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Sleep apnea is one of the most common sleep disorders across the globe, with a vast number of Americans dealing with this chronic ailment. It is characterized by intermittent pauses in breathing while asleep. Obstructive sleep apnea, in particular, is caused by a physical blockage in the breathing passages as the throat muscles relax during sleep, which can cause the tongue to block the flow of air. This obstruction may result in symptoms like choking, snoring, or abrupt wakefulness during the night. The possible negative impacts of sleep apnea highlight the critical need for obtaining proper treatment.

Despite the absence of a proper cure, treatment options exist. There are a few different types of sleep apnea you may encounter, and these come with specialized treatment methods. The primary way to deal with this condition is PAP treatment. PAP stands for positive air pressure, and the treatment method is very straightforward. An airflow generator uses its built-in fan to draw in the outside air, which is then humidified and pressurized, before being sent towards the patient through a hose that is connected to a mask on their face. How much pressure and humidity is applied (along with other factors) depends on the specific recommendation from your doctor, and is largely connected to what kind of sleep apnea you’re experiencing.

The main problem with PAP therapy is that the mask can often cause discomfort. Depending on your preferred sleeping position, you may experience situations where the mask presses very uncomfortably against your face, and the hose itself can pose problems. In this article, we will go over various masks and the sleeping positions they’re made for. If you find that your mask isn’t ideal for your sleeping position, you may want to consider a change or some adjustments to how you sleep so you can comfortably deal with the symptoms of sleep apnea. Let’s get into it.

Overview of PAP Treatment

Depending on which type of sleep apnea you’re dealing with, different airflow generators will suit your therapy requirements and needs. Continuous positive air pressure therapy (or CPAP for short) is the go-to option for dealing with OSA or obstructive sleep apnea, and these generators maintain a fixed and steady airflow intensity throughout the night. Exactly how much pressure and humidification you need depends on your medical exams and prescription.

On the other hand, Bi-level positive air pressure (or BiPAP for short) offers two main airflow options – higher and lower pressure. These options correspond to inhalation (higher intensity) and exhalation (lower intensity), helping regulate breathing in patients with central sleep apnea (CSA), where their brain cannot send the signals for breathing regulation properly.

Another popular treatment option is APAP therapy. APAP stands for automatic positive air pressure, and these generators stand out thanks to their ability to automatically adjust to the patient’s breathing patterns. For mixed sleep apnea (MSA – which is just a combination of obstructive and central sleep apnea), this treatment produces the best results. However, because it offers different airflow options, it’s flexible enough to cover both ends of the spectrum as well.

Mask Options

PAP therapy masks are what all your comfort worries will likely revolve around. Much like with generators, you require a prescription to purchase a PAP therapy mask. Luckily, almost every mask is compatible with all types of airflow generators. Keep in mind that these masks are often all labeled as “CPAP therapy masks,” even though they’re versatile enough for other kinds of therapy. Make sure to get additional information from your doctor or the salesperson. Here are the main kinds of masks you will encounter in pharmacies near you:

• Full face masks cover your mouth and nose region and supply air to both your nasal and oral passage. Because they tend to be larger than other mask types, full face masks often come with extra cushioning, to provide some semblance of comfort to the user – and maintain the seal. The head straps are almost always located near the jaw, with some masks offering additional support in the form of extra straps that wrap around your head. The most luxurious masks give you a dial that lets you control how tightly the straps are attached in small increments, helping you find a sweet spot for comfort.
• Nasal cradles were originally known simply as “nasal CPAP masks,” as they’re the oldest available nasal model. They’re also the most popular type of nasal mask even today. Unlike full face masks, nasal cradles feature a smaller triangular seal around the nose. This seal touches the mouth without covering it, so you get to avoid some discomfort. Most models feature a chin strap that helps keep your jaw closed, which can be of interest to people who often sleep with their mouths open. This strap also helps secure the mask in place, preventing it from accidentally getting separated from your nose.
• Nasal pillows are the compact alternative to nasal cradles. Instead of sealing off your entire nose, these masks connect only to your nares (nostril edges), using a special cushion (the “pillow” that these masks get their name from) to stay attached. Nasal pillow masks are unquestionably the lightest and smallest of the bunch, and their very specific sealing method makes them perfect for people who have irritable skin and would like to avoid a bigger mask.
• Nasal prong masks are the least common type of PAP therapy mask on the market. They offer much of the same functionality and comfort as nasal pillows, but they don’t use special cushions to stay attached. Instead, they’re secured via a special set of headgear that wraps around your head entirely.

There’s more to a PAP therapy mask than just its categorization, however. Each mask consists of a few separate parts that are worth examining individually, so you know what you’re purchasing. When you compare specs, these are the things you will want to be aware of:

• The frame: This is the “mask part” of the mask. It’s the breathing apparatus, the part that is attached to your face (or nostrils specifically) via cushioning or straps. Make sure the frame is of adequate size for you – most full face masks, for example, come in multiple size options.
• The elbow port: The elbow port is the part of the mask that connects the frame to the hose, and subsequently the airflow generator. It’s called an elbow port because it’s usually jutting out at roughly a 90-degree angle. Some elbow ports have buttons and other options for better attachability, and they can often move around during the night for optimal comfort.
• The headgear: This term is used to refer to the straps that secure the entire PAP therapy mask to your head. Depending on which mask type you chose to purchase, these straps will connect at different angles and come into contact with different parts of your head. Make sure you’re comfortable with how they fit, as otherwise, they may negatively impact your sleep onset latency.
• The cushioning: The cushioning has two essential functions to perform. The first is simply to help secure the mask to the front of your face, or your nostrils. The second (and often more noticeable) function is to provide comfort for the user. Having a mask on your head is already a drop in overall comfort, so the softer the cushioning can be, the better it will feel. Most cushions are fashioned out of silicone, although gel, foam, and cloth models are growing in popularity.

Sleeping Positions and Recommended Masks

Depending on your preferred sleeping position, not every PAP therapy mask is ideal. Choosing an unsuitable option can lead to discomfort, increased sleep onset latency. It can also render the entire PAP treatment setup pointless, as the mask can detach or have an opening for the air to escape. Let us look into what kind of features you want to consider based on your potential sleeping positions:

How to Choose a Mask for Side Sleepers?

Side sleeping is without a doubt the most popular sleeping position – and the healthiest one, according to sleep experts. However, side sleepers face certain unique issues when it comes to wearing CPAP masks. If you’re a side sleeper, you want to think about these factors:

• Pillow thickness (or loft) is a vital concern for side sleepers dealing with sleep apnea. Because one side of your face is constantly touching the pillow, you can’t afford to use bulky or inflexible masks or very thick pillows. The seal can get loose, causing the mask to simply detach from its intended position and stop providing pressurized air. You may be able to find specialized CPAP pillows with cut-out slots for the mask to fit in, which provides a subtle benefit – resting your head on its side with a mask can put a strain on your neck due to the odd angle the mask imposes if you use a normal pillow. Specialized pillows solve this.
• Sometimes, PAP mask headgear has side buckles and similar bits. A problem can occur when you rest your head on that side since it can result in those normally useful components pressing into your head and causing discomfort.
• Your face may get irritated when the mask “sinks in,” as you rest your head. Look for softer and better-cushioned edges to keep your face comfortable while sleeping on your side.

Overall, these factors don’t limit the type of mask you can use. Just make sure that the cushioning and flexibility are good enough to maintain an airtight seal, and that the headgear fastening components are at the back of the head, not on the sides.

How to Choose a Mask for Back Sleepers?

While not as common as side sleeping, back sleeping is still quite popular. Problems arise when the back sleeper suffers from sleep apnea, as it can increase the potency and frequency of sleep apnea symptoms by causing the breathing muscles to relax and the tongue to fall into the throat. This sleeping position makes the following factors important:

• Arm movements are common among back sleepers. While normally not an issue, the arms have a chance to dislodge the mask during the night. Focus on finding a mask that’s not too big (as bigger ones tend to be easier to reach and subsequently accidentally move), and an elbow port that can swivel around a bit.
• Headgear can pose a similar obstacle to what happens with side sleepers. The most popular approach is to have fasteners and buckles at the back of the head. However, unless you can slide these along the strap, you put yourself in a position where these fasteners press into your head when you rest it on the pillow. Try to find a mask with buckles on the side, or ones you can adjust and move around.
•  Back sleeping is the optimal position for high-pressure treatment. As a result, full face masks and nasal cradles that support that pressure are highly recommended. Try to sleep on your back if your doctor prescribes high-pressure treatment.

The combination of these factors makes full face masks and nasal cradles the optimal choice if you want high-pressure treatment, whereas the increased maneuverability of nasal pillows and prongs helps deal with unhelpful arm movement if you don’t need high air pressure.

How to Choose a Mask for Stomach Sleepers?

Stomach sleeping is the most uncommon preferred position, and it is one that sleep experts recommend against at all costs. Even without a CPAP mask to cause further discomfort, the act of sleeping on your stomach pulls down your center of mass, which can put considerable strain on your neck and even cause lower back pain. Luckily, it’s easy to narrow down the critical factors for CPAP mask selection for this position:

• Facial discomfort is inevitable to some extent. One way or another, the mask will press into your face and cause irritation. For this reason, super-soft cushioning is very important, and bulkier masks like full face masks or nasal cradles aren’t recommended.
• A swiveling elbow port is practically mandatory for stomach sleepers. Unfortunately, even that feature won’t prevent the majority of discomfort that you will experience as the hose presses into your torso or arms. It makes an additional reason to avoid stomach sleeping if you’re dealing with sleep apnea.

Stomach sleeping puts you in a bad spot when it comes to mask options. Stick to nasal prongs and pillows, since those apply less pressure on your face, and make sure the elbow port is mobile enough to avoid a portion of the discomfort. If at all possible, avoid sleeping in this position (even if you don’t need PAP treatment).

Sleep is essential to our survival, providing necessary rest and recuperation for both our mind and body, preparing them for the next day’s challenges. Lacking sufficient sleep, our functions can greatly suffer. But have you ever pondered if all beings need sleep? Are there animals that do not need to sleep, and how do their sleep cycles compare with humans?

Scientists have studied sleep in animals for a long time, and they have answers to most of your questions. Most of the findings are due to research on model organisms such as mice, zebrafish, and fruit flies. Animals in captivity are another source of valuable information, as wild ones are somewhat harder to equip with measuring devices without interfering too much, and harder to keep track of.

However, the amount of sleep that animals of the same species get in captivity and the wild can be very different. That is due to the different lifestyles. In captivity, animals get plenty of food and water, and they never have to look for a shelter. That leads to more extended sleeping periods, compared to animals in the wild, that have to look for food, water, and shelter, and also avoid any predators and possible threats.

With the progress of technology, the measuring devices have gotten smaller, and now we can keep track of sleep patterns in wild animals as well. This gave us a great insight into how sleep works, and how important it is for functioning, not only in humans but in animals as well.

Do All Animals Sleep?

The answer is a simple yes. All of the animals we observed so far sleep in some way. It varies between species, but the main thing is that it is universal for both invertebrates and vertebrates. Even animals with a simple nervous system such as insects or even some nematodes are found to have a resting period. They probably don’t experience sleep the way that mammals or birds do, but they have a state of rest with a reduced ability to receive external stimuli. Scientists have also found that the brain waves of these animals in that period correspond to brain waves of “higher” animals that are experiencing different stages of the sleep cycle.

