Peaceful Sleep

REM Behavior Disorder (RBD) Sleep Disorder

noreply@blogger.com (silentsurfur) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 19:01:00 +0000

A person with RBD sleep disorder acts out dramatic as well as violent dreams while he or she is in a rapid eye movement (REM) stage sleep. It is also accompanied by shouting as well as grunting, and seems to resemble other sleep disorders that involve motor activity such as sleepwalking or periodic limb movement disorder. However, these conditions do not occur during REM sleep as is the case with RBD sleep disorder, and is characterized by sleep paralysis.

One will notice RBD sleep disorder in men of 60 years of age or above though it can occur in those who are still quite young as well. This condition is the subject of many family anecdotes, and may often not reach the ears of those that matter most – doctors. It has thus led to inexact statistics relating to such incidences. In fact, it was first described in 1986, but there is no sure known cause why such a condition arises.

RBD sleep disorder does occur while there is rapid eye movement sleep in which brain activity patterns are like wakefulness that can be documented by polysomnography as well as other sleep tests. Another characteristic of this condition is a state of atonia or muscle paralysis, and the body is still, but the brain is extremely active.

RBD sleep disorder by itself will not cause the patient to feel sleepy during the day though it is found to be present along with other sleep disorders which could result in daytime sleepiness. Some of these disorders include sleep apnea, periodic limb movement disorder as well as narcolepsy. It will also cause the bed partner to be awoken, which is how the patient will become aware of such a condition.

Not Mental

RBD sleep disorder is not a psychiatric disorder and patients do not have a mental problem though it is most often found to affect men, and is uncommon in women and children. It is believed, that less than one per cent of the population has such a condition. People more advanced in age are most prone to such a condition and anyone with a neurological disorder may also be afflicted.

RBD sleep disorder is likely to affect (it is believed, up to 33 per cent) of those people suffering from Parkinson’s disease and it is believed, that 90 per cent of those with multiple system atrophy are also likely to get this condition. RBD sleep disorder gets worse with time and so, requires consulting a sleep specialist to minimize the risk to both the patient as well as his or her bed partner.

Getting Sleep Naturally - Natural Sleep Aids

noreply@blogger.com (silentsurfur) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 22:57:00 +0000

A good night sleep can make all the difference to your day. It has been proven that people who have an uninterrupted sleep perform at the peak level of efficiency. Taking natural sleep aids, can help you sleep quickly and enable you to get a good night sleep, so that you feel fresh and charged up the next day.

It is true that some people have no problem getting the right sleep but then there are people who can never get proper sleep no matter how tired they are. Lack of sleep can make a person feel tired, groggy and irritable. Muscle aches, headaches and blurred vision are common symptoms of a bad night sleep.

Individuals who do not get proper sleep on a regular basis often complain that they are unable to focus and think clearly in situations where they have to concentrate on critical and analytical reasoning. They also complain of mental exhaustion and depression. Doctors often prescribe the use of Ambien and Lunesta to aid sleep, but these medications are not without side effects.

Sleep is very important to our general well being as sleep is natures way of healing our body and providing us mental energy to renew our body functions. So using natural sleep aids and remedies is a far safer and effective way to help the body to perform well in the long run.

It has been proved in a study that people who lack sleep are more prone to mental and emotional problems. This greatly affects our relationship with our co-workers and also our interpersonal relationships. It was further proved that out of all our bodily functions and mental activities, it was mood that was most severely affected by lack of sleep. Sleeplessness greatly affects our physical stamina, health, immune system and our thought process.

If you are not getting proper sleep and suffering weeks without a good night sleep, then you ought not to take it lightly. Sleep deprivation although not life threatening, is more dangerous to your health than we are led to believe. Long term sleep deprivation can reduce quality of life and make you prone to psychosomatic illnesses.

You can overcome this difficulty by trying natural sleep aids, these alternative sleep aids can help you to sleep. What's more, these natural sleep aids rarely have the side effects prescription medication can produce. More importantly it will help you wake up refreshed and charged up the next morning. The bottom line is that the importance of sleep should not be ignored, it is as important as a proper diet or exercise for your well being.

By Natural Sleep Aids.

