Posts Tagged ‘trouble sleeping’
10 tips for better sleep
10 tips for better sleep If you’re having trouble sleeping, change your sleep habits for a better night’s rest. By Mayo Clinic staff
Feeling crabby lately? It could be you aren’t getting enough sleep. Work, household responsibilities and child care can make sleep difficult to come by. Factor in other unexpected challenges, such as financial worries, layoffs, relationship issues or an illness, and quality sleep may be even more elusive.
- Age and sleep play catch
RELATED STORIES More health news Proven steps to a longer life Washing hands fight disease Heavy workers, hefty price Mammogram testing on decline More health news Today’s Top News Stories • 1 dead, 2 hurt in Mich. office shooting; police say suspect had worked there – 6:04 PM • AP Poll: Congress’ approval hits high point – 5:35 PM • Katrina claims stagger corps – 4:22 PM • National Guard tapped for Iraq tour – 3:04 PM • Edwards scared of ‘rabid Republican’ neighbor – 2:00 PM • Add USATODAY.com RSS feeds Age and sleep play catch-up 
Mimi Payne, 57, has her sleep “dissected” at the Sleep Disorders Center of Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center. By Dan MacMedan, USA TODAY
As the youngest of 76 million boomers move through their 40s, they’ll discover what many older Americans already know: The chances of enjoying restful sleep slowly but steadily decrease. The older the adult, the more likely he’ll have chronic insomnia, says Andrew Monjan, chief of neurobiology at the National Institute on Aging. Among twentysomethings, only about 1 out of 8 are insomniacs. By ages 50 to 64, it’s 1 out of 5. It rises to 1 in 4 over age 65. (Chat: Talk with Dr. Monjan, Thursday, 1 p.m. ET)
But insomnia is only part of the challenge. Snoring and sleep apnea — repeated short episodes of not breathing — also increase with age. About 3 out of 5 adults over 65 have some kind of sleep complaint, national studies show.
Ten Ways To Sleep Better
Your HealthTen Ways To Sleep Better Susan Yara 09.07.05, 12:01 AM ET
Americans don’t get enough sleep. A poll conducted by the National Sleep Foundation in 2002 showed that approximately 74% of the population has trouble sleeping at some point in their lives. And the root of the problem might simply be our lifestyles.
Hectic work schedules, lack of downtime and the change in seasons can make anyone feel more stressed than usual, leading to nocturnal tossing and turning. According to Dr. Gary Zammit, Director for the Sleep Disorders Institute at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital in New York City, about 9% to 18% of adults actually suffer from chronic insomnia and aren’t able to sleep for a few days or longer.
Can’t Sleep? What To Know About Insomnia
Insomnia, which is Latin for “no sleep,” is the inability to fall asleep or remain asleep. Insomnia is also used to describe the condition of waking up not feeling restored or refreshed. According to Dr. Mark Mahowald, Professor of Neurology at the University of Minnesota Medical School and Director of the Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center at Hennepin County Medical Center, insomnia refers to the inability to get the amount of sleep you as an individual need to wake up feeling rested.
Insomnia is the most common sleep complaint among Americans. It can be either acute, lasting one to several nights, or chronic, even lasting months to years. When insomnia persists for longer than a month, it is considered chronic. According to the National Center for Sleep Disorders Research at the National Institutes of Health, about 30-40% of adults say they have some symptoms of insomnia within a given year, and about 10-15 percent of adults say they have chronic insomnia. People who have trouble sleeping every night without exception for months or years are fairly rare. More often, people experience chronic-intermittent insomnia, which means difficulty sleeping for a few nights, followed by a few nights of adequate sleep before the problem returns.
Insomnia can be a disorder in its own right, but often it is a symptom of some other disease or condition. Half of all those who have experienced insomnia blame the problem on stress and worry. In the case of stress-induced insomnia, the degree to which sleep is disturbed depends on the severity and duration of the stressful situation. Sometimes this may be a disturbing occurrence like loss of a loved one, loss of a job, marital or relationship discord or a tragic occurrence. Anticipation of such things as weddings, vacations, or holidays can also disturb sleep and make it difficult to fall asleep or remain asleep. Insomnia can also occur with jet lag, shift work and other major schedule changes.
