Ina E. Djonlagic, M.D.: How Does Sleep Affect Emotional Well-Being?

Ina E. Djonlagic, M.D.: How Does Sleep Affect Emotional Well-Being?

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Imagine yourself in a bubble without alarm clocks and schedules, and being able to let your body determine how much sleep you were getting. Most of us would find ourselves sleeping longer than we currently do, most likely leveling out somewhere around eight hours. That's the amount most people need.

If you find yourself "sleep-binging" on the weekend or your days off, that's a sign that you are probably not getting enough sleep during the week. We often sacrifice sleep because of long workdays that spill over into our "leisure time," watching late-night TV, and sometimes because that is the only time that we have to ourselves after we put the kids to bed.

It's a serious sacrifice.

Several studies have shown that healthy sleep habits are linked to better cognition, alertness, and emotional well-being.

And it's not just about the amount of time, but also about the timing of our sleep schedules, our biological clocks, that we need to be aware of. This is especially important in teenagers, who at the onset of puberty, undergo changes in their circadian rhythm, which regulates sleep. This is linked to the brain's release of melatonin, the chemical that helps us sleep. Teenage brains tell the body to go to sleep at 11 p.m. At the same time, their bodies still require at least nine hours of sleep per night.

No surprise, then, that studies comparing students with earlier and later school start times find that students with later start times get better grades, and are less depressed and irritable. Students also rated themselves as more motivated to do schoolwork and extracurricular activities. This extends well into college, as those college students who sleep longer also tend to have better grades.

Why is this? During sleep, our brains actually continue to process information from the day and form new connections that stabilize and enhance our memories. We can even find new solutions or insights into problems, all while we are "sleeping."

And it is not just the sleep after learning that is so crucial: If you are sleep-deprived and tired, the brain has a much harder time absorbing new information.

Besides, you just aren't "yourself" anymore if you don't get enough sleep. Any parent with a new baby will be able to sympathize with Anne Lamott's humorously gritty description of evil Lady-Macbeth-like thoughts that go through her sleep-deprived mind as she is walking her sobbing baby.

There is a reciprocal relationship between sleep and mental health, and it comes as no surprise that sleep problems are common in patients with anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and even post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

While studies have taught us that sleep problems may contribute to the development of some psychiatric disorders, treating a sleep disorder, on the other hand, may help alleviate symptoms of a mental health problem.

So, while we are still far from knowing why we sleep, we know that without a good night's sleep we are sacrificing a lot of our emotional and mental well-being.

For more by Ina E. Djonlagic, M.D., click here.

For more on sleep, click here.

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Facial Exercise - Natural Homemade Remedies for Anti-Wrinkles

Facial Exercise - Natural Homemade Remedies for Anti-Wrinkles
Let's face it, aging is unavoidable and sooner or later we'll all have to face it at some point in time. But what's important is that we age gracefully.
Source: EzineArticles.com

Dr. Robert Oexman: Can A Mattress Really Impact Your Sleep?

Dr. Robert Oexman: Can A Mattress Really Impact Your Sleep?

Sleepless nights, tossing, turning and exhausted mornings -- we all know the feeling. But did you know that sleeping on the right mattress can help alleviate these problems and remind you what it feels like to be rested? We now know that mattresses really do matter when it comes to getting a good night's sleep!

According to a study by Research Triangle International and Drs. Andy Krystal and Jack Edinger from Duke University, you may not have to be a princess to feel the pea under your mattress. Their four-year study looked at how different support levels of mattresses impacted sleep, pain and daytime functioning. More than 16,000 nights of sleep were evaluated on 128 subjects, making this one of the largest studies ever completed on normal pain-free sleepers and how mattresses impact their health.

Previous Studies Stumble

Very few studies have looked at the effect mattresses have on sleep and pain, and the ones that have been done only looked at small numbers of people or small numbers of mattresses. The small sample sizes often led to the conclusion that "medium-firm" mattresses are the best for sleep. The error in this conclusion is two-fold. First, there is no recognized definition for what a "medium-firm" mattress would feel like. A 250-pound person may describe a mattress as soft while a 125-pound person may describe the same mattress as firm. Second, there were people in the study that slept well on other mattresses. Should they sleep on medium-firm mattresses even though they slept better on a softer or firmer mattress?

Other studies have come to the conclusion that mattresses have no impact on sleep. These studies have typically used small numbers of subjects or have used university students. The use of university students is a poor choice, since this group is often very sleep-deprived. These students, given an opportunity, can sleep just about anywhere -- laying on the floor or sitting in the classroom!

Mattresses Matter

The study by Krystal and Edinger overcame the shortcomings of previous studies by examining a large number of people (128), a large variety of different firmness of mattresses (seven), and a large number of nights on each mattress (four weeks). After evaluating more than 16,000 nights of sleep it was clear that even small differences in mattress support (soft, medium, firm) correlated with changes in sleep and pain. This is a clear indication that mattresses really do matter. However, the study had a second powerful conclusion: We may not be able to determine which mattresses are best for us when we are awake.

Attention Shoppers!

The fact that people are very poor at selecting which mattresses would allow them to sleep pain-free should immediately interest consumers in the midst of mattress shopping. What's the reason for this phenomenon? The answer lies in what happens to our body while sleeping. We pass through different stages of sleep each night. One of those stages called "rapid eye movement" (REM) is the stage of sleep when our most vivid dreams take place. To prevent us from acting out our dreams, we lose skeletal muscle tone. The skeletal muscles that support our back relax and we lose spinal support. So, a mattress that felt supportive while you were awake with the muscles active may perform differently when you are in REM sleep.

It would appear that we can all be a princess (or prince) when we sleep, meaning we really can feel those mattress differences, especially when we're catching some Zzzs.

Disclosure: The Sleep to Live Institute sponsored this research.

For more by Dr. Robert Oexman, click here.

For more on sleep, click here.

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Source: www.huffingtonpost.com