Ten Food That Will Help You in Sleep
For some people, sleep comes as naturally as breathing. The moment their heads hit the pillow, they are in beddy-bye land. For others, sleeping can be a problem. There are people who would stay in bed for hours on end just trying to fall asleep. Some will fall asleep but wake up intermittently all throughout the night.
If you belong to the second group – the sleepless ones – you ought to know that there are certain kinds of food that can aid in sleeping. While there are a lot of myths associated with sleep, the truth is that certain elements/ingredients in food can contribute to sleep.
Take a look at this list of top 10 food that will allow you to snooze off before you know it.
MILK : Warm milk, that is. Do not discount what your mom has been telling you all these years. Some people think that the idea of drinking warm milk before going to bed helps in making your drowsy is a mere myth. Well, here’s one supposed myth that is actually true and is backed up by scientific data! Milk has tryptophan, which is an amino acid with sedative properties. While milk doesn’t contain that much tryptophan, it does have enough to help you feel drowsy. Another thing that helps is the fact that milk contains calcium, which not only strengthens your bones, but also assists the brain in processing tryptophan. So the next time you need help in falling asleep, warm some milk up before bedtime and down it!
CHAMOMILE TEA : Take note of the kind of tea – black tea or other kinds of tea with caffeine content will not work! There are different kinds of chamomile flower that are used to make the tea. However, it does not matter which kind is used for your tea as all varieties contain relaxants and have anti-spasmodic properties. These things contribute to getting your body relaxed enough to fall asleep. As an added plus, chamomile has a lot of healing properties!
WINE : Nope, I am not encouraging you down the alcoholic path. It does make sense, however. Remember the last time you had one drink too many? You probably fell flat on your face even before you reached your bed. Obviously, that’s not what I am trying to get at. According to researchers, a glass of wine can help you feel drowsy. The scientific explanation is that wine helps you relax by lowering your heart rate and blood pressure. Just make sure you stick to one glass before bedtime as more than that may only wake you up in the middle of the night or worse, give you a slamming hangover the next day.
BANANA : Not a fruit lover? Well, perhaps you ought to start with bananas if you are having trouble sleeping. Bananas taste really good and are filling. More than that, though, bananas contain melatonin – lots of it. Bananas also have serotonin and magnesium, both of which contribute to reaching “sleepy state.”
RED BELL PEPPERS : Aren’t peppers supposed to wake you up due to their spiciness? Sure, but red bell peppers are not spicy at all, and even better, they contain lots of Vitamin C. In fact, studies have shown that red bell peppers contain the highest amount of Vitamin C – more than any other fruit or vegetable! What this vitamin does is to inhibit the secretion of cortisol, which is the hormone released when you’re stressed (hence, you can’t sleep). While Vitamin C might not knock you out, having enough in your body will help you get quality sleep; and we all know that sometimes, quality is more important than quantity! (If you can’t make yourself eat red bell peppers, go get some supplements.)
OATMEAL : Oatmeal is another kind of food that is healthy, filling, and sleep-inducing. The reason behind this is that oatmeal contains melatonin. Again, this hormone helps you relax and ready for dream land. For better results, combine milk with your oatmeal. That should get you asleep in no time at all.
TURKEY : Of course, turkey made it to this list. After all, it is not the most popular sleep-inducing food for nothing! And, no, it is not a myth. Turkey is actually full of tryptophan, the same amino acid found in milk. And, while milk may contain only traces of tryptophan, turkey has loads of it. Better yet, turkey is not at all that fattening!
ALMONDS : Almonds and other nuts like peanuts and hazelnuts are good sleep aids. They all contain tryptophan, which we’ve already established as something that makes you fall asleep.
POPCORN : Popcorn? Yes, popcorn. Believe it or not, this favorite movie-time snack can actually aid you in getting some much needed sleep. Popcorn has lots of carbs, which produces serotonin, which in turn helps you relax. Word of caution: do not eat popcorn with butter before going to bed. Otherwise, you’ll negate all that work in the gym!
TOFU : Who likes tofu? I do! If you’re one of us, then tofu just might be what you need to help you get some rest at night. If you have a tofu dinner, you’ll get the carbs that you need without the fat, so eat up!
Of course, you have to remember that merely eating these items without addressing other issues will not totally solve your sleep problem. Combine these food items with proper exercise and a healthy lifestyle and you should cure your sleep issues in no time at all.
other top posts you should read here…!
20 Organic And Fat Burning Foods For Weight Loss
The secret to losing weight is to eat and drink until you are full and satisfied, choosing foods that burn more calories than you consume.
Here is the list of fat burning foods which will help you make the right choices to burn off more fat than you ingest by eating them.
No need to become a vegetarian to lose weight. Simply increase the intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, seeds, legumes, and nuts.
They will help your body burn up the excessive stored fat. But a single food alone can never help in losing weight.
Make some dietary changes in your daily diet intake and follow them regularly as it can significantly produce best weight loss results. Watch carefully for fat and calories while eating for reduction in body mass.
Take essential nutrients and vitamins as these are the vital components of all living cells in our body. The best way to begin weight loss is by making healthy substitutions to your normal diet.
These days there is so much information out there on the best ways to lose weight, which makes it hard to know what’s healthy or will work. It may help to print viable options in brochures so you can take the information with you to the grocery store and give it out to your friends. Spread the knowledge and let us all eat the fruits and vegetables of our labor.
Here is the list of fat burning foods, which require more number of calories to burn than they actually contain:
1. Apricot – Boosts your metabolic rate
This is the food which is low in calories and fat. This food increases your metabolic rate and keeps you in normal weight. Apricots provide vitamin A, vitamin C, carbohydrates, minerals, dietary fiber [High Fiber Foods], iron and calcium. Also, apricot helps in maintaining good health.
2. Apples – Low fat and low calorie fruit
Apples can be very beneficial for weight loss. Generally apples are low in fat and calories and contain minerals, vitamins, fiber and also low in sodium. All these can help for weight loss in different ways.
You can eat these fruits in greater quantities without consuming extra energy. Fiber in the apples fills your stomach quickly and also limits the quantity of food you have eaten.