Sleep Aids and Medications For Insomnia

noreply@blogger.com (silentsurfur) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 22:51:00 +0000

There are many instances in which behavioral and environmental changes aren't effective at treating or curing insomnia. There are also times when insomnia sufferers simply don't wish to try these other types of treatments and cures. Fortunately for those individuals, several effective sleep aids and medications are available.

If taken correctly and only as needed for short periods of time, prescription medications need not cause any problems with addiction. That's good news especially since sleep medications are the most common treatment for insomnia.

Medications to treat insomnia are available by prescription and over-the counter. To obtain a prescription, you of course need to be under the care of a physician. This is actually wise since effective treatment begins with a firm diagnosis and an identification of any underlying causes for the insomnia. For example, if insomnia turns out to be a symptom of depression or anxiety, the patient will fare better when given a prescription designed to treat depression or anxiety rather than the sleep disorder.

When insomnia is identified as purely a sleep issue, the most effective sleep aids for promoting sleep are called hypnotics. The two main goals of hypnotics are to induce sleep faster and then maintain it for a longer period, resulting in better quality sleep.

There are half-life hypnotics and full-life. Half-life hypnotics are designed to stay in the system only half the amount of the time as full-life so they won't interfere with daytime activities. Hypnotics vary by dosage, too. They're most effective when taken for short durations and when their use is decreased over a period of time rather than all at once.

Antihistamines are the most common form of over-the-counter (OTC) sleeping aid. Although antihistamines are designed to block the chemicals that the body releases during an allergic outbreak, they have the ability to calm which makes them effective at encouraging sleep. However, this is a point of considerable debate. Some OTC sleep aids contain pain relievers and even if they don't, OTC sleep aids should never be taken with alcohol. Even though they're available without a prescription, it's advisable to consult with a medical professional before taking any type of sleep aid.

Melatonin supplements are another sleep aid that can help in dealing with insomnia. Melatonin is a naturally-occurring hormone the body produces as day turns into night. Melatonin helps the body prepare for sleep by lowering body temperature and triggering other changes inside the body.

Care must be taken when supplementing melatonin because there is always a risk of over-supplementation (ingesting more than the body needs to work effectively). In addition, nutritional supplements such as melatonin lack the stringent testing and reporting requirements that govern prescription medications so side effects and long-term effects may not be fully understood.

Some claim that herbal remedies including St. John's Wort, valerian root, chamomile and lemon balm are effective at reducing instances of insomnia, but like nutritional supplements, there are no regulations requiring the generation of reports and/or studies to back up these claims or document the benefits or disadvantages of long-term usage.

If you're having trouble sleeping and nothing seems to help, it might be time to see about speaking with a sleep consultant.

By Steven N. Muller.

Dental Treatments for Sleep Apnea

noreply@blogger.com (silentsurfur) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 22:44:00 +0000

There are many different ways to treat sleep apnea ranging from medicines, facial masks, and dental treatments. But before you can treat it, you must understand what sleep apnea is. The simple definition of sleep apnea is the disruption of breathing while you are asleep. The disorder affects the sleep of thousands of people each night and can become a very serious problem if gone untreated; it can even become life threatening. Generally, sleep apnea goes virtually undiagnosed as 90% of those who actually have the disorder do not even know it simply because they do not remember not being able to breathe in their sleep.

There are many different symptoms associated with sleep apnea however the most frequent factor is the cessation of breathing during sleep. People suffering from sleep apnea also may choke or gasp during sleep to draw in breath, experience loud snoring, awake suddenly to restart breathing, sweat frequently through the night, experience headaches, sore throat, or dry mouth in the morning, and even may experience daytime sleepiness. It is important to know that snoring and sleep apnea are not one and the same. While snoring is a symptom of sleep apnea in some people, it is often not a sign of sleep apnea.

In many cases, the shape of a person’s head and neck may actually be a cause of sleep apnea. This happens because the airway is made smaller when a person lays down for sleep in a certain way. Other causes include but are not limited to large tonsils or adenoids, obesity, relaxation of the tongue and throat muscles, smoking, and exposure to secondhand smoke, nasal congestion, and a family history. If a person suffers from immune system abnormalities, severe heartburn, acid reflux, high blood pressure, hypothyroidism, acromegaly, vocal cord paralysis, post-polio syndrome, Marfan’s syndrome, Down syndrome, or amyloidosis, he or she may also develop sleep apnea.

