health, and the less fat that is burned in support of this natural rebuilding process.

Now we understand how deep restful sleep and weight loss often go hand in hand with our overall health.

Reducing or eliminating the intake of food three hours before bedtime allows the body to use its natural fat reserves for metabolic fuel during the deep restorative sleep cycle.

Collagen weight loss products build on this process

Natural collagen supplements enable the natural process to help people lose weight and be more naturally healthy. For instance, the product called Lose and Snooze consists of a blend of Collagen, L-Carnitine and Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera). The Collagen contributes to a more youthful appearance, greater flexibility, and all round mobility and strength.

The collagen supplement also enhances the deep sleep necessary to enable your body’s natural metabolic functions to occur, like when we were children. The second ingredient, L-Carnitine promotes the burning of fat in support of the natural rebuilding, restorative process that occurs during deep sleep. And Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera) contains numerous nutrients and amino acids that help create a healthy environment in support of your body’s ability to create its own collagen.

Many users of collagen supplements like Lose and Snooze have reported good results. But researchers stress that going to bed on an empty stomach is an integral part of the therapy. Many users report that using a collagen formula in combination with an empty stomach before bedtime, has been beneficial to their general health and has helped them naturally lose weight.

And because collagen supplements only help lose excess fat (while rebuilding muscle), they can be used by anybody — not just people wanting to lose weight. They have also been beneficial to folks who want to enjoy Better Sleep, build lean muscle, improve their appearance and reshape their body while maintaining their proper healthy weight.

Rick Hendershot
http://www.articlesbase.com/non-fiction-articles/how-to-lose-weight-while-you-sleep-32086.html