Tag: Sleep deprivation

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Human Urine May Cure Blood Pressure

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A study has identified a hormone from human urine, a xanthurenic-acid derivative, which might help safely flush sodium out of the body and could be harnessed to develop more effective and safer treatments for high blood pressure, or hypertension.

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The Cornell and the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research (BTI) study, co-authored by Frank Schroeder, an assistant scientist at BTI, developed a new technique for analysing complex mixtures of small molecules, making it possible to finally identify the natural hormone.

In the rat-model based study, Schroeder developed an approach based on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy of partially purified urine.

NMR spectroscopy is the most powerful tool chemists used to determine the structures of unknown compounds. It has only been used for the analysis of purified compounds.

In the study, the usage of the technique revealed three completely new compounds, each of which was subsequently synthesized and injected into rats. The rats’ urine was then monitored.

Two of the identified compounds, derivatives of a common metabolite xanthurenic-acid, raised sodium levels in the rat’s urine but kept potassium levels constant.

Schroeder said that while aldosterone was a steroid hormone, the newly discovered molecule was structurally more similar to such amino acid-derived neurotransmitters as dopamine and serotonin and, therefore, might also play other roles in the body.

“Now, we want to know what other functions these compounds have and whether they directly influence blood pressure,” Schroeder said.

The study is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Source: The Times Of India

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Teenagers need more sleep, say experts

A leading body clock expert has claimed that students really do need a lie-in of an hour or two in the morning…..click & see

Neuroscience research suggests that the typical morose and sulky   Kevin the teenager  is someone who deserves our understanding, sympathy and help more than an early morning alarm call.

Scientists are beginning to understand why teenagers can turn from sweet, adorable boys and girls into a spotty, unpredictable and combustible blend of truculence, arrogance and moodiness. It is, research has shown, not just to do with sleep deprivation but profound changes taking place in their brains.

The teenage brain is a  work in progress   and needs extra sleep, according to Professor Russell Foster, a   chronobiologist  at Oxford University.

Teenagers have long complained they are too tired to get up in the morning and that starting school early is cruel. Some adults blame the griping on the fact that many teenagers stay up late to do homework, take part in marathon telephone sessions or play computer games.

But work by Professor Till Roenneberg and colleagues at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich has shown that sleep timing changes markedly as we age, said Foster. By the time of puberty, bed times and wake times drift to later and later hours. The tendency to get up later continues until about the age of 19.5 years in women and 20.9 years in men.

“On the basis of this data, we know teens want to go to bed two hours later than 40 to 50-year-olds, and in 10 per cent there is a four-hour delay,   said Foster. In other words, they are biologically programmed to want to stay under the duvet.

Mary Carskadon, the director of sleep research at EP Bradley Hospital in Rhode Island, America, has shown that among US teenagers, on average 25 per cent get fewer than six-and-a-half hours sleep a night.

She estimates that to be optimally alert teenagers need about nine hours of sleep. Studies by Carskadon with colleagues at the University of Toronto have suggested that a later starting time for school would greatly improve alertness and the mental abilities of teenagers during their morning lessons.

Foster said teenagers would not need such long lie-ins if they could “improve sleep hygiene.

That would mean, for example, going to bed at the same time each day, keeping their bedrooms cool and banning computers, lights and televisions.

But that is not always easy, as Foster knows first hand from his own children: Charlotte, 17, Victoria, 13, and most of all from his 15-year-old, William.

“Do they listen to me? They laugh at me most of time,” he confessed.

The basic problem is that society takes no account of the maturation of the teenage brain.

MRI scans of adolescent brains conducted over the past decade have revealed that not only is there major reorganisation in the teenage brain but it continues to develop until the early twenties.

Among the most sleep deprived are teenagers and an increasing body of evidence from sleep researchers suggests that relatively minor changes in the way we time educational activities could have major benefits,   said Foster.