Treatments for sleep apnea vary, but dentists actually play a large and important role in the treatment of sleep apnea. Dentists along with physicians, psychologists and respiratory therapists all work together to treat each sleep apnea patient. Each patient responds to different aspects of treatment a little differently than others, but some of the most common and affordable treatments include dental treatments. There are different dental appliances, lower jaw adjustment devices, and oral devices that can help treat sleep apnea and can effectively treat mild to moderate sleep apnea.

Many dental devices for treating sleep apnea are much like athletic mouth guards or appliances used for orthodontics and are made of acrylic, fitting inside the mouth. The two most common dental treatments for sleep apnea include the Tongue Retaining Device and the Mandibular Repositioning. These two devices help open your airway, and keep it open during sleep, by moving your lower jaw or tongue forward while you sleep. Often, the lower jaw and tongue move too far back thus blocking the flow of air during sleep.

While dental treatments and devices for sleep apnea can make a huge difference in treating mild to moderate cases, such treatment does have side effects. If you choose to get treated consult a dentist like sleep apnea dentist Dr. Thomas Hedge in Cincinnati.

By Thomas Hedge.

Sleep Measuring Tools

noreply@blogger.com (silentsurfur) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 18:45:00 +0000

The following instruments are used by scientists to measure sleep in humans.

1. EEGs (electroencephalograms) - This machine is used by the scientists to study electrical changes in the brain through electrodes and the data is represented by graphs as per their frequencies and termed as ‘waves’.

2. EOGs (electrooculograms) - The scientists use electrodes on the skin near the eye to measure changes in voltage as the eye rotates in its socket.

3. EMGs (electromyograms) - The scientists when using this technique, place electrodes on the skin overlaying a muscle.

In practice, EEGs, EOGs, and EMGs are recorded simultaneously on continuously moving chart paper or digitized by a computer and displayed on a high-resolution monitor. This allows the relationships among the three measurements to be seen immediately and the studying these data scientists decipher the sleeping pattern in human beings.

Five stages of sleep

1. First Stage- In this stage eye and muscle movements are slow.

2. Second stage- Eye movements stop, brain activity slows; infrequent rapid bursts of brain activity exist.

3. Third stage- Very slow brain activity, frequent small brain activity bursts. It is difficult to disturb at this deep sleep level.

4. Fourth stage- Only slow brain activity occurs now. No eye or muscle activity. It is difficult to disturb anyone at this deep sleep level. If awaken, it takes a few minutes to orientate one’s self.

5. Final stage REM (rapid eye movement)- Increased breathing, more irregular, shallow breathing, rapid random eye movement. Muscles in limbs become paralyzed temporarily. Heart beats increase per minute and there is gradual increase in blood pressure. Dreaming is frequent and sometimes vivid.

Functions of different organs during sleep cycle:

1. Endocrine system-Sleep determines the hormone secretion in human beings. For e.g. Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) in females which are responsible for menstrual and reproductive processes, are among the hormones released during sleep. In fact, the sleep-dependent release of luteinizing hormone is thought to be the event that initiates puberty. Other hormones, such as thyroid-stimulating hormone, are released prior to sleep.

2. Renal System- The kidney functioning, release of chemicals like sodium, potassium, calcium etc., plasma flow etc are reduced during sleep. This is the explanation of urine concentration in large amounts during sleep.

3. Alimentary system– The alimentary system in human beings slows down when a person goes to sleep. Secretion of digestive juices are decreased and reduces the digestion process.

Hence sound sleep is necessary for proper functioning of the body. Usually hours of sleep that is required varies from person to person but an adult human being need at least of 8 hours of sleep on a daily basis for normal functioning. Teenagers are recommended 9-10 hours of sleep.

Resource

Process of sleep in humans

noreply@blogger.com (silentsurfur) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 18:39:00 +0000

Human beings spend one third of their life sleeping. Hence it is a behavioral state that is natural for all individuals. Prior to 1950 it was believed that a person’s body and mind is shut up when sleeping. But later intensive scientific research carried out by various scientists proved that various parts of our brain remain active even when we are asleep.