The fact that sleep is found in all animals shows how important it is. It showed up pretty early in the evolution, and because of its benefits, we can see it throughout the animal kingdom. “Do bacteria and plants sleep?” was another question that people wondered. Although it would be hard to find sleep on a cellular level, scientists are working on discovering molecular mechanisms of sleep. What we know so far is that unicellular organisms have circadian rhythms, but since they don’t have a nervous system, they can’t be described as sleep or wake, and the same goes for plants.

Sleep patterns have evolved differently in different groups of animals, to ensure better survival in a given environment. While spending long periods motionless and unaffected by external stimuli may seem like a bad idea because of the predators in the wild, sleep is increasing survival chances. Animals often sleep in well-hidden places, where they are much harder to find compared to roaming around. Besides shelters, there are other strategies to ensure that they are safer during sleep. For instance, otters hold hands or wrap themselves in seaweed, while floating on their backs and snoozing. That enables them to stay on the surface, as well as not to drift off while sleeping. Some animals, like cows and sheep, sleep in herds, to ensure better safety. If you are one of many animals in the heard, there is a much smaller chance that a predator will attack you in your sleep, compared to sleeping alone.

The amount of sleep that animal is getting is connected to its diet. Generally speaking, carnivores, whose food has a higher caloric density, sleep more on average. Omnivores sleep less compared to them, while herbivores usually sleep the least. That explains how giraffes, horses, and elephants can sleep from only 30 minutes to a few hours respectively. They spend most of their time awake eating low caloric value food, and they need lots of it since they are large. There are some exceptions though, and the koala is one of them. Their diet is based entirely on eating eucalyptus leaves, that are not very energy providing. Because of that, they sleep for as long as 18 to 22 hours per day, and they spend the remaining of the time eating and resting.

How Long Do Animals Sleep?

Sleeping duration differs between species, and it depends on the diet and current environmental circumstances.

Animals that sleep the most (per 24 hours):

• Koala 18-22 hours
• Sloth up to 20 hours
• Little brown bat 19.9 hours
• Giant armadillo 18.1 hours
• Python 18 hours
• North American opossum 18 hours
• Owl monkey 17 hours
• Squirrel 16.6 hours
• Tiger 15.8 hours

Human babies would also make this list of animals that sleep a lot, as they snooze for about 16 hours each day.

Animals that sleep the least
Giraffes are one of the animals that experience the shortest sleep. They can sleep while standing up and the duration can be as little as 30 minutes a day. The average amount is a couple of hours. Elephants, horses and other big herbivores go on sleeping for only a few hours, thus avoiding the constant threat of predators.

Walruses are quite fascinating as they can stay awake for 84 hours. They also can snooze while in the water, but the most significant portion of sleep happens on the land, where they can sleep up to 18 hours, and make up for long active periods.

While infants usually sleep a lot more than adults, that is not the case with baby killer whales. They spend the first few months of their lives wide awake, with no sleep at all. They mostly feed and swim around, and the reason for this is that they still don’t have permanent fat stored in their bodies to keep them warm. They live in cold waters, so swimming around produces enough warmth until they get fat layers that will keep them warm during sleep.

Are There Animals That Sleep Standing Up?

Some animals like giraffes, elephants, horses, and cows sleep standing up. These animals evolved to do so because it is easier to flee from predators if you are not laying on the ground.

They can do that by locking their legs in place so that they don’t need their muscles to keep them in a standing position. Some bird like flamingo also sleep standing up but for a different reason. While mammals do so to protect themselves from predators, flamingo rests in this position only because there are no comfortable places available. They spend most of their time standing in cold water, so they put one leg as they don’t want to lose too much heat, and snooze for a while.

While this position is useful in getting some additional rest, animals don’t experience REM sleep while standing. That’s why they need to lay down occasionally. Giraffes fold their necks and put their heads on the bottom when lying down. Elephants never tend to sleep for more than 30 minutes while on the ground, because their massive weight can damage their internal organs if they stayed like that for a more extended period.

Is Hibernation the Same as Sleep?

During the winter or summer months, some species go into a state of reduced activity to conserve energy. This state is called torpor, and it is different than sleep, as their body temperature drops considerably, and their heart rate, blood flow, and brain waves all slow down significantly. Animals don’t feed, urinate, or defecate during this period. They usually eat more before, so they have enough energy to survive, and then they find a right, hidden spot that won’t be affected by the outside temperature.

Torpor in the winter months is called hibernation, in contrast to summer torpor that is called aestivation. Usually, the length of the day, temperature, and decreased food supply are signals for animals to enter this state.

Bears are an example of animals that go into hibernation. It’s interesting that female bears can wake up from hibernation to give birth, and then they go back to sleep while cubs nurse.

Animals and Sleep

Mammals experience the same sleep stages as humans: light, deep, and REM sleep. Sleep can range considerably from only a few hours in giraffes and elephants, to 20+ hours in koalas. We, humans, fall somewhere in the middle, as we require seven to nine hours every day.

Most of the species are diurnal, meaning that they are active during the day and that they sleep at night. In contrast, nocturnal animals are active during the night, and they rest when the sun is out.

Most mammals experience polyphasic sleep, meaning that they sleep a few times a day, with a wake period in between. Humans and primates in general, sleep all at once, and this is called monophasic sleep.

Some great apes such as orangutans, gorillas, bonobos, and chimpanzees are observed to make a nest in the trees. These nest provided them with a safer and more comfortable environment for sleep. The result of that was deeper and more REM sleep, which gave these species room for cognitive development and edge over other species. It is argued that our ancestors improved their sleep even more by coming to the ground and building even safer nests and homes. More deep sleep meant better cognitive performance and also more time for socialization and improvement, so sleep played a significant role in the evolution of humans.

Marine mammals are particularly interesting when it comes to sleep. Dolphins, whales, orcas, seals and other marine mammals somehow manage to sleep while in the water. The secret to this is hidden in the way that their brain works during sleep. It shuts down one hemisphere at the time while other is active. This is known as unihemispheric sleep. They also keep one eye open, to see any threats that might come around.

Dolphins sometimes just float on the top of the water while sleeping, which is known as “logging.” Unihemispheric sleep and one opened eye allow them to stay alert during these sleep episodes that can last up to two hours.

Blind Indus dolphins experience a tiny burst of sleep in the duration of just a few moments called microsleep. This can add up to as much as seven hours a day.

In 2008, scientists ran into a group of sperm whales in the upright position. Until then, everybody thought that they slept in a unihemispheric manner as well, but it turned out that sperm whales’ sleeping habits are somewhat different.

Many birds migrate, which means that they need to fly for an extended period without stopping. The migration period is different among species, but for instance, alpine swifts fly for 200 days.

During the migrations, birds experience unihemispheric sleep as well. It’s like they have an autopilot. However, many birds sleep for much more extended periods when they get to land, which indicates that they experience sleep deprivation as well.

Reptiles were found to experience similar brain wave activity during sleep as birds and mammals. Although it was thought that sleep stages are exclusive to these two groups, reptiles have them as well. They just last shorter, for instance, one sleep cycle in lizards lasts for about 80 seconds, compared to 90 minutes in humans.

We also thought that snakes don’t sleep because they don’t have eyelids, but rather transparent scales that are called spectacles. Now we know that they do indeed sleep, and you can usually tell that they are asleep when you see them laying down perfectly still.

Frogs are amphibians, and they have some pretty cool resting features. Some species have a natural antifreeze in their bodies, which allows their organs to survive freezing temperatures. Their heart and breathing rate completely stop, and you would think that they are dead. This state is called anabiosis, and when the spring comes along, they come back to life and continue their activity as if nothing happened.

Fish often hover almost motionless over the bottom while they are asleep, with an occasional flick of the fin. Zebrafish is a common animal used in sleep experiments, and it’s interesting that they can experience sleep deprivation and insomnia.

Sharks need constant ventilation of the gills, as that is the way they get the required oxygen. That means that they need to snooze while swimming or they can sometimes sleep against the tide, so the water runs over the gills.

Do Animals Experience Sleep Deprivation?

We already mentioned that some birds and zebrafish could experience sleep deprivation. On the other hand, some insects and fish don’t sleep for a more extended period after sleep deprivation which indicates that they don’t make up for lack of sleep. They might sleep deeper, but we still haven’t confirmed that.

Drosophila melanogaster (the fruit fly) is a standard model organism used in experiments, and they are found to experience sleep deprivation as well.

While it is not clear about the cognitive effects lack of sleep can have on animals, it is known that lack of sleep is bad for them and that chronic sleep loss can lead to health consequences and even death.

Have you ever been so eager to solve a problem that you considered even the most outlandish solutions? We’re excited to share an option today that may appear offbeat but offers a comprehensive perspective not often found in standard recommendations. This might offer relief for those dealing with sleep disorders. For individuals who prefer alternatives to sleeping pills, melatonin supplements, essential oils, or similar products, here’s a method that could be advantageous in many ways and is worth considering. Acupuncture is a practice many of us are aware of, and it often seems more daunting than it actually is. Despite the widespread view that it’s not as painful as it looks, several people are still reluctant to try it.

Since sleep disorders are a huge issue for many Americans, and we are continually working on finding new solutions to enhance our sleep quality, the studies have been taken to find a connection between acupuncture and sleep. It turned out that it can be helpful, so keep reading to see how.

Brief History of Acupuncture

We have all seen pictures and know how the treatment looks like, but what acupuncture is and how and when did we start healing ourselves with needles?

The practice of acupuncture comes from China, and the first treatments were mentioned in documents dated centuries BC. Something similar was described and dated around 6000 BC when people used sharpened stones and bones for acupuncture treatments or perhaps they were used as instruments for some basic surgical procedures. In a tomb from second century BC in China, drawing of 12 central meridian pathways on the human body was found, another document regarding acupuncture procedure was dated around 100 BC, and it is a book called The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine. The book is written in the form of a dialog between the Emperor and his minister and contains detailed explanations about meridians through which chi flows.

During the fifteenth century, bronze statues with acupuncture points which were used for practice were depicted for the first time, they were used for teaching and examination and are still in use today. Between 14th and 16th century the Ming dynasty ruled China, during that time a significant publication about acupuncture was published. The Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion contains principles of acupuncture on which the modern practice of acupuncture resides. Total of 365 body points was described in this book, and all of them are spots that mark channels through which needles can go through and affect the flow of Qi. Qi, better known as chi, stands for energy flow which is created and accumulated along the pathways that are connecting different acupuncture points on our body. Those pathways or channels are also called meridians, and they connect points between themselves but also connect them with main internal organs.

Although it was always quite intriguing and popular, during the 17th century the interest for acupuncture declined. Many superstitions were attached to the treatment, and it was tagged as irrational. In 1882. with Emperor’s decree acupuncture was excluded from Imperial Medical Institute, and with the rise of Western medicine during the 20th century, acupuncture was even more neglected and got outlawed in China in 1929. But, in 1949. the Communist government revived the traditional medicine including acupuncture, which opened the door to establishing first institutes for acupuncture during the 1950s in China.

During the seventies Americans increased their interest in acupuncture after one member of the US press was treated with acupuncture in China in order to recover from an appendectomy. His acupuncture experience was all over the New York Times, and since it was a successful treatment, the public got interested. After the NIH consensus conference in 1997. acupuncture was finally accepted in the US.

How Does Acupuncture Work?

According to traditional Chinese medicine, our health condition is a result of the harmony between the yin and yang of chi. When these two forces are not balanced, illnesses can occur. Chi flows through the meridians and can be accessed through more than 300 acupuncture points in our body. When our energy flow is not in balance, inserting needles into a compatible combination of points can bring energy flow back to its healthy balance.