Source:The Telegraph (Kolkata,India)

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Healthy Tips

Managing Stress to Ease Heartburn

Stress May Make Heartburn Worse
More than half of people who suffer frequent heartburn say a hectic lifestyle and work-related stress increases their heartburn. While stress hasn’t been linked directly to heartburn, it is known that it can lead to behaviors that can trigger heartburn. During stressful times, routines are disrupted and people may not follow their normal routines in regards to meals, exercise and medication. It is important to find ways to alleviate the stress, and thus make stress-related heartburn less likely.

Regular exercise
This not only helps to lower stress and increase your natural “feel-good” chemicals, known as endorphins, but also helps with digestion.

Sleep seven to eight hours a night
This is critical to keeping our stress level low. Studies have shown that sleep-deprived people have higher stress levels.

Eat balanced meals
By consuming plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables and fresh fish, you’ll provide your brain and body with the necessary nutrients to help you perform under pressure. It is also important to avoid the foods that are your heartburn triggers.

Limit consumption of alcohol, caffeine, tobacco and sugar
Studies have shown that these substances cause the stress response to become heightened. Alcohol, caffeine, and tobacco are also heartburn triggers.

Visualization
Take a quick “mental break.” Envision a favorite place in your mind; anyplace that makes you relax just thinking about it. This can be imagining a walk by the ocean, a drive through the mountains, or being on a hillside watching the sun set. Concentrating seeing, hearing, and smelling the things you imagine will help you relax.

For more on stress relief, go to About.com’s Guide to Stress.

Source:heartburn.about.com

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‘Sexsomniacs’ puzzle medical researchers

Researchers are struggling to understand a rare medical condition where sufferers unknowingly demand, or actually have, sex while asleep, New Scientist magazine reported on Wednesday.

Research into sexsomnia   making sexual advances toward another person while asleep   has been hampered as sufferers are so embarrassed by the problem they tend not to own up to it, while doctors do not ask about it.

As yet there is no cure for the condition, which often leads to difficulties in relationships.

“It really bothers me that I can’t control it,” Lisa Mahoney told the magazine. “It scares me because I don’t think it has anything to do with the partner. I don’t want this foolish condition to hurt us in the long run.”

Most researchers view sexsomnia as a variant of sleepwalking, where sufferers are stuck between sleep and wakefulness, though sexsomniacs tend to stay in bed rather than get up and walk about.

While sleepwalking affects two to four percent of adults, sexsomnia is not thought to be as common a problem, according to Nik Trajanovic, a researcher at the sleep and alertness clinic at Canada‘s Toronto Western Hospital.

But an Internet survey of sexsomniacs carried out in 2005 that drew 219 reliable respondents concluded it was more prevalent than medical case reports alone might suggest.

“Most of the time sleep sex occurs between people who are already partners,” Mark Pressman, a sleep specialist at Lankenan Hospital in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, told the New Scientist.

“Sometimes they hate it,” added Pressman of the reactions of sexsomniacs’ partners. “Sometimes they tolerate it. On rare occasions you have stories of people liking it better than waking sex.”

With no cure, addressing triggering factors — stress or sleep deprivation — can help, while Michael Mangan, a psychologist at the University of New Hampshire in the US has set up a Web site, www.sleepsex.org, to help sufferers.

(As published in The Times Of India)

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Ailmemts & Remedies

Insomnia

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Insomnia is too little or poor-quality sleep caused by one or more of the following:

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  • Trouble falling asleep
  • Waking up a lot during the night with trouble returning to sleep
  • Waking up too early in the morning
  • Having un-refreshing sleep (not feeling well rested), even after sleeping 7 to 8 hours at night.

Insomnia can cause problems during the day, such as excessive sleepiness,fatigue,trouble thinking clearly or staying focused, or feeling depressed or irritable. It is not defined by the number of hours you sleep every night. Although the amount of sleep a person needs varies, most people need between 7 and 8 hours of sleep a night.

Types of insomnia and relevant causes:

  • Transient (short term) insomnia lasts from a single night to a few weeks.
  • Intermittent (on and off) insomnia is short term, which happens from time to time.
  • Chronic (on-going) insomnia occurs at least 3 nights a week over a month or more.

