General Sleep Statistics:

- Up to 15% of people are Sleepwalking.

- about 15% of people have restless leg syndrome

- Vehicular crashes are the third leading cause of death and injury in the

USA, and up to 20% of them are sleep related

- Untreated sleep apnea causes 500,000 motor vehicle crashes annually

- One in 20 men has sleep apnea

- Seizures occur more commonly during sleep than during waking hours

- Many tranquilizers actually decrease deeper stages of sleep that are

required for the restoration and fresh feeling in the morning

- Sleep loss of four hours is equivalent to being drunk with a blood alcohol

level of 0.1%

- One-third of young adults are pathologically sleepy during the day

- Sleep problems add an estimated $15.9 billion to national health care costs

• sources: Sleep Disorders Center study.

Insomnia Statistics

- 20-40% of all adults have insomnia in the course of any year

- 1 out of 3 people have insomnia at some point in their lives

- Over 70 million Americans suffer from disorders of sleep and wakefulness

- Of those, 60% have a chronic disorder Read The Full Story…

Causes of sleep deprivation can be divided into four broad areas: lifestyle, health complications, medication side effects and clinical disorders. Finding out the cause of your sleep disorder is important because it will determine the type of treatment you need. For example, while those with lifestyle habits that affect their sleep will simply need to alter their lifestyle, those on medication or people who suffer from clinical disorders may need to switch their medications.

Your Lifestyle

One of the main causes is the lifestyle you lead. This includes eating a poor diet and drinking alcohol regularly or excessively. Drinking too much caffeine leads to the inability to sleep well. Working late night shifts throws off the internal clock; the body has a more difficult time sleeping with light. Normal circadian patterns are altered when you can’t sleep during the night.

Those unsure of what is behind their sleep deprivation should keep a sleep journal. Record what you ate, what you did and what happened when you tried to go to sleep each day. Over a period of weeks or a month, patterns develop showing you what could be behind your sleep deprivation.

Medical Conditions

Some medical conditions lead to sleep deprivation. This can be a symptom of a much larger problem. These medical conditions can affect both your emotional state and physical state, causing deprivation indirectly.

Severe asthma can trigger attacks during the evening, keeping you from regular sleep. Other medical conditions can be physiological, such as depression. Doctors have also found post traumatic stress disorder is the cause of insomnia in affected people. Read The Full Story…

Whether it’s sipping decaffeinated hot tea, blocking out all noise and light or spritzing lavender on a cushy pillow, many of us do what we can to get a blissful night’s rest. Take this quiz to figure out your sleep personality, and find strategies best suited to your sleep style.

Next questions are designed to test sleep knowledge. Answers address sleep disorders, myths, drowsy driving, age-related changes and sleep need.

Please choose True of False for each statement and check your answers below!

1- During sleep, your brain rests.

2- You cannot learn to function normally with one or two fewer hours of sleep a night than you need.

3- Boredom makes you feel sleepy, even if you have had enough sleep.

4- Resting in bed with your eyes closed cannot satisfy your body’s need to sleep.

5- Snoring is not harmful as long as it doesn’t disturb others or wake you up.

6- Everyone dreams every night.

7- The older you get the fewer hours of sleep you need.

8- Most people don’t know when they are sleepy.

9- Raising the volume of your radio will help you stay awake while driving.

10- Sleep disorders are mainly due to worry or psychological problems.

11- The human body never adjusts to night shift work.

12- Most sleep disorders go away even without treatment.

Answers

1 False. While your body rests your brain doesn’t. An active brain during sleep prepares us for alertness and peak functioning the next day.
2 True. Sleep need is biological. While children need more sleep than adults, how much sleep any individual needs is genetically determined. Most adults need eight hours of sleep to function at their best. How to determine what you need? Sleep until you wake up on your own…without an alarm clock. Feel rested? That’s your sleep need. You can teach yourself to sleep less, but not to need less sleep. Read The Full Story…

Do you have problem with sleep, or toss and turn in the middle of the night by night? Awaken early, or find yourself not feeling rejuvenated in the morning? You are not alone: many people kick with falling and staying asleep.

What does food have to do with sleep? Our nutritional status and the food we eat always influence our sleep. Luckily, some foods actively aid falling asleep and staying asleep.

They relax tense muscles, quiet buzzing minds, and/or get calming, sleep-inducing hormones - serotonin and melatonin - flowing.

Sleep inducing foods is:

- Cherries

Fresh and dried cherries are one of the only natural food sources of melatonin, the chemical that controls the body’s internal clock to regulate sleep.