Acupuncture points are understood as points in which our nerves, muscles or tissues respond to stimulation. This form of stimulus works in a way that it increases the blood flow, and at the same time it triggers the body’s natural painkillers to activate.

When we go to an acupuncture center, an acupuncturist will first examine our condition, insert at least one thin needle, and provide us with some additional advice on self-care or therapies that can also be beneficial. They will talk with the patients about their symptoms, aches, and health goals. The tongue is often checked as well as some other points on our body, to see if any particular disbalance is going to show off.

Depending on where the needles are going to be inserted, the patient can be asked to lay down on its back, stomach or side. With the insertion of each needle, the patients may feel brief tingling or stinging sensation. All acupuncturist should use disposable, sterile needles for single-use. Once a needle is inserted, there can be feeling of a dull pain at the base of a needle that will quickly go away, but acupuncture is relatively painless. If a lot of redness shows around the place where a needle is inserted that is considered as a sign of disbalance in that area. The needles have to stay in place from 5 to 30 minutes, and sometimes they can be additionally stimulated with heat or electricity. The patient’s condition determines how many treatments will be needed, some acute problems improve after only a few treatments, while chronic conditions ask for one or two treatments each week, throughout a few months.

Once the needles are removed, you can carry on with your daily lifestyle, but it is recommended to do it on a day off if possible, especially if this is your first time visiting acupuncture center because you may feel fatigue. Drinking a lot of water is another recommendation as it improves the process of detoxification.

Acupuncture Points for Insomnia

Insomnia is one of the common sleep disorders known for centuries, even Chinese medicine was aware of it, and they differed a few types of it depending on the symptoms of sleep problem. For example, if you have a problem with waking up too early, that means that the issue is in your kidneys, in other words, the Yin energy is blocked there. Problems with falling asleep usually signalize that your body is unable to relax because Yang qi is blocked from yin qi. If you experience extreme insomnia, you probably have some blood problems in the liver or spleen. If you wake up often during the night, that means that the heat is trapped in your body. Chinese acupuncturists have created a network of acupuncture points that can solve every sleep problem efficiently, and studies have confirmed that. According to Chinese medicine, every sleep problem refers to a unique imbalance of energy, and all of these types of insomnia or other sleep disorders will be treated in different ways, there is no such thing as a universal acupuncture point pattern. Also, one treatment will certainly not be enough, but many patients have reported that besides sleep enhancing they experience a unique feeling of calmness and relaxation every time while their session is on.

Besides points, they also paid attention to the meridians and correlated them too with insomnia symptoms and emotional problems.

• Stress can cause you to wake up soon after you have fallen asleep, and it is attached to the meridian of the liver.
• Grief will force you to wake up during the second half of the night, and it is associated with lung meridian.
• Worrying too much will cause you to wake up every night at an approximately same time, and it has been connected to the spleen meridian.
• Anxiety can affect falling and staying asleep during the night, and it is connected to the heart meridian.

Some of the acupuncture points that are essential for insomnia are:

• ST 36 – this point is located on the leg, below the knee, and it helps with increasing the energy of chi and blood boost. In Chinese medicine, it is believed that while we are sleeping the spirit (the Shen) resides in the heart or blood. So it is considered that if the blood is deficient, the spirit will wander and keep us awake.
• PC 6 – located around three fingers from the wrist crease, it is also known as Nei Guan or Inner Pass. It is essential for insomnia, anxiety and even motion sickness. This point calms the heart and the spirit.
• HT 7 – this point is also named Shen Men or Spirit Gate, and it is located at the pinky side of our wrist crease. Gates are very symbolic and have a significant role in Chinese medicine if a gate should be opened but it is closed, and vice versa, something is hindering the flow of energy. Closing or opening those gates will bring back the balance, and since this gate is connected to spirit, it directly affects sleep.
• Yin Tang – this is a point which is not a part of meridians, and it is located right between the eyebrows and is also called Hall of Impression. This calming point is essential for headaches and insomnia as it is believed that it calms the spirit.
• Anmien – or Anmian, is another extra point which not located on the meridians but is a key point for treating insomnia as it is incredibly calming and it promotes deep sleep. It is also used to help sleepers who have problems with nightmares, restless or interrupted sleep. Located below the earlobe, at the junction of the mastoid process and skull base, Anmien is easily stimulated while the patient is laying on the back.

Acupuncture for Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is a disorder that causes sleepers to occasionally stop breathing while they are sleeping and being unaware of their problem. There are several types of sleep apnea, one of the most common types is obstructive sleep apnea, which is caused by a restricted upper airway, while the central sleep apnea happens when our brain fails to send a signal to the lungs that they need to breathe. Regardless of the type, usual symptom of sleep apnea is snoring.

Acupuncture stimulates the muscles of the upper airways since they typically collapse during the episodes of sleep apnea. It also strengthens especially the tongue muscle, so that it cannot subside and block the airways. For severe cases of sleep apnea, patients may be suggested to try out the auriculotherapy acupoint pressure, which is a type of acupuncture which focuses on the outer portion of the ear. For acupuncturist, ear represents a microsystem of our entire body, with a detailed map of body part and organs.

Studies performed by Brazilian and Chinese experts between 2007 and 2015 were putting two groups of sleepers on various trials, and they came to a stunning conclusion that acupuncture could be even more effective than widely accepted CPAP treatment for sleep apnea. But there is still plenty of research to be made to be able to make that claim.

Chinese medicine offers four possible causes of sleep apnea which may interfere: The Spleen, Qi stagnation, Phlegm and Blood Stagnation.

• The Spleen is believed to turn food into blood and energy, regarding sleep apnea, it may mean that your body is not digesting properly, or that you are eating the wrong kind of food.
• Qi stagnation can take long periods of time and effect on Spleen, which can then develop tension in muscles or a feel of having a lump in the throat.
• Phlegm represents what block your nose our collects in breathing pathways, and it is an equivalent of what Western medicine describes as fatty tissue around the throat and larynx.
• Blood stagnation stops Qi from moving as it naturally should be, especially the flow of chi in our lungs is affected, and that results with sleep apnea.
  

If prompted to describe sleep, how would you do so? Do you view it as an essential need, a desire, satisfaction, a begrudged time waste, or maybe as something wholly unique? Despite it being a universal experience, the way we view and engage with sleep differs, shaped by our daily habits and personal values.

What is sleep and why do we sleep? What are dreams? What happens when we fall asleep? Those and many other similar questions have been current since the beginning of time. People were always intrigued by the condition of sleep and tried to find out what happens to our body while we are sleeping. In today’s post, we are going to explore the mysteries of sleep by going way back into the past to see how sleep was perceived in ancient times and to check some medical definitions of sleeping.

Sleep in Ancient Times

Since the Egyptians are the oldest civilization in history, we decided to start from them, from the very beginning. The Egyptians used hieroglyphics, a pictorial letter, so let’s check how they presented sleep. They used a combination of two words/signs, the word qed was depicted as a bed, and it denotes sleep, and the other word is resut which means to come awake, shown as an open eye which represents the dream. Combining symbols of bed and open eye, we get an expression awaken with sleep, which corresponds to the early descriptions of similarity between dreams and wakefulness.

Ancient Egyptians believed that every person has five bodies, and they also thought that the soul (ba) could go away from our physical body during sleep. In that way, sleep was in some aspect considered similar to death, since they believed in the afterlife, for them death meant that the person went to a different world. Sleep was one of the ways to reach that mysterious other world and communicate with people who have passed away. They had an idea that the deceased was sleeping, so they thought about their tombs as houses and their chamber rooms as bedrooms.

Just like many other cultures, Egyptians were fascinated by dreams, and they believed that the gods were sending them messages through dreams, to help them make decisions, cure an illness or to guide them through life. Egyptians also had a dream book, a book in which all possible dreams were described and interpreted; one of them is kept in the British Museum in London. Interpretation of some dreams varies from one culture to another, so it interesting to see how did they describe them according to their culture.

The ancient Egyptian medicine was also aware of sleep disorders, which is an interesting fact since their medicine is one of the oldest documented scientific disciplines. Many healing rituals, diets, and even surgical treatments were described on papyrus. On one of the found papyri, it was explained how ancient Egyptians used poppy seeds as a hypnotic which relieves symptoms of headache and insomnia, but also how it was used as an anesthetic. In some other papyrus, Egyptians recommended a herb called Thyme, as an excellent cure that can reduce snoring. It is clear that the ancient Egyptians knew more than a few things about sleep medicine, but many mysteries and secrets of sleep and Egyptian people are yet to be discovered.

If we move forward in time, to the period of ancient Greece, we can see that sleep was also one of their preoccupations. Famous Greek philosopher, Aristotle, even wrote a small treatise On sleep, around 350 B.C., in which he discusses three stages of sleep. But besides him, many other theories about sleep and dreams were written by ancient Greek poets such as Homer, Pindar or Hesiod. Greek philosophers turned sleep and dreams into a part of their philosophical researches, pre-Socratic philosophers like Democritus and Heraclitus proposed a theory about the naturalistic origin of sleep and dreams. On the other hand, Pythagoras claimed that dreams have a divine origin. That makes it clear that sleep was always a fascination of many scientists and philosophers as some phenomenon.

Medical Definition of Sleep

When it comes to the medical point of view, sleep represents the body’s natural rest cycle. Sleep cycles are different stages of sleep through which we all go through around five times each night while sleeping. One sleep cycle can last from 90 to 120 minutes, and it represents our progress from NREM stages to the final REM sleep phase, the first cycle during the night is the shortest one, and it lasts around 90 minutes, others last at least 100 minutes. During the state of sleep, an increased brain activity occurs, brain cells work slower but with much higher intensity. It has been estimated that we spend ⅓ of our lives sleeping, so just this fact shows us how important sleep is.

Every night almost all of us experience for hours this state of unconsciousness while we are resting. About 80% of our sleep time is dreamless, and this phase is known as non-REM (non-rapid eye movement) sleep. While at the NREM stage, our body pressure, heart rate, and breathing are low and regular, and our body is relatively still. The sleep cycle has four stages:

• Level 1 – this stage represents the lightest phase of NREM sleep which can easily be disrupted. It is a transitional phase of falling asleep, something between wakefulness and sleep. Slow eye movements are present during this phase.
• Level 2 – this stage makes around 50% of our entire sleep time and this actually the first stage of NREM sleep. Sleepers cannot awaken so easily like in the level 1 stage, and while they are in it their heart rate and breathing slow down, body temperature starts to drop down, and eye movements discontinue. Brain waves go slower, but sudden bursts of activity known as sleep spindles commingle with K complexes and both of them are keeping us asleep and safe from premature awakening.
• Level 3 – it is the deep and restorative phase of NREM sleep. During this stage, some parasomnia sleep disorders such as sleepwalking, sleep talking or somniloquy can occur, but arousals or awakening are rare, and it is not easy to wake up a sleeper while he is in this phase.
• Level 4 – in this stage we are already at deep REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, so it basically is not a part of NREM, but they together conclude a circle of the sleep cycle. During this period, blood pressure rises, breathing becomes irregular, shallow and rapid, heart rate and brain waves increase and act just as like they do when we are awake. We usually dream during this phase, but we do not always remember our dreams on the next day. However, if the sleepers get awoken during the REM sleep, they would most likely remember what they dreamed about.

Sleep Cycle Length by Age

Since our age dictates our needs and lifestyle, the amount of sleep that we require for normal functioning also changes as we age.

