Tag: Sleep

Save Your Sanity From Snoring

Pretty much most of you have a horror story when it comes to snoring. As a child, you likely have a grandpa, your own dad, or uncle who snored so loudly they basically become inside family jokes every time they sleep. Well, they may be funny but what we failed to realize is that snoring has its dangers too. And it is not just about your lost sleep because the loud snoring sound prevented you from drifting off to sleep once you hit the sack.

If you aren’t aware yet, a person snores because of the vibration caused by the air passing on a narrowed airway. It also happens to be the major indicator of obstructive sleep apnea. Not all snorers have sleep apnea, though. But still, the risk is there, especially once you find out that there are breathing pauses in your slumber if you have sleep apnea. For a few seconds, you cease to breathe as your brain decides whether to sleep or breathe and this is a constant occurrence with as many as 30 pauses over the span of an hour.

Conventional treatment involves surgery and the use of CPAP. However, many aren’t exactly thrilled at the thought of using CPAP and surgery isn’t as appealing either. Aside from popular anti-snoring gadgets such as mouthpieces like SnoreRx, simple lifestyle modifications can help improve your sleep and somehow reduce the snoring and its impact on your health.

Here are some exercises and tips to reduce snoring and help with sleep apnoea:

  • Make lifestyle changes – lose weight, exercise or brisk walk, maintain regular sleeping hours, quit drinking, smoking and avoid taking sleeping pills or sedatives of any kind.

  • Avoid caffeine and heavy meals two hours before sleeping.

  • Practice yoga to strengthen the muscles of the throat.

  • Try sleeping on the side. Elevate the head of the bed by four to six inches.

  • Singing can also strengthen throat muscles and reduce sleep apnoea

  • Press the tongue up against the roof of mouth and hold it there for 3 minutes a day

  • Purse the lips as if going to kiss and move them up and to the right, then up and to the left 10 times. Repeat again 3 times.

  • Gargle with water for five minutes, twice a day

  • Lightly hold the tongue in teeth and swallow five times. Repeat this 5 to 10 times a day.

(Via: https://fit.thequint.com/fit/snoring-treatment-cause-symptoms)

If you don’t do anything about sleep apnea, it can predispose you to a number of medical conditions such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and depression as well as a list of accidents caused by chronic sleep deprivation. People with sleep apnea fail to enjoy a good night’s sleep, thus missing out on the many recuperative benefits a trip to dreamland offers.

And while you may hate the thought of sleeping in your youth, you start craving it more as you age when obligations pile up and you have less and less time for sleep when you actually need it the most. People would even go to great lengths and spend a lot of money just so they can sleep like a baby every single night.

“Sleep is the new status symbol,” she says.

It’s a big business. One of the more expensive products is Sleep Number’s 360 Smart Bed, which runs from $3,449 to $4,999. It makes adjustments based on how restless people are while they’re sleeping. The Zeeq pillow, which sells for $299 and is from bedding brand REM-Fit, monitors snoring and can gently vibrate to nudge someone into a different sleep position.

“I’m willing to spend more on sleep technology because it will hopefully help me fall asleep quicker, stay asleep longer and be more rested when I wake up,” says Frank Ribitch, a self-described gadget junkie from Martinez, California, who tracks his sleep with apps connected to a Sleep Number bed and the Zeeq pillow.

(Via: https://phys.org/news/2017-07-technology.html)

Before you can make lifestyle changes, you must first get yourself checked by a sleep specialist to get a proper sleep apnea diagnosis. As you explore your management options, make a few changes to the way you do things, eat, or engage in healthy activities that can reduce the occurrence of snoring. They are often free, so there is no reason for you to keep on suffering from chronic sleeplessness.

It actually has become a big business now. The sleep industry sells all sort of products. From mouthpieces, earplugs, chin straps, mobile apps, specialized pillows, and mattress, etc. they range in prices from affordable to ludicrously expensive. Yet, the thing is, they have a market for it since many people buy them. For some, their sleep is more important that they are willing to pay for these anti-snoring gadgets regardless of the price.

You just have to do your research because with the countless options out there, looking for an effective and reasonably priced device is like finding a needle in a haystack. And once you do find it, you’ll finally be able to curb your snoring and save your sanity for real.