- Oatmeal

Oatmeal has an old reputation as being one of the healthiest foods you can eat for a lot of reasons. Again most people don’t know that oatmeal can actually help promote sleep.

- Bananas.

They are practically a sleeping pill in a peel. In addition to a bit of soothing melatonin and serotonin, bananas contain magnesium, a muscle relaxant.

- Warm milk

Like bananas, milk contains the amino acid L-tryptophan, which turns to 5-HTP and releases relaxing serotonin. It’s also high in calcium, which promotes sleep.

- Honey.

Drizzle a little in your warm milk or herb tea. Lots of sugar is stimulating, but a little glucose tells your brain to turn off orexin, a recently discovered neurotransmitter that’s linked to alertness.

- Turkey.

Turkey contains tryptophan. To get the most from the tryptophan in turkey, eat a slice of white turkey meat on a slice of whole-wheat bread in the middle of the evening. Read The Full Story…

Sleeplessness is a big problem in America. According to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), almost six out of ten Americans report having insomnia at least a few nights weekly. In a recent NSF poll, they found that as many as 25 percent of the people in the U.S. use medications in an effort to combat insomnia and get some rest.

Most sleeping pills, especially when taken over long periods of time, stay in the bloodstream and give a hangover effect the next day and beyond. They impair memory, reduce performance on the job and at home, and contribute to machine and car accidents.

The antihistamines used in OTC sleep aids can produce side effects. Effects can be stronger in older adults. As with any medication, it is advisable to consult with your doctor before taking over-the-counter sleep medication. This is especially important if you have glaucoma, trouble urinating due to an enlarged prostate gland, or a breathing problem such as emphysema or chronic bronchitis.

Allergic Reactions: Other rare but potential side effects of sedative-hypnotic drugs are a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) and severe facial swelling (angioedema), which can occur as early as the first time the product is taken.

Sleeping drugs can wreak havoc on one’s health and well-being. The right blend of natural minerals can be an effective natural insomnia remedy that helps the sleepless get some good rest.

Passages Addiction Cure Center in Malibu, California is most effective and successful rehab center throughout the world which believe in one-to-one addiction rather than doing in group session. According to them to achieve the goal of being drug free, it is necessary to provide a individual a safe and comfort atmosphere for his/her development.

Passages Malibu is a very suitable place for your family that has dependency problems; in here you will get the best treatment from expert. Many benefits will be found in the passage Malibu such as one-on-one therapy, 60 days in a month therapy, holistic therapy, and also you can do more outdoor activity. By using the method of one-on-one therapy and holistic therapy we can handle your dependency problems correctly and quickly, because it’s help to heal you in mind, body and spirit.

Passages Malibu is the right place for dependency problems, many people come out successfully from dependency problems, some celebrities had treatment in here like tiger wood, Aerosmith Steven Tyler’s, Tiger Woods entering rehab for sex addiction and VH1’s TV show Sober House and refer to celebrity rehabs such as Passages Malibu

Passage Malibu provide a comprehensive service where they are not only focus to deal with dependency problems but also provides a place where the patient’s rehabilitation will feel like living at home there so they can feel enjoyable during rehabilitation. With the experience, facilities and comprehensive programs; passage will handle your problem completely, for get more information you can visit at Passages Malibu blog.

Twenty five percent of adults and 50% of senior citizens have insomnia problems. Insomnia is also a problem that is prevalent among people with HIV/AIDS.

People who suffer from sleepless nights know that curing insomnia isn’t easy - but it is possible, with these natural, non-invasive sleep aids and insomnia cures.

Here are a 10 quick insomnia tips that could help you sleep much better each night:

1. Avoiding caffeine, MSG, alcohol, and other drugs and chemicals that can interfere with sleep cycles. Need a cup of java to get the day started? Even a cup of coffee first thing in the morning has the potential to interfere with nighttime sleep. Some people react to caffeine, alcohol, and chemicals like MSG (in food) much more than others.
2. Acupressure and acupuncture may help to cure insomnia. Acupressure would involve applying pressure to the back of head at the base of the skull while prolonged acupuncture (4-5 weeks) increases the amount of melatonin produced in the evening. PMR or progressive muscle relaxation is a great natural remedy for insomnia.
3. Drink Chamomile Tea an hour before bedtime and take Valerian root with it. If you open up your first bottle of Valerian root and it smells like rotten socks, don’t throw it away, it’s supposed to smell like that!
4. Eat Honey. Honey is also said to promote sleep and is a good wholesome natural cure for insomnia. 2 teaspoons in a large cup of water should do the trick. In fact a cup of Chamomile tea with honey is even better. Bedtime tea consisting of valerian root, kava kava, chamomile and catnip in the right proportion is a very calming concoction. Another cure for insomnia, which is supposed to work wonders, is to take a pinch of cinnamon, roast it until it turns black. Boil this in water (a glassful) and take it just half an hour before you want to retire. It is professed to work. Read The Full Story…
   