• Newborns (0 – 4 months) – at this early stage of life, newborns sleepover the majority of their day, approximately they sleep from 14 to 17 hours, but not consecutive. Their sleep is categorized as active, quiet or indeterminate. Active sleep is considered to be equivalent to REM sleep.
• Infants (4 – 12 months) – at this stage they can develop and follow sleep patterns, and they usually sleep from 12 to 15 hours.
• Toddlers (1 – 3 years) – with an established sleep routine, they should reduce the number of daily naps to one, and sleep around 11 to 14 hours.
• Preschoolers (3 – 6 years) – they need to sleep from 10 to 13 hours, if a nap cannot be avoided, try scheduling it during the afternoon, so that it does not hinder bedtime.
• School-aged (6 – 13 years) – kids at this age should sleep from 9 to 11 hours, and that is essential for them at this age because the restorative processes and release of growth hormone occur while they are sleeping.
• Adolescents (12 – 18 years) – approximately 8 to 10 hours of sleep should be enough but is essential for them to stick to their sleep routine since at this age teens tend do develop sleep disorders.
• Adults (18 – 64 years) – with age we reach that boundary of minimal 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night. But with age, we also get some new responsibilities or start working shift jobs which can all disrupt our sleep. Many adults are sleep deprived and sleep less than recommended 7 hours, but just because they are grown up that does not mean that their body stopped working for them during the night.
• Elderly (65 +) – many seniors sleep less once they retire, worries, emotions, illnesses, and sleep disorders tend to disrupt their much-needed sleep.

What Happens While We Sleep?

Although when we are sleeping we barely move or consciously do anything, our body is actively restoring and working, so now we are going to check through which processes our body is undergoing while we are snoozing.

• Brain – for decades, even centuries, scientists believed that while we are sleeping our brain is resting too and being inactive. Some newer researches from the past 60 years have proven that that theory is wrong and that our brain is highly active even when we are not aware of it. Since then a lot of progress has been made in the field of understanding how our brain functions. We already explained how NREM and REM part of sleep cycle look like, but it is interesting to point out that although we have many similarities with some animals, particularly with mammals, there is some difference when it comes to sleep. When we sleep, our entire brain is involved, but, for example, whales and dolphins stay conscious while they are sleeping. Since they have to go to the surface to breathe, only one hemisphere of their brain is asleep at a time while the other one remains conscious.
• Breathing – while we are awake, our breathing is usually irregular since it is affected by our speech, posture, exercise, emotions, and so on. But as we start falling asleep, our breathing pattern comes in order, and it becomes slower and more regular. During the REM phase, our breathing tends to get more variable again.
• Physiological activity – many physiological activities slow down and decrease during sleep, like urine production or kidney function. But some other processes continue to work regularly or even with increased activity. Probably the biggest change that is caused by sleep is the increased release of growth hormone, besides that cell repair is also very active during the shut-eye period.
• Temperature – our body performs a process called thermoregulation which includes a set of control mechanisms like shivering or sweating. When we are laying in bed, ready to fall asleep, our body loses some heat, and scientists even believe that that induces sleep. During the sleep, our body temperature drops for 1 or 2 Fahrenheit degrees, and in the REM phase it falls to its lowest point, and we are entirely functioning without the thermoregulation for those 10 to 30 minutes in REM.
• Dreams – most fascinating but at the same time, the least understood process that occurs while we are sleeping are dreams. While dreaming, our thoughts follow some bizarre and illogical trail of the events that may be completely random or connected to something that we already experienced awake. Scientists have not yet succeeded to find a logical explanation for our dreams, so this area stays a mystery and a field open for researching.

Remember when it was standard to wait a week, or even a month, to watch the next installment of our favorite television shows? Looking back, it’s almost humorous considering we now have the luxury of booting up various streaming platforms to consume an entire season in a matter of hours. Quite a few of us have either hosted or participated in a marathon viewing of movies, such as the Harry Potter series, alongside our friends. However, when and in what way did this trend of binge-watching so smoothly become a part of our daily lives? The rise of streaming powerhouses like Netflix has essentially erased any obstacles that previously prevented us from engaging in TV show marathons, making it appear as though these barriers were never there to begin with.

How bad was the feeling when an episode of your favorite tv show ends, and then you scroll through other programs, trying to find something as nearly interesting, or have to wait a week to see will Amanda and Jake get back together again, will he ever forgive her, or to find out who killed Jose. Luckily or not, those days are behind us. But, when you are watching episode after episode, you can easily get carried away, lose your sense of time and stay up all night. This has become a part of our reality, we are used to pulling all-nighters when we were studying for an exam or partying hard, but now we are staying up all night to watch ten episodes in a row.

When did binge-watching become a thing? Well, binge-watching is one of those words that got overhyped at some point and became known as a worldwide phenomenon. It got popular around 2013 together with the boom of streaming platforms, but the term itself is derived from similar ones such as binge-eating and binge-drinking. And, did you know that binge-watching was elected for the word of the year 2015? Yes, so it is a real thing, and in a way, it goes with the society of consumerism in which we all live. Think about it, we are able to watch full five seasons of one tv show in less than a week, and then we are done with it, and we go on and search for next one. We no longer watch one season during just one year, God no, we rush and consume it in one day just because we can. There is something called post tv show depression, and it can be applied to streaming content too because since we tend to watch the whole show in just a few days, we get so involved, emotionally and physically, that we experience this kind of depression frequently.

America is known as a sleep-deprived nation, so does binge-watching contribute to that? Most likely yes, many Americans are staying up all night until early morning hours to watch tv series, no matter if they have to go work or school on that morning. And, two or three hours of snoozing are far from enough. So in today’s post, we are going to dig into facts and stats about sleeping and binge-watching.

Binge-Watching Side Effects

Staying up all night is never a good idea, but binge-watching whole night is just spicing things up and messing with us on many different levels. Streaming content mostly impacts our sleep negatively, and it has been estimated that around one-third of binge viewers have some issues with their sleep. However, some other consequences are possible too.

• Early sleep arousal – it depends on the type of content you are watching, but in most cases, no matter the genre, while we are laying down in bed, relaxing and watching our favorite shows, our brain is not so relaxed. If there is some intense scene going on, our brain will get nervous, and upset, because when we watch a show so long it is not impossible to not get involved. Our heart starts to pound faster, and brain releases more dopamine which is the main reason why we feel some form of addiction and cannot stop watching.
• Sleep disorders – sleep deprivation and insomnia are most likely to be experienced by people who watch tv shows excessively during the night since once they disrupt their sleep pattern, it is hard to get back on track with a regular sleep routine.
• Blue light – all electronic devices including our smartphones, tablets, laptops or tv’s emit this so-called blue light, which our brain sees as sunlight and tricks it into thinking that it’s daytime even though it is nighttime. Try lowering the brightness of the screen on your devices during the night, install some apps that block the blue light effects or try some of the blue light blocking glasses.
• Depression – a study from 2015. showed that people who tend to binge-watch on a regular basis are more introvert, lonely types of people who like to isolate themselves, which sometimes leads to depression, anxiety or other social disorders.
• Weight – while we are watching our favorite shows we are usually snacking, eating some junk food, ice cream or popcorns, and all that so late at night, while we are laying down in bed. If this is your guilty pleasure or type of Saturday night-in, think about how it can affect your weight and overall appearance.

Binge-Watching And Sleep

Since we love to binge-watch particularly during the night when we should be sleeping and dreaming, it is obvious that those binge habits cannot have a positive impact on our sleep. Streaming services made it possible to watch consecutive episodes in a row, and we all sacrificed our precious sleep time to it. Since America is already known as the sleep-deprived nation, that means that we already are not getting enough sleep and our excessive use of streaming platforms only contributes to the lack of sleep and becomes a sort of addiction.

Some people think that they cannot fall asleep unless they are watching something that will make them fall asleep faster, but that is not entirely true since there are not many pros for falling asleep in front of a screen and Keeping Up With The Kardashians does not work exactly as a lullaby. Recently binge-watching research has gained quite an attention and here are some of the facts that we gathered. Without any surprise, millennials are the biggest group of binge-watchers, they usually stay in bed watching content on streaming platforms and totally mess up their sleep pattern, an even though they are aware of it they are not going to do much to fix it. Around 70% of millennials and X generation falls asleep while there is a streaming content going on. Right behind them are seniors, approximately 53% of them watch streaming content or regular tv programs late at night, but they usually have a problem with admitting that. On the other hand, younger adults are more likely to acknowledge that they have issues with sleeping as a result of excessive watching of online shows, but neither they are willing to change that. Surveys have also shown that Friday and Saturday are the days when most of the people spend their time binge-watching. But are not those days reserved for paying off our sleep debt from the past week?

During the past year, every second American has pulled on at least one all-nighter to binge-watch some tv show, when it comes to sexes, it is almost equal, but men are leading for only a few percents. Most binge-watchers come from Texas and Louisiana, around 60%, while the states in which most people prefer sleeping over streaming content are Wisconsin, Missouri, and Oregon. When it comes to genres, comedies are still our number one genre for binge-watching and entertaining ourselves, but dramas, action or adventure genres are also high on the list. According to some surveys, best tv shows to binge-watch ever are Orange Is The New Black, Breaking Bad, Grey’s Anatomy, Stranger Things, Criminal Minds and so on.

Losing sleep due to streaming content is something that we all experience occasionally, but when it becomes a habit or a regular thing that is when it can threaten not only your sleep but your health and immune system too. As a consequence people experience difficulties with falling or staying asleep, and that shows off on their appearance and wellbeing.

Tips for Getting Enough Sleep and Still Watching Streaming Content

How did we get to the point that we have this kind of a dilemma, to sleep or to watch Netflix? And why cannot we have both of them? Or, maybe we can, but we need to organize our time and stick to our schedule, which can be quite a challenge when you know that there two more seasons waiting for you to binge-watch them as fast as you can.

• Get a company – we usually watch tv shows alone, and that is why it consumes so much of our time. If there are two or more people together, there are higher chances that someone is going to know when it is enough, and it will be easier for others to quit it too.
• Pick your binge content wisely – when binge-watching late at night, choose content which is more light, without heavy drama situations or horror movies, because they are more arousing. Go for a relaxing comedy instead or something that would not get you involved or upset in any way.
• No autoplay – if your autoplay setting is on, there nothing on your way to watch all episodes in a row, but by turning it off, you give yourself a chance to make a break or actually try falling asleep.
• Get out of the bed – yes, it is the most comfortable thing ever, but while laying comfortable in our bed and watching streaming content we can hardly control how long it is going to last, it always just one more scene, one more episode, and then our alarm sounds on. Watch streaming content in some other room and when you feel tired just quit, and go to sleep without any screens turned on around you.
• Environment – we turn off all lights, go to bed, and then play some show on our laptop – mistake.  Watching a bright screen in a dark room is such a struggle for our eyes, and it also tricks our brain into thinking that its daytime. If you are going to spend hours in front of a screen anyway, at least turn some light on, it will make it easier for your eyes and save you from a headache.
• Create a limit – we cannot let some streaming content to control our life, we need to limit the amount of time we spend binge-watching to, for example, two or three episodes per day if they last half an hour each. Or even less, however it works the best for you. Also, schedule your time for watching tv shows before bedtime. Like in the good old days when we had only tv’s without the rewind option, the show starts at eight with or without you, and that is it, if you miss it, you have to wait for the rebroadcast tomorrow.
• Thirty minutes rule – to give your brain some time to adjust and prepare for sleep, turn of whatever you are watching at least 30 minutes before your preferred bedtime. That way you will be more relaxed, the adrenalin or excitement rush will go away, and it will be easier for you to fall asleep. In those 30 minutes try reading something or practicing yoga, meditation, or simply create your own bedtime routine. Put on a face mask or a cream, do all those pre beauty sleep rituals, if you are a guy also, a bit of pampering won’t hurt anybody.