Sleep is an activity not an option. A person deprived of sleep often suffers from lack of concentration, memory loss, fatigue, depression and as a consequence emotional instability. Hence it is important to gather scientific information about changes that occur in the body during sleep and how those changes affect our ability to move and behave rationally.

Why do we fall asleep?
The scientific explanation which gives the reason of sleeping is that through out the day a chemical called adenosine is accumulated in the human beings. It makes people feel more and more tired. Once a person goes to sleep this adenosine breaks down. Moreover, when we go to sleep those nerve cells in the human brain called neurons become active which makes us to go to sleep switching off the neurons that keeps us active.

Misconceptions about sleep
The following are the myths related to sleep and their correct explanation:

1. During sleep body and brain goes to rest - There are some modest decrease in metabolism rates but not all organs take rest when we go to sleep.

2. Body adjusts to different sleep schedules easily - It is not easy for the biological clock to adjust with your shift schedules. People, who work at night and sleep in daytime, still feel sleepy at night. You cannot make your biological clock work as you wish.

3. People need less sleep as they go old - It is not necessary to sleep less as you go old. It happens mostly because of various diseases that hampers the sleep.

4. Sleeping less at night doesn’t affect daytime functioning - It gives rise to a condition of “sleep debt”. It has a negative effect on daytime functioning and people, who suffer from sleep debt, complain of fatigue, mood swings and depression.

5. Good night’s sleep decreases morning sleepiness - The people who suffer from insomnia or other sleeping disorders complain of morning sleepiness and even excessive sleeping for a day or night cannot cure them of that. They must seek professional help.

Resource

How to Get Your Baby to Sleep

noreply@blogger.com (silentsurfur) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 18:34:00 +0000

One of the most important processes that your baby has to go through is getting enough sleep. However, this does not happen all the time. Parents, especially the new ones, are often suffering from sleep deprivation because their babies are always awake during the wee hours of the day. Their babies are often agitated, and most of the time, parents do not have any idea for their behavior.

What do you do when it is difficult to get your baby to sleep? Are you one of the clueless parents who would love your child to sail off the seas in dreamland so that you can finally rest on your own as well? Here are some proven methods on how to get your baby to sleep in no time.

First, make sure that you limit the sleep that your baby gets in the daytime. Keep him busy during the day by spending time with him by playing around. Playing with your baby also ensures that he would get some exercise to keep his body in shape. Once you keep your baby busy during the day, he will have a good night’s sleep, partly because he has exhausted his energy while playing.

Second, you may want to keep your baby’s room dark enough for him to sleep well. The baby’s eyes are sensitive to light, and once that he is exposed to a bright room while taking a doze off, he might not be able to relax well.

Third, give your baby a routine before he goes to sleep. Most experts say that routines prepare a baby for bedtime and clearly enough, these routines enable him to relax more. In establishing routines, your baby would have a hint on what he should do before hitting the sack. All of these activities should be done in the comfort of his own room and in his bed so as he would learn to associate the whole thought of the routine to bedtime. You may want to give your baby a bath before going to bed, since baths are really helpful for a baby to be relaxed.

Fourth option is lying down with your own baby to sleep. You may want to lie down next or near to him so that he would feel more comfortable. Babies easily get startled, and they would certainly feel safe by having their mommy or daddy around with them.

It may be quite an age-old remedy, but singing a lullaby is one of the best ways to put your baby to sleep. Sing your baby a sweet lullaby, and talk to him often. You may rock your baby to sleep as well. This would surely calm your baby and get him ready for a good night’s sleep.

If you do not want to deprive yourself of some rest, then follow these simple activities for your baby if ever they are experiencing troubles in sleeping. Rest assured that you will also be off to dreamland because your baby is also fast asleep.

By: Jennifer Welson

WEB MD Sleep Expert Explains the Reality of Sleep Disorders Part II

noreply@blogger.com (silentsurfur) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 21:53:00 +0000

Kevin: Well, that's fantastic. I must get into that. [Laughs]

Dr. Breus: Absolutely. Some people like to know what are some of these big problems that everybody's talking about. So, first of all, about fifty-three percent of people say that they often wake up not feeling refreshed. Thirty-six percent of people say they have trouble falling back to sleep. And then just thirty-one percent of people say they just can't fall asleep in general, [just] insomnia, is what we call it. Again, kind of interesting but more often than not, people are saying it's not the falling asleep, even though a third of people have a problem with that, it's the staying asleep.