How to Sleep during Menopause
Sleep Disorders Related to Menopause What Causes Menopause Sleep Problems? Menopause is the physical change women go through during their late 40s and early 50s (the average age of onset is 51, though women can begin menopause as early as 40 and as late as 60) as their bodies stop producing eggs. As their bodies change, women’s bodies produce less estrogen, and they stop having their periods. These chemical fluctuations often contribute to a host of uncomfortable symptoms, one of which is the disruption of sleep.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, about 61 percent of menopausal women suffer from some kind of sleep disorder. Some of the most common sleep problems that affect these women include:
- acroparesthesias (a condition that causes a tingling sensation in the hands and feet)
- hot flashes
- insomnia
- night sweats
- sleep apnea
- snoring.
Doctors are not sure what exactly about menopause disrupts sleep. However, the prevailing thought is that the physiological changes a woman’s body goes through during menopause, such as steadily declining estrogen levels, triggers sleeping troubles.
Gretchen Rubin: 16 Tips For Getting Good Sleep
Sixteen tips for getting good sleep.
There’s a lot of advice out there about getting good sleep — it’s VERY important. We quickly adjust to being sleep-deprived, and don’t notice that we aren’t functioning at a normal level, but lack of sleep really affects us. If you’re feeling blue or listless, try going to sleep thirty minutes earlier for a week. It can really help.
Here are tips that have helped me get good sleep:
How to Get a Good Night’s Sleep
How to Get a Good Night’s Sleep
Help Yourself is created by University Counseling Services
1989, 1997 Kansas State University
Tried counting sheep?
Five Basic Strategies
Additional Strategies
Is Your Environment Conducive To Sleep?
Worrying about insomnia?
How Much Sleep do You Need?
Sources of Help
When will my baby start sleeping through the night?
Night Waking: or, Will I Ever Get A Good Nights Sleep Again?
The answer is no. Once you become a mother, you will never, ever sleep the way you did before you had your baby. Even when he starts sleeping through the night, which will happen eventually (I promise), you will always have your mom radar on and will be listening for a cry in the night. Even if he is a teenager out on a date, you will lie in bed waiting for his car to pull in the driveway before you can fall asleep. When he is middle aged and balding, you will still worry about whether 
he is taking care of himself the way he should.The question When will my baby start sleeping through the night? is one that I dread the most. Like most health professionals, I like questions that have easy answers, and this one doesnt. I do have opinions about how to handle sleep problems, based on my experience with nursing six children, and over twenty years of working with new mothers. What I dont have is a quick fix, or a magic solution for you that will make your baby sleep through the night.
Experts cant even agree on what sleeping through the night means. Some define a five- hour stretch as sleeping all night, others define it as an eight to twelve hour stretch. Sleep problems are a hot topic. There are dozens of books and hundreds of magazine articles on how to get your baby to sleep longer. In our culture, a good baby is defined as one who sleeps a lot and demands as little attention as possible. If you define sleep problems the way many experts do, then almost all babies have some sort of sleep problem.
Overview, Waking, Non-REM, REM, Sleep Cycle, Factors, Age
Since the early 20th century, human sleep has been described as a succession of five recurring stages: four non-REM stages and the REM stage. A sixth stage, waking, is often included. Waking, in this context, is actually the phase during which a person falls asleep. Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is marked by extensive physiological changes, such as accelerated respiration, increased brain activity, eye movement, and muscle relaxation. People dream during REM sleep, perhaps as a result of excited brain activity and the paralysis of major voluntary muscles.
Discovery Health “Natural Home Remedies for Insomnia”
Natural Home Remedies for Insomnia
Insomnia can make you a poster child for the walking dead. Fortunately, home remedies from your kitchen can help you cope with sleepless nights. Try the remedies listed below to find which work for you.
Home Remedies From the Cupboard