Several physical, medical, psychiatric or external factors cause trouble in sleep. Sleeping disorders are a common problem among people all over the world. There can be different types of sleeping disorders, symptoms causes may vary according to the types. Sleeping disorder typically occur due to stress, anxiety, grief, dependencies like alcoholism and various external environmental factors. A lot of people can experience sleeping disorders due to food sensitivity, which causes disruption while sleeping.

There are many sleep disorders types, which are generally classified into one of three categories:

- lack of sleep (e.g., insomnia),

- disturbed sleep (e.g., obstructive sleep apnea), and

- excessive sleep (e.g., narcolepsy).

Insomnia – a short term or chronic inability to get high quality sleep – is a common sleep problem and can be caused by a variety of things including stress, a change in time zones, an altered sleep schedule or poor bedtime habits. Whether your problem is an occasional sleepless night or a series of them, plenty of solutions exist to help you get better sleep.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome . The most common kind of sleep apnea is called Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome. Sleep apnea means “cessation of breath.” It is characterized by repetitive episodes of upper airway obstruction that occur during sleep, usually associated with a reduction in blood oxygen saturation. In other words, the airway becomes obstructed at several possible sites. The upper airway can be obstructed by excess tissue in the airway, large tonsils, a large tongue and usually includes the airway muscles relaxing and collapsing when asleep. Another site of obstruction can be the nasal passages. Sometimes the structure of the jaw and airway can be a factor in sleep apnea. Read The Full Story…

Sleep paralysis consists of a period of inability to perform voluntary movements either at sleep onset (called hypnogogic or predormital form) or upon awakening (called hypnopompic or postdormtal form). Sleep paralysis is a common condition where people are paralyzed at the onset of sleep or upon waking; it may accompany vivid or terrifying hallucinations called hypnagogic hallucinations. Here are some steps to help you cope with sleep paralysis.

Sleep paralysis is a condition in which someone, most often lying in a supine (face up) position, about to drop off to sleep, or just upon awaking from sleep realizes that s/he is unable to move, or speak, or cry out. This may last a few seconds or several moments, occasionally longer. People frequently report feeling a ‘presence’ that is often described as malevolent, threatening, or evil. An intense sense of dread and terror is very common. The presence is likely to be vaguely felt or sensed just out of sight but thought to be watching or monitoring, often with intense interest, sometimes standing by, or sitting on the bed. On some occasions, the presence may attack, strangling and exerting crushing pressure on the chest.

Tips for Cope with Sleep Paralysis :

- Don’t stay up and move around until you are so tired you could fall asleep as soon as you sit down this can lead to sleep paralysis.

- Reduce stress.

- Eat healthy. Avoid going to bed hungry. Avoid caffeine 5 hours before sleep. Read The Full Story…

Do you have problem falling asleep, or toss and turn in the middle of the every night ? Awaken very early, or find yourself not feeling rejuvenated in the morning? You are not alone: many people struggle with falling and staying asleep.

What does food have to do with sleep? Our nutritional status and the food we eat always influence our sleep. Luckily, some foods actively aid falling asleep and staying asleep.

They relax tense muscles, quiet buzzing minds, and/or get calming, sleep-inducing hormones - serotonin and melatonin - flowing.

The following foods containing trytophan that aid sleep are:

- Milk and cheese (dairy foods). Your mother was right after all to give you a cup of warm milk before sending you off to bed. Cheese like Cheddar, Gruyere and Swiss are especially rich in tryptophan

- Turkey. Turkey contains tryptophan. To get the most from the tryptophan in turkey, eat a slice of white turkey meat on a slice of whole-wheat bread in the middle of the evening.

- Oatmeal and cherries both contain a substance called melatonin. Melatonin is a naturally occurring substance in the body that regulates sleep. So adding additional melatonin on top of what you naturally produce seems to help many people sleep well.

- Bananas. They are practically a sleeping pill in a peel. In addition to a bit of soothing melatonin and serotonin, bananas contain magnesium, a muscle relaxant. Bananas will also contribute to release tryptophan and serotonin. Read The Full Story…