Say Goodbye To Sleepless Nights

We can get too preoccupied during the day and do so many things at once that it can leave us exhausted by the end of the day. Being busy is not only a good thing because it indicates how productive we are but it can also ensure we sleep soundly at night out of pure exhaustion. If only that is true all the time then life would be so much easier. However, there are people suffering from sleep disorders that keep them tossing and turning at night even though they have been through a lot during the day.

And it no longer comes surprisingly that many people actually suffer from these disorders like insomnia and sleep apnea – characterized by loud snoring – than many would like to admit. Men are mostly diagnosed with sleep apnea, meaning there are countless wives out there all over the world who have to endure their husband’s loud snoring but still manage to like being around them. Sleep clinics do help quite a bit. However, sleep apnea poses far more danger than just losing sleep at night.

Do you feel tired and just “unrested” even after what seemed like a good night’s sleep? Have you been told you snore very loudly and toss and turn all night? Do you find that you wake up with a dry, sore throat or a headache? Or that you feel yourself nodding off during daytime hours? You could have a very common – but very serious –sleep disorder called sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea occurs when a person’s breathing stops repeatedly during their sleep, sometimes hundreds of times. This means the brain may not get enough oxygen and definitely never gets enough rest. Obstructive sleep apnea, the most common form of apnea, is caused by the soft tissue in the back of the throat collapsing during sleep, which blocks the airway and can cause loud snoring.

(Via: http://www.orlandomagazine.com/Blogs/Metropoly/April-2017/Health-Hub-Sleep-Apnea/)

Fortunately, there are many ways to combat sleep apnea. Modern science now offers various sleeping disorder treatments than snorers had access to in the past. From handy anti-snoring mouthguards and mouthpieces to more old-school treatments like CPAP, snorers now have a better chance at beating sleep apnea for good and are able to sleep again without having to worry about snoring ever. However, alternative treatment is also available for those who don’t mind to experiment with newer technologies.

If you are having trouble getting your sleep in, you may want to try calcium and magnesium supplements both are natural sleep aids (A deficiency in magnesium has been shown to cause insomnia and restless leg syndrome). Melatonin is also a supplement (not a vitamin), and is available without a prescription and is sometimes used by some people to help them fall asleep.
Remember, a good nights sleep will help you in your journey to better health, helping you lose weight, keep you more alert during the day, improve your memory, reduce inflammation and reduce stress. Good-night and sleep well my friends.

(Via: http://valleypatriot.com/sleep-yourself-to-better-health/)

We all think of gadgets as bad for our health especially that it takes our time away from sleep aside from the unnecessary exposure to dangerous radiation. However, there is a way to make gadgets work for you and help you sleep better.

We’re losing sleep over … sleep.

Blame it on job stress or the circadian-rhythm-wrecking blue light of cellphones and tablets, but studies show that nearly half of Americans don’t sleep well and that significant percentages of us suffer from chronic insomnia and sleep apnea, and that causes us to turn to prescription sleep aids. This lack of overnight recovery creates stress, ruins productivity and batters your health.

And here are a number of smart gadgets you can use to help you sleep better and soundly at night:

  1. Smart Pajamas

  2. Smart Breathing

  3. Smart Aromas

  4. Smart Music

  5. Smart Pillow

  6. Tiny Sleep Tracker

  7. Whole-body Magnetic Resonance

  8. Smart Mattress

  9. Smart electro-strap

  10. Smart Bed

(Via: http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-high-tech-gear-to-help-you-sleep-20170408-story.html)

The market is full of amazing and innovative products and gadgets that can help everyone who suffers from the lack of sleep caused by these various sleeping disorders. There is something for everybody at a price you can afford. No need to suffer from the inconvenient CPAP or undergo invasive surgeries to improve sleeping and breathing during sleep. Now you know that not all gadgets are distractions to our sleep if you just know which gadgets to avoid come bedtime and which ones to use.

Is Sleeping The Holy Grail Of Health?