Another great benefit of eating apples is; they have high water content and are a great source of detoxification.
3. Grapefruit – A super food for dieters
By eating half a grapefruit with each meal, you will lose nearly 3.6 pounds and those who consume grapefruit juice for three times in a day will lose 3.3 pounds in a week. This has the ability to recharge your metabolism and also supplies a nutritional boost.
It will not only help you in losing your weight, but also helps in fighting against cold symptoms, heart disease and certain types of cancer.
4. Beets – A fiber rich food fights against fat
These are the most attractive vegetables in a diet garden. Beets are helpful to flush water from your system to fight against water retention. Beets are the fat fighting vegetables in these modern days.
As beets are rich in fiber in half-soluble and half-insoluble mode, they play a great role in fighting against fat. Beets also help in protecting against heart attacks, certain cancers like colon cancer and birth defects.
5. Cabbage – A quick weight loss food
Eating cabbage soup can help you in losing weight quickly. Taking cabbage soup for seven days can cause you to lose weight. This vegetable is very low in calories and has plenty of nutrients.
6. Carrots – Rich in beta-carotene act as a fat substitute
Eating large amount of carrots can result in weight loss.
Beta carotene in the carrots can act as a fat substitute by supplying as a thickener in sauces, soups, breads, and casseroles.
So, there is no need to add any fat or cream for that stuff.
Carrots contain fiber, in which half-soluble fiber helps to lower the blood cholesterol levels.
7. Cauliflower – Low fat and low calorie food
This is a party platter vegetable, naturally low in calories and fat. So, don’t feel shy to eat.
8. Cucumber – A great diuretic
This diuretic product encourages the removal of fluids from your body. When you use this in right quantities, it will accelerate the metabolism, eject with the misused fluids and stimulates the removal of fat cells.
This diuretic has one great feature: it breaks the large fat deposits into tiny ones, which can be easily washed out from your body. Through this process, most of the fat cells were removed from your body and at the same time your body will lose the excess water.
9. Lettuce – The food rich in iron and magnesium
The minerals in lettuce will directly enter into your pique. The pique protects your body from illness.
The pique makes use of these minerals and composes them stronger and directly transforms them to the tissues and cells. Also, it increases the process of metabolism and wash out the fatty cells.
10. Onions – A great addition to your diet
Similar to garlic, onions also contain oils and minerals which will help in breaking the fats andincreasing your metabolism. Onions have greater power than garlic, so it is a great addition to your diet.
11. Pumpkin – The vegetable rich in fiber
Pumpkin is a greatest weight loss food for everyone. Pumpkin contains high quantities of fiber and contains only 40 calories.
12. Radishes – Cleans the mucus membrane of the body
Radishes contain improved levels of magnesium and iron. These are the minerals which help to melt the fat in the cells.
13. Sardines – Makes you feel full and stimulates your metabolism
Sardines are boon to everyone who wants to lose weight.
Sardines are full of proteins, which helps in stabilizing the blood sugar, makes you feel full and also stimulates your metabolism.
Also, they are a great source of omega-3 fatty acids. These omega-3s are helpful to strengthen the cardiovascular system and also improves your mood.
14. Spinach – The food rich in fiber
Spinach provides you twice the amount of fiber when compared to other greens. Also, it is a good source of iron and full of minerals and vitamins. Use spinach when you are preparing the salads. This will be healthier and maintains your weight loss routine.
15. Zucchini – A low calorie food
Zucchini supplies only 15 calories for 100 grams. This is a versatile and negative calorie stuff that can be steamed, baked and fried or you can prepare it in any way that you want. So, add this food in your diet which helps in weight loss effectively.
16. Asparagus – A natural weight loss food
This is a natural weight loss food and is an ideal food for young women during their menstrual cycle. Folic acid in this food helps to prevent neural-tube birth defects.
This is the food which has fewer calories and high in volume. Eating large quantities of this food will satisfy your hunger without increasing your weight.
This food is also a good source of vitamin E. It contains an oxidant called glutathione which is considered to protect against cancer. This food is preferred for the treatment of arthritis and rheumatism.
17. Celery – A calcium rich food
This consists of high amounts of calcium in an about to use form. So, whenever you consume celery, the calcium is directly sent to work. This form of calcium will ignite your endocrine system. The hormones in your body will break up the accumulated fat build up.
High levels of iron and magnesium in celeries will also help in cleaning your system.
18. Chili pepper:
There are many benefits of chili pepper, ranged from relieving arthritis pain to lowering the levels of cholesterol in your body. They increase the metabolism thus resulting in weight loss.
19. Garlic – Helps reducing unhealthy fats and cholesterol
Garlic is also a natural diuretic which acts as a fat burning food. The mustard oils in garlic generate a cleansing action in your body.
During this process a large amount of peristalsis will be generated and it also helps in washing out the excess fat. So, eat garlic and acquire slim body. Garlic has anti-bacterial effect on your body.
20. Green tea – A great slimming solution
There are many health benefits with green tea. It consists of high quantities of anti-oxidants, improves your heart health, supports digestion, regulates your body temperature and blood sugar levels. [Green Tea Diet]
Your metabolic rate will be improved by drinking green tea and it also improves fat oxidation thus assisting you in losing weight.
Note that in order to lose weight you have to burn more calories than you consume. This can be done by eating fat burning foods and physical activity.
Spooky Sleep Disorders
Sleep is supposed to be a time of peace and relaxation. Most of us drift from our waking lives into predictable cycles of deep, non-REM sleep, followed by dream-filled rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep. But when the boundaries of these three phases of arousal get fuzzy, sleep can be downright scary. In fact, some sleep disorders seem more at home in horror films than in your bedroom.
Nightmare Disorder
Whether it’s running from axe-wielding murderers or showing up naked in the school cafeteria, most of us have been jolted awake by a nightmare at some point. When nightmares move beyond occasional annoyance to near-nightly terror, however, you might have nightmare disorder. People with nightmare disorder often wake in a cold sweat with vivid memories of horrible dreams. Their waking life suffers. They may dread sleep.
