Category: news

Cancer stands alongside heart disease as a major reason folks in the United States find their journeys cut short. Many might nod their heads and say, “Sure, cancer messes with sleep,” but the truth goes deeper than many guess. The ache that cancer drags along can poke holes in your Z’s, and the treatments aiming to kick cancer’s butt? They’re no friends to your shut-eye either. Plus, the meds the docs hand out often pack a bunch of unwelcome surprises that can make catching those precious Z’s even trickier. And don’t get me started on chemo – it’s a whole different beast.

On top of that, getting insufficient rest is a severe risk for your immune system. As a result, there is evidence that supports the fact that a lack of sleep can itself lead or contribute to cancer. A vicious cycle can form for cancer patients, where cancer (and its treatment) causes poor sleep, weakening their immune system, which opens them up to various other illnesses and health risks, and exacerbates the symptoms of cancer and the discomfort, making them sleep even worse. In order to get some relief in this whole situation, it’s important to understand how cancer is connected to various sleep problems, and what to do if you’re struggling to fall asleep as a cancer patient.

Can a Lack of Sleep Cause Cancer?

We don’t have enough evidence that points towards sleeping as a contributing factor or a direct cause of cancer, thankfully. There is no reason as of yet to avoid getting a good night’s sleep (usually around 7-8 hours for adults) because sleep deprivation can be very harmful. It can be a disorder in itself and is one of the most common and easily noticed symptoms of other conditions. It’s hard to observe sleep deprivation in a vacuum as it has many potential causes, including ones that spontaneously occur during the day at no fault of the person in question. We will look at three sleeping disorders and examine how they contribute to the risk of cancer.

Chronic Sleep Deprivation and its Connection to Cancer

Chronic sleep deprivation is not an uncommon condition to face, and it has at least a handful of nasty outcomes for many activities and aspects of life. Here’s a brief list of sleep deprivation and fatigue consequences and risks, to paint a clearer picture:

• Your immune system gets weakened, leaving you vulnerable to many separate diseases and other conditions
• Unwanted weight loss or weight gain, depending on the individual. Not everyone is affected the same way by sleep deprivation
• Irritability and increased aggression are common among the sleep-deprived. It encourages the person to take more risks, which can cause workplace accidents. Fatigued people are also more susceptible to depression and similar issues
• Slower reaction times and worse hand-eye coordination are especially impactful for drivers and occupations where you need precision and sharp reactions.
• Worse memory and weakened cognitive power, which causes the person to have trouble processing new information, have worse judgment, etc.

Many things can contribute to or cause this condition. A common example is a hectic and busy work schedule, especially if you have to swap shifts – this situation can seriously ruin your sleeping pattern and reduce the time you spend in deep or REM sleep. Other causes can include depression, insomnia or similar conditions since those all hinder your ability to get proper rest. Finally, environmental issues like a noisy room can wake you up or increase your sleep onset latency. These causes can be hard to avoid or work around, which makes sleep deprivation a common problem for most people, even if only in short bursts.

Unfortunately, chronic sleep deprivation has been connected to cancer in a worrying number of studies. For example, post-menopausal women have a higher chance of getting a more aggressive version of breast cancer if they sleep less than they should. The chances of a man encountering prostate cancer double if they have chronic sleep deprivation and both genders have a significantly increased risk of colorectal cancer if they get less than six hours of rest per night on average.

Shift Work Sleep Disorder and its Connection to Cancer

Shift workers are in a very tough spot when it comes to their sleeping patterns and overall health. They often cannot hold a steady sleep pattern due to their ever-changing work shifts, which kicks their circadian clock off-balance and affects many processes in their body for the worse. It’s important to remember that the circadian rhythm controls more than just when you fall asleep or wake up – hormone secretion, body temperature, and similar systems are also affected when your circadian rhythm is disrupted. When the processes in your body are disrupted, it invites disease like few other things. Shift work sleep disorder (SWSD) is just one of several circadian rhythm disorders, but it has the strongest link to prostate, colon, ovary and breast cancer.

Breast cancer appears 30% more often in women who work night shifts, even if they don’t spend every workday handling the late shift. No matter how often it happens, the increased cancer risk is present – even for women who have grown “accustomed” to their new sleeping schedule after years of nothing but night shift work. It is suspected that this connection to cancer stems from what circadian rhythm disruption does to a person’s melatonin and cortisol production. The master clock regulates melatonin production, and that production is crippled for shift workers, leading to a reduced amount of melatonin overall – and this deficit directly contributes to an increased risk of cancer, For women, a lack of melatonin increases estrogen production, which can invite cancer if it’s present in excessive amounts. Similarly, cortisol production is delayed or disrupted, which means the level of cortisol in your body is delayed until the afternoon if you have to cover late shifts. While there hasn’t been enough research to make a full conclusion, this issue with cortisol is suspected of being a contributing factor to cancer.

Sleep Apnea and its Connection to Cancer

Sleep apnea is a sleeping disorder characterized by a temporary reduction or loss of breath while sleeping. As a result of this loss of breath, the sleeper may experience choking, loud snoring or gasping, which is almost guaranteed to wake them up multiple times each night, forcing them to suffer from fragmented sleep and all the consequences of the resulting fatigue. Most people will encounter two types of this disorder – central sleep apnea (CSA) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). OSA is caused by a physical blockage in the airways. While the person is sleeping, their throat muscles relax enough to let the tongue block the airway. CSA is characterized by the brain’s inability to properly regulate breathing muscles by sending electrical signals. Both types of sleep apnea are dealt with using PAP (positive air pressure) treatment, despite not having a real cure.

Sleep apnea has been linked to various health problems for a long time, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes or obesity. However, recent material also points towards cancer as a very likely potential result of sleep apnea. A whopping 80 percent of head or neck cancer patients have sleep apnea (though it’s not always severe), and the overall risk of death from cancer is 65 percent higher for those with severe sleep apnea. These results were replicated using animals such as rats – cancer growth is accelerated in rats who have breathing problems. The main theory researchers offer is that oxygen deprivation leads to an increased amount of blood vessels created by the body in order to compensate, which lets cancer grow and spread faster.

How Cancer Affects Your Sleep?

More than 50 percent of adults currently undergoing cancer treatment encounter some sort of problem sleeping. Not only cancer itself causes massive discomfort and pain, but the treatment procedures are also not exactly sleep-friendly. Both medication use and chemotherapy cause enough problems to disrupt your sleeping pattern (such as night sweats or hot flashes) and force you to go through fatigue. Additionally, you become more vulnerable to depression and anxiety – incredibly common causes of insomnia and similar sleep disorders. We will examine some of the most common sleeping disorders caused by and associated with cancer – insomnia and restless leg syndrome.

Insomnia and Cancer

Insomnia is possibly the most commonly known sleep disorder, and it appears here as a very likely outcome of cancer treatment – affecting around 30-50 percent of all cancer patients. Both chemotherapy and “regular” medication contribute to insomnia. Chemotherapy medicine is well known to cause considerable amounts of fatigue, and it’s very easy to doze off during the day as a result. However, these daytime naps create sleeping problems when it’s time for a full night’s rest, which manifests as full-blown insomnia.

Additionally, dealing with cancer inevitably causes a lot of anxiety, stress, and general emotional instability. These issues only reduce your chances of getting a restorative night of uninterrupted sleep. Be sure to seek out support from your friends and family, as this is one of the most difficult periods of life you could ever face.

The main medication you get to supplement the chemotherapy plan are steroids, which are known to cause disrupted or fragmented sleep and increase sleep onset latency (the time it takes you to fall asleep). In order for your body to recover properly during the night, you cannot afford sleep interruptions. Every time you wake up in the middle of the night, you lose out on a portion of deep and REM sleep that you need for physical and mental repairs. As a result of this, you wake up tired and groggy, and the symptoms of cancer slowly get amplified. Another type of medication used to relieve the side-effects of chemotherapy is anti-nausea pills. The problem with this medication is that it increases drowsiness – especially during the day. It is another source of “temptation” that can lead to daytime naps and overall poor sleep quality.

Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) and Cancer

Studies show that restless legs syndrome affects a lot of cancer patients who are undergoing chemotherapy. Tools like the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale were used on third-stage chemotherapy patients, and the results are very clear. 20% of patients screened positive for restless legs syndrome, and over half of all patients reported sleep disturbances. According to the tests conducted by researchers conducting this study, both RLS and sleep disturbances, in general, are directly or indirectly linked to the level of discomfort and stress caused by chemotherapy and supplemental medication. Experts suggest that patients suffering from RLS should have their treatment plan altered to work around this condition, as the amount of lost sleep only amplifies their symptoms overall.

Additionally, it has been discovered that people who have cancer are around twice as likely to encounter restless leg syndrome – especially men (older than 50 years) dealing with prostate cancer and women dealing with breast cancer.

Additional Therapy Options

If you’re struggling to fall asleep as a result of cancer treatment, some forms of therapy can at least alleviate that problem. While it eats up more of your spare time, additional therapy can improve your quality of life and strengthen your immune system through improved sleep quality and quantity. These options include:

• Light therapy, a treatment method that helps fix a disrupted circadian rhythm without the use of medication, by exposing the patient to light boxes or special lamps that stimulate the biological clock’s light receptors. Depending on which “direction” your circadian rhythm was pushed, you will either engage in light therapy in the morning or afternoon.
• Sleep restriction therapy (SRT) is a method used to fight insomnia by reducing the amount of time the patient spends in bed without sleeping. SRT essentially forces enough sleepiness on the patient that their sleep onset latency is drastically improved when the time comes to head to bed. Any activities in bed that aren’t sleeping or sex are eliminated from their routine. It may be hard to avoid daytime naps, but it pays off in the long run.
• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) trains the patient’s mind to recontextualize sleep and associate comfortable and positive feelings with their bed and sleeping environment to combat insomnia. It often involves relaxation exercises and some form of stimulus control, which tends to resemble sleep restriction therapy in its approach and goals.

Have you ever wondered why we have such a strong urge to eat snacks or junk food late at night? Is there a real reason or explanation for our late-night food cravings? Luckily, science has an answer, so keep reading to find out the whole story.

The amount of sleep that we have affects the level of our body’s energy and release of hormones, and when we do not get enough sleep, our appetite increases as a consequence. Sleep deprivation and obesity are two major health-related problems that affect millions of Americans, so it is not a surprise that they often go hand in hand. Our hectic lifestyles leave little or no space for regular sleeping habits but also for a healthy and balanced meal schedule, which is the reason why many choose to skip their breakfast or overeat during the late evening hours. One problem triggers another, and bad sleeping habits lead to irregular and unhealthy meals, which results in gaining weight.

Sleep deprivation begins as soon as you get less than 7 hours of sleep, that triggers many different problems with the way our body functions, and even just one hour less of rest can cause problems with our immune system, hormone release, etc. Lack of sleep increases our appetite while it is reducing the level of satiety at the same time, which cause us to crave particularly sugary food and carbs. If this condition lasts, and we continuously overeat, that increases our body weight and blood sugar level. The good news is that, if you are not chronically sleep-deprived, and it lasts only a few days, you can quickly reverse the adverse effects of it by simply giving yourself a few nights of proper 8 hours of sleep. Although it is comforting to know that, don’t rely on it too much and try avoiding unhealthy sleep patterns because it will be better for your health in the long run.

Loss of Sleep and Appetite

From a scientific point of view, it is all about hormones, they are in charge of our food cravings, and they suggest when we are full or hungry. Leptin is a hormone with a primary role to maintain the body’s weight, and it is released by the fat cells, so people who have more body fat will also have an increased level of leptin. With lower weight and body fat percentage, the level of leptin decreases. Leptin is the hormone in charge of signaling fullness to the brain, but when, for example, someone loses weight, and the level of leptin falls, that can trigger a sudden increase of appetite and food cravings, which hinders weight loss process.