To promote the healthy growth of your baby, it’s essential to establish a safe sleeping environment for both the child and you as the parent or caregiver. Creating a secure and nurturing sleep area reduces the chances of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). This article addresses everything related to SIDS, including recognizing risk factors and offering guidance on how to arrange a secure sleeping area for your infant.

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the term used for the abrupt and unexplained death of an infant of less than one year old. The cause of death is unknown, and it usually occurs during sleep. It is also known as cot death or crib death. The diagnosis is made when no other cause of death can be found from the autopsy or medical investigation. Most common cases have happened between the hours of 00:00 and 09:00, but without any evidence of noise or struggle.

Almost ninety percent of deaths caused by SIDS are for infants younger than six months, and it is the leading cause of death for infants between one and twelve months old. Approximately 1,600 American infants each year die from Sudden infant death syndrome.

Additionally, SIDS can be called SUID. However, the SUID or Sudden Unexpected Infant Death includes all sudden infant deaths, including accidental infant deaths like strangulation or suffocation, homicides and natural causes like neurological conditions, infections, and cardiac disorders. Around 3500 infants a year die from SUID in the United States. While SUID deaths include SIDS, it does not go the other way around.

Causes

The cause of SIDS is still unknown. The dominant theory is that the infant has brain defects in the area that controls breathing and arousal from sleep. Other factors, especially physical and environmental can contribute to SIDS.

Risk factors

Research has shown many environmental and physical factors can impact your infant and increase their risk for SIDS. Among those factors are low birth weight, premature birth, respiratory infections, exposure to passive smoke, brain abnormalities, sleeping on the stomach or side, sleeping with parents or other babies and sleeping on a soft surface.

Physical risk factors

Factors like low birth weight, brain abnormalities, and respiratory infections are physical factors that can lead to Sudden infant death syndrome. These circumstances expose your infant to the risk of not being able to breathe correctly. Low birth weight is common if the mother had multiple babies at once or if the babies were prematurely born. However, twins do not have a higher risk of SIDS than singleton births – both twins dying from SIDS is rare, and both twins dying from SIDS on the same day is extremely rare. Premature infants have a more significant risk of SIDS because their brain has not developed yet, and they might have some brain abnormalities.

Brain abnormalities can destabilize the undeveloped infant’s brain or they may even limit the infant’s capability of arousal and breathing. While the cause of SIDS is unknown, your baby can get these abnormalities from a decrease in oxygen or exposure to a toxic substance like smoking cigarettes during pregnancy. Researchers have found that many babies with SIDS had abnormalities in the arcuate nucleus, which is responsible for breathing and waking during sleep. Babies that have other defects of the brain and body can also be at risk.

The chemical in your brain called serotonin is possibly involved in SIDS. Serotonin is in charge of breathing regulation during sleep. Almost 70% of infants with SIDS had low levels of serotonin before they died. In normal circumstances, a baby’s brain will trigger the infant to wake up and cry if it is not getting enough air. However, babies with an abnormality might not have this protective mechanism.

A respiratory infection also puts your baby at risk, because the infection can cause breathing problems for your infant. This situation might explain the increase of SIDS during colder months when respiratory infections are more common. Many cases with SIDS babies showed that the infants had a respiratory infection before death. And infants that sleep on their stomachs have a higher risk of SIDS as well.

Environmental risk factors

The environment can also be a risk factor for SIDS. Exposing a child to passive smoking at home is a major environmental risk factor for SIDS. Apart from postnatal smoking, exposure to prenatal smoking has a more significant impact on your infant.

The sleeping position of your infant can also make it vulnerable to SIDS. Sleeping on the stomach or side can make it more difficult for the infant to breathe. And if the sleep surface is soft, then it can make it even worse. The same goes for a waterbed, blanket, and soft comforter. All of these cause your infant to sink into the sleep surface and block their airway.

Rebreathing may also occur, which develops when a child breathes back in their own exhaled air because a soft mattress, pillow, toys or bedding are near their face. Rebreathing reduces the oxygen level in the baby’s body, while at the same time, raises the carbon dioxide level. Infants that sleep on their side will probably roll onto their stomachs, and because of that, many different authorities and medical institutions recommend that the child sleeps on the back.

Sleeping in the same room as the infant decreases the risk of SIDS because you are able to oversee your baby. But, putting the baby in the same bed as the parents have the opposite effect. Sharing a sleep surface with anyone (parents, siblings or other babies) increases the risk of suffocation, overheating or overlaying. Of course, the risk is much higher if there is a history of low birth weight, premature birth, cigarette smoking or obesity.

Demographic risk factors

Studies have also found that there are certain demographic factors among children that died from SIDS, but it is not sure if the risks are causative or correlative. If there is a family history of SIDS, infants have a higher risk. Male babies have a more significant chance of dying from SIDS than female infants, and American Indian, Black, and Alaska Native infants are at 2 to 3 times increased risk of dying from SIDS than Caucasian babies. Infants that are 2 to 3 months old have a higher chance, and babies that get colds are at considerable risk of SIDS. That’s why winter months are especially dangerous. Additionally, if the birth mother is younger than 20 years old, uses alcohol, tobacco, drugs or smoke, or if she had poor or late prenatal care, the child would be at a more significant risk of developing SIDS.

Guidelines for Reducing the Risk of SIDS

With the rising awareness of SIDS, according to a CDC study, the rates for SIDS have dropped more than 60% over the past 25 years. The latest data from 2015 says that there are 39.4 SIDS deaths per 100,000 live births, while in 1990 it was 154.5 SIDS deaths. The cause of this syndrome is still unknown, but many prevention practices have been beneficial in lowering an infant’s risk of SIDS. Below are the SIDS prevention guidelines you need to follow.

1. Always place your infant on their back to sleep.

As you have previously read, sleeping on the side or stomach can increase the risk of SIDS. These positions allow the mattress to smother and block the child’s airway. You need to place your infant on the back wherever the baby goes to sleep and make sure nothing will interfere with their breathing. If the child falls asleep outside of the bed, for example, in a car seat, baby seat or stroller, you need to get him or her out and put on a flat surface. If you are worried about your child choking when placed on the back, don’t worry because choking is extremely rare in healthy sleeping infants. When children have more than six months, they can turn and roll over by themselves, which is completely fine, but you still need to continue putting them on their backs as their initial position until they are one year old.

2. Don’t use soft bedding and materials in the infant’s sleep environment.

As discussed above, you need to use a firm mattress for the baby’s crib to prevent the smothering and suffocation. You need to avoid memory foam mattresses and mattress toppers, extra blankets, crib bumper pads or toys in the child’s bed. Also, ensure your child has proper and comfortable pajamas.

3. Don’t sleep in the same bed as your infant.

You need to keep your baby close in order to monitor it, but babies must sleep in a separate bed or crib. As you have probably read above, if the baby sleeps in the bed with someone, it increases the chance of suffocation. Sleeping with someone likely includes the use of more pillows and bedding which pose a threat to the baby. Any object or person in the bed can block the child’s airway, so anything you place in the bed is an additional suffocation risk to infants. Not to mention the fact that adults smoke, drink or use medication – all of which interfere with the child’s health in some way.

4. Avoid alcohol, drugs, and tobacco use during pregnancy and after birth.

Mothers who use tobacco, alcohol, drugs, or smoke during pregnancy can have premature births and expose their babies to a higher risk of Sudden infant death syndrome. After birth, exposure of the child to secondhand smoke is linked to higher SIDS risk. Additionally, alcohol and drugs can reduce inhibitions and diminish mental capacity, which can cause parents not to have the best judgment around their child and increase their SIDS risk.

5. Immunize your infant.

Infants who have acted per the recommendations for infant immunizations have a fifty percent less chance for developing SIDS compared to those who have not been immunized.

6. Prevent your infant from overheating.

Overheating during sleep also increases the infant’s risk of SIDS. Put your child in comfortable pajamas and make sure that their bedroom has a comfortably cool temperature. If the temperature suits you, it will very likely suit the child as well. Watch your child in order to see if he or she is sweating, and is hot to the touch or possibly cold. However, do not put any extra blankets in the crib, but instead, put the baby in a wearable blanket sleep sack or dress the baby in warmer onesie pajamas.

7. Receive early and regular prenatal and postnatal care.

Getting proper prenatal will aid the prevention of premature births and SIDS along with it. After the baby is born, you need to get regular postnatal care that keeps your baby safe and raises your awareness of any conditions that can expose the baby to the risk of SIDS.

8. Breastfeed your infant.

Breastfeeding reduces the risk of SIDS by fifty percent, but it is still not clear why. However, be careful to avoid breastfeeding while sitting down if you are tired, to avoid falling asleep and potentially harming the baby.

9. Avoid products that are claimed to reduce SIDS.

Many manufacturers sell their products with claims that they reduce SIDS. They use this as a marketing ploy to earn money. You should avoid companies that make the claim of keeping your baby safe just to make profits.

10. Use a pacifier to help your infant fall asleep.

The use of a pacifier for sleep can lower the risk of SIDS. When putting your infants to bed, put the pacifier in their mouth and wait once they fall asleep to remove it. However, do not force your baby to use the pacifier if they do not want to use it. You should start using it after your infant has been breastfeeding for at least one month. This way you will avoid nipple confusion or even the preference for the pacifier over the mother. Keep the pacifier clean, without putting any substance over it, and replace it if it gets damaged.

Picture your body as a team of superheroes, all set to combat **bad germs** and **nasty bugs**. This special team, called your immune system, is made up of cells, organs, and tissues working together to protect you. They band together to defend against harmful bacteria, viruses, or infections, acting as your personal security system!
However, even superheroes need a break. If your immune system is weak, you might constantly feel exhausted, frequently catch colds, or repeatedly get ill. It means your body’s defense is being overpowered, and it’s having a hard time keeping up.
Here’s an interesting **tidbit**: When your immune system is overactive, it might start attacking your body’s healthy parts by mistake, a bit like being hit by friendly fire. This can result in autoimmune diseases. Indeed, sometimes our internal protectors can get a little mixed up.
**Who should be aware of this?** Anyone who’s felt sluggish, dealt with endless colds, or always seems to be sick. By the time you finish this, you’ll learn some helpful strategies and tips to keep your immune system’s superhero squad at peak performance. Stay with us, and find out how to enhance your body’s defensive team – it’s definitely worth your time!

We tend to connect the state of our immune system to some healthy living habits such as eating a lot of vegetables and fruits, taking enough vitamins or taking care of our health in general. But we often forget that sleep is also one of those beneficial habits that have an impact on our immune system. Unhealthy sleep habits can weaken our immunity and make us more liable to viruses and illnesses. When we are ill, we feel like we need more sleep and rest in order to recover faster, so the relationship between sleep and immunity exists, but it is complex, and we are going to try simplifying it for you.

The Role of Cytokines

Many different cells produce cytokines, a category of proteins which controls cell activity and signaling, i.e., they control body’s immune response, but they also regulate our sleep since they interact with hormones and neurotransmitters that signal the neurons in our brain. Cytokines have been well known for their defensive role, but some theories imply that their primary purpose was sleep regulation. Anyhow, cytokines coordinate the communication between the brain and immune system, and some particular cytokines like IL1 or IL6 have an essential role in sleep regulation, a higher level of IL1 and IL6 has been linked to some chronic diseases, and it shows the connection between the lack of sleep and health. Our immune system has its rhythm of working, so during the night, the level of proinflammatory cytokines and T-cells is at its highest, while the level of anti-inflammatory cytokines and leukocytes rises during the day.