Stress and sleep deprivation are major nightmare triggers, as are some medications, according to the American Sleep Association (ASA). In severe cases, counseling or sedative drugs might be necessary to soothe the anxiety underlying the bad dreams. For most of us, though, banishing the nighttime axe-murderer is as easy as taking a relaxing bath and going to bed on time.
Sleepwalking
Up to 15 percent of adults occasionally get up and amble around the house in their sleep. In children, the number is even higher. No one knows what makes some sleepers wander, but stress and disturbed sleep are often factors. So is genetics: Close relatives of sleepwalkers are 10 times more likely to sleepwalk than the general population.
You won’t see sleepwalkers shuffling around, arms outstretched; many navigate their rooms with ease and are capable of opening doors and moving furniture. And while waking a sleepwalker won’t do them any harm, sleepwalking itself can be dangerous. One study published in 2003 in the journal Molecular Psychiatry found that 19 percent of adult sleepwalkers had been hurt during their nocturnal forays. Falling is the biggest danger, so if you’ve got a sleepwalker in your house, experts recommend you move the electrical cords and steer your somnambulist away from stairs.
Night terrors
Screaming, thrashing, frantically pacing — night terrors earn their name, both for the person experiencing one and for anyone around during the event.
Unlike nightmares, which arise during REM sleep, night terrors happen during non-REM sleep, usually early in the night. They’re most common in children. The person in the midst of a terror may suddenly sit upright, eyes open, though they aren’t actually taking in the sights. The person often yells or screams, and can’t be awakened or comforted. In some cases, night terrors mix with sleepwalking. Parents have reported children wandering the house in a state of panic. After 10 or 15 minutes, the person usually settles back into sleep, according to the National Institutes of Health. Most don’t remember anything about their episode the next morning.
The cause of night terrors is a mystery, but fever, irregular sleep and stress can trigger them. Fortunately, according to the ASA, terrors usually fade after age
Sleepy Hallucinations
We’re all used to seeing strange things in our dreams, but what about when we’re not dreaming? So-called hypnagogic hallucinations occur during the transition from wakefulness to sleep (just after our head hits the pillow). And hypnopompic hallucinations hit during the waking-up process. People report hearing voices, feeling phantom sensations and seeing people or strange objects in their rooms. Bugs or animals crawling on the walls are a common vision, said Neil Kline, a sleep physician and representative of the ASA.Sleep-related hallucinations are most common in people with narcolepsy. So while the occasional phantasmic visitation is nothing to worry about, if the hallucinations are accompanied by daytime sleepiness and loss of muscle control when excited or surprised, Kline recommends you see a doctor.
Exploding head syndrome
Okay, exploding head syndrome doesn’t actually involve detonating domes. This creatively-named disorder occurs during the onset of deep sleep, when the person is suddenly startled awake by a sharp, loud noise. These noises range from cymbals crashing to explosives going off. To the person hearing them, the explosions seem to originate either from right next to the person’s head or inside the skull itself. There’s no pain involved, and no danger, either. Doctors don’t know what causes exploding head syndrome, but they do know that it isn’t associated with any serious illness.
During REM sleep, dream activity ramps up and the voluntary muscles of the body become immobile. This temporary paralysis keeps us from acting out our dreams and hurting ourselves. Sometimes, though, the paralysis persists even after the person wakes up. “You know you’re awake and you want to move,” Kline said. “But you just can’t.”
Even worse, sleep paralysis often coincides with number 7 on our list: hallucinations. In one 1999 study published in the Journal of Sleep Research, 75 percent of college students who’d experienced sleep paralysis reported simultaneous hallucinations. And these hallucinations, when they occur with sleep paralysis, are no picnic; people commonly report sensing an evil presence, along with a feeling of being crushed or choked. That sensation has given sleep paralysis a place in folklore worldwide. Newfoundlanders know it as the “Old Hag.” In China, it’s the “ghost pressing down on you.” And in Mexico, it’s known by the idiom “subirse el muerto,” or “the dead climb on top of you.”
Even today, some researchers suspect that tales of alien abduction may be explained by episodes of sleep paralysis.
REM behavior disorder
If sleep paralysis is an example of too much immobility, so-called REM behavior disorder is an example of too little. Sometimes, the brain doesn’t properly signal the body to stay still during REM sleep. When that happens, people act out their dreams. They may yell, thrash, punch and kick, and even get out of bed and run around. When roused, they’ll usually remember their dream, but they won’t recall moving around. Given the violence of these outbursts, injuries are common, according to Kline.
REM behavior disorder occurs most often among older adults, and it can be a symptom of Parkinson’s disease, a degenerative neurological disorder. Doctors usually treat the disorder with medications that reduce REM sleep and relax the body.
Nocturnal sleep-related eating disorder
Sure, you may have the willpower to avoid those cookies while you’re awake, but what about when you’re asleep? People with sleep-related eating disorder go on eating binges at night, only to wake the next morning with little to no memory of the event. Some endanger themselves by chopping ingredients or turning on the stove. Others eat raw ingredients, like frozen food or plain butter.
The disorder is poorly understood, but, like sleepwalking, it occurs during non-REM sleep. Drugs that increase dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with reward and pleasure, can help stop the unconscious nighttime snacking, doctors say.
Sexsomnia
Even stranger than sleep-eating is sleep sex, or sexsomnia. First described in a 1996 case study of seven individuals, sleep sex can range from annoying (loud sexual moans) to dangerous (self-injurious masturbation) to criminal (sexual assault or rape). In at least five controversial cases, men have been acquitted of sexual assault by arguing that they were asleep during the attack.
Most research on sexsomnia have involved small case studies. The largest study, an Internet survey of 219 people who said they experienced sleep sex, is limited because it relied on self-reports. Even so, that study, which was published in 2007 in the journal Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, suggested that sleep deprivation, stress, alcohol, drugs and physical contact with a bed partner play a role. But no one knows why some people respond to these triggers with sexual behavior.
Insomnia
If the previous nine conditions are making you rethink your once-positive stance on sleep, think again. Insomnia, the inability to fall or stay asleep, can cause irritability and lack of concentration during the day, and long-term sleep deprivation can be downright dangerous. Lack of sleep has been associated with obesity, high blood pressure and heart attacks, among other nasty symptoms. And according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, drowsy driving causes more than 100,000 car crashes and 1,550 deaths each year.