When the body is functioning normally, excess fat cells produce leptin which is a signal to the hypothalamus to lower down the appetite, but the problem occurs with obese people who have above the average presence of leptin in their blood, because they are more prone to develop leptin resistance or lack of response to the hormone. Having a naturally low level of leptin is rare, but it happens, and this is called congenital leptin deficiency, which basically means that something is preventing our body from producing leptin. Low production of leptin, tricks our body into thinking that it has no fat, which results in with a strong feeling of hunger or cravings. This condition is usually common among kids and teenagers, and it is treated with leptin injections.

The second hormone essential for our appetite is called ghrelin. The ghrelin hormone is vital for appetite and the release of growth hormone, it is mostly produced in the stomach and small intestine, but some smaller amounts of it are also released in our brain and pancreas. It has many roles, and one of them is appetite control which is the reason why ghrelin became known as the “hunger hormone.” Ghrelin has an impact on the hypothalamus, which is the part of the brain in charge of appetite control, but it can also have an effect on some other parts of the brain which control reward processing. Besides that, it helps with the control of the release of insulin, and it has an overall protective role of the cardiovascular system.

When we are missing sleep, our body drops down its level of leptin, while at the same time level of ghrelin increases, which signals the feeling of hunger. For example, it has been shown that people who suffer from chronic insomnia, have a below average level of ghrelin, around 30% lower than the people who get enough sleep, while their level of leptin stays in the boundaries of the normal during the night. That suggests that insomnia promotes weight loss, not weight gain, but that does not mean that people who suffer from insomnia are safe from weight gain, because, during the day, their level of ghrelin suddenly increases for more than average, which stimulates the appetite. This dysregulation of the balance might be the cause of why so many insomnia sufferers gain weight over time.

Besides changes in the levels of ghrelin and leptin, sleep loss also impacts orexin levels in the brain. Orexin is a neuropeptide, also known as hypocretin, and it is in charge of regulation of wakefulness, arousal, and appetite, so it is pretty clear why it is so important for this topic. Neurons that produce orexin are located in the hypothalamus and perifornical area, and there is usually between 10.000 and 20.000 of them, which is not much, but since orexin was “recently” discovered in 1998. a lot of things about the way it works are still unclear and remain a mystery.

When we are tired and sleep-deprived, there are not many things that we are willing to do, but eating is not one of those things that we are ready to neglect so easy. Somehow at that state, we manage to find the energy and enthusiasm to eat, and that can be connected to the orexin because its system is more active when we are sleep-deprived. Usually, people who suffer from narcolepsy have a decrease of orexin, and a study performed on narcoleptic dogs showed that when they get exposed to food, they often experience a sudden cataplectic attack, which suggests us that something has been triggered in their orexin circuit.

When it comes to sexes, surprisingly there are some differences between men and women. After periods of poor sleep, men responded with a higher level of ghrelin than women did.

Can Lack of Sleep Cause Diabetes?

When it comes to serious health problems such as diabetes, we are aware that our family medical history and what we eat are mainly responsible for it, but the loss of sleep has also been connected to it as a possible cause. Sleep deprivation is often overlooked, but it is, in fact, a significant risk factor for type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes, and it usually signals that our body is not using insulin correctly, that it has insulin resistance. It is treated with changes in lifestyle, pills, and insulin. Insulin is a hormone produced in our pancreas, and it allows our body to use sugar from the food, while also regulating the level of our blood sugar. Our body cells need sugar for energy, but sugar cannot go directly into most of the cells – insulin is that key hormone that signals to the cells when they need and can absorb sugar. When our body is not producing enough insulin, or there is a state of insulin resistance, that leads to higher level of blood sugar, and many more other complications.

When our body is producing less insulin due to sleep loss, it also produces less stress hormones, for example, cortisol, which keeps us awake while hindering the way insulin should do its job. As a consequence of that, too much sugar (glucose) remains in our bloodstream, which increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. It has been proven that this is a possible outcome for people who sleep between 4 and 6 hours each night because they are not getting enough of that deep, restorative sleep which plays an important role in the maintenance of optimal insulin sensitivity and control of the blood sugar.

Lack of sleep messes our hormone levels, and it increases the level of cytokines in our bloodstream, which can sometimes result in insulin resistance. Another cause of it can be the increased release of growth hormone. While people who sleep regularly experience the release of growth hormone during their shut-eye time, researchers have found out that for people who are skipping on sleep that works a bit differently. The release of growth hormone from the brain is somehow split into two portions in people who are chronically losing their sleep. That means that instead of one portion of growth hormone per night, they get two, one before they fall asleep, and the other one after. Higher exposure to growth hormone throughout the body can lead to an increase in insulin resistance.

Tips for Developing Better Sleeping Habits

Since now you have read how serious the consequences of sleep loss on your health can be, it is time to turn to those positive things that you can do to prevent that and improve your health and lifestyle.

• Exercise – regular exercise improves our health, and it will help all those sleep-deprived night owls to get more tired and hopefully fall asleep earlier and on time. Just try avoiding exercising right before the desirable bedtime, it is optimal to exercise at least four hours before because a higher level of endorphin and body temperature can keep us awake.
• Natural light – exposing yourself to more natural light will help your body improve its circadian rhythm, and it will be easier for the body to recognize when the night begins to fall.
• Scheduled meals – eating healthy and regularly is also essential. Moderated and timed portions of food should be practiced each day, at approximately the same time, which will help our body to develop patterns and release hormones at the same time. Avoid eating before bed, high-fat junk food and sugary food especially, because not only that it is not good or healthy, but those digestive processes can interfere with your sleep.
• Bedtime routine – by now we should all probably know the benefits of a healthy sleep routine, consistent sleep schedule will train our brain to release the sleep hormones at the same time each day. Try sticking up to this routine even during the weekends, and your body will be grateful.
• Stress – this is a major cause of insomnia and sleep deprivation among people, and although it seems hard, it is important to find a way of going to bed relaxed and free of worries. Yoga and meditation can reduce stress and also help with insomnia symptoms, but if that’s not your thing, try finding something that will relax you before falling asleep.

Heading out on a trip? Don’t forget, the quality of your sleep can make or break your travel experience! Get enough shut-eye, and you’re primed to enjoy every moment of your destination. Cut corners on sleep, however, and you can kiss those enjoyable sightseeing excursions goodbye—you’ll only be dreaming of them when you’re snoozing early in the evening instead.
Keeping alert and energetic is key to making the most of each opportunity without succumbing to fatigue. Whether you’re exploring historic sites or soaking up the sunshine on pristine beaches, proper rest is the fuel for those memorable days. And here’s a piece of advice: achieving sound sleep while traveling isn’t some far-fetched idea. It involves a mix of smart practices and tricks that can help even the lightest sleeper get quality rest. Uncover these strategies and wake up feeling invigorated, ready to tackle your travel itinerary with enthusiasm. Believe me, mastering this can significantly enhance your travel experiences, making them memorable for a lifetime.

Two main choices that we have when it comes to accommodation are hotels and hostels. For some of us, sleeping in a hotel room can be challenging. We are simply used to our beds, and can’t seem to relax properly in a new environment. As a result, our quality of shut-eye can suffer. If you are wondering “what is a hostel?”, well, it is also a type of accommodation but with less elegance and privacy, at more affordable prices compared to hotels. If we choose hostels, getting enough sleep is even more challenging as, besides the same problems that we may have in a hotel, we also share our room with strangers. It is much more difficult to relax when you are surrounded by people that you don’t even know and have to sleep in the same room as them. In case you have troubles resting properly at night, we will suggest some things that you can do to sleep well in a hostel. 

Do Your Research 

You need to take into consideration a few things before you book a hostel, such as reputation. Some hostels have a reputation of being peaceful and quiet while others are known as party hostels. Staying in so-called party hostels is an excellent way to meet new people, and usually, solo travelers prefer them. They often organize social events for their guests, host parties, etc. Although they are a perfect option if you want to meet fellow travelers and have fun, they are not very good for sleep, especially if the parties last until late at night.  

On the other hand, peaceful hostels may not be very fun, but you will certainly be able to get enough quality sleep. Don’t forget to consider the reputation before choosing a hostel. Another vital thing is the location, as having easy access to public transport, airports, and attractions is the key to having an amazing trip. You should also check if the neighborhood where a particular hostel is located is safe, as it will help you relax and sleep well. Reading online reviews is also very helpful as it will help you find out whether a hostel is neat, clean, has lockers, free WiFi, hairdryers, breakfast, and more. 

Choose Your Room Carefully 

Hostels have different room types, and you need to decide which one you prefer. Female travelers, especially if they are staying in a hostel alone, usually prefer female-only rooms, which are offered at most hotels. It is crucial to choose something that will make you feel comfortable and safe. Sizes of rooms also very, as some have three beds, while others can have up to 15 beds, maybe even more. Many people prefer smaller rooms as they want to share a room with fewer strangers. Keep in mind that dorm rooms are cheaper, but the mixed dorm hostel experience offers less privacy. However, in case you are traveling with a group, you can book an entire private room all to yourself, which is often even cheaper than opting for individual beds.  

Be Wise When Choosing Your Bed 

If you want to sleep comfortably throughout the night, you should choose your bed wisely. In case you are the first person to walk into the room, you should pick a bed that is furthest from the door, and away from the toilet. That way, you will enjoy a night of undisturbed sleep as people leaving the room or going to the bathroom during the night won’t wake you up. Additionally, it is a wise idea to opt for bottom bunk beds as they are easy to get in and out of, and you can hide your belongings under the bed frame. However, make sure your feet are at the end of the ladder, to avoid someone kicking you in the face when climbing down the ladder at night. It is also easier to charge your phone if you are close to the ground.  

Don’t Forget to Pack Earplugs 

You need to keep in mind that, even if you choose a peaceful hostel, it will never be completely noise-free. If you want to block out the inside and outside noise, and get enough good night’s sleep, one of the best ways to prevent this noise from disturbing you is to use earplugs. Unfortunately, some people find them uncomfortable, but if you are not one of them, you should consider this noise-blocking option.  

Pack a Sleeping Mask 

Another sleep-friendly item that you should consider using is a sleeping mask. It will save you from being woken up when someone turns on the lights during the night or points a phone torch to your face. These masks will also block out the light from the street and hallway, and they can help you fall asleep faster since your eyes will be closed. All in all, a sleeping mask is an excellent item that will aid your sleep. 

Go to Bed Early 

If you want to increase your chances of getting enough shut-eye, you should consider going to bed early. One of the most common problems that people staying in hostels have is that they lose sleep because of the noise. However, if you avoid this noise, you will be able to sleep properly. If you are already asleep when people causing the noise arrive, and use earplugs and sleeping mask, you probably won’t wake up until the morning. On the other hand, if the noise has already started, you will have a hard time drifting off to dreamland. 

Dress in Layers 

When you stay in a hostel room, you never know what the temperature is during the night. If a room is warm during the day, it doesn’t mean that it will stay warm at night. Also, if you are cold when you go to sleep, it doesn’t mean that room won’t get warm during the night because of the heat that all people in the room will generate from their bodies. If you want to sleep comfortably, it is the best idea to dress in layers. You should pack light PJs, socks, blanket, and even a hoodie, and if it gets cold, you should put on the additional layers. 

Use Sleeping Pills 

If the tips mentioned above don’t help you, and you are still struggling to get enough shut-eye, it is worth to consider using sleeping pills. You just need to find a pharmacy or a good supermarket and buy them. These pills work, and they will help you get enough rest at night and feel refreshed and full of energy in the morning, instead of being sleepy and tired the next day because of the lack of rest. 