Kevin: Okay.

Dr. Breus: That seems to really get to them.

Kevin: Okay.

Dr. Breus: Now, the other thing that's kind of fascinating is looking at who has these problems. Believe it or not, women have a tendency to report sleep problems more than men do. Now, I think there are a couple of different reasons for that. One of the different reasons I feel is that women, first of all, they have a reasonably better "in touch" sense with their body. They know and understand their body. They listen to their bodies, but they also have a greater likelihood to talk about these issues.

Kevin: Sure.

Dr. Breus: Not necessarily just with their friends, but also with their physicians, their therapists, whoever happens to be speaking with them. And so, interestingly enough, eighty-three percent of the people who are talking about these are women.

Kevin: Guys are just like "I'm okay". [Laughs]

Dr. Breus: Right, it's kind of like this bravado "Hey, I don't have any problems. All I need is five hours of sleep. Rrrr".

Kevin: [Laughs]

Dr. Breus: You know. And the truth of the matter is, that's just not the case. You know, I was with executives from Fortune 100 to Fortune 500 companies all over the world. And, you know, men, women, doesn't really matter. What I find is men come in and they say "You know, I'm tough, blah blah blah. But when you get them into a room and you talk to them, they're in trouble. They're having a really tough time because they're not eating right, they're not exercising while they're on the road, and they're certainly not sleeping right. And that's affecting their performance not only at work, but at home.

Kevin: Right.

Dr. Breus: And that's a big deal. And we're also seeing, interestingly enough, there's sort of a bimodal distribution where we're seeing a lot of people between the ages of eighteen and thirty-four having sleep problems. But then also in my practice, I'm seeing people who are in the forty-five and up range having sleep problems as well. So it really seems to be the two distributions which probably speak to the fact that there are two different types of sleep problems that are probably available in those groups.

Kevin: What do you speculate those to be?

Dr. Breus: I think the speculations would probably fall that the younger group... we're going to see more people with insomnia type problems?

Kevin: Okay.

Dr. Breus: And what I call disordered sleep.

Kevin: Okay.

Dr. Breus: See, there's a big difference between a sleep disorder which is a form of diagnosis like insomnia or [apnea] or [narcolepsy] and what I call disordered sleep, which is just wake up and "I don't feel so hot".

Kevin: Right.

Dr. Breus: I think insomnia and the disordered sleep fall in the eighteen to thirty-four age group range. When you start to get above forty-five, I think that's where we start to see a greater preponderance of sleep apnea.

Kevin: Mm Hmm.

Dr. Breus: Most of us seem to go throughout any particular age range but restless life syndrome pops up huge in the older population.

Kevin: Okay. Is sleep apnea due to being overweight or obese?

Dr. Breus: Well, here's the interesting thing -- there are multiple factors for sleep apnea. Let's just go into, real quickly, what is sleep apnea.

Kevin: Mm Hmm.

Dr. Breus: Sleep apnea is where you stop breathing in your sleep. Okay. Generally speaking I like my patients to breathe...

Kevin: [Laughs]

Dr. Breus: Okay, and so it's good when they keep breathing all night long. Now the truth of the matter is this -- you won't stop breathing in your sleep and not start back, okay. I had a funny time. I was sitting with a patient. I'm explaining her results, studying with her. And I sat down with her and I said "You know, Mrs XYZ, I want to let you know that you stopped breathing in your sleep over two hundred times last night".

Kevin: Wow!

Dr. Breus: You know what she said to me? "Did I start back up?"

Kevin: [Laughs]

Dr. Breus: Now that's pretty classic. But that's the level of education that we have to get to here in teaching people what's going on. So the answer is -- yes, she did start back up. And would you believe me if I told you that her sleep apnea was only moderate, and she stopped breathing over two hundred times a night?

To read the rest of this transcript as well as access more information by health experts on abundance, optimum health, and longevity just like Dr. Michael Breus please visit (http://fountainofyouthworldsummit.com) .