A good eight-hour sleep each night can do wonders to your health and well-being. Imagine how energized you feel after waking up fully recharged and ready to take on the world. It is the best medicine anyone can get to help keep them moving on with life no matter what life throws at you. So, don’t compromise your sleep or risk not only losing your precious sleep but experience how your health deteriorates if you constantly pull frequent all-nighters.

Nobody is in charge of your health than yourself. If you don’t take care of it, nobody will. Many important body processes happen when we sleep. Important growth hormones are released to promote normal growth and development especially for growing kids and adults can benefit a lot from it too. Sleep is the most important luxury most adults long for especially that adulting takes too much of their time away from home and lose precious sleep.

Not getting a good night’s sleep can have a negative impact on a person’s health. Studies have shown that not sleeping enough or having a sleep disorder, such as sleep apnea, can lead to hypertension, prediabetes, and other cardiovascular problems, according to Dr. Alcibiades Rodriguez, assistant professor of neurology and medical director of the NYU Langone Comprehensive Epilepsy Center-Sleep Center.

Quality and quantity of sleep should be taken into account, Dr. Rodriguez said. Most people should sleep between 7 and 9 hours a night. That can be hard for some, but the type of mattress and pillow you use can help. Dr. Rodriguez said a perfect mattress or pillow for everyone doesn’t exist because comfort depends on the person and their needs. For example, if someone needs neck support they may need a firm pillow that can hold up their head.

(Via: http://www.fox5ny.com/news/247298450-story)

However, getting a good night’s sleep becomes more challenging by the day as tech distractions keep us wide awake during the wee hours of the morning. We can’t stop fiddling with our smart gadgets and not only do we lose precious sleep but expose ourselves to too much blue light as well – a very short wavelength with higher energy that has a negative impact on your health and sleeping pattern.

It’s no secret that a good night’s sleep can do wonders for your mood. Now, a new study shows that improving your Z’s over time is associated with better health and well being. In fact, researchers say, scoring better shuteye perks up mental health as well as winning the lottery. (Yes, really!) 

The findings come from analysis of more than 30,500 British people who were followed for about four years. University of Warwick researchers found that people who reported improved quality of sleep over that time period, or who reduced the amount of sleep medications they took over that time, tended to also improve their scores on screening tests for physical and emotional health.

Overall, their mental health improvements over the four years were comparable to those seen in British lottery winners two years after hitting a medium-size jackpot worth up to about $250,000. So, to be clear, we’re talking about a long-term mood boost—not the immediate euphoria of striking it rich.

Unsurprisingly, people whose sleep patterns got worse over the study period were more likely to see their physical and emotional health scores go down.

(Via: http://www.health.com/sleep/sleep-physical-mental-health-lottery)

There are various gadgets that help manage sleep disorders, so you don’t have to lay wide awake at night and wake up the following day grumpier than ever. All you got to do is get yourself checked and ask your doctor for the best solution to your sleeping woes.

A wealth of possible treatments from oral appliances, throat exercises, and nasal resistors (just to name) a few are available. However, some patients prefer not to use any attachments or devices while they sleep and opt for a surgical solution. And that is why I have a job…

In a likely oversimplified view, the problem of excessive narrowing during sleep is caused or worsened by an imbalance between the space size housed by the facial skeleton, the amount of soft tissue and fat contained by and around it, and the tone and strength on throat and tongue muscles. These factors interact and will lead me to choose among different strategies. There isn’t a perfect solution for all!

(Via: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/precision-just-what-you-need-for-sleep-apnea-treatment_us_58cb4d9ee4b07112b6472c3b)

Sleep apnea is the most common sleep disorder people complain of these days. And snoring is its annoying symptom that will make you want to sleep in a separate room, away from your snoring partner or just cover his/her face with a pillow, perhaps. However, it is actually a deadly condition that should not be taken lightly. People who snore has died from their sleep and it has happened many times over, it can happen to you too if you’re not careful enough.

You can choose from high quality anti-snoring mouthpieces and mouthguards that help reduce snoring and improve breathing or try other alternatives that include CPAP, throat exercises, and surgery among others. Sleep lost can never be regained. Make sure you get enough of that daily snooze so you function better during the day and stay as healthy as you can for as long as you can.