Missing out on rest can harm brain cell making.

Missing out on sleep may cause the brain to stop producing new cells show a new study.

A team from Princeton University found a lack of sleep affected the hippocampus, a brain region involved in forming memories. The research in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science showed a stress hormone causes the effect. UK expert said it would be interesting to see if too little rather than no sleep had the same consequence.

The researchers compared animals that were deprived of sleep for 72 hours with others who were not.

They found those who missed out on rest had higher levels of the stress hormone corticosterone.

They also produced significantly fewer new brain cells in a particular region of the hippocampus.

When the animals’ corticosterone levels were kept at a constant level, the reduction in cell proliferation was abolished. Read The Full Story…

The total of physical exercise you get during the day is one of the key elements in enabling you to fall asleep at night and get a good night’s rest. The more active you are during the day, the faster you will fall asleep at night and the more well-rested sleep you will get.

By exercising frequently, you’ll see an improvement in the quality of your sleep and the cycles and phases of sleep will become smoother and more regular. Regular physical activity may also better enable you to deal with the stress and worries of your life.

Exercise has generally been held to result in an increase in slow wave sleep and sleep duration.

• Aerobic exercise is considered to be the greatest type of activity to fight with sleeplessness. This is because these exercises allow more oxygen to enter the blood, due to the fact that you normally breathe deeply while Read The Full Story…
  

The best bedtime snacks are high in protein, fiber, complex carbs, minerals, and the amino acid tryptophan. To ensure a good night’s sleep, be sure to eat a light snack about 90 minutes before your anticipated bedtime.

The best bedtime snacks that help you sleep:

- Cottage cheese and fruit.

- A string cheese and a few whole grain crackers.

- A small serving of salmon and brown rice.

- A bowl of oatmeal with almonds.

- Yogurt, fruit, and wheat germ.

- 6-8 oz container of non-fat, flavored yogurt topped with 2 tablespoons low-fat granola cereal

- Peanut butter on whole grain toast.

- One egg and a piece of whole grain toast.

- A fruit smoothie with protein powder.

- A small bowl of high fiber cereal and milk.

- A handful of raw cashews, peanuts, or other nuts.

- Half an avocado and whole grain chips.

- Half a turkey sandwich on whole grain bread.

- 3 tablespoons of hummus and veggies or a few whole grain chips.

- 2 tablespoons of cashew butter and celery decorated with raisins.

- Rice cakes and cashew or peanut butter.

- Sliced apple with 1-2 teaspoons natural peanut butter Read The Full Story…

If you’ve ever experienced a sleep problem, you know how exasperating it can be. The harder you try to make sleep come, the more sleep eludes you. Instead of counting sheep, sometimes the best way to handle persistent sleeplessness is to stop fighting it. There are lots of things you can do to for a good and quick sleep.

If you are having trouble sleeping, the following tips might help:

1. Drink a glass of warm milk. It turns out there’s a scientific basis for your grandmother’s old-time remedy. Milk contains tryptophan, a chemical that may promote sleep in some people.

2. Try a peaceful mind exercise. For instance, count backward from 100 with your eyes closed. By the time you get to 10 (yawn) we hope you’ll feel very sleepy. And by 5, we hope you’ll feel yourself drifting off … 3, 2, 1, ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.

3. Read a book or listen music. Reading a peaceful book before or playing soothing music can help you have sweet dreams.

4. Make Your Bedroom Dark. The contrast between light during the day and dark at night helps reinforce your body’s natural rhythms. By making your bedroom dark at night, you will be able to fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. Closing drapes and doors can help reduce the light in your bedroom. Read The Full Story…

Physiologic studies suggest that sleep constraint has metabolic effects that predispose to weight gain. The authors investigated the association between self-reported usual sleep duration and subsequent weight gain in the Nurses’ Health Study.

Study:
The 68,183 women who reported habitual sleep duration in 1986 were followed for 16 years. In analysis adjusted for age and body mass index, women sleeping 5 hours or less gained 1.14 kg (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.49, 1.79) more than did those sleeping 7 hours over 16 years, and women sleeping 6 hours gained 0.71 kg (95% CI: 0.41, 1.00) more. The relative risks of a 15-kg weight gain were 1.32 (95% CI: 1.19, 1.47) and 1.12 (95% CI: 1.06, 1.19) for those sleeping 5 and 6 hours, respectively. The relative risks for incident obesity (body mass index: >30 kg/m(2)) were 1.15 (95% CI: 1.04, 1.26) and 1.06 (95% CI: 1.01, 1.11).

• These associations remained significant after inclusion of important covariates and were not affected by adjustment for physical activity or dietary consumption. These data suggest that short sleep duration is associated with a modest increase in future weight gain and incident obesity. Read The Full Story…
  

“A power nap is a short nap, normally between 10 and 30 minutes long, taken in the middle of the day in order to reinvigorate and refresh you for the next part of the day.”

If you not have time for a full-out siesta but even naps as short as 20 minutes can make a big difference in your energy level, ability to concentrate, and general outlook. Scientists have long researched the positive effects of napping, and now there is growing evidence to suggest that power napping can increase productivity levels and even uplift your spirit.
A powerful way to combat a daily fatigue is by learning how to effectively power nap during the day to recharge and go into round two with full energy.

If you want to take a nap at work, I suggest trying a few of the following tips:

- Announce your nap to yourself and your colleagues. Just closing your eyes for a few guilty moments will not cut it - you have to give yourself permission to nap to get the most out of it.
- Get comfortable. Most sleeping difficulties are psychosomatic, not physical, so if you are having trouble falling asleep, consider reevaluating the environment you’re sleeping in. An environment conducive to napping is quiet, dark and free from interruptions. If you sleep on a floor at work, keep a mat (like a yoga mat that rolls up) at work, and possibly a pillow and blanket, if that makes you more comfortable. Other tools of the trade to consider – eye shades, ipod or walkman with restful music, or specific MP3 files designed to help you wind down and fall asleep.

- Collect your equipment. Blankets, pillows and, where possible, a foldout bed will ensure you get the most out of the rest, and help you separate naptime from the rest of the dayMake sure you’re not worried about waking upSome people wake up naturally, but if you are worried, make sure you have an alarm. It is difficult to enjoy your 40 winks if you keep getting up to check the time after 15, 20 and 30 winks

- Eat rightAvoid consuming caffeine, fat, carbohydrates or sugar in the hours before your nap as these foods make it harder to get to sleep. Instead, try to consume protein and calcium. In an ideal scenario, drinking a glass of warm milk about an hour before you plan to nap will encourage you to sleep. Read The Full Story…