New Mothers Should Sleep More for Weight Loss

I guess it should come as no surprise, but new mothers should sleep more to get rid of the access pounds they gained during pregnancy. I read this article on Snoozester and thought it was very interesting. There has been a lot of hub bub about sleep and helping us keep off the pounds, but I don’t think many new mom’s think about this after the birth of their new baby. Most mom’s love getting up and breast feeding their new born, I know my wife did. I think it helps with the bonding of the baby.

The article came from a Sidney News Paper article that found researchers had found that new mothers needed more sleep to shed the weight from the pregnancy. Gunderson and colleagues studied 940 women taking part in a study of prenatal and postnatal health at Harvard Medical School in Boston. “The women who slept five hours or less a night when their babies were six months old were more likely to have kept on 5 kilograms of weight one year after giving birth, they found.” So the guys need to step up and help the mom’s get the sleep. Mom’s, you could help by expressing your milk for the nighttime feedings and let the guys get up. But what do you think?

Better Daytime Habits That Can Help You Sleep

Read on to see which bad daytime habits you’ve developed that may be impacting the quality of your sleep. Then realize that you’ll sleep better simply by making a few changes in your routine. Exercise Getting exercise every day has its benefits. That’s not debatable.

However, strenuous exercise done in the early evening or later can affect your ability to fall asleep because it raises your body temperature and it won’t begin to fall for several hours. It’s much easier to fall asleep when body temperature is lower. If you exercise late in the day, consider changing your workout time. Exercising 5 or 6 hours before you plan to go to bed is ideal, as this allows ample time for your body temperature to cool to a level that’s conducive to sleep.

Whatever you do however, do not stop exercising. You reap an abundance of benefits – including better sleep – by getting daily moderate exercise. If you cannot adjust your workout time, try lowering the intensity level. Caffeine Most people won’t drink caffeinated coffee at night because they realize that caffeine can keep them awake. But coffee is not the only beverage containing caffeine. Soda, tea and some energy drinks also contain this stimulant therefore, all should be avoided in the afternoon and evening. Chocolate also has caffeine so eating chocolate cake, ice cream or pie for dessert can produce the same type of sleep issues.

The way that caffeine affects individuals varies so there is no general rule about its consumption that applies to everyone. If you think caffeine might be impacting your sleep, eliminate all caffeine in the afternoon and evening for a few days and note any differences in your sleep. Alcohol/Nicotine One misconception about alcohol is that it helps you sleep. Alcohol can bring sleep on faster, but it may cause you to wake more often during your sleep period.

Nicotine withdrawals occur while you sleep so the need to light up may cause you to wake more frequently. As with caffeine, stop consuming alcoholic beverages at night for a few days and see if you feel more refreshed in the morning. And kick the nicotine habit once and for all for better sleep and better health! Food and drink Some foods, especially those that can cause heartburn, can negatively affect your sleep. Tomato-based foods/beverages and spicy foods are the biggest instigators of heartburn.

Heartburn, which intensifies when you lie down, causes much discomfort during sleep and that discomfort can cause you to wake often during sleep. Drinking a lot of liquids, caffeinated, alcoholic or otherwise, will cause you to wake frequently too because you’ll have to urinate more. Napping You may love to nap, but napping might cause sleep disruptions by disrupting the workings of your inner clock or by causing you to need fewer hours of sleep during the night. Nap only briefly, no longer than 30 minutes or eliminate napping entirely and see if doing so enhances your sleep time.

The Stages of Sleep

When you close your eyes and fall off to sleep, do you have any idea what’s going on inside your body? Although you are at rest, not every part of your body is resting. The brain in particular is sending out all sorts of signals, many of which are controlling the various stages of sleep you’ll be undergoing. Eye movements and muscle activity change throughout the various stages of sleep too. Five stages of sleep have been identified, and on a good night’s sleep you pass through all of them, several times. Although there are 5 distinct stages, the first four stages are Read more

Sleep Hygiene – Taking Better Care of Your Sleep – Part II

Previously discussed were some relaxation techniques designed to help get your mind and your body to relax so it’s easier to fall asleep. This section continues the discussion and outlines several other ways you can improve your sleep hygiene, which will help ensure your body gets the rest it needs. Take a bath Taking a bath is more than just a luxury. It’s also a great way to help your body unwind after a busy day. And there’s another reason why taking a bath helps you sleep. A hot bath taken 60 – 90 minutes before going to bed will cause your body temperature to rise. But then your body temperature will start to fall and that’s key to sleeping better because that drop is going to make you feel sleepy. Eat lightly before bed And lightly is the key word here. Eating a heavy meal before bed can actually cause you to be uncomfortable and might, depending on what you eat, cause heartburn which worsens when you lie down. Both likely will cause you to awaken during sleep. Snacking on healthy foods before going to bed can Read more