Chronic insomnia is either primary or secondary:

Women are twice as likely to suffer from insomnia than men. Some research suggests that certain social factors, such as being unemployed or divorced, are related to poor sleep and increase the risk of insomnia in women. Also, insomnia tends to increase with age.Somtimes primenopausal (the time leading up to menopause) women have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep; hot flashes and night sweats often can disturb sleep. Pregnancy also can affect how well a woman sleeps.

Click to see Complications of insomnia

Diagnose your insomnia:
If you think you have insomnia, talk to your doctor. It might be helpful to complete a sleep diary for a week or two, noting your sleep patterns, your daily routine, and how you feel during the day. Discuss the results of your sleep diary with your doctor. Your doctor may do a physical exam and take a medical history and sleep history. Your doctor may also want to talk to your bed partner to ask how much and how well you are sleeping. In some cases, you may be referred to a sleep center for special tests.

If insomnia is caused by a short-term change in the sleep/wake schedule, as with jet lag, your sleep schedule may return to normal on its own.

Doctor should only be consulted if day time work is hampered due to insomnia.

Treatment for chronic insomnia includes:

  • Finding and treating any medical conditions or mental health problems.
  • Looking for routines or behaviors, like drinking alcohol at night, that may lead to the insomnia or make it worse, and stopping (or reducing) them.
  • Possibly using sleeping pills, although controversy surrounds the long-term use of sleeping pills. You should talk to your doctor about the risks and side-effects.
  • Trying one or more methods to improve sleep, such as relaxation therapy, sleep restriction therapy, and reconditioning.
  1. Relaxation Therapy. This type of therapy aims to reduce stress and body tension. As a result, your mind is able to stop “racing,” the muscles can relax, and restful sleep can occur.
  2. Sleep Restriction. Some women suffering from insomnia spend too much time in bed trying to fall asleep. They may be helped by a sleep restriction program under the guidance of their doctor. The goal is to sleep continuously and get out of bed at the desired wake time. This treatment involves, for example, going to bed later or getting up earlier and slowly increasing the amount of time in bed until the person is able to sleep normally throughout the night.
  3. Reconditioning. This means using your bed only at bedtime when sleepy or for sex. Avoid other activities in your bed, such as reading or watching TV. Over time, your body will relate bed and bedtime with sleep.

Try the following for better and deep sleep at night:

  • Try to go to sleep at the same time each night and get up at the same time each morning. Do not take naps after 3 p.m.
  • Avoid caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol late in the day or at night.
  • Get regular exercise. Exercise during the day–make sure you exercise at least 5 to 6 hours before bedtime.
  • Make sure you eat dinner at least 2 to 3 hours before bedtime.
  • Keep your bedroom dark, quiet, and cool. If light is a problem, try a sleeping mask. If noise is a problem, try earplugs, a fan, or a “white noise” machine to cover up the sounds.
  • Follow a routine to help relax and wind down before sleep, such as reading a book, listening to music, or taking a bath.
  • If you can’t fall asleep within 20 minutes or don’t feel drowsy, get up and read or do something that is not too active until you feel sleepy. Then try going back to bed.
  • If you lay awake worrying about things, try making a to-do list before you go to bed.
  • Use your bed only for sleep and sex.
  • It is adviced that inorder to have a goodnight sleep you should go to bathroom,takeout all your cloths,wipe all your body (from head to toe),specially shoulders,armpit,stomac,genetals and thighs with a wet towel,do little breathing exercise (if possible),drink a glass of fresh water,wear night dress and go to bed.

Consult your doctor if you think that you have insomnia or another sleep problem.

(Help taken from:http://www.4woman.gov/faq/insomnia.htm)

Ayurvedic remedy for insomnia.

Look home remedies for insomnia

Disclaimer: This information is not meant to be a substitute for professional medical advise or help. It is always best to consult with a Physician about serious health concerns. This information is in no way intended to diagnose or prescribe remedies.

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