Benefits of Staying in a Hostel 

Some of the advantages of staying in a hostel include: 

Location 

In most cases, hostels are converted from older apartments and homes, and they are usually located in the center of major cities. On the other hand, hotels can’t say the same thing because of the strict building restrictions and codes. Hostels are not as popular in the United States, but they can be found anywhere in Europe, in most major cities. Also, they are usually near tourist sites and public transport lines. 

Uniqueness 

Each hostel is one of a kind and has a unique charm due to age. Hostels are not like hotels, where, when you see one, you have seen them all. Also, every hostel has in-house owners that can tell you more about the city, point you in the right direction, and more. 

Price 

The primary reason why people choose to stay in a hostel is the price. Some travelers opt for hostels because they can’t afford to stay in an expensive hotel. However, even people with large enough budgets often want to stay in a hostel because they simply think that spending a lot of money on accommodation is pointless, and they rather spend more cash on traveling and trying different things. Let’s be realistic, when we go on a trip, we remember the things that we have tried, and sight that we have seen, but we rarely remember how our hotel room looked like. That’s why many people want to cut down on accommodation costs. Of course, the prices of hostels vary from country to country, but it most cases, they are up to 70% cheaper than other forms of accommodation. 

Dining 

In some hostels, breakfast is included in the price while in others you have to pay extra for it, but the price is usually cheap. You can expect a good breakfast for this price, but you shouldn’t expect anything extravagant. You’ll get what you paid for. Also, hostels usually have fully equipped kitchens, and you can cost down the cost of eating out by cooking your food. It is a great way not only to save money on food but also to meet new people while preparing food together. However, make sure you clean up after yourself, and if you leave any food in the fridge, you should label it. 

Friendliness 

Another benefit of choosing hostels is that you have a chance to meet travelers from all over the world. You can talk to them, ask where they are from, and find out many interesting things about their countries and the places that they have visited. Also, you will be able to meet like-minded travelers, which is especially beneficial if you are traveling alone and need some company. You will also have a lot of fun in a hostel as they often organize parties, and some hostels even have hangout rooms filled with TVs, DVDs and games. Sometimes, hostels even have built-in bars and cafes where you can socialize and enjoy great drink specials. 

Helpful Staff 

Staff in hostels is generally helpful and friendly, and a perfect source of information about things that you want to see and do in the area, especially if your budget is limited. Since they are familiar with the city, they will recommend different things that are affordable to you. Also, they often organize tours of the area, and in some cases, these tours are completely free. 

Drawbacks of Staying in a Hostel 

Besides all the benefits mentioned above, hostels also have a fair share of disadvantages. If you are not very open-minded, you should consider booking a hotel instead. Some of the drawbacks include: 

The Lack of Privacy 

If you decide to stay in a hostel, you most probably won’t have your own room. Some hostels offer rooms with one bed, but something like this is rare. Even when hostels have private single and double rooms, they are in high demand, and usually not available, except if you book them months in advance. In most cases, you need to share a room with several other people, which is not an ideal solution for those who desire privacy. Things can get pretty cramped in a hostel, and your personal space will only be limited to your locker and bed. Bathrooms are also shared, which means that you will share a bathroom with a dozen people, which is not only uncomfortable to some, but it also often results in long waits to take a shower, or in the lack of hot water. If this sounds unpleasant, you should go to a hotel. 

Old Buildings with Simple Furnishings 

As we already mentioned, hostels are usually located in old buildings. Although this adds to their uniqueness, their age also has disadvantages, such as that they probably don’t have air conditioning, tend to get very cold during winter months, elevators can malfunction, and more. Problems tend to be quite common in old buildings. Furnishings usually range from bunk beds in bedrooms to old furniture in the lobby, and this lack of redecorating is one of the primary reasons why hostels can stay so inexpensive. Additionally, sometimes, they are located on streets with vacant buildings nearby, which can make travelers nervous. 

The Risk of Theft 

Another downside of hostels is that there is always a risk of theft. You share a room with around several people, sometimes more and sometimes less, and you have never met them before. When you are in a room full of strangers, you never know what someone can do. Although thefts in hostels have become less and less common, they are still a concern, and you are especially at risk if there aren’t any lockers or safes to put your belongings. You can avoid this risk by carrying valuable things with you, but it can be inconvenient. 

Bonus Tips for Staying in Hostels 

Now that you know more about the benefits and drawbacks of staying in a hostel and tips that can help you get enough sleep, we will suggest some bonus hostel tips. They will be especially beneficial if you are staying in a hostel for the first time.  

• Don’t talk loudly when someone is trying to sleep.
• Hide your valuable belongings under the pillow or a mattress. It is a better idea to hide your valuables in the further corner under your mattress or pillow than to worry that someone will steal your things.
• Don’t hit the light switch if others are sleeping. Instead, you should use your phone as a torch. 
• Turn off your ringtone during the night or leave your phone on vibrate.
• Use the lockers, even if you are in a private room.
• Drink responsibly.
• Hide your money.
• Copy your passport and other documents and email them to you.
• Pack flip-flops as you will need them for the bathroom.
• Bring a fast-drying towel.
• Bring a padlock to secure your things.
• Get a multifunctional power plug adapter.
• Don’t pack lots of toiletries. Instead, get refillable travel-sized bottles. 
• Don’t pack too much stuff.
• Leave your laptop at home.
• Leave fancy valuables at home, including expensive jewelry and pricey cameras.
• Pack a flashlight.
• Use plastic cutlery if you are worried about the cleanliness of the hostel’s cutlery.
• Be nice to the staff. 

Around the world, the prevalence of asthma ranges from 1% to 18% in various populations, with higher occurrences in countries that are more developed industrially. Individuals with asthma deal with daily symptoms including coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, and difficulty in breathing. Moreover, these symptoms often increase in severity at nighttime, leading to a condition known as nocturnal asthma. This night-time worsening of asthma symptoms elevates the risk of further health complications and urgent asthma events, affecting over 60% of those with the condition. As a result, nocturnal asthma frequently causes significant disruptions to sleep, contributing to a rise in sleep-related issues in those affected.

This article will focus mostly on sleep issues with the presence of nocturnal asthma. Learn more about the types of disorders that frequently comorbid this condition, as well as how they might be recognized and treated.

What is Asthma?

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects the lung airways of our body, making them highly sensitive and easily triggered into an asthma attack. During such an episode, an individual’s mucus production goes overboard, and their normally open airways start swelling and narrowing, reducing or completely stopping the oxygen flow into their lungs. If not properly and timely managed, such an episode can result in death. In fact, over 345 thousand people around the world die from this disease every year, the majority of this number making people who have lower incomes and live in developed countries (putting them at a higher chance to get asthma than people in developing countries, but a lower chance to be able to afford medical help whenever necessary).

Triggers for an asthma attack vary from person to person, but the possibilities are many; some common ones include:

•         Allergens like mold, dust, pollen, animal hair, etc.
•         Polluted air or strong odors – such as smoke or perfume
•         Illness. Virus, flu or even a common cold may trigger an attack due to the increased mucus production, worsened coughing, etc.
•         Temperature and weather changes
•         Specific foods or food groups
•         Laughter
•         Certain medications like aspirin or beta blockers

This disease can be traced all the way back to Ancient Egypt when it got its name with the meaning “panting” in Greek. In modern years, the incidence rate has increased significantly – one in every thirteen people in America has asthma, making up the staggering number of 25 million Americans suffering from this disease. Statistically speaking, severe asthma strikes boys and girls equally, but in adults, it’s more prevalent in women.

Still, the cause of this increased rate isn’t known. Possibilities include some epigenetic changes (changes made in non-DNA genes and not affecting the DNA) in the patients and some environmental changes. The cause of asthma is also the subject of ongoing research; it is believed to be a combination of genetic predisposition and some environmental factors like exposure to allergens or respiratory infections at an early age, before one’s immunity got a chance to form properly. Arguably, changes in our surroundings into a more polluted, urban landscape as the industrialization progressed contributed to the increased rate of this disease, triggering already present “risk” genes into onsetting asthma in the many people who suffer it. It would also explain why developed countries have a heightened incidence rate of this disease than developing countries.

Asthma first occurs in one’s childhood and may resolve in time, although in many cases, it is a lifelong condition that can’t be cured. However, treating asthma is possible and effective, keeping it under control and enabling individuals with this disease to have normal, happy lives.

Nocturnal Asthma

All people have more difficulties breathing during sleep, particularly around 4 A.M. but these issues are not big enough to stop our body from functioning normally and having a sound rest. For people with asthma, who struggle with breathing even during daytime, this time of night comes with additional problems and significant danger – statistics show that over 70% or respiratory arrests and deaths caused by asthma happen at night. Coughing, wheezing and other asthmatic symptoms happening persistently and worsened at nighttime is what over 75% of people with asthma experience at least once a week. For others, it gets even worse. Perhaps this is the reason why many children with asthma first start to show symptoms at bedtime or during sleep.

Nocturnal asthma is problematic in more than one way. To begin with, it disrupts one’s sleep; struggling to fall asleep, only to be woken up a few hours later by a sudden cough attack is not the least bit pleasant, especially if it keeps happening night after night. People who regularly experience nocturnal asthma over time become sleep deprived and often develop other sleep-related issues or sleep disorders. Furthermore, sleep deprivation has a negative impact on one’s overall health, impairing the immune system and thus increasing the risk of an asthma attack during any time of the day. Nocturnal asthma is often trickier to handle because other people are sleeping; this poses an even bigger threat for a child with nocturnal asthma as an attack might be triggered with nobody available to react in time.

The cause of nocturnal asthma is unknown. Researchers are pointing to a few possible factors which, combined, could cause or worsen the existing symptoms in an individual.

• Hormonal factors. At night, our brain naturally secrets a smaller dose of epinephrine and a higher dose of histamine. The first of these hormones has a role in keeping our airways open, while the latter one shuts them down. In effect, the consequence of this combination is airway obstruction, if only partial.
• Environmental factors. An allergen present in one’s bedroom could trigger nocturnal asthma. Another possibility is that an allergen was initially encountered earlier during the day, but an individual’s organism is reacting to it several hours later. Many people with asthma experience the so-called “late phase response” which makes it harder to identify what triggers their symptoms.
• Stress. A factor with direct impact to all aspects of one’s life, and frequently the one most difficult to address; stress is regularly listed as an asthma attack trigger. By extension, exposure to stress before bedtime could result in nocturnal asthma and even some sleep disorders.
• Indoor air. Cold and dry air, as regulated by an air condition system, can trigger asthma symptoms. The room in which one sleeps should be cool, but not below that. To address the dryness of the air, introducing a humidifier into the bedroom might be a good idea.
• The body’s position during sleep. The lying position is tougher for our airflow. Mucus production, drainage, and post nasal drip tend to build up in our body’s pipe system more while we are in that position. Combine that with the previously mentioned hormone production and breathing becomes quite a challenge.
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), or acid reflux, is a chronic condition which causes one’s stomach acid to rise into the esophagus, frequently resulting in vomiting, acid-like taste in the mouth, heartburn, teeth and breathing problems. The majority of people who have asthma also have acid reflux. In the lying position, the acid can reach all the way to your throat, blocking airways and triggering an asthma attack. The side-effect of many asthma drugs is loosening the path your stomach contents pass through if you have GERD, making it even easier for this problem to happen.

Some additional risk factors include living in a city, smoking, being obese or having allergic rhinitis.

Nocturnal Asthma in Children

This phenomenon is potentially dangerous for all people with asthma, but particularly so for children. A child will often underreport what happens during the night, and as a result, their parents might not be aware of the full extent of the issues the child faces. Because of this, many children will go without appropriate treatment, heightening their mortality risk and aggravating daytime symptoms unnecessarily.

A study researched the effect of nocturnal asthma on children and their parents alike. The children displayed poorer academic performance and increased incidence of problematic behavior, as well as reduced overall quality of their and their parents’ lives. The more bad nights the child had, the lower was the quality and the length of sleep in the parents as well; both the parents and kids were also more likely to miss work and school than non-asthmatic children and their parents.