Sleep Hygiene – Taking Better Care of Your Sleep – Part I

Sleep Hygiene – Taking Better Care of Your Sleep – Part I There really is such a thing as sleep hygiene and once you understand what it means, you likely will find that the quality of your sleep is greatly improved. Personal hygiene is all about the things you can do to keep your body clean and smelling good. Dental hygiene involves all the things you can do to keep your teeth healthy and strong and situated firmly in your mouth where they belong. Sleep hygiene therefore, is about the habits you can get into and the things you can do to help ensure that when it’s time for you to go to bed, you are able to fall asleep and stay asleep. What follows is a list of ways you can improve your sleep hygiene so that you can get the most out of your sleeping time. Establish set times for sleeping and for waking Having a regular bed time was important when you were a child and it is still important as an adult. Unfortunately we lead busy lives and getting to sleep at the same time every night is difficult. It’s a bit easier to wake at set times because our jobs or our schooling force us to wake even when we don’t want to. But when there’s a day off, we treat ourselves by sleeping in later than normal whenever possible. Without a set time for sleeping and for waking it is difficult to train your body for sleep. Without proper training, adequate sleep night after night is difficult. Learn to relax your body If you just throw on your pajamas and jump into bed, your body might not be prepared to sleep, especially if you just completed an activity that engages your mind and Read more

Sleep Apnea - Diagnosis and Treatment

Diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea are two very important steps in bringing sleep apnea under control.

Some think that loud snoring is indicative of sleep apnea but this isn’t always true. Snoring does accompany some cases, but not all. If you think you are suffering from sleep apnea and you have a sleeping partner, that partner can help you make an initial diagnosis.

With paper and pen, your partner should record the number of times there is a disruption in your breathing. It’s easy to tell because you’ll either stop breathing, or you’ll make gasping, choking or snorting sounds as you attempt to get your breath back. Making notes about your snoring is also helpful. You can also get a tape recorder and put it on ‘Record’ while you sleep.

The majority of sleep apnea occurs in men aged 40 or older who are also overweight. If you fall into this category and you know you’ve experienced sleep apnea symptoms, your doctor likely will suspect sleep apnea. If in doubt, your doctor can look for obstructions in the nose and mouth and examine your throat and nose using either an endoscopy or an X-ray. A CT scan of the neck and head is another diagnosis tool.

Should more information be needed, an absolute diagnosis can easily be confirmed by spending a night in a sleep center so that your sleeping pattern can be monitored.

The most common treatment option for individuals diagnosed with sleep apnea is Read more

Sleep Apnea - Symptoms and Causes

Sleep apnea is a very serious sleep disorder affecting over 18 million American sleepers. It’s a condition in which a person’s breathing is continuously interrupted during sleep. Breathing can be interrupted for as few as 10 seconds to as many as 60 seconds or longer.

In order to get breathing to resume, the brain has to awaken the individual each time breathing halts. The cycle of breathing disruption/brain awakening can repeat hundreds of times during a single sleep period.

Sleep apnea deprives the body of sleep and also of oxygen. If left untreated it will get worse. High blood pressure can develop as can other types of cardiovascular disease. Sleep apnea can become so severe that it could endanger your life.

The most obvious symptom of sleep apnea is a constant feeling of grogginess throughout the day. Many people with this disorder will frequently fall asleep during daytime hours. This makes sense since a person with sleep apnea does not ever fall into a deep sleep.

There are other symptoms associated with sleep apnea. Those associated with sleeping including profusely sweating during sleep, gasping or choking, unusually loud snoring and waking suddenly and/or frequently to catch breath.

When you are awake you may experience an inability to focus, concentrate and/or remember. Sleep apnea can also cause morning headaches and a sore throat or dry mouth upon awakening. Your attention span may be Read more

Sleep & Shift Work

Sleep and Shift Work When people talk about shift work, most focus on the benefits, of which there are many. To the employees working hours that aren’t considered ‘normal’, something other than Monday through Friday from 9 am – 5 pm, shift work means greater flexibility in scheduling. To employers, shift work means staying competitive, especially in an increasingly global marketplace. But to those individuals who specialize in understanding and treating sleep disorders, shift work has a more negative implication. Shift work is often associated with insufficient sleep, an increased likelihood of human error and, contrary to popular belief, decreased productivity. The reason for this is simple: many key bodily functions take place according to a natural cycle and any disruption to this natural cycle can throw a person out of balance. This natural cycle, or internal clock as it’s more commonly referred to, is the Circadian rhythm. In humans, this natural rhythm is responsible for signaling when the body should wake and when it should sleep. It signals these actions by releasing and withholding the release of certain chemicals, hormones and neurotransmitters. When sleep patters are disrupted, as they are when a person working the night shift sleeps during the day, lower quality and/or fewer hours of sleep are typical consequences. It’s not long before the symptoms of insomnia begin to appear. Typical symptoms include a diminished ability to Read more

Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS)

Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Restless Legs Syndrome is a condition that causes an uncomfortable feeling in the legs. These feelings intensify when lying down or when sitting. The only way an affected individual can make these uncomfortable feelings go away is by getting up and moving around. Read more

Restless Leg Syndrome

Periodic Limb Movements In Sleep Periodic Limb Movements in Sleep (PLMS) is a symptom that is commonly associated with another type of sleep disorder known as Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS). However, PLMS is a separate condition and RLS need not be present. Although the problem itself does not seem to cause or aggravate any other medical conditions, the frequent limb movements can cause a disruption in a person’s sleep. In fact, it can lead to significant insomnia, which can have adverse affects. It is for this reason that PLMS is considered a sleep disorder. Symptoms are few but they are obvious. As the name implies, the lower limbs of individuals with this disorder move, often repetitively, for varying periods of time. These movements, which are characterized as either sudden jerks, or twitches, or a flexing of the foot upwards, occur while Read more

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