When we are ill, we need the higher level of certain cytokines, but sleep deprivation causes a decrease in the production of those protective cytokines, and the number of cells and antibodies that should fight against infections is also reduced due to the lack of sleep. That only prolongs our recovery and struggling with the illness.

Many aspects of correlation between sleep and immunity are yet to be discovered, but what is known is that some parts of our immune system contribute to the control of sleep, while the amount of sleep we get impacts on the functioning of immune system. The reason why our sleep and immune systems function so closely is that some substances in charge of immune defense are released or created during the night, while we sleep.

Sleep Deprivation and Immune System

Can you get sick from lack of sleep? Yes! Many people get sick when they are not getting enough sleep, which just confirms how these two things are tightly connected. Recently many different studies were taken to inspect and verify how that connection works, and we are going to summarize a few of them below.

The researchers from the University of Washington performed a study in which they followed eleven pairs of identical twins with different sleeping patterns. They came to the conclusion that the twin who was sleeping less had a weakened immune system. They showed that the immune system works the best when we are well rested, which implies that we need around seven hours of regular sleep to keep our immune system at its highest.

In another study, researchers from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands were following changes in white blood cells after the loss of sleep. This study was performed on 15 young men, and it lasted for two weeks, during the first week they were sleeping for eight hours per night, and they had a limited intake of coffee and alcohol. During that first week, they established a healthy circadian rhythm, which was only an introduction to a week of sleep deprivation. In the second week, during the night the number of white blood cells called granulocytes increased in a reaction to the stress caused by sleep deprivation. Although this was a small study, it contributed to a better understanding of how poor sleep breaks down our immunity.

Some other tests showed that flu vaccine does not perform its best on people who experience chronic loss of sleep. Young students with and without insomnia were compared to check would they react differently to the influenza vaccine shot. Results showed that healthy people with insomnia are jeopardizing their immune system and making it more vulnerable since the effects of the vaccine were lowered on them.

A team of researchers from Tuebingen, Germany, was working on a research about the effects of sleep on the immune system’s T cells. They took some T cells from volunteers who were awake and from those who were sleeping and analyzed them. When compared, samples of T cells from persons who were sleeping had a higher level of integrin activation in comparison to the ones from persons who were wide awake. That result indicates that sleep has a positive effect on the functioning of T cells as a part of the immune system.

How to Improve Your Sleep Quality?

Since we have seen how important sleep is, we would now like to share some tips that can enhance your sleep quality and your immunity at the same time.

• Routines – find something relaxing and stress-free which you can practice each night before bed. Read a book, try solving crosswords or practicing some yoga poses.
• Schedule – take control of your sleep/wake cycle by going to bed and waking up at the same time every day. Weekends should not be an exception from it.
• Mattress – the choice of mattress can have either harmful or good impact on your sleep quality. For a night of proper rest, it is essential to find the one that will suit your body preferences and needs.
• Blue light – electronic devices that surround us emit this so-called blue light, try avoiding these devices before going to bed or install apps for smartphones and laptops that block blue light.
• Melatonin supplements – sleep aid is a common thing nowadays, and since melatonin is the hormone in charge of sleep, people who have troubles with falling asleep or suffer from insomnia reach for melatonin supplements since they will make you fall asleep faster.
• Stress – as hard as it can be, try keeping the stress and problems away from your bedroom and find something to do before falling asleep instead of overthinking and getting more upset.
• Sleep disorder – we all experience troubles with sleep once in a while, but if you are not satisfied with the quality of your sleep or you feel that nothing is helping, consult your doctor and check if you have some sleep disorder.

Food That Can Boost Your Immunity

We have all heard the “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” expression, and not only that it rhymes, but it is true. Fruits and veggies contain many vitamins that are beneficial for our immunity, but besides them, it is essential to eat various food because eating just one type of food would not be enough. Timing is also essential for sleep, we should not eat late at night or right before bedtime, and that does not only stand for snacks and junk food, but it also stands for healthy food too. Meals should be well balanced, so no starving or overeating, and try establishing a routine and eating every day at the same time. Now we are going to see which foods can strengthen our immune system, but, also, check out our list of best foods for sleep which also includes the selection of foods that prevent sleep.

• Citrus fruits – The most popular vitamin is probably vitamin C, which we all reach for as soon as we feel ill. Vitamin C improves the production of white blood cells that are in charge of fighting against infections. It is interesting to know that our body does not contain or produces vitamin C, so we have to intake it through different citrus fruits which are rich with vitamin C. Some widely available citruses are lemons, oranges, tangerines, clementines, limes, etc. You can either eat them or make a mixed squeezed juice out of them.
• Vegetables – Although citruses contain a lot of vitamin C, there is one veggie that contains two times more vitamin C than citrus fruits. Any guesses what it could be? The red bell peppers are absolute winners when it comes to vitamin C, and they also contain beta carotene which is beneficial for eyes and skin. Another vegetable that is packed with vitamins is the infamous broccoli. Children’s least favorite veggie probably the healthiest vegetable that exists, it contains vitamins A, C, and E, fiber and many antioxidants. Garlic, spinach, and ginger are also highly recommended for boosting the immune system and fighting the cold.
• Nuts – many other important vitamins are in the shade of widely famous vitamin C, but another crucial vitamin for our immunity is vitamin E. Nuts such as almonds, walnuts, pistachios or hazelnuts are all packed with this vitamin, and they also contain healthy fats. Small handful portion of nuts per day will satisfy your vitamin E needs, but since they are so high in fat, you should not exaggerate with the daily intake of nuts.
• Yogurt – if you are searching for vitamin D which regulates our immune system, you will find it in yogurt. Greek yogurt, for example, contains active and live cultures which can also be found in some other yogurts, and since those cultures can stimulate your immune system to fight against the illness, they are highly recommended. Avoid buying flavored yogurts because they have a higher level of sugar, instead buy a plain one and add pieces of fruit or honey to flavor it up.
• Chicken soup – the favorite remedy of our moms and grandmothers, chicken soup, can help with symptoms of a cold or flu. Poultry like chicken or turkey contains a lot of vitamin B-6 which is essential for creating red blood cells. Around 3 ounces of chicken meat will satisfy half of your daily need of vitamin B-6.

Obtaining sufficient sleep is essential for maintaining your energy levels and is vital for the health of your heart. Not getting enough sleep raises the risk of suffering from cardiovascular diseases, coronary heart disease, and other related health problems. Sufficient sleep is imperative for the body’s natural repair processes and normal operations.

Sleep deprivation and heart issues are widespread today. Heart diseases are the leading cause of death in the U.S., and lack of sleep is the most significant contributor to heart issues, cancer, obesity, neurological issues, and other health problems. Sleep and heart disease are connected closely – poor sleep leads to heart diseases and heart diseases often make it hard to sleep.

Definition of Heart Disease

Heart diseases or cardiovascular diseases are health issues that affect your heart. Among the most common types of heart disease are arrhythmia, high blood pressure, peripheral artery disease, coronary artery disease, congenital heart disease, cardiac arrest, and stroke. Arrhythmia is the irregular beating of the heart, either too fast or too slow. High blood pressure is the pressure that blood creates when going against the artery walls of the heart. Peripheral artery disease is the narrowing of the blood vessels that impedes the blood flow to the limbs and secondary areas of the body. Coronary artery disease is when damage happens to the main blood vessels in the heart. Congestive heart failure is the heart’s chronic ineptitude to pump blood. Birth heart abnormality causes congenital heart disease. Cardiac arrest, or just heart attack, is the moment when your heart suddenly stops working which causes the individual to lose consciousness or the ability to breathe. Stroke is the lack of blood supply that causes damage to the brain.

Risk Factors for Heart Disease

There are many risk factors for heart disease that cannot be controlled like family history, age, gender, weight, diabetes, or other medical conditions. The majority of heart issues happen with age, especially with 65 years or older. Both women and men can have a heart attack in old age, but men have a more significant risk of having heart attacks and women have a higher chance of dying from them. Children whose parents have heart diseases have a bigger chance of developing heart disease themselves. You can even be born with some risk factors that cannot be affected or controlled. If you have more of these risk factors, you have a bigger chance of getting coronary heart disease. However, there are some lifestyle factors we can control like smoking, increased blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, eating habits and dieting. Smokers have a much higher risk of getting coronary heart disease than nonsmokers. With the increase of your blood cholesterol increases, the risk of coronary heart disease also increases.   High blood pressure amplifies the heart’s workload, which induces the heart muscle to be thick and stiffer, so your heart will function abnormally, and you consequently have a higher risk of a heart attack, congestive heart failure, stroke, and kidney failure. But, probably the most significant risk is poor sleep, that can be long, short or just unrestful. You cannot do anything about the factors you were born with, so it’s even more critical to manage the risk factors you are able to influence.

Heart Disease and Poor Sleep

Generally speaking, people today are getting much less sleep than ever. The average person sleeps for 6.8 hours during the night, which is less than the recommended minimum of 7 hours and 1.5 hours less than 100 years ago. Along with that, there is an increase in diabetes, coronary heart disease, hypertension, and many other chronic health problems and conditions. Many studies have linked poor sleep with heart disease, and the American Heart Association is raising awareness of this.

Sleep Deprivation

Sleep deprivation is one of the main contributors to health problems of all kinds. In a CDC study from 2013 people that slept for less than 6 hours per night had big chances of having a stroke, diabetes, obesity, and heart issues than regular sleepers that get their 8 hours per night. Many people that have insomnia suffer from sleep deprivation. Even short-term sleep deprivation has devastating effects on your health. This situation causes problems for shift workers like medical residents, EMTs, and firefighters. These people start with good health, but after one 24-hour shift, they can get increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, and increased levels of stress-related hormones such as cortisol.

Blood Pressure and Heart Rate

Many studies have shown that sleep deprivation can increase your blood pressure. When we do not get enough sleep, our bodies make higher levels of inflammatory agents, like interleukin-6, C-reactive protein and others. Each of these inflammatory agents is associated with heart diseases and chronic health problems. As you age, your blood pressure gets higher, and you can develop heart issues. And sleeping also becomes difficult with age because of your high blood pressure. The lack of sleep that is present with older adults can severely increase the risk of hypertension.

Obesity

Another risk factor for heart disease is obesity,  and sleep deprivation is also associated with obesity. When you get an adequate amount of sleep, the hypothalamus in your brain makes the leptin hormone that controls your appetite. However, there is another hormone in your body called ghrelin that is responsible for increasing your appetite. When you get smaller amounts of sleep, the production of ghrelin increases, and so does your appetite. With the increased appetite you eat more, which means you gain weight that will put a strain on your heart.

Heart Disease and Too Much Sleep

People that sleep for more than the recommended amount of sleep are also at risk of developing heart problems. Many heart failures and strokes happened to individuals that were sleeping for eight to ten hours per night. Some researches have said that this happens because people that sleep more have an underlying health problem that makes them sleep longer. Additionally, daytime napping was found to increase the risk of heart disease or death for people that sleep for more than 8 hours per night.

Sleep Problems with Heart Disease

Poor sleep can increase your risk of getting heart disease, but having heart disease can also affect your sleep. Insomnia and sleep apnea are the two main problems that affect individuals with heart disease.

Insomnia

Individuals that have heart disease often have sleep disturbances that end with insomnia. Heart failure can weaken your bladder causing you to wake up in the middle of your sleep cycle and go to the bathroom. Another issue is when the fluid that is settled in your legs goes into your lungs during the day and causes you chest pain that makes it hard to fall asleep.