Children with nocturnal asthma are more likely to develop sleep disorders than their peers without such a condition. The most common sleep issues in children include:

• • Insomnia, waking up in the middle of the night (the maintenance type of insomnia)
  • Sleepwalking and other parasomnias
  • Excessive daytime sleepiness
  • Sleep-related breathing disorders like obstructive sleep apnea, or central sleep apnea (less common type)

Adults and children who have asthma are more likely to have sleep-related issues such as difficulties maintaining sleep, lower quality of sleep and excessive sleepiness due to those or other issues. Obstructive sleep apnea strikes about 70% more people who have asthma than people without it and remains the most common issue for children with asthma. Many adults with asthma get diagnosed with insomnia as well, resulting in sleep deprivation, unhappiness and a higher risk of mental health disorders like depression or anxiety.

How to Sleep Better with Asthma

Try to follow at least a few of the tips below to help ease your asthma symptoms and promote healthy sleep.

• Follow your asthma treatment plan. Take prescribed medication in appropriate doses and keep your inhaler by the bed. Start writing an asthma diary. Keep track of what you did during the day, what you were doing when your symptoms got triggered, what made you feel better, etc. After a while, a pattern will form, giving you a more precise overview of what’s going on, and it will certainly be of help to a doctor should you need to see one. If your nocturnal asthma is waking you up during the night more than once a week even though you are taking measures to subside the issue, consider scheduling another appointment with your doctor; it may turn out that your problem is caused by a second condition additional to asthma. Sleep disorders and other medical conditions are not rare to comorbid this disease.
• Treat secondary conditions like acid reflux or sleep disorders. Medication used to treat GERD often relieve asthma symptoms as well. Besides medication, you can try to slightly elevate your head when lying down to make sure stomach acid can’t reach your throat. For obstructive sleep apnea, CPAP therapy is recommended. It works via a mask that is connected to a machine designed to keep check of breathing and regulate the airflow during your sleep – you simply put the mask on and go to bed. To get a prescription for CPAP therapy, you will need to be diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea first. This treatment might even help with your asthma symptoms, but it’s intended only for OSA.
• Make sure your room is allergen-free. This includes changing your bedding frequently, avoiding fabric softeners or other potentially irritating substances, using a mattress encasement, keeping pets out, regularly dusting and cleaning the room. Finally, consider getting a HEPA filter to help keep the air in your room clear of any other allergens that might be conspiring against you.
• Maintain a cool, dark and comfortable setting in your room. Get a humidifier if the air is dry, install dimmable lights, adjust your thermostat to maintain a cool (not cold) temperature and save the smartphone use for outside the bedroom.
• Deal with stress. Do all you can to avoid it: practice mindfulness and gratitude, try meditating or doing yoga. These methods also help release stress once the damage is already done. Stress doesn’t include just the things that annoy you; watching a horror movie or getting otherwise stimulated before bedtime will keep you alert, making it difficult to wind down and fall asleep. Instead, do such activities earlier during the day, and set up a bedtime routine to follow every day. This should be a healthy but not overly-complicated ritual: simple things like brushing your teeth, taking a shower, changing into your PJs and turning off your phone are enough to make a difference in your relationship with sleep. As your mind gets more used to repeating this set of tasks, it will learn to expect sleep soon after and reduce the amount of time you spend tossing and turning in bed before falling asleep. If you take these measures, not just the onset will be faster, but also the quality of your sleep will improve.
• Eat well and exercise. You heard this one before but it’s worth reminding – foods high in sugar and fat do nothing to promote good sleep. Eat a balanced diet that highlights vegetables, fruits and leafy greens in the evening, or any other time of day for that matter. It will also help keep your weight in check, which is significant for asthma as obesity is a known trigger for this disease. On top of that, working out at least two or three times a week is sure to help you sleep, as long as you don’t do it in the late afternoon or evening. Regular exercise has been shown to improve one’s immune system and overall health, acting as a supporting line of defense against colds and viruses and thus minimizing any potential asthma flare-ups.

The performance of our brain changes depending on our current state and this can be monitored using an electroencephalogram (EEG). For our brain to function optimally, it is crucial that neurons communicate continuously, which is facilitated by electrical and chemical signals. The chemical signals include a variety of neurotransmitters and neurohormones, each with various functions. Conversely, electrical signals are produced by the flow of ions into and out of the neuron’s cell membrane, providing a faster way to transmit information, especially across long distances.

The oscillatory neural impulses in the central nervous system are called brain waves. There are four different basic types of brain waves. Beta waves happen when we are awake, active, and engaging in some activity that includes cognitive involvement. Alpha waves represent the non-aroused resting state. Theta waves occur during light stages of sleep, while delta waves have the lowest frequency, and they are reserved for deep, restorative sleep.

Sleep spindles and K-complexes are electromagnetic waves that are indicators of non-REM sleep.

What Are Sleep Spindles

There are mainly two types of sleep, rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM sleep (NREM). NREM sleep is composed of three stages. First two are attributed as light sleep, while the third one is considered a phase of deep rest. Each sleep cycle has all of the stages, and it usually lasts around 90 minutes.

Stage 2 of non-REM sleep is where we spend most of our time while sleeping, as much as 50% of total sleep time. It is a time when our breathing and heart rate slow down, your senses are lowered, and your brain is producing theta waves with an amplitude of 4 to 8 Hertz.

Sleep spindles are exclusive for Stage 2 sleep. They are oscillatory neural activity generated in the thalamus during this part of light sleep. They are called spindles because of how they look when the EEG image is printed out. Sleep spindles happen in short bursts that last from 0.5 to 1.5 seconds and register frequencies of 11 to 15 Hertz. There are essentially two types:

• Slow spindles, with frequencies from 11 to 13 Hertz, are produced in the frontal cortical brain regions.
• Fast spindles that record frequencies from 13 to 15 Hertz, and are usually produced in central and parietal brain sections.

Sleep spindles begin to develop when the baby reaches six weeks of age. Research indicates that some essential brain activities occur while sleep spindles are happening, whether it is during nighttime sleep or daytime naps.

What Are K-Complexes?

K-complexes (KCs) appear only in Stage 2 of NREM sleep, just like sleep spindles. Unlike short bursts of activity, KCs are large waves that stick out on an EEG reading.

KCs form as a reaction to some stimulus in the environment, including noise, touch on the skin, or any other external stimuli. They are usually accompanied by sleep spindles, as your brain tries to stay asleep, and not wake up due to external distractions.

K-complexes are found to develop much later than sleep spindles, and they can be observed in six-month-old babies.

Abnormal K-complex activity has been with some sleep disorders, including restless legs syndrome (RLS), obstructive sleep apnea, and also epilepsy. For instance, in RLS, there is an increased number of KCs just before the leg movements.

The Importance of Sleep Spindles

Since we spend so much time in Stage 2 sleep, there must be something pretty important happening during that time. Scientists are still trying to figure out everything about them, but here are some things that we do know.

One of the primary sources of sleep spindles is thalamus, a part of the brain that is in charge of processing outside sensations, and it also plays a role in regulating sleep. Other important sources are cortical regions that are in charge of encoding memory. Sleep spindles are thought to be an indicator of the transfer of information from the hippocampus which is considered to be fast short-term storage, to neocortex that is a supposed to be a place for storing long-term memories.

That is why sleep spindles are correlated with better memory and higher index of intelligence. For instance, when a person is learning something new, the frequency of sleep spindles increase during the following night. It also goes both ways, the more spindles a person produces during the night, the better he performs the skill that he learned the previous day. That’s why scientists firmly believe that spindles are a sign a memory transfer.

Stage 2 of sleep is also found to last longer in the second part of the night, so cutting your nightly slumber short may not be the best idea. That is why you feel that cognitive decline after a day of sleep deprivation. You haven’t experienced as much sleep spindles, and your concentration, memory, and ability to learn are impaired.

And this is consistent with EEG findings in babies and the elderly. There are more sleep spindles recorded in babies, which makes a lot of sense since they are developing and learning, so their brains are like a sponge, just soaking in all the information from the outside.

When it comes to older adults, the number of sleep spindles during resting period decrease. That is correlated with declining of cognitive and motor skills, as well as disrupted sleep.

Sleep spindles play another vital role in protecting the integrity of our sleep. It is shown that higher spindle density means that a higher amount of noise is needed to wake the person up, so people who produce more spindles get a night of better quality sleep. This makes sense as thalamus is the primary source of spindles, and it also plays a role in receiving information from the outside, so they are kind of like a gatekeeper.

We already mentioned that older people experience fewer sleep spindles, and they also have more disrupted sleep, so they are easily woken up during light sleep, and it is harder for them to accomplish deep sleep, that is needed to restore correctly.

Fortunately, melatonin supplements seem to promote sleep spindles, so they have been a helpful aid for people that can’t seem to get sufficient sleep.

Sleep Spindles and Medical Conditions

Because of their connection to sleep, memory, and cognitive functions, sleep spindles are studied as a possible signal of many brain dysfunctions. Different conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s have sleep impairment and cognitive decline as usual symptoms. It is possible to track sleep spindles easily through EEG, and that’s why scientists are using them to monitor how functions of the brain change.

A study from 2012, found sleep spindle abnormalities in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. Sleep disruptions have long been a known symptom of this disease, as well as reduced memory consolidation. The patients in this study are observed to have fewer sleep spindles than people who don’t suffer from this disease, and it can be an explanation for the symptoms they are experiencing, considering the roles of spindles that we’ve discussed.

Studies done on people who have Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease show similar results. They also experienced loss of sleep spindles, which was correlated to worse sleep quality and impaired cognitive ability. Sleep spindles in patients with Parkinson’s disease are also found to last longer, oscillation frequency was slower, and maximum amplitude was higher, compared to healthy people in the control group in the study.

People with MDD or major depressive disorder have a denser spindle activity, which implies that there is a connection between memory regulation and brain’s ability to process memories.

There is still a lot of research to be done in this field of sleep, memory formation, and how it is all connected. What we know so far is that sleep spindles play an important role in learning, sleeping, and they could be a good indicator of intelligence. They can be easily tracked with EEG, so there is excellent potential in observing sleep spindles and predicting a chance of developing some of the neurodegenerative diseases.

Hormones act as the body’s chemical signals and play an essential role in the endocrine system. Produced by different glands, these substances are released into the bloodstream to target various organs and tissues, fulfilling diverse functions. They are vital in managing activities like metabolism, heart rate, appetite, moods, sexual wellness, reproductive processes, sleep cycles, growth, and other bodily functions.

Human growth hormone (HGH or just GH) is a protein, and it is also known as somatropin. It is produced by the pituitary gland that is located at the base of our brain. The secretion of HGH isn’t continuous, but it is rather released in a pulsating matter. It is crucial for children as it promotes growth and development, but it has a lot of positive effects on adults as well, as it boosts their metabolism and physical performance, and even helps live longer.

HGH production is under the influence of a complex set of hormones produced by the hypothalamus. HGH is mostly secreted during sleep and exercise, and typically, more of it is generated during the night.

Human growth hormone is mostly produced during deep sleep, so it naturally decreases with age due to the lack of deep sleep that old folks are getting. This decline is associated with cardiovascular disease, increased body weight especially body fat, osteoporosis, thinning and loss of hair, wrinkles, reduced libido, decreased energy and other symptoms. Many of these are also found in younger adults who have an HGH deficiency. There are several things you can do to boost your HGH production, but first, let’s see why it is so important.

Benefits of Human Growth Hormone

HGH is essential for kids, as they are growing, so for them to develop normally, they need to have appropriate levels of HGH. As much as it affects growth in children, lack of it hasn’t been found to harm a child’s intelligence.