The good news is that most of the disorders on this list respond to treatment–and having one doesn’t mean you’re crazy.
“Often people feel that there is a psychological reason for having these events. They think that there’s some Freudian answer to solving these problems,” said the ASA’s Kline. “Modern science does not support that. There is a physiological reason.”
Related articles
- Experiences In Sleepwalking 101. (lisawilcoxon.org)
- Sleepwalking and FPS Woes (ihasasad.wordpress.com)
- Potential cause of severe sleep disorder discovered, implications for Parkinson’s disease (eurekalert.org)
7 Ways To Keep Your brain Sharper
While most exercise is focused on strengthening and improving your physical body and muscles, there is very little focus on keeping your brain sharp and healthy. This is interesting because the brain is obviously the most important organ in your body, not only controlling the muscles people spend hours working to build up, but also your memory, thought process, attitude, etc. Don’t get me wrong, abs are great, but the brain needs to be supplemented too. It is far more important to your overall well-being. Here are the best exercises/activities that you can do to keep your brain in tip-top condition:
1. Challenge Your Brain
The majority of people are stuck in ruts. They go to the same job everyday, hang out with the same friends and eat at the same places. While that may feel safe, it’s not the most stimulating lifestyle for your brain. Those synapses have been built up enough, so try something that you do NOT know how to do! Buy a model car kit, master the art of sudoku or crosswords, or go pick up another major at your nearest college. The point is you need to be learning new things to keep your brain honest. Form new synapses by forcing your mind to work in ways it has not worked before. Just like physical workouts, doing too much of the same exercise will eventually give no results. Switch it up!
2. Brain-Food
Eat:
- Sources of Omega-3 fatty acids, mainly fatty fish and grass-fed animals. Omega-3′s are instrumental in making your brain membranes fluid, allowing signals to be passed back and forth. Obviously communication is pretty important in the brain, so keep those signals flowing!
- Enough food everyday! Your brain needs energy too, not just your muscles.
Do Not Eat:
- Too much cholesterol, high amounts are linked to brain diseases like Alzheimers.
- Too much fat, sugar, etc. All of that bad stuff is linked to brain health in addition to overall bodily health! System-wide diseases like hypertension, Type-II Diabetes and obesity have been linked to loss in cognitive ability and memory loss. If it’s not good for your physique, it’s probably not good for your brain either.
3. Sleep Well
R.E.M. sleep is critical for the for being able to retain information and maintaining learning ability. Sleep is the time when your brain resets, builds new synapses and brain cells and rids itself of the by-products of normal use. Sleep deprivation leaves you feeling not only tired, but less able to perform simple to advanced cognitive functions. So make sure you are getting that healthy minimum of 6, if not 8 hours of sleep per night. If that’s impossible, take a short nap during the day. Naps can do a lot more than you think, so use the info below to decide how long of a nap you need:
2-5 Minute – Reduces sleepiness
5-20 Minute – Increases alertness, stamina and cognitive performace.
20-30 Minute – Perks of the 2-20 minute nap, plus helps with muscle memory and clears the brain of information build-up, hence improving memory ability.
50-90 Minute – This get’s into the REM sleep cycle, so it helps with memory consolidation and virtually everything else. REM sleep is the one cycle that we as humans need to live without going. Alternate sleep cycles adjust the body to going directly into REM sleep, skipping out on the other non-important cycles. This nap will leave you a little groggy but will reset everything and restore complete cognitive power unless you have a massive REM sleep debt built up already.
4. Remember Stuff!
When it comes to memory, the use it or lose it rule applies. And considering your cognitive ability is relatively useless if you cannnot remember what you learned yesterday, you should probably start using it. Try pulling out an old photo album and recollecting entire days or events related to the photos you see. Really try to recall even the most insignificant of details; this should be a workout for your brain. Even try to remember a full conversation that you had yesterday, anything that get’s your memory going. If you’re having a lot of trouble with even those exercises, start a journal to get yourself to remember at the end of each day. That will build you up immediately so that you can start remembering less recent events.
5. Relax Regularly
With constant activity, overthinking and stress, your brain can get very over-loaded with a bunch of thought that just does not need to be there. More importantly, stress increases the chances of dimentia and Alzhiemers. Stress relseases the fight-or-flight hormones into your brain, reducintg your ability to think clearly. So throw out the insticts and relax instead: Take 15-30 minutes during the day and just sit in silence. Eyes open or closed, breath deeply for a little bit and try to empty your mind. Think about nothing. Then meditate, pray, do yoga, or just sit there. Whatever suits you. Just get that relaxation break in during the day so you can clear your mind.
6. Concentration
The ability to concentrate is obviously huge in terms of cognitive ability. You will dramatically increase your ability to think clearly and efficiently if you are able to concentrate better. So:
1. Practice! While you are relaxing, concentrate on something. One thing that you want or a problem that needs to be solved. Keep your mind on that topic for the length of your relaxation period. This is much more difficult than it sounds so just keep doing it. If you space out, shake your head and go back to concentrating!
2. Realize when you are distracted and what is causing it. If it is something that is weighing on you, address it right there and then! If you keep getting distracted, you will just be inefficient at whatever you are consciously trying to accomplish.
7. Alcohol is a poison, you know…
Don’t go overboard. Alcohol is just bad for the brain in large amounts. Check out this page which lists a seemingly infinite amount of brain functions that alcohol abuse impairs. Memory gets hit pretty hard in addition to overall cognitive ability. If you feel the need to intoxicated, try other safer drugs (like marijuana) instead of the “devil’s juice”.
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Assess Your Sleep Needs
The Takeaway
- Although there is some genetic variation, most adults need between 7.5 to 8.5 hours of sleep per 24-hour period to function optimally.
- You can find your optimal sleep time if you set aside several days (perhaps during a vacation) to allow yourself to sleep as long as possible.
- Once you know how much sleep you need, it’s important to allot that amount of time in your daily schedule for sleep.
How Much Is Enough?