Sleep apnea

Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that causes a temporary loss of breath during the night. Your airway gets complete or partial obstructions that prevent you from breathing for short amounts of time. It induces shallow breathing and temporary breath loss that can repeatedly happen during the night and disrupt your sleep. During an episode of sleep apnea, your body responds by increasing the adrenaline levels to fight this problem. Even if this does not wake you up, the constant interruption minimizes the quality of sleep you are getting. And with the increase of adrenaline comes the rise of blood pressure that may contribute to a stroke. People who have normal blood pressure before getting sleep apnea may soon have problems with high blood pressure.

Two types of sleep apnea exist – central sleep apnea (CSA) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Obstructive sleep apnea is more widespread than central sleep apnea, but both of them have the same consequences to your sleep and health. The difference between them is that obstructive sleep apnea develops when you have a blockage or narrowing of the airway, while central sleep apnea develops when there is a communication problem with the brainstem that is in charge of your breathing. The symptoms of the obstructive sleep apnea include pauses in breathing, excessive daytime sleepiness, morning headaches, sweating during the night, problems with concentration and memory. It often comes with loud snoring, which happens when the air goes through narrowed airways, and the relaxed tissues vibrate.

How Much Sleep Do I Need?

Most adults need at least 7 hours of sleep each night. However, a lot of people don’t get the recommended amount of sleep. While this may be fine for a day or two, not getting enough sleep over time can lead to serious health problems—and make specific health problems worse. Individuals that sleep less than 7 hours per night are in risk of having health problems, like a heart attack, asthma, and depression, all of which can raise the risk for heart disease, stroke, and heart attack.

These health problems include high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. Staying awake increases your blood pressure remains for a more extended amount of time, but when sleeping your blood pressure goes down. Some studies show that getting enough good sleep can improve your blood sugar control and your metabolism, while lack of sleep can damage your blood sugar levels and cause unhealthy weight gain. Sleeping less than 6 hours is terrible, but sleeping over 9 hours is also damaging. Having either too-long or too-short sleep can increase the calcium deposits, that is considered as a risk factor for coronary artery disease.

Tips for Sleeping Better with Heart Disease

Researchers are not sure yet whether you can counteract the effects that poor sleep on your heart health. But getting better sleep will be better for your heart. Sleep is a way for your body to repair itself. Providing yourself with enough sleep can also help you function normally during the day. Here are some tips on how to sleep better with heart disease.

1. Have a regular sleep schedule.

Waking up and going to sleep and at the exact time each day, you’re orienting your circadian rhythm to follow a particular schedule, and as time passes, your body and brain will feel tired or wake up at times it is used to do these actions. Make sure your schedule enables you to get a minimum of 7 hours of sleep. You can also match your new sleep schedule with a calming bedtime routine that will help your mind perceive certain behaviors and activities that lead to sleep. Your bedtime routine can have activities like brushing your teeth, taking a warm bath, aromatherapy, reading a boring book or turning off your TV, phone, laptop, tablet or any other device.

2. Your bedroom needs to be the optimal sleep environment.

You need to use your bed for sleep and sex only. There should be no work or watching television. It would be best to clear your bedroom of unnecessary stuff and stressful reminders. Additionally, you need to keep your bedroom cool, dark, and quiet. You can use blackout curtains or an eye mask if you need.

Individuals that have some heart failure can have excessive fluid that builds up while they’re lying down, which leads to uneasiness and sleep-disordered breathing. You can address this issue with an adjustable bed which will allow you to raise the head of the bed or a wedge pillow.

3. Exercise and eating healthy

Exercise during the daytime can make your body tired and easier to sleep during the night. But make sure you do not exercise too late in the day, and aim to work out in the morning to provide yourself with an extra energy boost for the rest of your day.

Eating healthy food, like nuts, kale or yogurt has been shown to promote sleep, while eating sugary junk food is bad for sleep. Eating healthier will also help you lose weight which is very helpful in cases where your obesity contributes to the heart disease you have. But be careful and don’t eat or drink a few hours before bedtime, and especially do not consume food that has high doses of fat and sugar, caffeine or alcohol. Alcohol will disturb your sleep and cause early waking, while caffeine will keep you awake.

4. Treat your sleep apnea

If you suffer from sleep apnea, treating it will reduce the risk of heart diseases. Sleep apnea affects how much oxygen your body gets while you sleep. Using a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine is the optimal treatment for obstructive sleep apnea. For central sleep apnea, you can try BIPAP therapy. When using these machines, you need to wear a mask over your face when you sleep. The device will open your airways and enable healthy, regular breathing.

5. Reduce stress levels

Reducing your stress levels will minimize the strain on your nervous system and heart. You can get daily exercise to burn off excess energy and stress and get enough natural light, especially earlier in the day with a  morning walk. Avoiding the use of any electronics an hour before bed is recommended because blue light has the same effect on your brain as sunlight. .

6. The best sleep posture

The optimal sleep position is the one that keeps the spine properly aligned, and taking pressure off your muscles and bones. A relatively hard bed can keep the spine straight. A bed that is too soft will not provide enough support to stop possible spinal problems. You can use a pillow to keep your neck raised in the appropriate position. Sleeping on your back can help your organs relax, but it also puts pressure on the spine which can end up causing breathing difficulties and snoring. Sleeping on your stomach can help you breathe more easily and expel excess mucus from the lungs caused by some respiratory problems. But this position creates pressure on the chest and heart, so it is a very unfortunate position for people with heart problems or high blood pressure. When sleeping on the side, it would be best to sleep on your right side because it puts less pressure on the heart and stomach. If you have heart disease, gallstones or digestive problems you should avoid sleeping on the left side. And if you have high blood pressure, you need to sleep partly on the right side with the head raised.

Smoking feels great for many, but boy, it sure stirs up a storm because of the health risks that tag along. Did you know it’s behind 87% of lung cancer deaths? Plus, it chalks up a third of all cancer deaths and jacks up the danger for 15 other cancer types. Even if you light up just a cig or four a day, your heart’s not going to thank you for it, as those little puffs ramp up the odds of getting ischaemic heart disease. And even puffing socially at parties? Yep, that doesn’t let you off the hook from heart risks either. Light smoking might seem like less of a villain compared to chain-smoking, but it’s still no friend to your heart or health. Stick around, and you’ll find out why turning your back on those smokes could be the best encore for your health.

Every year, many people all over the world die from tobacco use and related diseases. Thankfully, thanks to the availability of treatment options for addiction, and increased smoking risks awareness, the number of smokers has decreased. If you’re thinking about giving up smoking, we will try to present you some facts of smoking risks and benefits if you stopped smoking altogether.

Chemicals in cigarette smoke enter our bloodstream and can affect the entire body causing cancer, depression, anxiety and cardiovascular diseases. Because nicotine is a potent stimulant, cigarette smokers can also quickly develop insomnia since side effects of nicotine are similar to caffeine. As a chain reaction, sleep deprivation will make your mood, concentration, and productivenses worse the following day. When it becomes chronic, you can expect more serious long-term health risks and sleep disorders. According to some studies, individuals who smoke spend less time in deep sleep and more time in light sleep compared to those who don’t smoke.

Additionally, nicotine is quick and addictive. It goes into the bloodstream and reaches the brain within seconds. After a few hours, it begins to leave the body. Most smokers are addicted to it, and if you are one of them, you will probably wake up at night to get more of it.

If we look back at the previous facts, we can safely say that smoking increases your risk of developing insomnia, followed by waking up more frequently during the night, feeling restless in the morning and so on.

The best thing we can do for our health is to quit smoking. According to research, within two weeks of stopping, our health will start improving. After the first three days, the symptoms of withdrawal will be less intense, but the craving for smoking can persist. In the following weeks, you will be able to breathe easier and produce less mucus. But, as in all neglect cases, it takes time before we can heal. The problem is that 85% of smokers relapse within the first week.

Quitting is very hard. It can leave you feeling physically terrible. The lack of dopamine in your brain is going to make you irritable and depressed. Talk to friends about how you’re feeling and ask them to help you stick to your quitting plan. Find local support groups.

While quitting smoking or reducing the number of cigarettes you smoke is probably the single best way to improve your health, there are several other things a smoker can do to stay healthy: eat a healthy diet, rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, or use combination of therapy.

The Influence Of Smoking on Sleep

Cigarettes are associated with a significant number of sleep complaints. Smokers are more prevalent to sleep disturbances because of the stimulating effects of nicotine and a raised probability of sleep-disordered breathing. Your sleep construction can be entirely changed with regular smoking. The sleep construction or architecture includes sleep stages that you enter during the night. Among these stages are REM sleep, light sleep, and deep sleep. To get a good night’s sleep, you need to spend adequate time in each of these stages. Many studies have proven that smoking has a lot of adverse effects on sleep, and time you spend in all the sleep stages. Individuals who smoke regularly need more time to fall asleep than people who do not smoke. They also sleep shorter by half an hour and spend less time in deep sleep, and as a result, they are more likely to feel unrefreshed and experience grogginess after rest.

Insomnia

Nicotine is a stimulating substance, and it can wake both your body and mind which can make it difficult to fall asleep with a higher chance of getting insomnia. Based on the level of your addiction, you may wake up at night because of the withdrawal. This situation leads to sleep-maintenance insomnia.

Nicotine Withdrawal and Sleep

Certain people tend to have fatigue when they stop smoking, especially if they restart their old habits. Brains are depended on acetylcholine, a  neurotransmitter, to keep us awake. Nicotine imitates acetylcholine by making the same receptors in the brain and because of that smokers feel alert and awake, just like acetylcholine would. When you stop smoking immediately, your brain doesn’t have any nicotine to rely on, so you feel groggy and drowsy because of that. But, over time, your levels of acetylcholine will get regular, and your brain will function the way it should.

Sleep-disordered breathing

This breathing is considered to be any type of unusual or irregular breathing that happens during deep sleep. The two types of this breathing are sleep apnea and snoring. Snoring is the noisy breathing that occurs in your sleep because the upper airway is blocked. With snoring comes an increased risk of having diabetes, daytime fatigue, sleep deprivation or heart disease. Sleep apnea is a condition that causes a temporary loss of breath during the night. While you are sleeping, you have complete or partial obstructions that block the airways and cause you to lose breath, and you stop breathing for short periods during the night because of that. The shallow breathing and temporary breath loss can occur repeatedly. The most common type of sleep apnea is the obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) that makes you stop breathing for a brief period, causes loud snoring, and it wakes you up. Smoking is closely tied to obstructive sleep apnea because it causes the swelling of the nasal tissues. Those who smoke have more chance of having obstructive sleep apnea. And people that are around you when you smoke also have a higher chance of getting obstructive sleep apnea.

Effects of Vaping on Sleep

Vaping is the action where you inhale and exhale the vapor that is made by an electronic cigarette or any other similar device. Vaporizers and electronic cigarettes will affect your sleep. With these devices, you avoid many health risks you have with smoking, but vaping still gives you nicotine, and as we mentioned above, nicotine affects your sleep. While the e-liquid used in these devices has nicotine, it will change your sleep.

Tips on How to Get Better Sleep and Reduce Smoking?

1. Cut Out the Caffeine

Caffeine is a stimulant. It is metabolized twice as fast in the body of a smoker, than of a nonsmoker. Avoid cigarettes 2 hours before bed, including stimulants like caffeine. Also, you need to avoid any heavy, fatty or extra sugary meals late at night.

2. Take a Warm Bath

Taking a warm bath is a great way for your body and mind to relax, as preparation for sleep.