There are many roles of HGH, and here are some of its benefits:

• • It increases muscle strength. It was observed that HGH stimulates the synthesis of collagen in tendons and skeletal muscles, which improves strength and exercise performance. During the deep restorative sleep, when the HGH is mostly secreted, the brain also works to repair the body, which explains the effect that it has on muscles. Besides improving strength, it has been shown to improve body composition and thermoregulation.
  • It improves fracture healing. HGH and numerous growth factors HGH affects have a significant role in regulating bone and mineral metabolism. HGH has been shown to speed up regeneration of the bones, and help with the wound healing in general.

• It enhances weight loss. HGH speeds up fat burning. Obese people were found to be less responsive to HGH and losing extra weight improved their body’s response to it. Sticking to a healthy diet, exercising, and potential HGH treatment can have a huge role in weight loss for heavier people.

• It is vital for healthy bones. Besides a role that it plays in fracture healing, it has an overall positive impact on the bone structure. It regulates bone growth, especially during puberty. It stimulates the production of insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), which is produced in the liver and then distributed through the bloodstream. This duo induces bone production as well as bone resorption, leading to an increased bone mass. Their production decreases with age, which is a potential cause of osteoporosis in older adults.

• It reduces cardiovascular disease risk. Adults who suffer from HGH deficiency are more prone to cardiovascular disease and have a shorter life expectancy. They are usually overweight and have excess body fat, which additionally affects their health.

• It is responsible for male reproductive function. It also plays a role in sexual maturation, and lack of HGH can lead to erectile dysfunction and lack of sex drive.

• It decreases obesity. Insulin resistance, and excess body fat, especially on the belly, are pretty frequent with people with an HGH deficiency. HGH treatment showed to decrease visceral body fat in obese people, improve insulin sensitivity and decrease blood pressure.

• It improves mood and cognitive function. Treatment of people who were HGH deficient showed to improve mood, cognitive abilities, and concentration.

How Does Sleep Affect the Production of HGH?

Around 75% of the human growth hormone is produced during sleep. In healthy adults, it is typically created during the first period of Stage 3, also known as a deep or slow wave sleep. During this stage, HGH works to repair and restore your body and muscles from the stress they suffered the previous day.

Sleep deprivation means that there is less slow wave sleep, which leads to less HGH production. When a person experiences the lack of sleep, the body will try and make up for it by producing more the next time this person sleeps, which can disrupt circadian rhythms and normal HGH cycle.

We get more Stage 3 sleep during the first part of the night, so people who are working night shifts, or those who tend to stay up late are more at risk of disrupted HGH secretion. In the day after sleep loss occurred, secretion was showed to be decreased and more random.

What Are the Signs of Human Growth Hormone Deficiency?

The signs of HGH deficiency vary with age, and they are different in children and adults. Typical symptoms in children are:

• Being significantly shorter than other kids that are the same age
• Growing less than 2 inches per year
• Facial features that appear younger than in children of the same age
• Slow teeth development
• Slow hair growth
• Delayed puberty
• Increased fat around the stomach and the face
• Prominent forehead

Adults may experience:

• Fatigue
• Depression or anxiety
• Thinning and loss of hair
• Decreased libido and sexual dysfunction
• Reduced muscle mass and strength
• Dry skin
• Impairment of memory and cognitive abilities
• Increased fat levels, especially around the waist
• High levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol
• Reduced bone density
• Insulin resistance
• Bad thermoregulation
• Increased weight

Are Human Growth Hormone Supplements Safe?

The production of HGH peaks at a young age, and then steadily declines with years. It is entirely normal, but the lack of HGH can also be due to sleep deprivation. This reduction in HGH levels can lead to weight gain, impaired physical and mental performance, reduced muscle mass, and it can increase chances of heart disease and diabetes.

HGH is available as a prescription medication, and it is in the form of an injection. It is given to children and with HGH deficiency. HGH therapy has been in use since the 1950s. The treatment has been shown to reverse some of the effects by the lack of HGH and to improve sleep. It increased muscle mass in adults, enhanced energy levels and exercise capacity, strengthened the bones and improved mood and cognitive abilities.

Unfortunately, there is a price to pay. Around 30% of patients experienced some sort of side effects. They include enlargement of toes and fingers, fluid retention, joint and muscle pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, high blood sugar, lengthening of the jaw, expansion of some internal organs. Some of the side effects are very serious, and they can lead to a shorter life span. Make sure to consult with your doctor about HGH therapy, and tell them right away if you notice any of the mentioned side effects.

There has been a craze of creams and pills that were supposedly containing human growth hormone. It is not useful if ingested or put on the skin, so this was merely a marketing trick.

HGH and Athletic Performance

HGH got a bad reputation because it was abused by some athletes. It increases muscle mass, enhances performance and cognitive abilities, so it is only logical that it can help athletes achieve better results. While it can definitely help people who are suffering from HGH deficiency, the case with professional athletes is more complicated. It seems that at that level, it doesn’t have the desired effects, especially since they already have normal HGH levels.

HGH supplements are banned from every sport, and they don’t even contribute to better competition results. The people who try to use them put themselves at risk of getting banned from the sport they like, and from public humiliation without any hard proof of enhanced performance.

Tips for Boosting Your Human Growth Hormone Levels

There are natural ways to increase the production of HGH. You can try incorporating some of these into your daily routine for best results:

• Try high-intensity exercise. Incorporate high-intensity training two times a week on top of moderate exercise you should regularly be getting. It is proven to boost HGH levels, and it is one of the most effective ways to do so. Physical activity also increases the time we spend in the slow wave sleep, which additionally increases the production of HGH.
• Lose belly fat. It is observed that the visceral fat has an impact on HGH production. Losing belly fat is one of the hardest things to do. Sometimes, no matter what you do, it doesn’t seem to work, and even though you are losing fat everywhere else, your belly stays the same. Don’t worry, you will lose belly fat with the right diet, regular exercise, and sleep, as long as you remain persistent.
• Fast intermittently. Studies show that fasting is one of the great ways to increase your HGH production. Fasting for only two to three days can boost HGH levels by as much as 300%, which is a significant improvement. However, continuous fasting is not sustainable. Starving your body won’t do any good, and it might even make things worse. You can try one of the methods of intermittent fast, like eating your meals in eight hours during the day, and then not eating for the remaining 16. You can also try eating fewer calories for one or two days a week while keeping your regular diet for the rest of time.
• Lower your sugar intake. It is showed that the increase of insulin lowers your HGH levels. Refined carbs and sugar affect insulin levels the most, so you should avoid them. Excess sugar is also the main reason for weight gain and obesity, which additionally affects HGH production. Kick out the junk food, soft drinks, and everything with a lot of sugar in it, and aim for the healthy, well-balanced diet.
• Don’t overeat before bedtime. Huge meals usually spike your insulin levels, especially the ones full of sugar and protein. As we mentioned before, insulin interferes with HGH production, so you should avoid meals too close to bedtime. It is best to have dinner before 7 pm, and then eventually have a light snack if you still feel hungry before sleep.
• You can try different supplements. Some supplements have positive effects on HGH levels. It is mostly amino acids that active people take to boost muscle growth along with their exercise. You can try L-glutamine, beta-alanine, creatine, glycine, ornithine, L-arginine, A-GPC, and GABA. While these have a short term impact on HGH, long term effect is yet to be determined.
• Optimize your sleep. We can’t stress enough how important this one is, not just for HGH production, but pretty much for every aspect of your life. You should make your bedroom a comfortable environment for sleep. It should be dark, quiet, and at the right temperature. Remove any distractions, and develop a nice bedtime routine. Try to stay away from screens, and do an activity that relaxes you, like reading a book, meditating, breathing exercise or listening to some mellow music. Avoid caffeine and other stimulants that might keep you awake at night. Remember that most of the pulses are produced in the first part of the night, so don’t stay awake for too long, and be sure to maintain a steady sleep schedule.
• Try melatonin supplements. If you can’t seem to get adequate sleep time, melatonin supplements can be a good idea for you. Read more about them, consult with your doctor, and see if they may be a good fit.

Persistent stomach problems can majorly interrupt one’s daily life, leading to anything from slight annoyances to severe agony. Issues like heartburn, indigestion, or severe bloating, if experienced for consecutive days, can derail a person’s whole routine, resulting in anything from a bit of irritability to intense pain. As a result, people may need to cancel plans, consult a doctor, or in extreme instances, end up in the hospital. However, for those who regularly deal with these issues, skipping out on daily tasks is not an option. While trying to balance responsibilities and the stress of daily life, many often ignore their symptoms until the situation worsens considerably, leaving them overwhelmed. At this point, what seemed like a minor issue with the stomach could have evolved into a chronic condition or led to further health problems.

An estimated number of 60-70 million Americans suffer some sort of digestive issue. For most of these people, sleep ailments aren’t unusual – it’s difficult to fall asleep while you are uncomfortable or in pain. Hence, people with gastrointestinal (GI) issues often experience sleep-related problems like insomnia, sleep apnea, excessive daytime sleepiness, etc.

Vice versa also applies – people who suffer disordered sleep are more likely to develop GI symptoms as well. Sleep deprivation causes the brain to secrete more ghrelin (hunger hormone) which make us crave junk food and overeat. Besides potentially causing weight gain, the increased amount of sugary and high-fat foods further irritates one’s stomach, and the cycle goes on. In obese people with digestive issues, sleep problems are even more frequently reported, with acid reflux, heartburn or nausea regularly waking them up in the middle of the night, or making it a struggle to fall asleep.

Other than the direct impact of lack of sleep on our health, combined with the GI discomfort it also increases our stress level, which, unsurprisingly enough, is another known contributing factor for IBS, heartburn, and insomnia.

As you have discovered by now, the relationship between GI issues and sleep is a complicated one. To attempt and untangle it, continue reading this article.

GERD and sleep

Gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, is a chronic condition that causes one’s stomach acid to go back upwards towards your mouth, causing heartburn, acid-like taste in one’s mouth, nausea, teeth erosion, breathing difficulties, etc. It’s caused by frequent acid reflux that weakens the esophagus (the gateway to your stomach), opening the path for your stomach content to return upwards. GERD affects up to 20% of Americans, the increased risk factors including obesity, pregnancy, connective tissue disorders, and hiatal hernia.

People who suffer this disease often experience some other issues like laryngitis, persistent cough, asthma, and sleep disturbances. 74% of the people with GERD suffer nighttime heartburn, causing them either difficulties with falling asleep or waking them up to cough – ranking insomnia the most common sleep disorder these individuals face.

Other than that, because of the close connection between the stomach-to-mouth pathway and our respiratory system, GERD is linked with sleep-related breathing issues, most commonly obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). OSA is a sleep disorder that causes airway obstruction during one’s sleep, resulting in partial or complete blockage of one’s breathing. The most recommended treatment for OSA is CPAP (Continuous Positive Air Pressure) machine therapy. The way it works is, the CPAP machine draws in air, humidifies and pressurizes it, then delivers it to the patient via a face mask that was set up before sleep. However, for people who also have GERD, this therapy method is not optimal, since the pressurized air sometimes passes through the esophagus and reaches one’s stomach instead of lungs, which could make the esophagus even weaker than it already is, thus worsening the condition.