The amount of sleep that a healthy individual needs is largely determined by two factors: genetics and age. Genetics plays a role in both the amount of sleep a person needs, as well as his or her preference for waking up early (these are the so-called “larks,” or morning-type individuals) or staying up late (these are the “owls,” or evening-type people). Our internal biological clock, which regulates the cycling of many functions including the sleep/wake cycle, can vary slightly from individual to individual. Although our internal clock is set to approximately 24 hours, if your clock runs faster than 24 hours, you tend to be a “lark” and wake up early; if your clock runs more slowly, you tend to be an “owl” and go to bed later.
The majority of healthy adults require between 7.5 to 8.5 hours per 24-hour period. This is true from young adulthood through late in life, though many older people have difficulty sleeping in a single block of time each night. Generally, sleep needs during a 24-hour period follow this pattern:
- Newborns (1 to 2 months) – 10.5 to 18 hours
- Infants (3 to 11 months) – 10 to 14 hours
- Toddlers (1 to 3 years) – 12 to 14 hours
- Preschoolers (3 to 5 years) – 11 to 13 hours
- School-aged children (5 to 12 years) – 10 to 11 hours
- Adolescents (12 to 18 years) – 8.5 to 9.5 hours
- Adults (18 years to the end of life) – 7.5 to 8.5 hours
Even without considering genetics and age, the National Sleep Foundation‘s 2008 Sleep in America poll found that many adults are apparently not meeting their sleep needs, sleeping an average of only 6 hours and 40 minutes during the week, and about 7.5 hours on the weekends. How can you tell if your sleep is adequate and meets your needs? Sleep scientists and physicians have a variety of methods to help determine if you are getting enough sleep.
How Much Sleep We Need(1:04)
Dr. Lawrence J. Epstein discusses ways to determine individual sleep needs.
Pay Attention to Your Sleepiness
Sleep needs and patterns of sleep and wakefulness are not the same for everyone. The first step in determining your need for sleep is through self-evaluation. Ask yourself: “How tired do I feel during the daytime? When do I feel most alert? When does fatigue set in?” Even moments of sleepiness that you may think of as routine, for instance, falling asleep on the subway on the way to work, or during a lecture, are likely a sign that you are not getting enough sleep.
Paying attention to your body’s cues for sleep is the first step toward figuring out if you are meeting your sleep needs, or if you are sleep deprived or suffering from a sleep disorder (or possibly both).
Keep a Sleep Diary
A very helpful tool to track your sleep time and patterns is a sleep diary. Used in sleep research and clinical settings, a sleep diary is a handy reference to help people become familiar with their own natural patterns of sleep and wakefulness. The information that you will record in the sleep diary is simple and straightforward. It includes the time you go to bed, the time you wake up, your total hours of sleep, and whether you had any nighttime awakenings (and if so, how long you were awake) and any daytime naps. In addition, noting how you feel upon awakening (refreshed or tired), and how you feel at different times of the day will enable you to become more aware of your patterns, and help you determine if you are getting adequate sleep. Just keeping track of your sleep in this way may help improve your situation. If you need more help to improve your sleep, refer to Adopt Good Sleep Habits andAddress Your Sleep Issues.
Follow this link to print out a Sleep Diary [PDF].
Take a Sleep Vacation
Another method for determining your sleep need is to take a “sleep vacation.” During a two-week period, when you have a flexible schedule or perhaps are on vacation, pick a consistent bedtime and do not use an alarm clock to wake up. Chances are that for the first few days or week you will sleep longer because you’ll be paying off your “sleep debt“—the amount of sleep deprivation that you’ve accumulated over a period of time. If you continue going to bed at the same time and allowing your body to wake up naturally, you will eventually establish a pattern of sleeping essentially the same amount of time each night, probably in the range of 7 to 9 hours. Congratulations! You’ve identified the amount of sleep that you need.
Make Sleep a Priority
Now that you know how much sleep you need—and if you’ve allowed your body to pay back your sleep debt and “find” its natural sleep patterns and duration—you are probably also feeling a lot better, sharper, happier, and healthier. This is how it feels to be well rested. The next step is to make sure that you continue to make sleep a priority and find ways to protect your sleep time.
If You’re Having Problems with Sleep
You may be doing all the right things—respecting your sleep needs and patterns, setting aside an ample amount of time to sleep, keeping a sleep diary—but still experiencing daytime sleepiness, fatigue, or insomnia. If that’s the case, you should consider consulting a sleep specialist who can help you set up a better sleep environment, provide support for making behavioral changes that may be interfering with sleep, or possibly diagnose a sleep disorder. You have a right to feel well rested—and there are many resources available to help you get the sleep you need.
Resources and References
- National Sleep Foundation, Children and Sleep, 2008.
- National Sleep Foundation, 2008 Sleep in America Poll.
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Related Articles
- Could You Be A Super Sleeper? (psychologytoday.com)
- Good sleep with a good mattress (time4sleep.co.uk)
7 fantastic snacks that heal
If some doctors had their way today, Americans would be more medicated than industrial feedlot cattle. But what most people don’t realize is that the first line of defense against stress, fatigue, depression, and so many other maladies is found in supermarket aisles, not in the drug store.
Research shows that the vitamins, minerals, and active compounds specific to certain fruits, vegetables, and even chocolate and red wine have an immediate and lasting impact on your mood, your health, your fitness — even your sex life.
Whether you have a big presentation at work, or the need to burn a few hundred extra calories a day (and who doesn’t want to do that?), why not put food to work for you? Here are seven research-backed quick cures just waiting for you in the fresh produce bins and supermarket shelves.
1. When You’re Stressed…
Eat This:
1 Cup of Low-Fat Yogurt or 2 Tbsp of Mixed Nuts
Scientists in Slovakia gave people 3 grams each of two amino acids — lysine and arginine — or a placebo and asked them to deliver a speech. Blood measurements of stress hormones revealed that the amino acid–fortified public speakers were half as anxious during and after the speech as those who took the placebo. Yogurt is one of the best food sources of lysine; nuts pack tons of arginine.
Not That!
A Can of Soda
A study from the American Journal of Public Health found that people who drink 20 ounces of soda daily are three times more likely to be depressed and anxious, compared with those who drink less.