3. Schedule a Massage

As little as 10 or 15 minutes of massaging your face, shoulders, neck, and scalp can significantly help you relax and prepare you for a good night’s sleep.

4. Have a Cup of Herbal Tea

There are many herbal teas explicitly blended to help promote sleep, but the most popular are valerian and chamomile tea.

5. Listen to Soothing Music

Mellow and soft music will help you loosen up and relax enough to fall asleep. You can also try playing recordings of waves hitting the beach before bed.

6. Turn off the Electronics

Smartphones, tablets, and laptops have no place in the bedroom. You need to make sure that there are no messages or notifications coming in that can disturb you. Instead, you can read a book to put yourself to sleep.

7. Drink a Glass of Warm Milk

Warm milk can help you sleep because it is a food filled with the amino acid L-tryptophan that makes neurotransmitters like serotonin, a chemical neurotransmitter that is in charge of telling the body when to shut down and sleep. Putting a little honey and cardamom or nutmeg in your drink can also help. Other foods that contain the amino acid L-tryptophan are eggs, dairy products, bananas, chicken, fish, shellfish, turkey, pistachios, cashews, sunflower seeds, almonds, soybean products, and hazelnuts. We do not recommend using L-tryptophan supplements because they have been linked with eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome. Food and drink that naturally have L-tryptophan are much safer choices.

8. Don’t Drink Alcohol

Alcohol is a significant contributor to sleep disturbances. Having a few drinks will make it easier to fall asleep, but with the alcohol in the system, you will wake up very often after only a few hours into the sleep cycle.

9. Get Some Exercise

Taking a short 15-minute walk a few hours before bed can also help. If you are having troubles falling asleep, you need to try going out for a nice long walk. The timing of the walk is essential. Don’t exercise right before going to bed because it will fill you with adrenaline and make you completely alert and awake, before slowing you down.

You need to exercise regularly, and the ideal time would be after waking up. Also, you should work out outside. Exercising in the natural sunlight during the morning will help with drowsiness or fatigue. It will also make you tired when the evening comes. Exercise gives many benefits that are not related to sleep, such as an emotional and mental energy boost while helping to maintain the body weight at a normal level which is very important as your appetite will increase with quitting nicotine.

10. Meditate

Meditation can help start your day and end it nicely. As a sleep aid, you can try meditation in bed, while laying quietly with your eyes closed.

11. Don’t Nap

While it feels good to get some shut-eye whenever you can, even if it’s during the day, it is best not to do it. Power naps are not recommended if you have problems falling asleep, and especially if you have insomnia. You’ll pay for it when it’s time for bed. Allow yourself to take a nap only if it is necessary, and make sure to keep them short, up to 30 minutes.

12. Start Your Day a Little Earlier

Another useful technique that can help you time your internal clock is to start your day a little earlier.

13. Sleep hygiene

You should keep your bedroom dark, cool, noise-free, and try to go to bed every evening at the same time.

If you decide to quit smoking, your sleep troubles will go away as well. However, be prepared to experience disturbed sleep within the month of quitting smoking, as it will take you some time to get used to the new circumstances. You may not be able to sleep even if you are very tired, but everything will be back to normal very soon.

Various conditions that interfere with our sleep are collectively termed as sleep disorders. This category encompasses common problems like insomnia, sleep deprivation, sleep apnea, snoring, restless leg syndrome, sleepwalking, and more. Conditions like medical issues, work-related stress, lifestyle habits, or even stress itself can contribute to the emergence of sleep disorders. While it’s normal for people to experience sleep disruptions occasionally due to particular circumstances, it becomes a concern when these problems persist over time and begin to impact an individual’s mental and physical health, signaling significant sleeping challenges.

If you experience daytime fatigue, lack of concentration, the need to nap during the day or you are struggling with falling and staying asleep, the chances that you have some sleep disorder are pretty high since those are the main symptoms. The best way to deal with sleep disorders is to change your lifestyle habits, which we will address later in this post, or to try some medical solutions such as melatonin supplements or sleeping pills.

Lately, we could often hear that America is a sleep-deprived nation, and it has been estimated that six out of ten Americans are deprived of sleep. The lack of sleep is becoming a worldwide problem and a troublesome consequence of our modern ways of living and working. During the work days, we struggle to keep up with everything, and since shift working is a major cause of sleep disorders, we rely on weekend days to compensate for our sleep. But, this way we waste our precious free time by trying to repay our sleep-debt during the weekend. Let’s just say that if sleep was a credit card company, many of us would be in deep problems. We all know that optimal sleep time is 7 to 8 hours per night, so why is it so hard for us to find time to sleep?

Lack of sleep does not only affect our lifestyle, but it also can aggravate our physical condition in many ways. In today’s post, we are going to list what are the main consequences of sleep disorders on our health and share some tips for healthy prevention.

Effects of Sleep Disorders on Your Body

As we have mentioned before, sleep deprivation would not only impact our mental health but our physical condition as well. Even one night of inadequate sleep is enough to mess up our concentration and mood on the next day, so imagine what happens to our body when we do not get enough sleep for days, or weeks when we are chronically sleep deprived. Lack of sleep will lower the quality of our lives, and it will hinder the way of how our body functions typically, comprehensive research of sleep studies have shown that people who sleep less than 6 to 8 hours have increased their risk of early death. And since scientists have connected many different health problems to our poor sleeping habits, those long term lack of sleep side effects are going to be our next topic.

• Obesity – you may be surprised to hear that junk food and other unhealthy eating habits are not the only things standing on your way to a good physique. Obesity can surprisingly be caused by sleep deprivation also, so let’s see how that can happen. Two hormones called leptin and ghrelin are in charge of our feelings of hunger and fullness. Leptin is responsible for moderation and weight control, and it suggests your brain when you have had enough food. On the other hand, ghrelin stimulates the appetite. Proper sleep routine keeps in balance the level of those hormones, but when we do not sleep enough, our body raises the ghrelin hormone and lowers the leptin. It explains why many night owls or sleep-deprived people in general, have the urge for late night snacking and overeating. Sleep deprived persons are usually constantly tired, so they do not have the energy or will to exercise, which also contributes to their weight gain. Another major risk is diabetes since the lack of sleep prompts our body to release more insulin after a meal. Insulin is supposed to control our blood sugar level; once the level of insulin goes higher, it promotes fat storage and increases the risk of diabetes.
• Immunity – while we are sleeping, our immune system cells produces cytokine which is a group of proteins or peptides in charge of regulating our immunity, so when we experience some health problems, our reaction to inflammation or infections depends on cytokine. Sleep deprivation will weaken our immune system, and it will make us more liable to diseases and slow down our process of recovery.
• Heart diseases are one of the most common death causes in the U.S., and they are not reserved only for the elderly population. We should always nurture our heart to prevent any later complications, and getting enough rest each night is also a way of nourishing it. Younger people who are sleep deprived have a bigger risk of developing coronary heart disease, arrhythmia, cardiomyopathy or atherosclerosis. People who have sleep apnea usually have some problems with their heart health. Since they wake up frequently during the night, they do not achieve those long periods of deep sleep when our blood pressure and heart rate are lowered. It causes higher blood pressure during the day and increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
• Cancer – lack of sleep has recently been connected to cancer, and apparently people who have circadian rhythm disorders are at higher risk of cancer. Researchers from the Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health carried out a study in which they proved that women who work in night shifts have a 30% higher risk of breast cancer.
• Breathing disorders such as sleep apnea are disrupting our respiratory system during the night. Sleepers who experience sleep apnea are going through phases during the night in which their breathing occasionally stops completely. Snoring and tiredness on the next morning are some signs that you maybe have sleep apnea. There are three different types of sleep apnea: obstructive, central and mixed, but in all three of them sleepers can experience breathing stops repeatedly even hundreds of times during just one night for a minute or longer. Since these breathing pauses usually do not wake the sleeper up, they stay unaware of their ongoing problem.
• Skin – pale skin and dark under-eye circles are signs that you are not getting enough sleep, but chronic sleep deprivation can cause your skin to age prematurely. Wrinkled, lackluster and dry skin are some side effects of sleep deprivation that are hard to reverse. That is why we need the so-called beauty sleep because when we are not getting enough of it, our body produces more cortisol which is a stress hormone that breaks down skin collagen.
• Central nervous system – insomnia is a disorder that impacts our central nervous system negatively and hinders its normal functioning. Lack of sleep will exhaust our brain, and slow down the way it functions, so some coordination skills can be downgraded which increases the risk of injuries or accidents. Extended state of sleep deprivation can mess up our minds and cause hallucinations, hearing or seeing things that do not exist. Another consequence is micro-sleeping, which is hard to control and can be dangerous for frequent drivers especially. Microsleep is something that we almost cannot control since we could fall asleep for a few seconds or minutes without being aware of it.
• Hormones – sleep has a huge impact on the production of hormones in our body, and irregular sleep patterns can cause our hormones to “go wild.” For example, for testosterone production, we need at least three hours of interrupted sleep. Just one week of poor sleep will lower the level of testosterone for 15%. For the younger population and especially teenagers, growth hormone is essential for their development, and lack of sleep will lower the production of this hormone.

Symptoms of Sleep Disorders

Some people are so used to the bad sleeping patterns that they do not even consider them potential disorders. So now we are going to point out the main symptoms, and if they sound familiar to you, you might need to switch your sleeping habits.

• Fatigue – you are trying to sleep for the recommended amount of time, but you still experience daytime fatigue? It means that something is obstructing your sleep cycle and that your body fails to reach the phase of deep, restorative, REM sleep.
• Snoring – if your partner wakes you up or tells you the next day that you have been snoring, that is another sign of sleep disorder, most likely it is sleep apnea.
• Sleepiness – we all sometimes need a power nap during the day, but if you continuously feel excessive daytime sleepiness, you need to change your sleep routine. Once your head starts to fall down, or you fall asleep at work or behind the wheel, you need to try sleeping more or talk with your GP.
• Falling asleep – if you have issues with falling and staying asleep you might suffer from insomnia. In case these problems last for at least a month, you should go to the clinic or contact your GP because they won’t go away on their own so easily.
• Other health problems – if you already suffer from some health issues it may be hard at first to recognize a sleep disorder, but they usually go hand in hand with some other issues such as depression, illness, chronic pain, etc. One condition contributes to the development of the other one, and since combined they are not going to help you get better anytime soon, you need to consult your doctor.

How to Avoid Sleep Disorders?

It is always better to solve your health problems through natural way if it is possible. To avoid a sleep disorder you just need to change your habits and lifestyle and start a healthier routine that will provide you more shut-eye time.

• Caffeine – reduce the intake of the coffee afternoon, or at least after lunch, because caffeine stays in our system for hours after just one cup of coffee.
• Routine – make a sleep schedule and try sticking to it by going to bed every night at the approximately same time, before midnight.
• Water – although it is recommended to drink as much water as we can, we should avoid drinking it before going to bed, because it can force us to wake up to go to the bathroom.
• Food – try eating healthier, include more vegetables, fruits, fish, and cut out the sugary things such as sweets and salty snacks.
• Naps – shift workers and night owls like to take a nap for an hour or two during the afternoon. It compensates for the hours they lost during the night, but it can mess up their night sleep and create an enchanted circle.
• Bedroom – turn your bedroom into a sleep sanctuary, if possible take out the tv and computer from this room, and make it cozy and intimate. Maintain a cool temperature, aerate it daily and keep it dark.
• Exercise – being active is recommended, and it can help with sleeping better, but it should be avoided at least three hours before bedtime.