It is worth mentioning that GERD is frequent in people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) who also have some sleep issues, as are sleep issues in those with ASD who have GERD; this perfectly displays how closely sleep disturbances and GI run, and how difficult it can be to distinguish cause from consequence when it comes to this combination.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Sleep

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a long-term disorder of the large intestine that manifests through a group of symptoms – usually abdominal pain and a distorted pattern of bowel movements, without evidence of an underlying condition or apparent cause. It is split into four categories based on the most prominent and frequent symptom the patient might display over time:

•         IBS-D – diarrhea is common
•         IBS-C – constipation is common
•         IBS-M – both are common
•         IBS-U – neither occurs very often

IBS affects over 21% of the population worldwide, and besides depression and anxiety, the most reported (non-digestive) problems these people face are related to sleep. Both the sleep onset and maintenance insomnias, excessive daytime sleepiness and albeit less commonly, sleep apnea, are all well within a range of the standard experience for people with IBS, disrupting their sleep and lowering their quality of life. While these people might not wake up during the night significantly more often compared to people who don’t have this condition, in the majority of cases, they will have to pass a bowel movement in this time, which may even be painful. This makes it more difficult for people with IBS to continue where they left off when they go back to bed, lowering their sleep quality and resulting in fatigue.

Ulcerative Colitis and Sleep

Ulcerative colitis is a chronic condition that affects the entire large bowel, characterized by the inflammation of the rectum and colon which then develop small ulcers along their walls. Along with Chron’s disease, it belongs to a subgroup called Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD – not to be confused with IBS!). Symptoms include abdominal pain, blood or pus with bowel movements, fatigue, fever, and diarrhea. Up to 500 thousand Americans are affected by ulcerative colitis, and it can hit when a person is anywhere between 14 and 40 years old.

This condition can make one’s day a struggle as a consequence of recurring diarrhea and other bowel movement problems, causing a great deal of discomfort and abdominal pain. Dealing with the symptoms and the stress of their frequent recurrence may trigger some sleep issues as well. People who have ulcerative colitis regularly experience fatigue due to a few factors that disrupt their sleep:

•         The mental challenge of this disease
•         Heightened inflammation in the body, especially if a flare-up happens at night, acting as a fire alarm and preventing sleep.
•         Improperly functioning immune system
•         Medication for ulcerative colitis (side-effects are often sleep-disruptive)

Besides this, issues with rest have been linked with the onsetting or activating of ulcerative colitis symptoms, making sound sleep a necessary prerequisite of treating and preventing this condition. Research suggests that both those who undersleep and oversleep have a higher risk of ulcerative colitis.

Crohn’s Disease and Sleep

Crohn’s disease is a chronic condition that affects the lining of one’s gastrointestinal system. Much like ulcerative colitis, this disease can be active or inactive – when the symptoms aren’t constant, but rather come and go every couple of weeks or months. Symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal pain, weight loss, fatigue, and even anemia if complications occur.

The exact cause of Crohn’s disease isn’t known, although a combination of environmental, immune and bacterial factors is likely to trigger it in predisposed individuals. Curing it is not possible; treatments are based on alleviating symptoms and maintaining the remission stage of the disease to prevent future flare-ups.

Sleep hygiene is vital at keeping this disease under control. Even while in the inactive state, patients with Crohn’s disease experience fatigue more regularly than the general population; furthermore, people with sleep issues such as insomnia are three times more likely to develop Crohn’s disease, and those who have both Crohn’s disease and a sleep problem double their chances of a flare-up.

Colon Cancer and Sleep

One of the most often diagnosed cancers in both women and men around the globe is colorectal cancer. Caused by a mutation in the cells of the rectum, or rather an error in the mutation, colon cancer encompasses a wide range of symptoms, most dominant being blood in the stool, abdominal pain, and change in bowel movements. When one first notices these symptoms, chances are the cancer has already formed. The sooner they go to a doctor, the bigger their chance of survival, but for this reason, doctors recommend regular screenings of the colon to ensure cancerous cells are discovered in time before they turn malicious.

Treatment for colon cancer is surgery, often accompanied by radiation and chemotherapy. According to the recent studies done on the topic, two of the highest concerns of people with colon cancer are fatigue and sleep disturbances.

These two often go hand in hand, and it isn’t clear which one causes which – patients usually experience them simultaneously. The most frequent sleep disturbances in cancer patients include sleep onset and sleep maintenance insomnia, waking up too early and excessive daytime sleepiness. The cause of these might be a direct consequence of cancer therapy (side-effects like nausea and vomiting), a comorbid condition like depression, stress or some other environmental factor. Patients who experience insomnia often try to make up for the lack of sleep by taking opportunities to nap, which only worsens the disorder and reduces the patient’s overall sleep quality. Up to 50% of all the prescribed pills for patients with cancer are sleep medications, particularly hypnotics.

On the other hand, sleep issues are emerging as risk factors for this type of cancer more and more. Both sleep deprivation and exposure to bright light in the evening have been shown to accelerate the formation of tumors. Shift work and other circadian rhythm abnormalities have been marked as cancer risk contributors, and sleep deprivation was found to increase the risk for colorectal adenomas by 50%. Much of this is still debated among professionals, but we now know that the link between sleep and cancer is of higher significance than previously thought. This is not bad news: treating sleep issues in patients with colon cancer might also ease some of the other difficulties they face, improving the quality of their life and potentially elevating the survival rates for this condition, if only by a little bit.

How to sleep better while experiencing gastrointestinal issues

As long as your condition didn’t reach its dreaded peak, there is something you can do to help yourself. None of the suggestions we listed below can cure all your problems (or harm you, for that matter), but following them is likely to aid in setting the ground for recovery.

• Set up a calming bedroom routine. Something that you will be able to keep up with long-term. For example, it might include taking a shower, brushing your teeth, turning off all electronics, changing your clothes and getting into bed. Before this, to ease stomach issues, you could set out a bit of time beforehand to drink some herbal tea and calm down. All practices that will help you relax are welcome but remember not to make this into a big, tiring list of chores that will annoy rather than aid you.
• Arm yourself to handle potential issues. Prevention is key, but when you know the damage is already done, you will do wise to prepare yourself. Don’t get frustrated when your sleep is disturbed – expect it to happen and focus on how to make the disturbance smaller of an issue. If you frequently wake up during the night and can’t fall back asleep, don’t stay in bed for hours. Leave the room. Indulge in a passive activity like reading, until you are ready to try again. Avoid bright lights and blue screens; your smartphone will only make it harder for you to sleep.
• Keep a log of your symptoms day in and day out. Everything counts: how much you slept, was it enough, what you ate, how stressed you got, etc. Frequent gastrointestinal issues can be a huge annoyance, but if you would just tilt your head and squint, you would realize how to use this to your advantage; the more regular your symptoms are, the faster you will be able to recognize a pattern and learn what your body reacts to. This log will be useful for your doctor and for you to know what to expect of your GI and sleep problems.
•  Avoid potential triggers such as spicy, sugary or fried foods, especially in the hours before bedtime. Eating a balanced diet instead will promote good digestion as well as keep your weight in check. This is beneficial as obesity is linked with the worsening of many of the GI and sleep issues, amongst other conditions. Don’t lie down shortly after you have eaten or acid reflux could be triggered. Wear comfortable, loose clothes. Reduce your daily stress as much as possible, as stress has been linked to virtually all of the GI you could have. The same way you feel it in your stomach when you are nervous or excited, you can gather how too much stress on a regular basis could impact your health. Try activities like meditation, yoga, or some relaxing hobby to help keep the stress in check.
• Exercise. Physical activity ticks off quite a few boxes: stress, weight and built-up energy keeping you from sleep are just some aspects of your interest if you have GI issues. Don’t overstrain yourself and shock your body though – if you aren’t sure how much you can realistically handle, discuss it with a doctor. If you have been in a sedentary state for years, simply start with walking. Your body will be grateful for the positive change, however small.
• Switch your sleeping position. Sleeping on your stomach is an all-around bad idea for people with GI issues. In this position, your stomach and esophagus form almost a straight line, which makes it all too easy for stomach acid to make its way towards your mouth. Instead, opt for sleeping on your back or side, preferably left (if it doesn’t hurt). This will ensure your organs are lined orderly and help avoid unnecessary flare-ups.

The scientific method is an outstanding tool for analyzing our surroundings and aims to explain how the natural world operates. A successful scientific exploration must remain impartial, be reproducible by others, and its conclusions should broaden our understanding of the topic at hand. Instead of leading to frustration, negative results are valuable as they offer an opportunity to reevaluate our methods and pinpoint any errors.

Communication between scientists is the key. That is why we have peer-reviewed journals, where researchers can publish their findings. Before publishing, the submitted papers are given to the number of independent experts in the field, who then evaluate how the research was done, was there any problems, and they might give suggestions to authors on how to improve their experiment, or maybe a different opinion of the results. After the evaluation and any needed corrections, if the paper is solid and experts have found that it meets scientific standards, it is published in a journal.

Research of sleep and nervous system, in general, can be quite complicated. Our brain is one of the most complex things in nature and figuring out how everything works can be quite a task. As a British philosopher Emerson E. Pugh once said: “If the human brain were so simple that we could understand it, we would be so simple that we couldn’t.”

However, the research of our minds and sleep has come a long way, and now we know many things about the importance of sleep, different sleep disorders, and how to treat them.

The History of Sleep Research and Medical Treatment

The history of sleep research and medicine can be divided into five different periods.

Phase 1: Before 1952

The first half of the 20th century and the period before that weren’t very productive when it comes to sleep research. Nightly rest was considered to be a time when the brain is shut off from the external stimuli, due to darkness and lack of noise. Scientists weren’t giving too much credit to sleep, and its benefits were mostly thought to be passive, due to the passage of time and not sleep itself. It was considered to be a pretty homogenous state of mind, and sleep architecture wasn’t studied at all.

The psychological aspect of dreams and their interpretations is the field that probably got the most attention during this period.

However, there were some notable findings during this period. Unfortunately, they happened way too early to be adequately explored by the field of sleep medicine, for instance, in 1729. Jean Jacques d’Ortous deMairan showed the presence of circadian rhythms even in the absence of environmental stimuli. Narcolepsy was first described by Jean Baptiste Edouard Gellineau in 1880. Richard Caton discovered electrical rhythms in the brains of tested animals in 1875. Hans Berger started studying brain waves in sleeping and waking humans in 1929. Unfortunately, his findings only help to fix the notion of sleep as an inactive state.

Phase 2: 1952-1970

Phase 2 began in 1952 when the scientists first observed that our eyes weren’t still during some parts, and that rapid eye movement occurs during sleep. This state was associated with the appearance of dreams, so it could have been a spark that increases the interest in sleep research.

In the years after World War II, Sigmund Froyd’s psychoanalysis was extremely popular in American psychiatry. His writings about dream interpretations and structure of “ego,” put dreams in the spotlight of interest. However, this new found link between human physiology and appearance of dreams didn’t spark too much of an interested in the years that followed.

William C. Dement carried his research in the field of sleep architecture and REM phase. He showed that cyclical stages appeared during sleep and that they are somehow related to the same cyclical occurrence of REM sleep. In 1960 he showed that lack of REM sleep lead to impairment of cognitive abilities and memory the following day. That fit perfectly with the Sigmund Froyd’s narrative that dreams are kind of a “safety valve” for the release of negative energy and emotions.

That draw attention of the other scientists and they began researching the phenomenon of sleep in the following years. Most notable findings of this period are that sleep consisted of two completely different parts, REM and non-rem sleep and that the brain stem is included in the inhibition of movement during the REM stage.

In 1965 the sleep apnea was first described by two teams of scientists. Also, the first tracheostomy was attempted, to overcome the upper airway blockage of an obese patient.

Phase 3: 1971-1980

Stage 3 began when researchers from Stanford decided to extend the field of medical treatment to sleep, patients. Before that period, people were treated during the waking state, and sleeping patients were left alone.

The Stanford University Sleep Disorders Clinic was launched in the year 1970, and it changed the way we deal with sleep problems. Researches primarily concentrated on treating narcolepsy, insomnia, and sleep-related breathing problems. They developed a series of tests for overnight sleep studies, a technique that later evolved into polysomnography, a study that is still in use for detecting sleep disorders to this day.