2. When You Want to Increase Your Metabolism…
Drink This:
Green Tea
Catechins, the powerful antioxidants found in green tea, are known to stoke your metabolism, making it burn hotter and torch more calories. A study by Japanese researchers found that participants who consumed 690 milligrams of catechins from green tea daily had significantly lower body-mass indexes and smaller waist measurements than tea-totalers (i.e., they avoid the stuff).
Not That!Nothing
Skipping meals lets your body’s calorie-burning furnace go cold. Spread out snacks throughout the day. Try a cup of yogurt with fresh fruit or almonds between breakfast and lunch, and a hard-boiled egg or hummus with vegetables in the afternoon.
3. When You’re Low on Energy…
Eat This:
A Handful of Trail Mix
Raisins provide potassium, which your body uses to convert sugar into energy. Nuts stock your body with magnesium, which boosts metabolism and improves nerve and muscle function. (When magnesium levels are low, your body produces more lactic acid — the same fatigue-byproduct that makes your muscles ache at the end of a workout.)
Not That!
Espresso-Based Drinks
Sure, the caffeine will perk you up, but the spike in blood sugar that follows — with anywhere from 16 grams (latte) to 59 grams (white chocolate mocha) of sugar coursing through your veins — will ultimately launch your own personal energy crisis. Stick to brewed coffee with one packet of sugar, max.
4. When You Need a Brain Boost…
Eat This:
Blueberries
Antioxidants in blueberries help protect the brain from free-radical damage, which could decrease your risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, and improve cognitive processing. Wild blueberries, if you can find them (or grow them!), have even more brain-boosting antioxidants than the cultivated variety.
Not That!
Ice Cream
Sugary foods incite sudden surges of blood glucose that, in the long term, cause sugar highs and lows, and make you as distractable as a toddler in the Disney store. And foods high in saturated fat can clog blood vessels and slow the flow of nutrients and blood to the brain.
5. When You’re Under the Weather…
Drink This:
Ginseng Tea, Hot or Iced
In a Canadian study, people who took 400 milligrams of ginseng a day had 25 percent fewer colds than people who popped a placebo. Ginseng helps kill invading viruses by increasing the body’s production of key immune cells.
Not That!
Caffeinated Beverages and Energy Drinks
Excessive caffeine messes with your sleep schedule and sabotages key immune agents. And insufficient sleep opens the door to colds, upper respiratory infections, and other ills. What’s more, caffeine can dehydrate you, and hydration is vital during illness: Fluids not only transport nutrients to the problem zones, but also carry away toxins.
6. When You Need to Wake Up and Go…
Eat This:
Eggs and Whole-Wheat Toast
Eggs are a great source of protein, and having them for breakfast sets you up for a perfect day of eating. Saint Louis University researchers found that people who eat eggs for breakfast consume 264 fewer calories the rest of the day than those who eat bagels and cream cheese.
Not That!
Bagel and Cream Cheese
At 500 calories and 20 grams of fat, this deli disaster is one of the worst ways to start your day. Sixty grams of fast-burning carbohydrates will cause a dip in energy and a spike in hunger, long before lunchtime. The same goes for croissants, danish, donuts, and pancakes.
7. When You Want to Get ”In the Mood”…
Eat This:
Dark Chocolate
The cocoa in chocolate contains stimulants that increase your body’s sensitivity. Chocolate also contains phenylethylamine, a chemical that can give you a slight natural high. And Italian researchers found that women who often eat chocolate have a higher sex drive than those who don’t. Make sure your chocolate has at least 60 percent cacao.
Not That!
The Third Glass of Wine
The alcohol in wine affects your prefrontal cortex, which can decrease inhibition and up your sexual appetite. But only for the first glass or two. Beyond that, the toxic affects of alcohol in your system take over and are as likely to make you sleepy as they are to make you sexy. The more pouring, the more snoring.
The Healthiest Sleeping Position for You
At one point or another you’ve fallen asleep in a less-than-comfortable position and suffered the consequences the next day: the aches, the pains, the fatigue. Those symptoms, however, are just the short-term results of one bad night. What you might not know is that your sleeping position — even in the most comfortable of settings — could have lasting health implications that affect your health. What is the healthiest sleeping position? It mostly depends on what’s right for you.
You probably belong to one of three categories: back sleeper, side sleeper or stomach sleeper. Those distinctions might not seem that important, but there’s an entire subset of the medical community devoted to analyzing those specific positions and determining which is healthiest. Jonathan Sherrill, a registered polysomnographic technologist and general manager of the Los Angeles-based Advanced Sleep Medicine Services Inc., is a member of that community.
According to Sherrill, a person’s primary concern when settling into a sleeping position should be comfort.
“Overall, we recommend the position that is most comfortable,” Sherrill says. “The body will naturally acclimate and adjust to whatever position it functions best in.”
However, the sleeping position a person finds most comfortable isn’t always the healthiest.
“In order to sleep and recover, your body has to enter a zone where it’s unaware,” Sherrill says. “It needs to shut off from the external cues of the environment and it needs to go into that recover mode. So while it’s in that zone, it’s not really conscious of what it’s doing. The body could be malfunctioning in several ways.”
Those malfunctions are related primarily to breathing. Chronic obstructions in a person’s air intake can lead to sleep apnea, a disorder characterized by excessively low blood oxygen levels, which over time can result in stroke, heart failure and sexual dysfunction among other negative health effects.
The Back Sleeper
Of the three basic sleeping positions, the back sleeper is the one most commonly associated with sleep apnea.
“For posture reasons we do like people to sleep on their backs, but we also see that people tend to malfunction more in that position,” Sherrill says. “Gravity allows your tongue to relax and during a certain phase of REM sleep your body goes through muscle atonia when your body relaxes so much that you essentially become paralyzed. So when you’re sleeping on your back and your tongue falls back and your muscles are paralyzed, it leads to a higher incidence of sleep apnea in that position.”
The Stomach Sleeper
Sleeping on one’s stomach also can prove detrimental.
“We usually like to rule out the stomach,” Sherrill says. “It’s a position that many obese people will go into naturally. However, in that position you often end up with more backaches. Your stomach is pressing back and your spine enters an awkward posture, which can lead to pain.”
