Do you have trouble falling or staying asleep?

Head for the kitchen and enjoy one or two of these foods. These foods really can make you sleepy. They relax tense muscles, quiet buzzing minds, and/or get calming, sleep-inducing hormones – serotonin and melatonin – flowing. Yawning yet?

Bedtime foods that help you sleep:

• 1 -Bananas. They’re practically a sleeping pill in a peel. In addition to a bit of soothing melatonin and serotonin, bananas contain magnesium, a muscle relaxant.

• 2 – Warm milk. It’s not a myth. Milk has some tryptophan – an amino acid that has a sedative – like effect – and calcium, which helps the brain use tryptophan. Plus there’s the psychological throw-back to infancy, when a warm bottle meant “relax, everything’s fine.”

• 3 – 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.

• 4 – Oatmeal. Oats are a rich source of sleep – inviting melatonin, and a small bowl of warm cereal with a splash of maple syrup is cozy – plus if you’ve got the munchies, it’s filling too. Read The Full Story…

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a common problem in women characterized by mood or physical symptoms that appear regularly in the luteal phase and remit during or shortly after menses. Severe, predominantly affective symptoms can markedly impact a woman’s ability to function at home or the workplace or in her relationships.

Women with PMS tend to report more sleep-related complaints, including insomnia, hypersomnia, tiredness or fatigue, disturbing dreams or nightmares, lethargy, and inability to concentrate.

Women with severe premenstrual syndrome (PMS) perceive their sleep quality to be poorer in association with their symptoms in the late luteal (premenstrual) phase, despite there being no specific alterations in sleep structure associated with premenstrual symptoms, according to a study published in the October 1 issue of the journal SLEEP.

The study, authored by Fiona C. Baker, PhD, of the Human Sleep Research Program at SRI International in Menlo Park, Calif., and the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, focused on nine women with PMS or premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) and 12 controls. The subjects, all 18-40 years of age, had laboratory-based polysomnographic recordings at two phases of the menstrual cycle: follicular phase and late luteal phase. Read The Full Story…

Melatonin is a natural hormone that is manufactured by a small gland located near in the centre of the brain called the pineal gland. Melatonin performs many functions though some of them are not well understood. However the important function performed by it is that of natural regulation of sleep during the night.

Melatonin is made from an amino acid called tryptophan. Tryptophan is categorized as an essential amino acid & we can get it only from the foods that we ingest. The tryptophan consumed during the day is converted into serotonin which is a brain chemical that involved with mood functionality. Serotonin is then converted into melatonin.

People with a low level of melatonin may suffer from insomnia. A melatonin deficiency may also play a role in jetlag. Some people claim that melatonin may slow down the aging process therefore allowing you to live a longer life, however these claims have not been proven, nor is there any scientific proof to back up such claims. Read The Full Story…

What is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep Apnea — a condition in which your tongue and soft palate collapse onto the back of your throat during sleep. This blocks your airway and, when your oxygen level drops low enough, it forces your brain to move out of deep sleep to partially awaken you. You awaken repeatedly with a loud gasp and return to sleep.

If you have been diagnosed with sleep apnea you can get follow advices:

1. – Tell a spouse or responsible persons the details of your diagnosis and treatment so they can inform the physician in an emergency situation

2. – Avoid narcotic (opioid) pain medications such as morphine, which can lead to life-threatening hypoxia (low oxygen), even in patients with mild sleep apnea

3. – Avoid alcoholic beverages (or use with moderation) within 3 hours of bedtime

4. – Avoid (or use with ca

ution) sleeping pills and other medication known to cause sedation

5. – If you smoke, quit. You are three times more likely to have sleep apnea if you smoke than if you never smoked or stopped smoking. – Improve your nasal breathing. f you suffer from a ‘stuffed up’ nose, then try using a nasal spray to help open up your nasal airway. Nasal sprays should not however be used regularly or for prolonged periods, as they can cause damage to the tissues of the nose. Read The Full Story…