In 1975 the American Sleep Disorders Association (ASDA) was formed, to gather around scientists and clinicians that are involved in the field of sleep research. ASDA’s goal was to set certain standards when it comes to treating sleeping disorders and to further develop techniques for doing so.

Throughout the 1970s, the only treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) was tracheostomy. It’s a method where the opening is made on the front of the neck, and a tube is inserted into the windpipe. Sometimes, it can be attached to the oxygen supply. Unfortunately, that treatment was only acceptable for the severely ill patients, and a better method for treating OSA was needed.

Phase 4: 1981-1990

This stage is marked by the invention of alternative treatments for OSA. Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) was introduced in 1981. This is the surgical treatment that was popular for a few years until some valuations came and showed that it wasn’t as effective as they thought it was.

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy was also developed in 1981. This therapy was easy to administer, there were no surgical procedures involved, and it showed to be hugely effective. CPAP is even used in today’s treatment of obstructive sleep apnea.

Phase 5: From 1991

Scientists have tried hard to come up with better diagnosing tools, more effective treatments, and to gain a better understanding of sleep and its importance in general. They have recognized that although a lot is being done in the field of sleep research, the general public’s knowledge of it is at an inadequate level. They have dedicated their time to inform people better, and to make people who are suffering from some sleep disruption, seek medical help.

The Importance of Animal Models in Sleep Studies

Research done on animals has provided us with vital information, not only about how sleep works but about sleep disorders as well. Most common mammalian models used in sleep disorder research are some dog breeds, horses, cats, rats, and mice. Dogs significantly contributed to a better understanding of narcolepsy. There were also genes identified with this disorder in studies that included canines. Rats and mice were used to understand a lot of sleep disorders better, but also to closely examine molecular mechanisms and gene expression during sleep. There are other animals used to gain a better understanding of the regulation of sleep, sleep deprivation, and the importance of it. Those animals include a worm Caenorhabditis elegans, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, and zebrafish.

Future of Sleep Research and Medicine

Even though we spend as much as one-third of our lives sleeping, we are only now realizing how important sleep is. Lack of sleep or its decreased quality can lead to increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, it decreases libido, impairs memory, concentration, and learning, and it pretty much affects all of the aspects of your life. Because of that, it is essential to develop healthy sleeping habits. That includes setting a regular bedtime routine, keeping the bedroom free of distractions, and avoiding caffeine before bed.  For the best results, next to the improvement of sleep, you should also try to incorporate a healthy diet and regular exercise in your life.

A report from 2016 by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that one-third of adults aren’t getting enough sleep. And those tired people cost the American industry over 400 billion dollars each year due to work-related accidents.

A HealthyPeople 2020 initiative, started by the government, listed four goals related to sleep:

• To increase the proportion of people with OSA who seek medical attention. It is estimated that 25.6 percent of people who experience symptoms of OSA sought medical help. The goal is to raise that number to 27.8 percent by 2020.
• To reduce the rate of vehicular crashes that are due to drowsy driving. 2.7 accidents per 100 million miles traveled were estimated to be the result of drowsy driving in 2008. The objective is to get to 2.1 by 2020.
• To increase the proportion of students in grades nine through 12 that get enough sleep. Sufficient sleep is crucial for the development of children and adolescents. It is needed for adequate physical as well as mental growth. Only 30.9 percent of students reported that they had enough of sleep on an average school night, meaning 8 hours and more, and the goal is to increase that to a 33.1%.
• To increase the number of adults who get sufficient regular sleep. 69.6 percent of adults in 2008 got enough sleep, meaning that those between 18-21 years got 8+ hours, and those who are 22 and over got over 7 hours. The objective is to raise that proportion to 70.8 percent of all adults.

There is still a lot to uncover when it comes to sleep. It is hard to predict where the research may go next, but there are a few areas that need special attention. The link between sleep, memory, and learning needs to be studied further. It is interesting to see if sleep affects the overall intelligence of individuals and to find out exactly where are memories stored. The mechanisms on a cellular level could give us a better understanding of this phenomenon.

The link between mental disorders and the lack of sleep is another point where additional research is needed. These two seem to go hand in hand, but is it an only causational link or is there a correlation between the two?

There is also a need to look further into molecular mechanisms on the cellular level and to determine if sleep is only a feature of multicellular organisms, or is there any archaic mechanism, that might have affected a later evolution of rest throughout the animal kingdom. Animal models, especially genetically modified animals could help us shed more light on mysteries of sleep. Lastly, the big question is how we can improve sleep medicine and can we personalize it to fit every single individual?

One thing is sure; the technology is the future of sleep research. Current overnight studies done on people are taking place in sleep clinics, where people may not feel comfortable, and it may not paint the best picture of their sleeping habits. With the progress of technology and sleep trackers, in particular, we might be able to better detect sleep disorders in our own home. These small devices need to be improved to identify more things and to get to a golden standard level which is polysomnography at the moment. But we are getting there. And when those devices become widely available, that will give sleep experts more data, which will lead to more improvement in treatments.

Almost every health condition requires some form of dietary modification for effective management. Often, the foods that appeal to our senses are heavy on sugar, making it a challenge to resist their tempting allure food. Regular consumption of sugary treats, snacks, or drinks, which may seem innocuous at the outset, can eventually lead to serious health issues that might not become apparent until they worsen. Experiencing irregular blood sugar levels is a frequent problem and, whether it’s experiencing highs or lows, any imbalance can hinder our everyday activities and lessen our ability to enjoy life.

In order to enjoy healthy sleep, it is crucial to regulate your blood sugar levels through awareness, discipline, and a steady diet. On top of that, having pre-existing sleep problems or bad sleeping habits can directly lead to blood sugar levels. We decided to write this article to spread awareness about the risks of high and low blood sugar levels in the context of sleep. You will find information on the consequences of having a bad diet, as well as certain other relevant factors that can ruin your ability to sleep properly and cause other, seemingly unrelated medical conditions. Without further ado, let’s get into it:

How Blood Sugar and Sleep Normally Work?

Our circadian rhythm controls a large portion of our body. This rhythm depends on a master biological clock in our brain which uses light receptors to figure out when it’s day or night and regulate our bodily processes accordingly. Depending on the time of day, we can spot changes in our hormone secretion and production, appetite, libido, energy levels, etc. While it’s easy enough to notice trends during the day while we’re awake, people without years of study (and who haven’t read our previous articles) don’t know what goes on during the night, when we’re sleeping.

Depending on which sleep stage we’re in, certain parts of our brain are hard at work – sleep is when we experience muscle repair, tissue replacement, memory consolidation, and many other restorative processes. The primary hormone responsible for regulating our sleep structure and putting us to sleep in the first place is melatonin – and melatonin production depends quite heavily on our circadian rhythm. At around 3 a.m., melatonin levels begin to drop as another hormone takes the stage – cortisol, the stress hormone responsible for waking you up and energizing you for the following day. Cortisol, when combined with adrenaline and certain other growth hormones, heats your body and increases blood sugar levels – this process is sometimes referred to as the “dawn phenomenon,” thanks to the fact that it occurs anywhere between 3 a.m. and 8 a.m.

In a healthy body that regularly gets around 7-8 hours of mostly uninterrupted rest, this increase in blood sugar is quickly managed and counteracted by the insulin hormone. This hormone causes your liver, fat, and muscles to absorb the excess glucose and thus reduce the level of blood sugar to a normal state. People with diabetes aren’t able to do this because their insulin production and functionality are impaired, which causes all that sugar to stick around and damage your body in many subtle ways.

We will go into detail on what happens in people with high and low blood sugar, since the outcome of these two conditions isn’t the same, in some ways. While both of them can disrupt sleep and contribute to various other conditions, it’s crucial to examine them separately to paint a full picture.

How High Blood Sugar Affects Your Sleep

The main cause of high blood sugar levels (otherwise known as hyperglycemia) is impaired insulin functionality, or your body’s inability to respond properly to insulin. It is especially true for people who have diabetes. The result of a consistently higher level of blood sugar is devastating for your ability to sleep. We mentioned that cortisol is called the “stress” hormone, and this is where that comes into play. A heightened level of blood sugar creates stress, and stress (along with anxiety) is possibly the most common contributing factor towards insomnia, as it puts you in an alert and tense state, making it harder for your body to properly relax and fall asleep.

Insomnia is a guaranteed way tohave your circadian rhythm disrupted, as the increased sleep onset latency can leave you tossing and turning in bed for hours. Because the circadian rhythm is responsible for managing melatonin and cortisol production, getting poor sleep heavily impacts your blood sugar regulation. That’s not even considering all the other consequences of sleep deprivation and subsequent fatigue. According to research, people who sleep less than 7 hours per night on average have a doubled chance of encountering diabetes – or they already have it.

Additionally, people with high sugar have to urinate more often, since a high level of sugar in their blood activates their kidneys. While this affects everyone, it plays a special part in the bedwetting habit of young children – which is why sugary drinks like carbonated soda are especially troublesome as part of their regular diet. If the person is capable of waking up to go to the bathroom, high blood sugar still causes them to have fragmented sleep as deep sleep and REM sleep require time to transition into, and that’s not what you get when you keep waking up.

If you’re dealing with high blood sugar, consult your doctor. Some early symptoms of hyperglycemia include fatigue, blurred vision, frequent urination, increased thirst, and headaches. If you notice these early symptoms, the resulting treatment is much more likely to work, and it will work faster. If left untreated, however, the symptoms become more severe and difficult to work around. These symptoms may include nausea (with vomiting), confusion, abdominal pain, weakness, or even coma.

How Low Blood Sugar Affects Your Sleep

Much like with high blood sugar, low blood sugar (or hypoglycemia) can negatively affect your sleep. Most people are afraid of high blood sugar levels, but going too low is just as bad since your body needs some sugar to operate properly. When your body detects a low level of sugar in your blood, it starts to produce cortisol, adrenaline and growth hormones. This added stress can often wake you up in the middle of the night, which ruins your sleep architecture and causes further problems. Worst of all, it makes you crave food, especially really sugary stuff like junk food. Coffee is another offender in this context since it can also contribute to a whole host of sleep disorders and keep you from getting enough rest. Your body essentially overcompensates for low blood sugar by making you eat the least healthy stuff in your house. The more you indulge in those foods, the more you risk other health conditions, such as obesity or even diabetes.

If you eat unhealthy food at a time of night when you should be asleep, it damages your sleep-wake cycle and circadian rhythm even further, which can cause excessive daily fatigue and other sleeping disorders, such as chronic sleep deprivation. Additionally, your body may not be prepared to digest that food properly, putting you at risk of lowered insulin sensitivity, which loops the problem back towards high blood sugar.

It’s important to recognize the symptoms of low blood sugar early and make an appointment with your primary care physician. Fatigue is a common symptom, especially if you’re also worried about potential sleep disorders, as every sleep disorder causes fatigue in some way. If your mouth is tingling around the edges of the lips or you’re hungry very often, that is a huge tell-tale sign that you have low blood sugar. Sweating, shakiness and pale skin can also be quickly identified, but you also have problems like an irregular heart rhythm, irritability or even a tendency to cry out during sleep. If left untreated, the symptoms of hypoglycemia get worse, and several new and dangerous symptoms crop up. These include seizures, blurred vision, confusion (and the inability to do routine tasks at times), or loss of consciousness.