The Side Sleeper
That leaves the side position, which, according to a 2003 study conducted by the London Sleep Assessment Service, is the most popular position among the general population. Over 50 percent of people favor some variation of the side sleeper position during sleep. According to Sherrill and his colleagues, the majority has it right: Sleeping on your side, and specifically on your right side, is perhaps the healthiest position a person can adopt.
“Right is preferred over left,” Sherrill says. “The left position can increase your blood pressure, increase your heart rate and we recommend that people who suffer heart attacks should not sleep on their left side.”
That conclusion was partially echoed in a recent New York Times article exploring the various health effects of right-side versus left-side sleeping. When asked which side was generally healthier to sleep on,Times health expert Claiborne Ray pointed to a 2003 study that found that some people did indeed benefit from sleeping on the right side of their bodies, but that they tended to be individuals with pre-existing heart conditions.
Ray said, “The findings were in keeping with the concept that a left-hand position ‘may exert deleterious effects’ on heart pressure, cardiac output or the functioning of cardiac nerves and thus ‘may be a protective strategy.’”
In other words, there’s research that suggests sleeping on your right side can help prevent circulatory problems and there’s research that indicates sleeping on your right side helps mitigate the effects of pre-existing circulatory conditions. It’s a chicken-egg situation, but in any case the evidence points to a common conclusion: Sleep on your right side, especially if you’ve got a bum ticker.
11 Tips for Better Sleep With Fibromyalgia
1. Crossing Out Sleep disorders
The first thing you can do on the path to better sleep is to cross out and address any sleeping disorders that could be behind your difficulties snoozing. Disorders such as insomnia, sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, or bruxism, are all symptoms of fibromyalgia and may be causing your never-ending fatigue.
If you think you may have a sleep disorder, consider talking to your doctor or taking part in a sleep study, suggests About.com Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue blogger Adrienne Dellwo.
2. Create a Sleep-Friendly Bedroom
One thing you can do to help yourself get to sleep is make your bedroom “sleep-friendly.” Limiting any sources of noise and light in your room can do wonders. For example, make your alarm clock face away, or banish your TV from the foot of your bed. Using an eye mask can also help with enhancing the darkness of the room, WebMD advises.
Finding the just the right bedding can also be key to getting a good night’s rest. Nowadays, pillows and mattresses are made to fit the way you sleep. Memory foam or the Sleep Number bed may be options to try, suggests Dellwo.
Another way to prepare your bedroom for rest is to keep the room temperature at a comfortable level. If you find yourself sweating at night or curling up from the cold, simply changing the thermostat or getting a fan or heater will do the trick!
3. Leave the Bedroom
When you’re tossing and turning in your bed whether from stress or pain, it’s best to just leave the room.
“Don’t lie in bed, worrying and stressing. Get up, go to the other room,” Dr. Mary Rose, a clinical psychologist and behavioral sleep specialist at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, tells WebMD. Then, go back to the bedroom when you feel more tired and relaxed.
4. Take a Bath
Take a warm bath in the evening. Pamper yourself and soothe your muscles by brushing your body with a loofah or long-handled brush. This relaxing activity can also lull you into the mood for getting some sleep.
5. Massage Tender Points
Use a self-massage device to ease some of the more painful tender points that keep you up at night. Even something like a tennis ball, says WebMD, can be used as your massage tool. Soothing your muscles can help you get some much needed relief and will encourage you to snooze.
6. Maintain a Schedule
Maintaining a regular schedule can help regulate your body and encourage sleep at night when the time comes.
One key point to keep in mind is to not take any naps that can throw off your sleeping schedule. “A lot of patients have circadian rhythm problems. Napping can throw you off. Any sleep during the daytime will be taken from your sleep at night,” says Rose.
Another thing to keep in mind is to not outpace yourself while tackling daily activities. By the time night falls, your extra energy is gone and you’ll feel completely drained. Taking things in moderation is key,
7. Regular Exercise
Part of your daily routine should be to get exercise. Even though you may be in pain because of your fibromyalgia keep in mind that, according to Rose, “Exercise has a profound effect on mood, weight, and fatigue. Water exercise is easier on joints so it’s a lot more tolerable for fibromyalgia patients.” Regularly stretching and doing yoga exercises can also do the trick.
“Even though you feel a lot of pain and discomfort, pushing yourself is important. Exercise helps reduce stress, and that helps sleep and reduces fatigue,” Rose adds. Ultimately, that short time of pushing through the pain during working out can help greatly in the long run.
8. Relaxing Activities Before Bed
Taking part in relaxing activities before going to bed will get you into the mindset for sleep. Try meditating, listening to calm music, or reading a book to propel you towards a state of tranquility.
9. Antidepressants or Other Pain Medications
If you aren’t already using them, antidepressants or other medications can do a lot to help manage your fibromyalgia pain during the day and night, says Dellwo. Consider talking to your doctor about Lyrica, Cymbalta, or Savella, drugs which have all been approved by the FDA to treat fibro.
Caution: Do not take sleeping pills. They are only a temporary solution, and are not meant to help with chronic long-term use, advises Rose.
10. Changing Your Sleep Attitude
Sometimes, just having a positive attitude can do a world of difference, and in this case, an attitude shift towards sleep may be in order. Changing your associations concerning sleep from negative to positive can be difficult, especially if your only experiences with them have been bad.
If you’re really itching to change your views on sleep, cognitive behavioral therapy is an option.
11. Lifestyle Changes
Lifestyle changes may also be essential to getting better sleep. Obvious changes would be to avoid caffeinated drinks, alcohol, and smoking. Less obvious choices include doing more volunteer work, picking up new hobbies, and building a social support network.
“Anything you do to make your quality of life better — to give you more happiness — you can’t lose,” . “Do what brings you happiness, and chances are it will help you refocus, get your focus away from the pain.”
How to Hack Your Brain
My body is incompatible with Earth.
It has a daily sleep-wake cycle that lasts about 28 hours instead of 24 hours, which means each day I stay awake about four hours longer than most people. In the middle of the week, I sometimes find myself waking up at 11PM and going to bed in the early afternoon the next day. When I was younger, people thought I was insane. The only thing I remember of elementary school is being tired.
