Monthly Archives: June 2015

Anybody who has ever spent a night tossing and turning knows all too well that sleeplessness has a negative impact on the ability to think clearly, to remember details and to respond appropriately and quickly. Lack of sleep makes us cranky, fuzzy and forgetful, and that’s after just one night – just imagine what it feels like to somebody who suffers from chronic insomnia. Now a recent study out of the University of Pennsylvania is offering hope to those whose lives are impacted by constant sleep deprivation. Scientist there have found in experiments performed using laboratory animals that there are certain medications that can be used to counter the impact that lack of sleep has. Continue reading →

The Better Sleep Council is an organization that is dedicated to providing much-needed education about sleep and the role it plays in health and improving the quality of life for consumers around the world. It is a division of the International Sleep Products Association, and it is made up of both sleep experts and bedding companies from throughout the industry. As part of their efforts, they recently conducted a survey looking into what role stress plays in the sleep lives of the American consumer, and how much time is being lost each night to worry. Their findings are both of interest and concern. Among the statistics that were revealed were the following: Continue reading →

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive, degenerative condition that robs people of their memories, as well as of a number of other important cognitive functions. It accounts for approximately two thirds of all reported cases of dementia, and is thought to impact between 21 and 35 million people globally. Its causes are poorly understood and treatment options are limited, as once the process begins it seems impossible to stop or reverse, though some medications have been shown to slow its progression. Now researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis believe that they may have found a way to improve the memories of those who have been diagnosed with this disease. Continue reading →

If you’ve been finding yourself inexplicably waking up in the middle of the night and unable to easily fall back to sleep — and especially if this is happening in the second half of the night — then you might want to check and see if your night time drinking habits might be the cause. Though many people think that having a glass of wine or a nightcap before bed is a good way to send themselves off to sleep, it turns out that doing so may actually be what is responsible for your late night awakenings or that sense of not being well-rested that you’re experiencing in the morning. Continue reading →

Whether you are waking up feeling like you’re still tired, struggling to fall asleep or stay asleep at night, or just conscious of the fact that the quantity and quality of your sleep isn’t sufficient and you want to improve it, you’re absolutely not alone. Sleep deprivation has become a public health epidemic, and even those who aren’t falling short enough on your sleep for it to be a health worry, people are becoming more and more aware that sleep is just as important as exercise and nutrition to our overall health. There are sleep monitors and devices for sale, new sleep supplements that people are praising, and even a list of foods that are said to help you fall asleep too quickly, but the truth is that you don’t need all that – you just need to stick to the simple rules of sleep hygiene. Continue reading →

You know the old saying about how you can’t have your cake and eat it too? Well, it seems like there are an awful lot of people who just don’t buy it, and the latest example of that comes in the form of those who absolutely, positively understand that using electronic devices late at night is going to wreak havoc with their ability to sleep, and instead of turning the darn things off, they’ve gone and found themselves a workaround. Continue reading →