Tips on How to Manage Your Blood Sugar Levels

With some diligence, it’s not obscenely hard to look after your blood sugar levels. Like any significant change you want to make in your life, this will take effort and planning. But if your health is at risk, any effort is worth it. Managing your blood sugar levels will improve your sleep and overall health immensely if you’ve been struggling with high or low blood sugar until now. If bad habits create a negative cycle of poor sleep and hormonal disbalance, good habits lead to more good things. Here’s a list of tips we can offer for improving your lifestyle:

• Establish a consistent sleeping schedule, and stick to it. It is harder to do for shift workers, obviously, but everyone else shouldn’t run into too much trouble. You need at least seven hours of sleep each night in order to benefit from the restorative properties of all the individual sleep stages. The fewer interruptions you get, the better. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that more sleep is always better. Sleeping too much carries its own risks.
• Develop a habit of exercising as often as possible. It will help your blood sugar levels and also lead to multiple other health benefits, such as increased energy every day, a fit and toned figure and a stronger immune system. Exercise also pairs incredibly well with the next point on this list.
• Maintain a healthy and efficient diet. A lot of people have a very unhealthy habit of eating just one or two big meals each day. It’s far more beneficial to have a few more meals each day, but make them all smaller. This approach helps your body metabolize all that food properly, leaving you more energized and satisfied around the clock. As for which food you should eat, consult your primary care physician to find out what kind of meal plan fits your body the best. Drink a lot of water, and avoid indulging in lots of sweets, caffeine, alcohol or carbonated drinks. You don’t have to avoid them entirely, but if you’re dealing with blood sugar problems, you also want to make it a very rare treat. Counting calories is generally a good idea for weight management, whether you’re trying to drop some pounds or eat exercise-friendly food that helps you develop muscle.
• Make it a part of your daily routine to monitor and track your blood glucose levels. Once again, it’s a good idea to speak to your doctor about this. They can determine what you should eat, how often and they can also teach you how to keep track of your blood sugar (it’s not really hard). Regular check-ups will most likely be mandatory if you undergo proper hyperglycemia (or hypoglycemia) treatment, so make use of their knowledge.
• Avoid eating heavy meals right before bed, or eating large quantities of food of any kind before trying to sleep. The resulting indigestion is not going to help you sleep in any way.

Biphasic sleep involves a sleep pattern where a person sleeps in two distinct periods over the course of a 24-hour period. This sleep pattern is alternatively known as bimodal, segmented, or divided sleep. Basically, it refers to a sleeping schedule where an individual gets their rest in two separate chunks during the day. If you find yourself sleeping for a stretch during the night, waking up for an hour or two, and then returning to sleep, you’re participating in biphasic sleep. A different version of biphasic sleep might involve sleeping during the night and then taking a nap in the afternoon. If you adopt this bimodal sleeping schedule, you’re not alone. While most people follow a monophasic sleep pattern, adopting a biphasic sleeping schedule has been historically widespread and is seen as naturally aligned with human biology.

Types of Sleep Patterns

Before we take a look at the history of bimodal sleep, we should learn what kind of sleep patterns exist, and how they affect a person’s health and sleep hygiene. An individual’s sleep pattern is dependent on their internal circadian rhythm. Thanks to their inner clock, all human beings have a routine of biological and behavioral processes that occur every day over a 24-hour period. There are three main types of sleep patterns – monophasic, biphasic and polyphasic sleep.

Monophasic sleep is what modern society would refer to as a normal sleep pattern. This sleep pattern became the norm during the industrial revolution and was most likely caused by increasing hours of working time (more on this later).

Biphasic sleep pattern involves sleeping in two segments for 5 or 6 hours per night and having a shorter or a longer pause in between.

Polyphasic sleep consists of shortly resting multiple times during the day. There are three combinations of polyphasic sleeping – the everyman, the uberman, and the dymaxion.

• Everyman sleeps around 3 hours and takes around three 20-minute naps during the day.
• Uberman sleeps 3 hours a day, but only in the form of six 30 minute naps.
• Dymaxion sleeps only 2 hours a day, in the form of 30-minute naps every 6 hours.

History of Biphasic Sleeping

Thanks to the research conducted by a historian Roger Ekirch, a professor of Virginia Tech, we know how people used to sleep in the past. The seminal paper that took him 16 years of research revealed that people didn’t have eight hours of uninterrupted sleep as we do today, but actually slept in two distinct segments. Ekirch believes that people embraced a biphasic sleep pattern until electric light became common. People would go to bed at dusk, then spent a few hours awake around midnight and finally returned to sleep for the rest of the night.

Roger Ekirch’s book titled “At Day’s Close: Night in Times Past”, published in 2005, contains more than 500 references to segmented sleeping patterns, starting from diaries and medical books, to Homer’s Odyssey and other famous literary works. For example, in literature from the Renaissance era – The Canterbury Tales, from the 14th century, one character says she will return to bed after her first sleep.

The references in Ekirch’s book describe a segmented sleeping pattern that involves sleeping two times a day. These periods are called first and second sleep. The first sleep starts around two hours after dusk and lasts for approximately four hours. After these four hours, the person would wake up and stay awake for one or two hours, engaging in different activities. After that, the person would go back to bed and fall into a second sleep. You may be wondering what were people doing between their first and second sleep. According to Roger Ekirch’s work, people use that time to read, write, pray, have sex, smoke or to simply hang out with friends. An interesting fact is that prayer manuals from the 15th century had special prayers for the hours between first and second sleep. In the late 17th century, mentions about segmented sleep slowly started to disappear, and the idea completely receded until the 1920s.

The reason for this is probably an improvement in street lighting and domestic lighting. A sudden surge in coffee houses has also influenced biphasic sleep patterns. Due to electricity and improved street and domestic lighting, then night finally became a place for legitimate activities, and as those activities increased, the amount of time people had for resting decreased. Some research suggests that when humans use only natural light, they may fall into a bi-modal sleep pattern.

During the period of the industrial revolution, our sleep patterns and habits also had to undergo some changes. People because more time-conscious and sensitive to efficiency, which further decreased total sleep time. During the industrial revolution, we can come across some medical journals that report parents had to force their children out of a biphasic sleep pattern. This was done by not allowing the children to have a second sleep one they woke up naturally from the first one. Kids were allowed to have a second sleep only if they were sick.

Today, we have all adapted to monophasic sleep pattern or eight-hour sleep, and we can definitely say that the modern industrial workday shaped this type of sleep pattern, or the custom to sleep 6 to 8 hours per day. Apart from monophasic sleep, biphasic and even polyphasic sleep patterns manifest naturally in some people.

Although monophasic sleep pattern is the most common one, some people still prefer and practice bi-modal sleep. For example, some orders of monks and nuns wake in the middle of the night to pray. These prayers are known as Matins. Since they break up their night, the practitioners are basically forced to create a biphasic sleep pattern. Some Muslims follow a similar pattern – they wake in the middle of the night to pray and then go back to sleep until morning. Research shows that people who follow these practices sleep healthy and that their sleep cycle is normal during both sleep periods.

It is interesting to mention that Ekirch believes some sleeping problems people experience at night, such as sleep maintenance insomnia or inability to stay asleep during the night, may be a natural occurrence that derives from biphasic or segmented sleep. When we have troubles to stay asleep at night, we may feel anxious, which will further prevent peaceful snoozing — however, scientists like dr. Russell Foster from Oxford University says that waking up in the middle of the night occasionally is completely normal and actually presents a throwback to the bi-modal sleep pattern.

A behavioral sleep medicine specialist, Gregg Jacob, believes people in the past were forced into periods of rest and relaxation between first and second sleep in order to reduce their stress levels in a natural way. Nowadays, although this may be good for us, we simply don’t have enough time for it. Some scientists believe bi-modal sleep is healthier for people who experience a lot of stress on a daily basis or suffer from anxiety and depression.

How Common is Biphasic Sleep?

Although Ekirch said in his book that bi-modal sleep disappeared until the 1920s, research shows that even up to 60% of adults may have two distinct sleep patterns per night or biphasic-type sleep cycles.

Is Biphasic Sleep Harmful?

Biphasic sleep isn’t harmful to your health. Many people with a bimodal sleep pattern get enough rest and wake up refreshed in the morning without experiencing daytime fatigue or other symptoms of sleep deprivation. However, midnight awakenings may cause anxiety and increase one’s stress levels if they believe they have insomnia. Sometimes, it’s very hard to differentiate insomnia from bi-modal sleep patterns. Without proper diagnosis, biphasic sleep patterns may be mistaken with false insomnia or precisely speaking – sleep maintenance insomnia or inability to stay asleep.

Biphasic vs. Polyphasic Sleep

The terms such as divided or segmented sleep can also refer to polyphasic sleep. While biphasic sleep describes a bimodal sleep pattern, polyphasic is a pattern with more than two sleeping periods in 24 hours. Many people decide to pursue a bimodal or polyphasic sleep lifestyle because they think it creates more time for them to complete tasks, enjoy certain activities, and simply be more productive. However, you can enjoy the same benefits of sleeping with monophasic and polyphasic sleep patterns.

In rare cases, people follow biphasic or polyphasic sleep schedules naturally. It’s much more common that polyphasic sleep pattern appears as a result of a sleep disorder or disability. For example, the irregular sleep-wake syndrome is one example of polyphasic sleep. Those who suffer from this condition tend to go to sleep and wake up at scattered and irregular intervals. They rarely feel well-rested and refreshed in the morning. Most of the times, they are fatigued and drowsy.

Types of Biphasic Sleep

In the past, people practiced biphasic sleep by sleeping in two segments during the night. However, there are other ways people can have a biphasic sleeping schedule. For example, by taking afternoon naps, also known as “siestas”, you are practicing bimodal sleep. It’s an interesting fact that siestas are a cultural norm in European countries such as Spain and Greece.

Taking naps also counts. You can either take a short 20-minute nap if you are typically sleeping around 6 hours per night, or you can sleep around 5 hours per night and take long one hour naps in the middle of the day. We did some research online, and many people actually report that biphasic sleep patterns really work for them, as well as that taking naps and splitting their sleep schedules helps them feel more alert during the day.

What Does Science Have to Say?

Many people report biphasic sleep positively influences their performance; however, research on whether there are indeed health benefits of bimodal sleep is mixed. A study carried out in 2016 on segmented sleep patterns argues that biphasic and polyphasic sleep patterns weren’t unusual before the industrial era. As mentioned in the beginning, scientists believe we developed a monophasic 8-hour sleep pattern due to the rise of the modern workday and artificial illumination technology.

We are all aware of the benefits of napping – short power naps that last 15 to 20 minutes were associated with better cognitive function and performance. However, other studies suggest that napping isn’t recommended for rest or cognitive development, especially if it affects sleeping during the night. In adults, napping can even be associated with increased risk of sleep deprivation.

Polyphasic sleep is not recommended because it’s doesn’t give you adequate time to go through all sleep stages and properly restore your body and mind. Sleep deprivation, apart from affecting your daily performance in multiple aspects, also increase the risk of severe health conditions, such as obesity, heart disease, and diabetes.

Biphasic sleep schedules are significantly less harmful than polyphasic sleep. Science, as well as historical and ancestral records on sleeping patterns, shows that bimodal sleep may be beneficial for human beings, and even improve their wakefulness, alertness, and cognitive function. However, other research shows that those are only temporary effects that occur due to raised stress hormones in the body, cortisol, and adrenaline.

It may not be a bad idea to try segmented sleep when you are working on an important project and need to squeeze more wake hours into your day. But changing your sleep patterns simply for the sake of change is not recommended and definitely not worth the increased health risks that could arise due to sleep deprivation.

Another disadvantage of bimodal sleep-wake cycle is that your wakefulness may not be compatible with your social life. This can negatively affect your personal and work relationships. On the flip side, this sleep pattern may be just ideal for shift workers or parents who need a quick boost of energy when taking care of their children.

Don’t forget that we are creatures of routine and that changing sleep patterns can be very difficult. If your transition to segmented sleep is unsuccessful, your body will be severely affected. Disrupting sleep patterns may harm your cells, tissues, and organs, and increase the risk of obesity and heart problems. Keep in mind that biphasic sleep schedules may not work for everyone and that they may be harmful when practiced long-term. There is nothing that can replace a good night of 8-hour restorative sleep.