Eventually, I discovered that if I stuck to a 28-hour schedule, my body was happy; I woke up rested, went to sleep tired, and everything worked great. Except, well, that my life was incompatible with the rest of the world. Living with a normal schedule was going to be tough, so I had to find a solution.
After some research, I discovered that what I probably have is called non-24-hour sleep-wake syndrome. There’s a way to fix it using a hack called polyphasic sleep, which is really fascinating and can be used by anyone. It can shave 6 hours off your normal sleeping time (with a catch, of course).
But first, about sleep…
A lot of people believe sleep has been proven to repair or rehabilitate the brain and body, but this is not necessarily true. We don’t really know much about sleep. There’s no clearly. defined biological reason for it, and it is intuitively an evolutionary disadvantage.
In the late 1930’s, a wealthy amateur scientist named Alfred Lee Loomis and his colleagues watched an EEG monitor for brain electrical activity during sleep, and they made a pretty remarkable discovery: there are actually five main parts to each of several phases of sleep that occur during a normal night. One of these stages is called REM (rapid eye movement), and it is where most of the benefit of sleep comes from. Ironically, it is in REM sleep that the brain looks the least asleep. In fact, it looks awake. This is the phase where dreams occur.
It seems that all you really need to survive and feel rested is the REM phase, which is only a tiny portion of your actual sleep phases at night. You only spend 1-2 hours in REM sleep during any given night, and the rest is wasted on the other seemingly useless phases. This is where the opportunity to hack the brain presents itself. What if you could find a way to cut out the other phases and gain 4-5 more hours of productive wakeful time?
Hello, polyphasic sleep
One of the ways to force your brain into REM sleep and skip the other phases is to make it feel exhausted. If you’ve gone 24 hours without sleep, you might notice that you drift away into dreams straight from being awake. This because your body goes instantly into REM sleep as a protection mechanism. The way to hack yourself into entering REM sleep without being exhausted is to trick your body into thinking you’re going to get a tiny amount of sleep. You can train it to enter REM for short periods of time throughout the day in 20-minute naps rather than in one lump at night. This is how polyphasic sleep works.
There are actually six good methods to choose from; the first one, monophasic sleep, is the way you’ve probably slept your whole life. The five others are quite a bit more interesting.
MONOPHASIC SLEEP
POLYPHASIC SLEEP
The catch
How awesome would it be to sleep a total of two hours a day and feel rested? Very awesome, of course, but there is a catch. The more naps you have (and thus the less sleep you have total) the more rigorous you have to be regarding your nap times. You can’t miss a nap by more than a couple hours in the 2 and 3 “Everyman” methods, and you must have your naps within 30 minutes of their scheduled times for the Uberman method. If you miss a nap, the whole schedule is thrown off and you’ll feel tired for days.
Thankfully, when I can keep to one of these schedules, I’m able to ignore my body’s abnormal internal clock and just stay awake all day and all night with minor 20-minute interruptions.
The rigor of keeping the schedule makes most of these methods unrealistic for most people. But if you have a flexible schedule and can manage to pick a method and stick with it for several months, you’ll find that you feel amazing and you have a seemingly unlimited amount of time during the day to get things done. It’s the ultimate brain hack. •
Further reading
I haven’t included all of the material required to start these alternative sleeping methods in this article. If you really are interested in trying them, there are tons of resources online. Here are a couple places to get you started.
• The Wikipedia article is a concise and excellent introduction: Wiki on Polphasic Sleep
• And this is a good article about Everyman and Uberman: The History of Everyman
5 Keys to Enhanced Sleep
Insomnia - a condition that causes problems both with falling asleep and staying asleep – affects millions of people.
Since sleep medical professionals point to sleep as a primary contributing factor to many common diseases, it’s obvious that it’s not just important but crucial to sleep well.
Fortunately, those same sleep medical professionals have also discovered the conditions that determine our quality of sleep.
Simple lifestyle changes can have you sleeping like a baby in no time.
Here are five tips to explore before you even think about asking your doctor for a sleeping aid or buying one over the counter.
1. Invest in a quality mattress. Getting a enjoyable night’s rest may be as easy as getting a new sleeping surface. Many people report that memory foam mattresses allowed them to completely relax and sleep deeply for the first time in their lives. Indulge in the very best bed linens you can afford, too. Sheets with at least a 300 thread count are smooth and luxurious, and your blankets and comforters should also give you a feeling of being pampered. Some mattress retailers offer free sheets or comforters when you buy a new mattress, but these are characteristically of a cheaper quality as they are a free add-on for buying the mattress. When it comes to bedding, the best things in life are not free.
2. Put your body on a schedule. Going to bed at the same time every night and getting up at the same time every morning (yup, weekends too) puts your body on a regimented resting pattern. After a while, it will “expect” to sleeping at a set time, and you might not even need an alarm clock to get up for work. (You’ll find that your day starts out much better when you wake naturally rather than being jarred awake by an alarm.)
3. Create a relaxed sleeping environment. Your bedroom should be quiet and dark. Even the smallest amount bit of sound or luminosity-such as the ticking of a clock or a light left on outside-can interfere with your sleep, even though the person sleeping may not be aware of it. Do what you have to: A sleep mask androom darkening blinds will screen out the brightness; earplugs and “white noise” like a rotating fan can help with interfering noises. The best temperature for sleeping is 68-72 degrees Fahrenheit. Most bodies begin to overheat over 75 degrees, and any temperature below 60 degrees is too cold for the body to relax.
4. Calm down. Stress is a real sleep killer. Look for ways to distress prior to going to sleep. Do a bit of light reading, meditate, try various mellow stretches, or enjoy an herbal bath.
5. Protect your sleep from the great caffine caper. Caffeine stays in your system longer than you might realize-up to 8 hours. For better sleep, you should prohibit caffeine intake at least six hours before you go to sleep. Remember that pop drinks, most teas, and chocolate all contain enough caffine to interfere with your sleep.
Many of people who have followed these suggestions greatly enhanced their sleep quality and therefore their quality of life.
Give them a month’s trial and you too will reap the rewards of a peaceful night’s sleep.
