How long does it take you to fall asleep? I know some people who start snoring the moment they lie down. Me, I usually spend at least 20 minutes staring at the ceiling (or the pillow). There are even times when I would waste an hour or more just trying to fall asleep. This year, I am determined to fix my sleeping habits – and that starts with falling asleep faster. Here are some things that I have been trying out, and they seem to be working.
Get thick and dark curtains for the bedroom. My curtains are light and airy. They’re perfect for the morning, but at night, the moonlight or the city lights shine through. That never really bothered me, but I thought I’d try sleeping in a dark ...
Tags: sleep patterns, sleep problems
In the last post, we had a reality check on relationships and the money of giving gifts. In this post, let us look at some other aspects of the
Christmas celebration wherein we can reduce the stress we might experience.
The Christmas meal
I wrote meal because some people eat lunch or dinner for the “main event.” It does not really matter which meal you eat with the whole family – or group of friends – the important thing is to be able to handle the preparations without overly stressing yourself out. One commonly suggested thing is to make the meal potluck. Truth be told, this has been the tradition in my family for many years now. Each family brings his own dish ...
Are you a woman who is between 50 and 79 years of age? Do you like to sleep a lot? Well, if you are, you might want to examine your sleeping patterns. A recent study conducted by researchers at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill reveals that too much sleep can increase the risk of stroke in middle-aged women.
A report by
Reuters states:
The greatest increase in stroke risk — 70 percent — was noted among women who slept 9 hours or more per night, according to their report in the medical journal Stroke.
After following the group for an average of 7.5 years, the researchers found that 1,166 women experienced an ischemic stroke, the most common type of stroke, which occurs when a blood vessel in the brain becomes blocked. This prevents oxygen from ...
We’ve been on the subject of sleep for quite some time now and I am sure you have come across the term sleep debt. What is it exactly? Remember in one of my posts, I mentioned that for every person, there is a
certain amount of sleep that you need every night? Well, if you do not get this amount of sleep, then you incur sleep debt. Just like financial debt, sleep debt accumulates over time.
So, take my example – I am used to sleeping at least 10 hours a day. For the past 3 weeks, I have been sleeping 2 to 3 hours. That gives me sleep debt of 7 to 8 hours every day. This adds up to 49 to 56 hours per week! And just like financial debt, we all ...
Lately I have been sleeping in later and later but I still feel tired and drowsy during the day. Perhaps this is why I can’t seem to get the topic of sleep off my head and, consequently, in this blog. Hopefully, in my quest to find out more about sleep, I will also provide information to those who need it.
So, how do you know if you are sleep deprived? If you always feel sleepy – like I do – does it automatically mean that you are sleep deprived? According to
Dr. Melissa Conrad Stoppler, you may be sleep deprived if you answer yes to the following:
1. Do you often feel drowsy during the day?
2. Do you usually fall asleep within the first five minutes after lying down in bed?
Then again, she says it is either you ...
While we’re on the subject of sleep, let’s take a moment to look at things that may affect our sleeping patterns. For sure, one’s
work schedule has something to do with it – tell me about it! I told you how 10 hours of sleep is what find optimal in the last post. Well, lately, some changes in my partner’s work schedule have thrown me off track. I have been getting 10 hours of sleep but it seems that I still am not getting enough – I just keep falling asleep throughout the day!
Anyhow, did you know that smoking an affect our sleeping patterns too? According to a
study conducted at the Johns Hopkins University, it does!
Here’s another good reason to put away those cigarettes - a new study shows that smoking ...
Tags: cigarettes, Sleep, sleep patterns, Smoking
If I were to answer this question based on my experience, I would answer “at least 10 hours” straightaway. For different people, you’d definitely get different answers. I still remember learning in school that the average amount of sleep that people need is anywhere from 7 to 9 hours. I suppose the key word here is “average.” This means that the figures cannot be pinned down for everyone. So how would you know how much sleep you really need?
According to the
National Sleep Foundation, “sleep needs vary across populations, and the study calls for further research to identify traits within genes that may provide a “map” to explain how sleep needs differ among individuals.” More than this, “another reason there is “no magic number” for your sleep results from two different factors that researchers are ...
Who said that eating before going to bed is bad? Well, actually, it depends on what you eat. I don’t know about you but I usually
grab a bite before hitting the sack. I guess this is because I am usually up till past midnight and my tummy just can’t help but rumble in the depths of the night.
Did you know that eating the wrong food before going to bed can keep you from sleeping? Maybe that’s why I have trouble sleeping sometimes…Well, nutrition expert
Joy Bauer gives us some tips on how to snack late at night:
Bedtime Snacks for Adults
--6-8 oz container of non-fat, flavored yogurt topped with 2 tablespoons low-fat granola cereal
--Sliced apple with 1-2 teaspoons natural peanut butter
--3 cups low-fat popcorn – sprinkled with optional 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
Bedtime Snacks for Teens
--One ...