WEB MD Sleep Expert Explains the Reality of Sleep Disorders

noreply@blogger.com (silentsurfur) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 21:01:00 +0000

This interview is an excerpt from Kevin Gianni's Fountain of Youth Summit, which can be found at (http://fountainofyouthworldsummit.com) . In this excerpt, Dr. Michael Breus shares on reality of sleep and sleep disorders.

The Fountain of Youth World Summit with Dr. Michael Breus, the author of Good Night and Web MD's sleep expert.

Kevin: I think it's going to be an awesome talk. And as many people out there know already, I like to get right into it. So let's start talking about sleep. I know you have some facts and you have some numbers. Let's start talking about them.

Dr. Breus: Oh yeah. Let's get right into it. One of the things that's really pretty fascinating, Kevin, is just how many people are reporting any symptom of a sleep problem. If you look back at the National Sleep Foundation data from 2000, you'll see that roughly sixty-two percent of the overall population was reporting a problem. But now in 2005, this is still data that's two years old, we're seeing that almost seventy-five percent of people are reporting a type of a sleep problem.

Kevin: Wow! So it's a thirteen percent increase.

Dr. Breus: Yeah. It's truly amazing. Right now, we're thinking that more than seventy million Americans are suffering from known sleep disorders. Almost fifty percent of people snore. The thing to remember here is snoring is not necessarily a sleep disorder, but it can be a sign or symptom of a sleep disorder called Sleep Apnea.

Kevin: Um Hmm

Dr. Breus: Unfortunately, the medical community classifies snoring as more of a social nuisance in terms of keeping other people awake. Here's another fascinating statistic -- individuals who sleep with somebody who snores lose on average about one hour of sleep per night.

Kevin: Wow! That's incredible! [Laughs]

Dr. Breus: So it might not even be your sleep problem that's keeping you from getting a good night's rest. It could be your bed partner's.

Kevin: Wow.

Dr. Breus: Sleep deprivation affects things like creativity, productivity, memory, relationships and even sexual activity. So there almost isn't an area that sleep doesn't affect. Interestingly enough, it affects every single organ system available. And here's the thing that was kind of baffling to me when I first started getting into this field -- I don't know if you know this, but there are eighty-eight different sleep disorders.

Kevin: No kidding!

Dr. Breus: Yeah. You wouldn't think that there would be so many. I mean you'd figure "Well, you know, I close my eyes, I go to sleep, how many things could go wrong?" Well, the truth of the matter is, there are literally eighty-eight different types of sleep disorders. Now some of them can be long-term, they have specific categories. And there are really four or five main sleep disorders that I [haven't seen to] to deal with them. I practice and also talk about them in my book. And those who fall into the category of insomnia, which could be "having a problem falling asleep" or "having a problem staying asleep" or either "waking too early". There's also a new category of insomnia that we should talk about just for a brief moment, which is called, it's not really called insufficient sleep, it's basically called "poor quality sleep".

Kevin: Okay.

Dr. Breus: And so it's not about the number of minutes that you get but the quality of those minutes. So what's interesting here is that some people might sleep eight hours but they wake up, and they feel horrible.

Kevin: Right.

Dr. Breus: That's a whole new phenomena that we're just starting to learn more about and trying to investigate more about.

Kevin: Anything about the factors? What are some of the factors about?

Dr. Breus: Well, you know what? That's a good question as there could be multiple factors. It could be anything from stress, to caffeine, to other medical problems, to even medications or supplements that you could be taking that could be affecting your sleep.

Kevin: Mm Hmm.

Dr. Breus: So that's a lot of different things that could affect your sleep. The thing that people don't realize is -- I'm kind of like, sort of an internal medicine doctor but, for the night time, if you will, simply because every single area, every single thing you do can have a potential affect on your sleep. Now that doesn't mean that I want everybody to lock themselves in the room.

Kevin: [laughs]

Dr. Breus: You know, never drink coffee again...

Kevin: [laughs]

Dr. Breus: [Have a glass of wine] or anything like that, because that's just not me, number one. Number two is that's just not realistic. What I'm hoping to do today with this talk is to let people know, first of all, that this is a serious situation. Second, that there are a lot of different things that we'll be able to do. Very quickly, here even today, even notes that you'd be able to take today during this teleconference, this will help you to sleep better tonight. And they're very realistic, and they're not, [say], going to change your life forever.

Resource : Natural News