If you are hot while sleeping, it can severely ruin your sleep quality. For optimal sleep, you must be cool. Your body actually drops to about 96 degrees when you are sleeping. Therefore, your outside temperature needs to match that. Your sleeping environment should be anywhere from 66-70F degrees. If you feel very hot when you sleep, continue reading to learn possible causes, and what you can do.
Getting sleep in older age can be complicated by a multitude of factors. One of those factors are movement disorders while sleeping. When you are asleep, your body is essentially paralyzed, especially in rapid eye movement sleep, or dreaming sleep. This is because your body wants to protect itself from potential harm of acting out your dreams.
However, there are certain conditions where this doesn't happen. One of those is called restless leg syndrome (RLS)). Another, which sounds very similar, is periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD). Both of these are very common in the elderly, further exacerbating or complicating any sleep disorders they may already be experiencing. Continue reading to find out the difference between these two disorders.
Whenever you get behind the wheel of a car and are sleepy, that is known as drowsy driving. It's one of the most dangerous things that you can do, second to drunk driving or driving under the influence. In fact, after a certain number of hours of no sleep, your brain is very similar to one that is drunk.
Drowsy driving can significantly increase the risk of accidents which leads to a high number of injuries and deaths every year. There are so many sleeping problems across the United States, that increased awareness of drowsy driving can significantly positively impact public health. Continue reading to find out more about drowsy driving so you can avoid practicing it and contributing to the large number of drivers on the road who are driving at suboptimal consciousness.
As a new parent, you may be desperate to know when your baby will sleep through the night. It can be challenging in those first few weeks when your baby is getting adjusted to being outside of the womb and your household is getting adjusted to having a newborn.
It can also be really frustrating to be sleep deprived and feel like, no matter what, your baby just won't go to sleep. In fact, it can even be dangerous to be very tired and have a child that won't sleep, increasing the risk for abuse and accidents.
Continue reading to learn more about why your baby may be crying, and how you can expect them to better regulate themselves over the next few months.
In a time where companies are really starting to notice mental health and employee wellness, you may be in search of a company that truly values your wellness and doesn't just say that they do. One way companies can put their money where their mouths are is by being pro-nap.
Napping has been demonized in America as being a sign of the lazy, however, other countries have embraced napping and shutting down in the middle of the day. The understand the biology of the midday cortisol drop. Cortisol is your stress hormone that helps keep you alert and activated. It drops after lunch, so that post-lunch energy dip that you feel is actually very normal.
Short, 30-minute naps are very beneficial for giving you a quick energy bump and improving creativity. This can increase workplace productivity and can actually benefit your health by reducing your chances of stroke, heart attack or heart failure.
So who are the companies who work with your body, instead of against it? Continue reading to find out to see if any of them are a good fit for you.
Our circadian rhythm is the master clock of our bodies. It tells us when to go to sleep, when to wake up, and all of the fluctuations throughout the day of our energy and alertness. This rhythm is determined by light which serves as a crucial determining factor for our schedules.
Biology also plays a role in our circadian rhythms. By nature, we are either early birds or night owls. It is hard to deviate much from this schedule. We are programmed to get tired and be alert at different parts of the day. The circadian rhythm and light help to manage this.
However, as we age, these phases may experience dramatic shifts as our hormones fluctuate. This can cause extreme sleep problems that can lead to excessive daytime sleepiness and insomnia. Continue reading to find out how to best manage these shifts.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea, or OSA, is a common sleep disorder where individuals have brief pauses in breathing due to a blockage of the airway. This blockage can be caused by a large tongue that has relaxed and covering the airway, or the muscles in the back of the throat that have relaxed and are also covering the airway.
The mainstay of treatment is a continuous positive airway pressure, or a CPAP, machine. This machine blows air into the back of your throat to prevent the muscles from collapsing and keeping your airway open. It consists of a mask that goes over your nose and your mouth that is attached by a hose to a machine that delivers this air.
CPAP machines are very important because OSA can cause a host of health problems including obesity, hypertension, and reduced sleep. Those with OSA can develop excessive daytime sleepiness and the risk of developing it is increased by being overweight, having a large neck circumference, smoking, and being male, to name a few.
Although CPAPs are great, they often come up with some uncomfortable side effects. A common side effect is dry mouth. Continue reading to find out how to avoid this side effect.
Getting a good night's sleep does more than just help you not be cranky the next day. It is actually vital for your health and provides you with innumerable benefits. It's just as important as other health advice such as exercising and eating right.
The average number of hours of sleep required for each individual is anywhere from 7-9 hours. However, over a third of the adults in the United States are not getting enough sleep. Sleep deprivation can put you at high risk mentally, physically and emotionally. Here are 9 benefits of getting more sleep!
Pregnancy can drastically change the body. There are many new conditions that can appear when someone does become pregnant. These include conditions such as indigestion, heartburn, to extreme fatigue and trouble sleeping. For some, about 14% to 53%, pregnancy can also come with snoring. This snoring can become more frequent as the pregnancy progresses and the woman becomes bigger. You may be wondering why snoring increases over pregnancy and when snoring may actually be indicative of an underlying issue. Continue reading to learn some of the answers to these questions about snoring, like what causes snoring and when to be concerned.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a sleep disorder that affects many people. It is characterized by many pauses in breathing throughout the night that cause your body to wake up to begin breathing again. These cessations are caused by a blockage to your airway, most likely by a large tongue that has slid to the back of your mouth, or by the relaxation of the muscles in the back of your throat.
This narrowing of space makes it hard for you to breathe and can lead to snoring, excessive daytime sleepiness, and feeling like you did not get enough rest. OSA can also lead to hypertension, obesity, heart disease, and many other diseases. It is more common in men, those with larger neck circumferences, overweight/obese individuals, and those who smoke.
The current standard treatment for OSA is a continuous positive airway pressure, or a CPAP machine. It blows air to stop the muscles in the back of your throat from collapsing so that way you continue breathing throughout the night. Even though it can provide immense relief, it still comes with its fair share of side effects. Continue reading to learn about what to expect with a CPAP.